Classical Comedy: Armoury of Laughter, Democracy's Bastion of Defence; Introducing a Law of Opposites

Classical Comedy- An Armoury of Laughter, Democracy's Bastion of Defence repudiates Aristotle's claim in Poetics, that tragedy was the jewel of fifth century democracy, arguing that the claim belongs to comedy, as a brilliantly entertaining defense of social values and standards. Tom Rothfield examines every aspect of classicism, analyzing comedy's origins, and structure, to demonstrate the reasons for classical comedy's universal and continued significance. He breaks down theatrical mechanisms, including the playhouse, masks, costumes, a comedian's comic skills, the playwright's inventive genius in plot development, character development, and effective jokes. Through his analysis, Rothfield demonstrates the classical framework, and classical comic criteria that provides an unrivalled model for contemporary theater.