What is a black comedy?
A black comedy is a particular genre of humor in which dark or morbid topics are addressed in a humorous and sometimes controversial manner.
Black Comedy
Last Updated on February 25, 2021, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 159
Black comedy - Often considered perverted and morbid, black comedy depicts situations normally thought of as tragic or grave as humorous. Specifically, it displays marked disillusionment and depicts humans without convictions and with little hope. The term is also used to describe theater dealing with sinister or disturbing subjects handled...
(The entire section contains 159 words.)
Unlock This Study Guide Now
Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this Guide to Literary Terms study guide. You'll get access to all of the Guide to Literary Terms content, as well as access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.
- Introduction
- Complete Index
Already a member? Log in here.
Black comedy - Often considered perverted and morbid, black comedy depicts situations normally thought of as tragic or grave as humorous. Specifically, it displays marked disillusionment and depicts humans without convictions and with little hope. The term is also used to describe theater dealing with sinister or disturbing subjects handled lightly in an attempt to offend and shock, as is common in Theater of the Absurd.
Black is from the Middle English blak derived from the Old English blaec, which is probably the same as the Latin flagrare, meaning “to burn.” Comedy is derived from the Latin comoedia which, in turn, was from the Greek komoidia formed by joining komos, meaning “revel,” and, aidein, meaning “to sing.”
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is a Twentieth-Century novelist whose works, including Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five are filled with black comedy. There are representatives of the genre in Twentieth Century drama such as Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.
see: absurd
Explore all literary terms.
