Final answer:
Comedy is a theatrical genre that emphasizes humor through practical situations and common characters, aiming to incite laughter and end on a high note. It includes themes such as misunderstandings and violations of social norms, and remains consistent in structure across history.
Step-by-step explanation:
Comedy, a genre dating back to the beginning of Western theatre, is characterized by its focus on humor and typically features everyday characters dealing with practical choices in absurd or bawdy situations. Unlike tragedies that tackle ethical dilemmas and have serious tones, comedies involve characters pondering how to navigate through humorous predicaments, such as outwitting a master or escaping a tricky situation, rather than questioning the morality of their actions. The quintessence of comedy is to invoke laughter and usually conclude with a happy ending.
Common themes in comedy include misunderstandings, social hierarchy violations, mistaken identities, and physical antics. Famous works such as A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare exemplify these elements through a light tone and an entertaining conclusion. Comedy also humbles and comforts audiences by highlighting shared human experiences and failures.
In terms of structure, comedy remains consistent across time, using the same mechanisms for humor from ancient Greek playwrights like Aristophanes to contemporary authors such as Michael Frayn. Various sub-genres under comedy like situation comedy or sitcom, where humor derives from specific situations such as in Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, maintain popularity in both theatre and television.
Finally, the tragicomedy is a hybrid form that merges elements of tragedy and comedy, creating a narrative that tackles relevant subjects yet often leading to a positive resolution, expanding the rich tapestry of comedic storytelling.