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Comedy: The Six Styles of Comedy

Entertaining people is a very serious task. That is the reason why entertainers are highly regarded by people. It isn't easy to engage people to stick to an act and pay attention to what an entertainer does for them.

People say it is harder to make an audience laugh than to make them cry. Experts and professional entertainers would readily support this assertion.

Perhaps, one of the main reasons why it is harder to pull out a good comedy act is the diverse taste and preference of people. There are a number of factors that attribute to the diversity of people's tastes when it comes to appreciating comedy acts.

Culture and personal beliefs are among those reasons. The task of comedians is made even more complicated when their acts are to be watched by people who belong to different cultures and religious beliefs.

For example, there are comedy acts that depict the Muslim religious practices in a light and humorous manner. This kind of comedy act may be fun and hilarious to Western people, but Muslim audiences may react differently, or worse, violently.

Aspiring comedians find relief that to be a good comedian, one doesn't need to be gorgeous nor voluptuous, not unlike if one aims to be dramatic actress or a singer. In comedy, it is ironic that the audience tends to appreciate less beautiful performers.


It isn't that often that good comedians are also as appealing physically as their counterparts in other forms of entertainment. However, with the seemingly evolving entertainment scene, audiences' preferences are becoming less and less predictable.

Whatever it takes, a good talent and natural humor are the key passports to becoming a really effective comedian.

Knowing the six styles of comedy

Before getting into the business, it is imperative that an aspiring comedian know the basics about the kind of task he will undergo. Comedy is the business of making people laugh, but it sure is a very serious one.

Comedians come and go. That is why if you aim to be a good one, and last in the industry, you should be able to hone your skills more and invest in knowledge about the basic styles of comedy.

To start with, there are six basic styles of comedy. However, by knowing each one of them, you will find that those styles have been born out of the early forms of comedy, from past decades, even centuries.

Take note that the original form of comedy branched out from the theaters in early Greece. Those forms of comedy are far different and profound than the form popular in the contemporary modern times. But, they would still be of great help.

Which style is for you?

Black comedy is a style when comedians make fun of serious situations like sickness, terror, rape, war, death and the likes. In the early form of theaters, such style was greatly appreciated by audiences. Nowadays, some people find it distasteful.

Satire is a style of comedy that is somehow profound and is hitting a serious statement beyond the hilarious antics and dialogues. Political satires are common forms of this style. People surely love to laugh about the funny mannerisms and features of a political personality they love to hate.

Sarcasm is one element always present in this comedy style. Spoofs of personalities also fall under the category satire. When a comedy act is executed to ridicule another work, a novel, movie or television show, the style ceases to be satire but is termed parody.

An adage is a style of comedy that is hard to pull off. Usually, adages contain jargons and are aimed to make fun of ethical guidelines, principles, folk wisdom, proverbs and culture.

The fifth style would be irony. Usually, irony is depicted when a character intends one result and then ends up doing something else. For example, the story of Romeo and Juliet, can be spoofed and made hilarious, but the irony there is evident.

Lastly, you should know about alternative comedy, which is undoubtedly the most popular style of comedy. It is this style of comedy that defines the modern comedy antics popularized by sitcoms and movies.

Alternative comedy makes use of comic situations and languages to be able to tickle the audience's senses. Slapsticks also branched out from this style of comedy.

To be able to put up a good comedy performance, you could make use of one style or mix and match them so you could offer a wider array of comedic antics to your audience.

Remember, to be a good comedian, you should love laughter, but you shouldn't make the situation light because comedy is, indeed, a serious business.

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