An examination of the plays which Henry Fielding wrote before becoming one of England's greatest novelists has revealed that they possess strong comic merit and are worthy of serious critical attention. Before turning to the plays themselves, the critical corpus on Fielding's plays has been considered, and the nature and purpose of Fielding's dramatic burlesque has been defined.Fielding's burlesque embodies the serious comic purpose of exposing vice and folly in the theater. Specifically, Fielding objects to the restrictions imposed on playwrights by dramatic conventions as well as by the critics and theater managers; furthermore, he criticizes the rude behavior and insipid taste of contemporary playgoers.This theatrical criticism has illuminated Fielding’s comic craft, displaying the ways in which he uses the vehicle of vice and folly in the theater to expose these flaws in social, political, and professional institutions as well.

Satire is a form of humor used to criticize society and ridicule those who govern through irony, exaggeration and humor. What separates satire from other forms of social and political protest is that it uses humor to change human behavior. With our study, we ask ourselves if satire can be used to spread information and knowledge via animated entertainment shows such as The Simpsons.   Our main research question is: Can the audiences of The Simpsons understand messages within the show’s entertainment context through its use of satire? To help us answer this we also have secondary inquiries such as: Is the satire within The Simpsons comprehended by its audiences? And, Is animation an appropriate method to engage information at hand?   The main purpose of this study is that we are curious if you can more easily become aware of new information and serious matters through the combined use of humor and entertainment. We have chosen The Simpsons to focus on because they were the show that started a new genre of animated satirical comedy on TV. This genre is in today's television society very popular and as a result has created new satirical hit shows as Family Guy and South Park. Moreover we also reasoned that it is possible to make use of an American TV series in a Swedish study, since the world is now very connected, so influences and products move between land borders with relative ease, such as between the U.S.A and Sweden.   We have based our theoretical framework around different types of genres that together with satire can help form an idea regarding if The Simpsons uses its perceived satire to possibly spread information and knowledge. As a use of method we have in this study chosen focus group interviews.  The groups are to view a selected episode of The Simpsons, and then discuss aspects of the program. Using these focus groups, we want to distinguish The Simpsons use of satire and if it is effective in spreading information and knowledge.   With our research, we concluded that there are different views on the use of animation to spread knowledge and information. One side argues the fact that the animated form is effective since restrictions are few. There are some who claim that animation can result in diluting the impact of satire. Participants in the focus groups clearly saw the episode 's message and theme and many of the satirical references. Ultimately the use of satirical humor to spread knowledge and information can to some degree be claimed to be an effective way to reach out to the audience with messages and opinions. / Satir är en form av humor som används för att kritisera samhället och förlöjliga de som styr genom ironi, överdrifter och humor. Det som skiljer satir från andra former av social och politisk protest är att den använder sig av just humor för att ändra mänskligt beteende. Med vår studie frågar vi oss om man kan använda satir för att sprida information och kunskap via ett animerat underhållningsprogram som The Simpsons.   Vår huvudfrågeställning är: Kan publiken av The Simpsons ta åt sig information och kunskap inom programmets underhållningskontext samt via dess användning av satir? För att få svar på detta har vi också använt oss av sekundära frågor såsom: uppfattar och/eller uppskattar personer som tittar på The Simpsons satir? Är animation en lämplig eller olämplig metod för att ta åt sig information?   Huvudsyftet med denna studie är att vi är nyfikna på om man enklare kan ta åt sig information och allvarliga ämnen i kombination med humor och underhållning. Vi har valt The Simpsons som undersökningsobjekt eftersom de var dem som startade en ny genre av animerad satirisk komedi på TV. Denna genre är i dagens TV-samhälle väldigt populär och det har skapats nya satiriska succéprogram som Family Guy och South Park som följd av detta. Vi har också motiverat att det går att använda oss av en Amerikansk Tv-serie i en svensk studie eftersom världen är nu väldigt sammankopplad och influenser och produkter flyttas mellan landsgränser relativt enkelt, såsom mellan USA och Sverige.  Vi har baserat vårt teoretiska ramverk kring olika typer av genrer, som tillsammans med satir kan hjälpa bilda en uppfattning om The Simpsons använder sig av sin föreställda satir för att eventuellt sprida information och kunskap.  Som metod har vi till denna studie valt att använda oss av fokusgruppsintervjuer där grupperna får se ett utvalt avsnitt av The Simpsons och sedan diskutera aspekter av programmet. Med hjälp av dessa fokusgrupper vill vi urskilja The Simpsons användande av satir och om den är effektiv för att sprida information och kunskap.   Med vår undersökning kom vi fram till att det förekommer delade uppfattningar om att använda animation för att sprida kunskap och information. Ena sidan tar upp det faktum att den animerade formen är effektiv då begränsningarna är få, den andra sidan påstår att animation kan leda till att budskap kan vara svåra att ta på allvar på grund av satirens överdrivande och fartfyllda egenskaper. Deltagarna i fokusgrupperna såg tydligt avsnittets budskap och tema samt många av de satiriska referenserna. Att använda satirisk humor för att sprida kunskap och information kan till viss grad påstås vara ett effektivt sätt att nå ut till publiken med budskap och åsikter.

This satire offers an update of Jane Collier's "An Essay on the Art of Ingeniously Tormenting," an instruction manual for sadists. It includes directions for the beginning tormentor with specific instructions for tormenting strangers, acquaintances, friends, lovers and relatives.

Aristophanes to Fo is a study of the principal comedic conventions of Aristophanes' political satire and their relationship to contemporary political satire. A template of these principal conventions is tabulated. This is then compared to, and contrasted with, conventions used in subsequent plays in the genre of political satire, including one written as the practice component of this exegesis. This process determines the influence of Aristophanic conventions on political satire from 4th century BCE Greece to the modern era. There is an analytical emphasis on three 20th century plays as case studies and on my play, Soft Murder, which is case study number four. At the core of the research is the hypothesis that Aristophanic comedic conventions are still relevant to the genre of political satire in contemporary theatre. To retain relevance the genre should be a discourse on a situation or event that has social as well as political meaning to its audience and its presentation should have entertainment value for the culture of the time. Soft Murder is a fundamental part of this process and is written concurrently with the research component.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2003. / Advisor: Joseph Adamson. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 243-258). Also available via World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - James Cook University, 2004. / Typescript (photocopy). Bibliography: leaves 276-315.

Thesis--Sorbonne, 1973. / Includes indexes. Includes bibliographical references (p. 608-628).

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2009. / Title from file title page. Mary Stuckey, committee chair; Kathryn Fuller-Seeley, Alisa Perren, Alessandra Raengo, committee members. Description based on contents viewed June 11, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 86-89).

Inaug.-Diss.--Universität Bern. / Bibliographical references included in "Anmerkungen" (p. 78-89).

Thesis--Université de Bordeaux III, 1974. / On spine: Étude sur la langue de Varron. Includes indexes. Includes bibliographical references (v. 2, p. 651-657).