The aim of the thesis is to investigate and define from a genre perspective how cultural, social, and situational factors interacted in old comedy between 425 and 388 BCE.

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Cette thèse se propose de parcourir les évolutions scénographiques et techniques des spectacles au temps de Louis XIV. Ce travail divisé en deux parties – la cour et la ville – souhaite rendre compte des différentes transformations du répertoire à machines qui trouvait, depuis la Régence de Mazarin et l’arrivée de Torelli, ses premiers balbutiements. Volontairement pluridisciplinaire, proposant de nouvelles découvertes concernant les évolutions scénographiques et techniques des principaux théâtres de la cour et de la capitale, cette thèse s’affiche comme une synthèse des principaux machinistes du siècle de Louis XIV avec comme singularité la mise en lumière d’un marginalisé de l’historiographie : Alexandre de Rieux, marquis de Sourdéac. / This thesis proposes to through the scenographic and technical evolutions of the shows at the time of Louis XIV. This work divided into two parts - the court and the city - accounts for the various transformations of the repertoire to machines. This work divided into two parts - the court and the city - wishes to account for the various transformations of the repertoire to machines since the Regency of Mazarin and the arrival of Torelli. Multidisciplinary, proposing new archaeological and archival discoveries concerning the scenographic and technical evolutions of the principal theaters of the court and the capital, this thesis wants as a synthesis of the principal machinists of the century of Louis XIV with as singularity the rehabilitation of Alexandre de Rieux, Marquis de Sourdéac.

<p>Martina Haag’s method of self-mockery used in her chronicles is characterized by her wish to live up to various ideals. This essay brings out the subversive power of self-deprecatory hu-mor expressed in her book Hemma hos Martina. The author’s strategies and kinds of humor are being studied, leading up to what this humor accomplishes. General theories on humor, by Mary Ann Rishel, Maria Ohlsson, Henri Bergson, Joannne R. Gilbert and Simon Critchley are being applied to find the essence of her craftsmanship in writing comedy. The analysis also goes more closely into the style and language, to give a deeper understanding of how she creates jokes, and also how she relates to her ideals through language. The main thrust of the analysis, though, builds on theories on self-deprecatory humor. Haag is included into Joanne R. Gilbert’s theory on self-deprecation and The Whiner within the field of stand-up comedy.</p><p>Some American feminist critics have rejected self-deprecatory humor as being anti-feminist, stating that women applying this particular kind of humor merely reinforce stereoty-pes, and put themselves down. This paper objects to those critics, leaning on Haag’s book. I wish to show that Haag is not demeaning towards herself, but towards the cultural norms and expectations in our present society. In this context, I show how Haag manages to demystify and criticize ideal representations of women, by lampooning them and revolting against them. In this way, her book turns into a satirical critique of cultural values. My essay illustrates how Haag objectifies herself, making regular use of stereotypes. This is necessary, since these two elements are essential to most humor. Haag confirms stereotypes to make people laugh. This laughter brings about awareness in the reader, making Haag’s work a social critique of current values and norms concerning women.</p>

The goal of this thesis is to explain the nature of ethnic humor in American society. This will be achieved through three different processes. First, this thesis will explain the history of African American humor and recount it’s development into it’s own brand of comedy. Second, it will explain the nature of African American humor and how it is a tool used to revolt against the oppressive and hegemonic nature of western society. Additionally, this paper aims to prove that African American humor is a coping mechanism for African Americans. This thesis will also discuss the duality of African American humor as both comedy and social critique. Another aspect this work will explore is how comedians deal with unintended stereotype perpetuation and also how different audiences respond to the racial jokes of the comedians. Finally, this thesis will outline how to better present jokes so that the perpetuation of racism and stereotypes does not happen. As a coping mechanism, African American humor takes stereotypes about African Americans, both positive and negative, and converts them into humorous topics that can make the stereotypes positive (Daube, 2010). This play on stereotypes, although it can be incredibly funny and also makes for great social commentary, is also very dangerous (Apte, 1987). Without proper context and understanding of the joke, it is possible that the intended social critique is not conveyed to the audience and instead the humor unintentionally perpetuates negative stereotypes. The value of African American humor as both entertainment and a coping mechanism is immeasurable (Cater, May, & Bird, 2012)

Il presente studio ha posto come obiettivo di delineare gli sviluppi della commedia plautino-terenziana nel periodo post-tridentino esaminando le commedie di Luigi Groto il Cieco di Adria (1541-1585). Il periodo di primo Cinquecento vide il «recupero» e la «reinvenzione» della commedia che partì dal modello plautino, adattando ai bisogni del tempo e del pubblico del Rinascimento. All'inizio del Cinquecento prevalse la commedia «motoria» di Plauto basata sull'intreccio, sulle beffe e sull'azione. quando la struttura della commedia iniziò a irrigidirsi, il modello pralutino venne approfondito usando elementi della «stataria», di modello terenziano, basata sullo studio dei caratteri. Tale cambiamento avvenne anche all'interno di alcuni letterati del secolo, Angelo Beolco e Pietro Aretino, entrambi fondamentali per la presente analisi. Le tre commedie in questione, composte da Luigi Groto sono molto diverse tra di loro. Ogni capitolo del presente studio analizzerà una sola commedia e ciascuna da un solo punto di vista. Il primo capitolo avrà come oggetto la proposta linguistica del Groto presentata nella sua prima commedia, intitolata La Emilia, opera di stampo chiaramente ariostesco. Nel secondo capitolo potremo conoscere il quadro offerto dal confronto di diverse concezioni della donna. Nella seconda commedia del Groto, intitolata Il Thesoro, infatti, saranno confrontate una vasta gamma di personaggi femminili, tra cui la più trasgressiva, Licinia, la giovane malmaritata. Questa commedia, chiaramente, è di stampo aretinesco. Il terzo capitolo esaminerà la struttura «hedonistica» de La Alteria, una metacommedia per eccellenza di stampo formalmente terenziano, ma con influssi dei tre maestri: Ariosto, Beolco e Aretino. / The aim of the present study is to define the development of the comedy of Plauto-Terencian origin after the Council of Trent. It will examine the comedies of Luigi Groto, comparing them with other comedies of the Sixteenth Century. There was a reinvention of the comedy based on the Plautian model in the first half of the Cinquecento. The model (called motoria), which was full of effects and lively with action, was adapted to the needs of the era and the public taste. Subsequently this model was enriched by patterns of the Terencian comedy called stataria. The stataria, differently from the motoria, gave more room to characters and to reflections of the comedy itself. Some playwrights, i.e. Angelo Beolco and Pietro Aretino, both fundamental for the study, followed this development in their plays. The three comedies that we are going to analyse, differ from each other. Every chapter is going to examine only one comedy and only from one point of view. In the first chapter, we are going to analyse the language of comedy that Groto proposed in the La Emilia (1579). This play is based on Ludovico Aroisto's elaboration of Plautus. In the second chapter, we are going to look at different perceptions of female characters in the Il Thesoro (1583), Groto's second comedy. We will see how the change in the importance of women on stage modified the other characters. In the last chapter we are going to interpret how the La Alteria (1587), based on Terence and Aretino, became a pure metacomedy, and how its hedonistic structure was influenced by Ariosto, Aretino and Beolco.

The purpose of this thesis is to extrapolate through research the conceptual underpinnings of a body of artwork created by Matt Sigmon. The thesis explains the work in relation to art historical references to readymade art and the dilemmas that arise when fine art is compared to consumer commodities.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Communication

This dissertation is a study of the comic intermezzo’s literary origins and musical practice in the years before Pergolesi’s La serva padrona (1733). It begins with a chronological examination of Italian comic plays and operas written between 1660 and 1723. During these years comic playwrights adopted a style of writing speech from the improvised theatre which makes use of what Richard Andrews (1993) refers to as “elastic gags.” This style of comedy flourished under Medici patronage in Florence in the last decades of the seventeenth century and then spread to Venice, Rome and Naples during the first years of the intermezzo’s development. It is a style of comedy shared with the plays of Molière, and other contemporaneous French authors. This dissertation examines several scenes based on French works which have previously not been identified as having earlier sources. The decision to adapt these earlier sources for the intermezzo did not occur in a vacuum. The practice of comedy in the intermezzo was conditioned by the artistic, social and political climate of Italy. This study investigates the relationship between intermezzos and the milieus which produced them. The success of some intermezzos, like Il marito giocatore (1719), resulted from a combination of their artistic merit and their broad social appeal, while others, like Albino e Plautilla (1723), were musically adept but remained obscure because their humour was specific to the world they satirized. Both intermezzos are indebted to earlier French sources. Many others which are metatheatrical in nature draw on contemporary debates about opera. A final section examines selected arias from the intermezzo repertory using incongruity theory. Comic theory makes clear that the intermezzo’s musical language was not a new development. Just as librettists drew on earlier written traditions to form the literary text of the intermezzo, composers drew on existing musical practices to create humour. The intermezzo was therefore not naively comic—a portrait of the genre which is all too common—but rather a repertory which was thoroughly enmeshed within contemporary artistic practice and a wider social and cultural world.

This dissertation is a study of the comic intermezzo’s literary origins and musical practice in the years before Pergolesi’s La serva padrona (1733). It begins with a chronological examination of Italian comic plays and operas written between 1660 and 1723. During these years comic playwrights adopted a style of writing speech from the improvised theatre which makes use of what Richard Andrews (1993) refers to as “elastic gags.” This style of comedy flourished under Medici patronage in Florence in the last decades of the seventeenth century and then spread to Venice, Rome and Naples during the first years of the intermezzo’s development. It is a style of comedy shared with the plays of Molière, and other contemporaneous French authors. This dissertation examines several scenes based on French works which have previously not been identified as having earlier sources. The decision to adapt these earlier sources for the intermezzo did not occur in a vacuum. The practice of comedy in the intermezzo was conditioned by the artistic, social and political climate of Italy. This study investigates the relationship between intermezzos and the milieus which produced them. The success of some intermezzos, like Il marito giocatore (1719), resulted from a combination of their artistic merit and their broad social appeal, while others, like Albino e Plautilla (1723), were musically adept but remained obscure because their humour was specific to the world they satirized. Both intermezzos are indebted to earlier French sources. Many others which are metatheatrical in nature draw on contemporary debates about opera. A final section examines selected arias from the intermezzo repertory using incongruity theory. Comic theory makes clear that the intermezzo’s musical language was not a new development. Just as librettists drew on earlier written traditions to form the literary text of the intermezzo, composers drew on existing musical practices to create humour. The intermezzo was therefore not naively comic—a portrait of the genre which is all too common—but rather a repertory which was thoroughly enmeshed within contemporary artistic practice and a wider social and cultural world.