Farce - Wikipedia Farce From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Comedy genre Petrov-Vodkin's Theatre Farce Poster for a production of Boucicault's farce Contempt of Court, c. 1879 Farce (Ital. Farsia, probably from the Latin farcio, to stuff—Plautus has centones farcire, to insert falsehoods or tricks) was a canticle in the vulgar tongue intermixed with Latin, originating in the French church at the time when Latin began to be a tongue not 'understanded of the people.' The farsia was sung in many churches at the principal festivals, almost universally at Christmas. It became a vehicle for satire and fun, and thus led to the modern Farsa or Farce, a piece in one act, of which the subject is extravagant and the action ludicrous.[1] In theatre, a farce is a comedy that aims at entertaining the audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, and thus improbable.[2] Farce is also characterized by physical humor, the use of deliberate absurdity or nonsense, and broadly stylized performances. It is also often set in one particular location, where all events occur. Farces have been written for the stage and film. Historical context[edit] The term farce is derived from the French word for "stuffing", in reference to improvisations applied by actors to medieval religious dramas. Later forms of this drama were performed as comical interludes during the 15th and 16th centuries.[3] The oldest surviving farce may be Le Garçon et l'aveugle (The Boy and the Blind Man) from after 1266, although the earliest farces that can be dated come from between 1450 and 1550. The best known farce is La Farce de maître Pathelin (The Farce of Master Pathelin) from c. 1460.[4] Spoof films such as "Spaceballs," a comedy based on the Star Wars movies, are farces.[5] References[edit] ^ Grove, Sir George (1908). Gorve's Dictionary of Music and Musicians. New York: McMillan. p. 8. ^ "farce - Free On-Line English Dictionary - Thesaurus - Children's, Intermediate Dictionary - Wordsmyth". ^ Birch, Dinah, ed. (2009). The Oxford Companion to English Literature (7th ed.). OUP Oxford. p. 1043. ISBN 0191030848. ^ Hollier, Denis; Bloch, R. Howard, eds. (1994). A New History of French Literature. Harvard University Press. p. 126. ISBN 0674615662. ^ "farce". Vocabulary.com. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Grove, Sir George (1908). Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians. New York, McMillan. External links[edit] Look up farce in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. IMDb list of film and television farces v t e Comedy Topics Comedian Comedic device Comedy festival Comedy troupe Comic timing Farce Humorist Humour Impersonator Impressionist Irony Joke Prank call Punch line Satire Visual gag Wit Word play Film Country American British French Italian Genre Fantasy Horror Parody Remarriage Romance Science fiction Screwball Sex Italian Silent Slapstick Stoner Theatre Country Europe Ancient Greek comedy Comédie-Française Comédie-Italienne Corral de comedias Theatre of ancient Rome Asia China Xiangsheng Hong Kong Mo lei tau Japan Kyōgen Manzai Owarai Rakugo Sarugaku Genre Boulevard theatre Comedy-drama Comedy of humours Comedy of manners Comedy of menace Commedia dell'arte Double act Improvisational Macchietta One-person show Pantomime Restoration comedy Sentimental comedy Comédie larmoyante Shadow play Shakespearean comedy Sketch comedy Spex Stand-up comedy Street theatre Theatre of the Absurd Tragicomedy Vaudeville Music and dance Ballad opera Cabaret Café-chantant Café-théâtre Comédie-ballet Comedy club Light music Music hall Musical theatre Opéra bouffe Opéra bouffon Opera buffa Opéra comique Operetta Revue Media Music Album Rock Hip hop Parody Musical comedians Novel Radio Television Mockumentary Roast Sitcom Subgenres Alternative Black Blue Character Christian Clown Cringe Deadpan (dry humor) Documentary Gallows High / low Horror Insult Observational Physical Prop Shock Sick Slapstick Topics Surreal Ventriloquism Zombie Category Portal This theatre-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Farce&oldid=1000426095" Categories: Theatre stubs Comedy genres Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Source attribution All stub articles Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version Languages العربية অসমীয়া বাংলা Беларуская Беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎ Български Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Frysk Galego 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Interlingua Íslenska Italiano עברית ქართული Қазақша Latviešu Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本語 Norsk bokmål Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Română Русский Slovenčina Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 15 January 2021, at 01:49 (UTC). 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