(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Comedy in The History Boys

            There are many settings used to drive the comedy in 'The History Boys' and help nurture it. The settings that have a direct impact are the time the play was performed, the date the play was set, the fact the play is set in a school and the geographical setting. The fact the play is set in a school context is an effective vehicle for comedy because it is supposed to be a place of intellect and seriousness so therefore if anything of the opposite happens or irrational it is bound to make some humour. The time the play was set and the first time it was performed is effective because it shows that the modern audience already have knowledge over what has happened or what is going to happen before the characters and can show dramatic irony.
             In the 1980's which is when the play was set education was in a state of change and traditional values of order and discipline were being challenged by more progressive methods. In the play education is seen as a competition which can be scored/ranked not only in league tables for universities but also in teaching between Hector and Irwin because Irwin is more of the new teacher that Thatcher wanted whereas Hector is the type of teacher that was being threatened by Thatcherism. This is perhaps mostly shown in the scene where Irwin is handing back the boys essays. 'Irwin: I didn't say it was wrong. I said it was dull. Its sheer competence was staggering. Interest nil. Oddity nil. Singularity nowhere.' The way Irwin says 'Interest nil. Oddity nil. Singularity nowhere.' Suggests that he only cares about getting the points and livening up the boy's essays instead of getting in all the facts and getting everything right shows how different he is to Hector and his methods of teaching. Whereas in Hectors Lessons the boys are free to learn in their own way and most of his lessons start of bizarrely. .
             The fact the boys are so eager to get into Oxbridge is a sort of dramatic irony because the play was first performed in 2004 and the viewer's know how to get into Oxbridge whereas the boys just think they will get in.


Essays Related to Comedy in The History Boys

1. The History Boys by Alan Dakin

... "(Act 1, page 6). This shows the audience that he has an overinflated opinion of himself. He uses persuasive language to establish psychological power over the boys and tries to influence Hector's teaching methods. Bennett uses farce comedy and wit to portray Dakin as rude and crass. For example, Dakin, whilst in conversation with Irwin surprises the audience by improperly asking Irwin "if ... there were any circumstances in which there was any chance of you sucking me off ... . "She's my Western Front...our forces withdrew...front-line troops...abortive thrust southwards ". This is comi...

  • Word Count: 646
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

2. The Comedic Evolution of Eddie Murphy

... . You're hurting his accusers. I was like, 'Hey, I'm coming back to SNL for the anniversary, I'm not turning my moment on the show into this other thing'" (Edgers, "The Real King of Comedy"). Strange, the normally no-boundaries Murphy had set himself a boundary. In the Washington Post article, Eddie lays the truth down nicely and cleanly as to why he stopped performing stand-up. " ... ! According to a study conducted by Harvard Medical School: A national face-to-face household survey of 10,148 U.S. adolescents, found that nearly two-thirds of adolescents in the U.S. have a histor...

  • Word Count: 3082
  • Approx Pages: 12
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Women in Ancient Greece

... sources mainly attest to life in the city-state of Athens, the predominant one for the Greeks. Conditions changed for women as Athenians altered their governmental structure and laws through the centuries. In Athens, women legally and politically did not have power for they were under the control of males their entire lives. Girls never formally came of age as boys did at eighteen. Before Solon ... women at funerals. Proper mourning and burial were extremely important to the ancient Greeks. In the play, Antigone, by the tragedarian dramatist Sophocles, Antigone was willing to sacrifice ...

  • Word Count: 7196
  • Approx Pages: 29
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

4. The Beatles

... such artists as Iggy Pop. The concept of the album was to create an alternate image so that The Beatles could experiment with music that was contrary to their past records. In 1994, Paul McCartney was quoted as saying, ""We were fed up with being Beatles. We really hated that fucking four little mop-top boys approach. We were not boys, we were men. It was ... was mainly skit comedy, with breaks in the action to showcase the music. However, these "breaks" were completely separate from the plot, and related to the overall lyric and feel of the particular song. These clips are some of the ...

  • Word Count: 3034
  • Approx Pages: 12
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Aspasia and Feminism in Ancient Greece

... decision because she could see that Athens would offer more opportunity and stability. History is unclear on how Aspasia obtained her education, possibly through noble upbringing or from a courtesan school, which was where the hetaerae were educated in the art of stimulating their male clients physical and mentally.15 Many people of the time immigrated to Athens to open up prostitution houses, to take advantage ... Pericles, "No one would have thought the less of Pericles for making love to young boys, but they (referring to Athenian citizens) were shocked by his treating Aspasia like a h...

  • Word Count: 2630
  • Approx Pages: 11
  • Has Bibliography

6. Shakespeare and the Bible

... for classroom teaching. Important discussion issues are outlined, along with sources for each play and the stage history of performances. This updated version retains thoughtful commentaries on individual lines and phrases and provides stage directions so students can visualize the plays. Notable changes to this edition include the addition of The Two Noble Kinsmen, a more detailed examination of Troilus and Cressida, and A Funeral ... acted and written. By 1594 Shakespeare had written at least six plays; the first being "The Comedy of Errors", and published two poems, "Venus and Adonis"...

  • Word Count: 3856
  • Approx Pages: 15
  • Grade Level: High School

7. The rolw of women in A. Greec

... accurate image of the life of women in Ancient and Classical Greek history because, aside from some scraps of lyric poetry, almost all of the formal literature of classical antiquity has been written by men, and as a result reflects the attitudes and misogyny of the male writers of the period. I will begin this section with a general look at the lives of women in ancient Greece. I ... counterparts. Jean Vernant, analogised the discrepancy to the phrases of Xenophon, that "boys were meant to be made men in their early years, while girls were raised to be kept and protected (i.e. virgin)"3....

  • Word Count: 2025
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Has Bibliography

8. Witches and Witchcraft: the What and the Why

... then, I have been terrified to disobey her orders, especially when the movie Hocus Pocus came out. I did not realize that it was a comedy until I reached high school, because I used to cover my face with my hands, leaving a tiny hole where I can peep in. Then in 1999, the popularity of The Blair Witch Project movie skyrocketed, which intimidated a massive number of audiences ... Ellwood). In fact, the last major occurrence of the witchcraft madness was in the years 1692 to 1775. The last outbreak in America was in Salem, Massachusetts in 1962. Then in 1736, a law was promulgated forbiddin...

  • Word Count: 3004
  • Approx Pages: 12
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Tv History

... concerning its families. This study focuses on the history of television beginning in the early 1950s and will run through present day. It examines the use of racial, ethnic and sexual stereotypes to characterize the players of these shows. The examples assist in tracing what has happened to the depiction of the American family on prime time television. It reveals the change of the standards employed by network television as disclosed to ... prevailed; its episodes routinely attracted over two-thirds of the television audience. Leave it to Beaver, the definitive 1950's household comedy,...

  • Word Count: 1147
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question