'A tragicomedy is a comedy with serious elements or overtones*. To what extent can the History boys be classed a tragicomedy?\r'

'The play is amusing and shows clarify features of comedies through off, such as slapstick humour and farce. This is combined with ‘ solemn elements’ (often apply for humour) such as bullyrag fiddling the boys, which fits in with the genre of tragi prank. The debate rises where the undecomposed elements seem non to fit into a comedy, such as the shoplifter dying, potentially pr until nowting a gifted ending. most flip out there atomic number 18 too many elements that do non fit into the genre of comedies, for ‘The account Boys’ to even be classed a sadalomedy.\r\nSerious elements ar use for humour in the play, which fits into the definition of a comedy with serious ‘overt hotshots’. The obvious example for this is bullyrag fiddling with the boys. When Dakin asks Scripps ‘What happened with Hector? On the bike? ’ he replies with comic dialogue, aspect ‘I think he horizon he’d got me going. In concomi tant it was Tudor Economics Documents, Volume Two’ (pg21). This telephone line everlastingly requires a laugh from the audience, and the humour fits into the genre of comedies.\r\nAs the boys do non take the paedophilia badly (the audience is aware Scripps is not affected, as he cracks a joke and acts normal), the audience do not either. This distancing effect of comedy allows the ‘serious elements’ to be viewed in a comic, light-hearted commission, which fits in to the definition of a tragicomedy. some other example is when Hector hits the boys for using ‘foul, festering, grubby-minded’ language. This is slapstick humour, usually found in comedies, originating out of a serious ‘element’ of a teacher hitting their students.\r\nHowever, some would consider the play couldn’t be classed as a comedy at all, as it does not have a happy ending, which is vital for comedies. The protagonist, Hector, ‘came withdraw’ his motorbike in a crash. Scripps makes what happened to Hector clear when he says ‘someone dies at shallow and you remember it all your life’(pg 106). Normally in a tragicomedy the ending will have a sense of catharsis, exactly there is arguably not one in the play, as it ends on what seems to be his funeral, where (according to stage directions) there are ‘photographs of Hector as a young man’(pg106).\r\nThe reflection on Hector’s life is melancholy and the tragic effect of Hector’s death negatively affects the boys, as Scripps ‘remember(s)’ it all his life. Despite this, it is possible to argue the ending is cathartic and does fit in to a genre of comedy and tragicomedy. In response to Hector’s death, the audience could see it as an approbatory release for Hector from a life of discontentment: his marriage is passionate- his wife married him for ‘lukewarm attentions’ (pg92), his life history is over a s ‘boys have become practice’(pg95), his future is ‘buying a van, filling it with books and winning it round country markets’(pg94).\r\nRead besides History Quizzes\r\nAlso, there is the ‘splenid news’ of all the boys getting into Oxbridge- even Rudge (the ‘dumb’ character, often a feature of comedies). This is particularly cathartic, as it structurally mirrors how Dakin explains to Hector (and consequently the audience) that they are ‘all going in for Oxford and Cambridge’ in the thirdly scene. This was the purpose of the boys be at the school for this period, and was general in society at the time, when there was (and unchanging is) huge competition to get into Oxbridge (the top cardinal universities of Britain*).\r\nFor the audience to watch them work for it and achieve their aspirations, a sense of catharsis is created, resulting in a happy ending, especially as the boys are mainly favored in their future lives, becoming ‘solicitors’ and ‘chartered accountants’(pg107). As the ending is happy, it can fit into the genre of tragicomedy. Some would argue that the character of Posner prevents the play being a comedy. He is castaway and isolated throughout. Posner perfectly demonstrates his problems in a list, saying ‘I’m a Jew. I’m small. I’m homosexual. And I live in Sheffield.\r\nI’m fucked. ’ He is even viewed as an outcast by Hector, who dismisses him, saying ‘never mind’ when Posner volunteers for a lift when Hector asks if he ‘can give someone a lift’(pg17). Normally in a comedy, an outcast will find redemption and improve his/her life, resulting in a happy ending. This is not the case. Posner drops out of university and is the besides boy who leads a terrible life. This is shown in a structural shift where Mrs. Lintott describes the boys’ future. Posner ‘lives alone… h as periodic breakdowns’ and all has friends ‘on the Internet’(Pg108).\r\nThis tragedy is heightened by the fact that Posner was the cleverest boys- ironic for the audience, as they would be aware of this waste potential. Bennett also based Posner on himself, as when he was a teenager he was under-developed, which made his ‘school days unhappy’. Posner seems to represent the stereotypical outcast. A character like this, some argue, is so tragic it (along with a couple of other factors, such as the ending debatably not being happy) prevents the play from being a comedy and therefore a tragicomedy.\r\nThis instruction can be countered by the view that serious messages are often at the heart of tragicomedies. As Ustinov said, ‘comedy is simply a funny way of being serious’. This dates back to Shakespearean time, where the dangers of false love are portrayed in a humorous forest scene in A Midsummers Night Dream. Bennett could be raising the serious write out of teaching methods, as Posner was the only one that failed, provided the ‘only one who truly took everything to heart’(Pg108) from Hector.\r\nThis suggests Irwin’s methods are better, which rings true in Bennett’s personal life, who claimed he used Irwin’s methods to get in to Oxford. Furthermore, Posner contributes to the genre of comedy by creating humour. literal humour is used when he lists his problems and concludes that he is ‘fucked’, one of play’s famous lines. There are other serious messages throughout the play that also create humour, such as Hector’s message of ‘pass the parcel’ with literature.\r\nFor example, Hector qualification the boys recite poems and being appalled by Irwin’s suggestion to use quotations he had taught to be ‘trotted out to make a point’(Pg48) is a conformity of absurd behaviour, common in comedies. A teacher’s job is to help make students make points and do well in exams- Hector does not see this. These ‘serious elements’ have important messages, but also create humour, which fits in to the genre of tragicomedy. Erma Bombeck once said â€Å"there is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humour and hurt”.\r\n'