Is Comedy Our Existential Response To The Abyss?
Shakespeare’s Tragic Fools, A King and The Joker
‘‘That, of course, is the great secret of the successful fool — that he is no fool at all.’’
— Isaac Asimov, Guide to Shakespeare
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“I used to think my life was a tragedy, but now I realize it’s a comedy.”
— The Joker
The 1987 graphic novel Watchmen and subsequent film adaptation includes the character of Rorschach who tells a famous story that I think you can classify as a very good example of Dark Comedy,
“Heard joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he’s depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain. Doctor says, ‘Treatment is simple. Great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go and see him. That should pick you up.’ Man bursts into tears. Says, ‘But doctor…I am Pagliacci.’ Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains.”
I was going to write a review of Boo to a Goose which is the first episode of the ninth and final season of Inside No 9 shown on BBC Two last Wednesday evening. However, I feel that it is worth widening my look at ‘Dark Comedy’ of which the British TV show Inside No 9 is the quintessential example, into my very serious contention that all…
