The Argument Of Comedy: Old Or New Comedy

In the article "The Argument of Comedy,” Northrop Frye identifies two forms of ancient Greek comedy: Old Comedy, as in the plays of Aristophanes, and New Comedy, known primarily from the plays of Menander. Old Comedy, as Frye points out, is so out of date that when we speak of comedy today, we are referring to New Comedy. Fry argues that Shakespeare’s comedies are neither Old nor New Comedy, but have elements of both. Frye opines that New Comedy mainly comes from what he describes as a comic Oedipus situation, with a young man outwitting his opponent—usually a father—as he strives to get the girl. There are often sub-plots or mirrored characters with slightly different circumstances revolving around the same central theme. Frye points out
that New Comedy is more realistic than Old Comedy and avoids traditional myths. New Comedy carries not only individual themes, but social themes as well. “As the hero gets closer to the heroine and opposition is overcome, all the right-thinking people come over to his side” (94). Frye introduces the concept of a parallel “green world”, where Shakespeare follows the earlier medieval themes from romance and folklore.
“Thus the action of the comedy begins in a world represented as a normal world, moves into the green world, goes into a metamorphosis there in which the comic resolution is achieved, and returns to the normal world” (97). Frye concludes that Shakespeare’s comedic works contain elements of both New and Old Comedy forms and is difficult to identify as one particular genre. As in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the play begins in the real world, where the conflict between Lysander and Hermia’s father is introduced (the Oedipus situation), then enters the green world in which the comic resolution is achieved, and then returns again to the real world. Herman Northrop Frye (1912-1991) was a renowned Canadian literary critic who rose to prominence in 1947 with his first book Fearful Symmetry. Although Frye never received a Ph.D, he was named University Professor by the University of Toronto in 1967 as well as Norton Professor by Harvard University in 1974-1975. His contributions helped define literary criticism as a discipline in its own right. Most notably, he is considered one of the most influential literary critics of the 20th century. Named in his honor, The Frye Festival, an annual literary festival, is held annually in Moncton, New Brunswick. Of Frye’s many books, essays and articles, Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays, published in 1957, contains the material for his later essay, “The Argument of
Comedy.” For me, Frye’s “Argument of Comedy” brings home the point that Shakespeare is in a realm of his own, and is difficult to pigeonhole into one particular form of comedy. helps me understand p