New Comedy

American  

noun

1. Greek comedy arising toward the end of the 4th century b.c. that employed stock characters and plots drawn from contemporary bourgeois life, the formulas of which were adopted by later Roman writers for the comic stage.

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Etymology

Origin of New Comedy

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

He has gone on to win both the BBC New Comedy Award and British Comedian of the Year, demonstrating the strength and mainstream appeal of the acts.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2023

Ridley, who won the BBC New Comedy award in 2014, is thought to be the first stand-up comedian in the UK to use a communication aid during his act.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2018

A Lucille Ball New Comedy Festival was held, but quickly fizzled in the early 1990s.

From New York Times • Aug. 6, 2012

As an illustration of the society play of the New Comedy, we are giving with some abridgment the Phormio of Terence, which we have taken the liberty of translating into somewhat free modern vernacular.

From Studies in the Poetry of Italy, I. Roman by Miller, Frank Justus

The ancient writers, therefore, of the New Comedy paint this mode of life with much less disguise than we think decorous.

From Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature by Black, John