Group 2: Literary Terms Jessica Berrios Sam Brothers Morgan Livezey
Terms of Focus Farce Stock Characters
Farce A light, humorous play in which the plot depends upon a skillfully exploited situation rather than upon the development of character. Uses low comedy (characterized by physical humor) includes split-second timing of key exits and entrances, ridiculous caricatures and broad often crass verbal humor. EX: The Second Shepherds’ Play a couple disguises a stolen sheep as their newborn son in a clumsy attempt to conceal the theft.
Stock Characters A character in literature, theater, or film of a type of quickly recognized and accepted by the reader or viewer and requiring no development by the writer because they represent a common social or cultural stereotype. Parody is a key component of situations amongst stock characters, rendering their cultural stereotypes more prominent. EX: Comic relief (Shaggy from Scooby-Doo), English butlers, the fools (characters in King Lear), false heroes (Gilderoy Lockhart), the sidekick, the mother-in-law.