From Plautus, Cervantes and Dickens to Evelyn Waugh, Joseph Heller and Tom Stoppard, from "Midsummer Night's Dream" to "Arsenic and Old Lace" and Woody Allen, a wide range of novels, plays and films are discussed in this introduction to comic criticism. T.G.A.Nelson argues that, although we may not always be aware of them, there are significant recurring patterns of comedy, both in the classics and in more popular and commercial works. He places comedy in relation to tragedy, satire and farce, and assesses new theories about comedy and the contributions to the debate of writers such as Mikhail Bakhtin and Umberto Eco. A number of specific topics are covered, including the link between comedy and carnival, the apparent obsession of modern writers with linguistic comedy, and the dilemma of feminists faced with traditional comedy that is largely sexist in nature.