A tragicomedy is a comedy with serious elements or overtones*. To what extent can the History boys be classed a tragicomedy?

The play is comic and shows dupe features of comedies throughout, such as slapstick wag and farce. This is combined with somber elements (often use for humour) such as swagger small- intellected the boys, which jibs in with the literary genre of tragi drollery. The debate rises where the heartrending elements holdm non to fit into a comedy, such as the protagonist dying, potentially preventing a apt ending. Some argue thither argon too many elements that do not fit into the genre of comedies, for The History Boys to even be classed a tragicomedy.Serious elements be used for humour in the play, which fits into the definition of a comedy with serious overt angiotensin converting enzymes. The obvious example for this is browbeat fiddling with the boys. When Dakin asks Scripps What happened with Hector? On the bike? he replies with comic dialogue, saying I designate he thought hed got me going. In fact it was Tudor Economics Documents, Volume Two (pg21). This line always builds a prank from the earshot, and the humour fits into the genre of comedies.As the boys do not take the pedophilia seriously (the audience is cognisant Scripps is not affected, as he cracks a joke and acts normal), the audience do not either. This distancing effect of comedy allows the serious elements to be viewed in a comic, light-hearted way, which fits in to the definition of a tragicomedy. another(prenominal) example is when Hector hits the boys for using foul, festering, grubby-minded language. This is slapstick humour, comm completely found in comedies, originating out of a serious element of a teacher strike their students.However, some would argue the play couldnt be classed as a comedy at all, as it does not need a contented ending, which is vital for comedies. The protagonist, Hector, came off his motorbike in a crash. Scripps makes what happened to Hector clear when he says psyche dies at school and you remember it all your action(pg 106). Normally in a tragi comedy the ending pull up stakes exhaust a sense of catharsis, but in that respect is arguably not one in the play, as it ends on what seems to be his funeral, where (according to stage directions) there argon photographs of Hector as a young man(pg106).The reflection on Hectors life is melancholy and the tragic effect of Hectors death negatively affects the boys, as Scripps remember(s) it all his life. Despite this, it is doable to argue the ending is cathartic and does fit in to a genre of comedy and tragicomedy. In response to Hectors death, the audience could see it as an optimistic release for Hector from a life of discontentment his marriage is passionate- his wife married him for lukewarm attentions (pg92), his career is over as boys have become work(pg95), his future is buying a van, pickaxe it with books and taking it round country markets(pg94).Read also History QuizzesAlso, there is the splenid news of all the boys getting into Oxbridge- even Rudge (the dumb charact er, often a feature of comedies). This is particularly cathartic, as it structurally mirrors how Dakin explains to Hector (and consequently the audience) that they are all going in for Oxford and Cambridge in the third scene. This was the purpose of the boys macrocosm at the school for this period, and was commonplace in society at the time, when there was (and still is) huge competition to get into Oxbridge (the top two universities of Britain*).For the audience to watch them work for it and achieve their aspirations, a sense of catharsis is arrive atd, resulting in a happy ending, especially as the boys are mainly triple-crown in their future lives, becoming solicitors and chartered accountants(pg107). As the ending is happy, it rout out fit into the genre of tragicomedy. Some would argue that the character of Posner prevents the play macrocosm a comedy. He is outcast and isolated throughout. Posner perfectly demonstrates his problems in a list, saying Im a Jew. Im small. Im homosexual. And I live in Sheffield.Im fucked. He is even viewed as an outcast by Hector, who dismisses him, saying never mind when Posner volunteers for a lift when Hector asks if he can give someone a lift(pg17). Normally in a comedy, an outcast will find redemption and improve his/her life, resulting in a happy ending. This is not the case. Posner drops out of university and is the only boy who leads a terrible life. This is shown in a structural shift where Mrs. Lintott describes the boys future. Posner lives alone has periodic breakdowns and only has friends on the lucre(Pg108).This tragedy is heightened by the fact that Posner was the cleverest boys- ironic for the audience, as they would be aware of this wasted potential. Bennett also based Posner on himself, as when he was a teenager he was under-developed, which made his school days unhappy. Posner seems to hold the stereotypical outcast. A character like this, some argue, is so tragic it (along with a couple of other fa ctors, such as the ending debatably not being happy) prevents the play from being a comedy and therefore a tragicomedy.This argument can be countered by the view that serious messages are often at the heart of tragicomedies. As Ustinov said, comedy is simply a funny way of being serious. This dates back to Shakespearean time, where the dangers of ill-considered love are portrayed in a humorous woodland scene in A Midsummers Night Dream. Bennett could be raising the serious issue of teaching methods, as Posner was the only one that failed, but the only one who truly took everything to heart(Pg108) from Hector.This suggests Irwins methods are better, which rings neat in Bennetts personal life, who claimed he used Irwins methods to get in to Oxford. Furthermore, Posner contributes to the genre of comedy by creating humour. Verbal humour is used when he lists his problems and concludes that he is fucked, one of plays famous lines. in that respect are other serious messages throughout the play that also create humour, such as Hectors message of pass the software program with literature.For example, Hector making the boys recite poems and being appalled by Irwins suggestion to use quotations he had taught to be trotted out to make a point(Pg48) is a form of absurd behaviour, common in comedies. A teachers job is to help make students make points and do well in exams- Hector does not see this. These serious elements have important messages, but also create humour, which fits in to the genre of tragicomedy. Erma Bombeck erstwhile said there is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humour and hurt.