Farce is a theatrical genre.
From the French farce (and this, in turn, from the Latin farcire ), a farce is a comic piece , usually quite short, whose sole objective is to make the spectators laugh. In ancient times, the term was used to refer to all types of comedy .
The aforementioned Latin word farcire means “to fill,” a verb that refers to the custom of using farces as comic interludes within dramas .
Currently, farce is known as the company of farces (that is, the theater companies dedicated to the genre ) and, in a derogatory way, the dramatic work that is grotesque and disordered .
The farce in the theater
The meaning of farce as a theatrical genre is to reveal certain norms and demonstrate their quality as fatwas . This style is usually used to criticize the way in which human beings live, expressing different positions regarding social organization and the impositions that individuals strictly follow and that ultimately will not lead them anywhere.
Although it is a non-realistic genre, it is strictly related to reality, it needs it, social life, relationships between human beings, religious and ideological positions and the psychology of the time and place. which he represents. It feeds on these things, analyzes them and allows us to reach a conclusion that is ridiculous but not crazy for that reason. It is a way of unmasking everything that may be misleading or that may have a double interpretation.
In everyday language, farce is associated with deception or lying.
Emergence of the genre
Farces emerged in medieval times, when the dominant theatrical genres were mysteries and moralities . This almost marginal birth meant that, for a long time, they were associated with the most humble sectors of society . Furthermore, as they emerged as a form of rejection of religious mandates, they were not well regarded by those who rigorously followed the laws imposed by the Church.
The characters who are part of a farce act extravagantly but maintain credibility and verisimilitude. The plot of these works tries to show reality in a very exaggerated way. This means that farces can carry out social criticism through humor.
Originally, they consisted of brief interludes that were performed before the dramas, to fill out the program ; However, over the years they gained popularity and importance, to the point of becoming a well-differentiable genre.
Characteristics of the farce
Generally, a farce mocks popular beliefs and tries to manifest itself as a mirror of society, ridiculing those things about it that are not praiseworthy and using the collective imagination to do so. It is usually comprised of extremely extravagant situations, full of comedy and buffoonery and, above all, with a very unrefined use of language.
Another of its characteristics is that it has an open or happy ending, it never ends in tragedy like the other works, and it allows the audience to laugh at themselves and the limitations that their own reality has.
Some examples of works of this genre could be certain plays for children full of mischief, certain films by Charles Chaplin , the Cuban Teatro Bufo and absurd theater.
The term in colloquial language
Finally, beyond the world of theater, a farce is any entanglement or trick that aims to deceive someone .
For example: "When I was a child, my family put on a farce so that I would not realize that the canary had died" , "The life of public figures is a farce, they must always pretend to be something that, in reality, they are not" , “Let's end the farce and speak the truth.”