Comédie larmoyante

The touching comedy or touching comedy ( translation of the French comédie larmoyante ) is a theater genre of the 18th century, which has a similar objective as the bourgeois tragedy, but generally happy emanates. Both genera criticize the stands clause stating that in the tragedy only persons should occur of courtly state or a comedy can have no serious action. The portrayal of serious issues must be noble individual fates reserved, as the lower classes, the " drop height " missing.

While the bourgeois tragedy adds to the tragedy of the main characters from the bourgeoisie and so goes the stands clause puts the " touching comedy" her non- aristocratic personnel in serious situations. It is a hybrid in which the generally -like action, comedy is enriched with long elements. The emotion arises through the experience of general human values, which are not bound to objects, such as parental love and filial love ( cf. sensitivity ).

An exemplary touching comedy is The tender Sisters of Christian Fear God Gellert dar. In his treatise per comoedia commovente (1751 ) explains Gellert that " virtues " of " private life" give, which were not to ridicule, even if only to bourgeois " righteousness " and were not the" size "of the nobles, which is reserved for the tragedy. Therefore, the " grimaces -like" should the " Family " in the comedy predominate.

The term touching comedy has been used mainly in the 18th century for moralistic pieces in which the emotion is not an end in itself. The term for the genre which prevails in the theater practice because of their public success, is melodrama. Often melodrama have no comedic elements more, but are merely due to the social composition of their characters and their audience in the terminology of the 18th century still comedies.