Comédie larmoyante facts for kids

Comédie larmoyante (pronounced "koh-may-dee lar-mwah-YAHNT") means "tearful comedy" in French. It was a special kind of play popular in France during the 1700s. Unlike regular comedies that just make you laugh, these plays aimed to make the audience feel strong emotions, even cry!

These plays often had sad or serious parts, almost like a tragedy. But usually, by the end, everything would work out. Characters would forgive each other, and there would be happy reunions, often with lots of tears of joy. Even if a play didn't have a perfectly happy ending, the main characters would still show great courage or learn important lessons.

What is Tearful Comedy?

This type of play was a mix of comedy and tragedy. It focused on everyday people and their problems, not just kings and queens. The goal was to show how people could overcome difficulties and learn from their mistakes. It was meant to teach moral lessons and make the audience think about life.

How it Started

One early example of a play like this was A Woman Kilde with Kindnesse by Thomas Heywood. It was performed in 1603.

The "tearful comedy" really grew in popularity thanks to Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée. His play Mélanide (written in 1741) is a great example. La Chaussée wanted plays to do more than just make people laugh. He wanted them to make people feel deeply and even shed tears.

Before this, plays were usually either a comedy (funny) or a tragedy (sad and serious). La Chaussée's plays helped to blend these two styles. This new way of telling stories later influenced other famous French writers like Denis Diderot and Michel-Jean Sedaine.

Important Writers

• Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée (1692–1754): He is often called the "father" of the comédie larmoyante. His plays helped define this new style.
• Louis-Sébastien Mercier (1740–1814): He was a big supporter of this type of play. He believed plays should teach people and show real-life situations.
• Denis Diderot (1713–1784): He took the ideas of comédie larmoyante even further. He helped create a new style called Drame Bourgeois. This was a more realistic type of play that focused on middle-class life. His play Le Fils naturel (published in 1757) is a key example.

Tearful Comedy in Opera

The ideas from comédie larmoyante also influenced opera. Opera is a play where the story is sung instead of spoken. This led to a new type of opera called opera semiseria, which means "half-serious opera." These operas often had sad parts but ended happily, just like the tearful comedies.

Some famous examples include:

• Lucile by André Grétry
• Nina, ou La folle par amour by Nicolas Dalayrac
• La vera costanza by Pasquale Anfossi (1776)
• La vera costanza by Joseph Haydn (1779)

See also

In Spanish: Comedia lacrimógena para niños