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GCSE English Literature · key term
A humorous moment within serious action which briefly releases tension.
Used by AQA, Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas
Paper 1
Revise: Act 2His speech is in prose, without the regular metre of the preceding verse. Its conversational looseness, repetition and crude jokes provide comic relief after the intensity of the murder. However, the humour also delays the discovery: the audience already knows what Macduff will find and must wait for the gate to open.
A humorous moment that interrupts serious or distressing action, creating a change of tone.
Connect comic relief to structure: the arrests offer hope, but the delayed report allows Hero’s humiliation to happen.
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Humorous dialogue or action that temporarily interrupts serious events and can sharpen their impact through contrast.
A humorous episode that briefly reduces tension within a serious narrative.
Paper 1
A comic moment placed among serious events, which can release tension or sharpen the contrast with suffering.
Revise: Act 4The act ends with Peter and the musicians exchanging jokes, mainly in prose. Their practical concerns contrast with the heightened verse of the mourning. This comic relief briefly releases tension, but it also shows that the family’s catastrophe does not stop ordinary life for everyone around them.
Humorous material which interrupts or contrasts with serious action, temporarily releasing tension or making the surrounding suffering more striking.
A humorous passage that offers a release from dramatic tension or distress.
Humour that provides a change of mood within or around serious dramatic events.
Paper 2
A humorous moment that interrupts or contrasts with serious action, temporarily easing tension.
Humorous action or dialogue that offers a contrast to serious or distressing events.
Component 1
Humour that provides a contrast to serious or tense events in a work.
Revise: MercutioThe rapid exchanges of prose and puns create comic relief and show that Romeo, too, can enjoy verbal competition. Prose has no regular verse metre, allowing the banter to sound conversational and spontaneous.
Humorous dialogue or action that interrupts serious events and can intensify tragedy through contrast.
A humorous moment within serious action that briefly releases tension and may also deepen the surrounding themes.
Humour that provides a contrast to serious or distressing action in a play.
