Ciao, SEers. On March 21, I started a series of posts on the seven basic plot types, as defined by Christopher Booker. So far, we’ve covered Rebirth and Tragedy. Today, we’re going to talk about Comedy.

Comedies aren’t necessarily laugh-out-loud humor pieces, although they can be. Essentially, these are works with happy or uplifting endings. The tone throughout will typically be lighter than that of a tragedy, but it can still be a dramatic story.

A comedy is about triumph over adversity. A series of problems—often mistakes or secrets—stymie the hero. Characters are out of harmony because of frustration, selfishness, bitterness, confusion, lies, etc. Finally, clarity is achieved and the ending is a positive one. Many times this resolution is depicted through a marriage of the hero and heroine. Because of this, it should come as no surprise that most romances and fairy tales fall into this category.

Here’s…