Page 233 - DENG402_HISTORY_OF_ENGLISH_LITERATURE

History of English Literature Jayatee Bhattacharya, Lovely Professional University

Notes Unit 31: Black Comedy, Angry

Young Men and Kitchen Sink Drama

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
31.1 Black Comedy
31.1.1 History and Etymology
31.2 Angry Young Men
31.2.1 Origin
31.3 Kitchen Sink Drama
31.3.1 Discussion
31.3.2 Perspectives and Criticism
31.4 Summary
31.5 Keywords
31.6 Review Questions
31.7 Further Readings

Objectives

After studying this unit, you will be able to:
Describe history and etymology of black comedy.
Define angry young men.
Explain kitchen sink drama.

Introduction

A form of comedy in which serious issues such as cannibalism, rape, genocide, terminal illnesses,
etc., are treated humorously. Often more disturbing than funny. Black Comedy is not a racial or
urban issue. It is a genre of comedy. A type of comedy that makes things that you wouldn't usually
laugh at funny. "Man, I watched American Beauty last night and realised 'This is a great black
comedy.'"
The "angry young men" were a group of mostly working and middle class British playwrights
and novelists who became prominent in the 1950s. The group's leading members included John
Osborne and Kingsley Amis.The phrase was originally coined by the Royal Court Theatre's
press officer to promote John Osborne's Look Back in Anger. It is thought to be derived from the
autobiography of Leslie Paul, founder of the Woodcraft Folk, whose Angry Young Man was
published in 1951.
Kitchen sink realism (or kitchen sink drama) is a term coined to describe a British cultural movement
which developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays,
whose 'heroes' usually could be described as angry young men. It used a style of social realism,
which often depicted the domestic situations of working-class Britons living in rented
accommodation and spending their off-hours drinking in grimy pubs, to explore social issues and
political controversies.

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