What is the purpose of comedy? Refer to relevant texts you have read, if you can.

This is an example of a question that often comes up online, in articles about possible Oxbridge interview questions, and one that I was actually asked during my Cambridge interview. Interviewers aren't expecting you to have a detailed knowledge of the theory behind comedy, (although any knowledge of Aristotle or Henri Bergson's writings on comedy would of course be very useful) but they are looking for you to think on your feet and use any relevant texts you may have read in order to build a response.One of the primary features of comedy is relief (comic relief), it is an escapist genre which allows the reader or spectator to forget whatever else they may have on their mind and instead focus upon the somewhat ridiculous content before them. Comedy in its various forms is a collective, social, shared genre which transcends what makes people different, and looks to what we have in common, which is often humour. This explains why comedy is often consumed in a public setting, examples include modern-day comedy shows and Shakespearean comedic plays. The 17th century French playwright Molière wrote many famous comedies, including 'Tartuffe' and 'Le Malade imaginaire.' Whilst his plays remain very well-known and are frequently performed in France to this day, contemporary critics accused him of having poor grammar, and an inconsistent writing style. Molière's comedies attracted a real cross-section of society, and often attracted the working classes, who were less likely to attend the theatre, because his wit and satire had a variety of different targets and was thus able to appeal to a diverse audience. This practical example shows how comedy has, from its inception, been used to bring people of different backgrounds together because of its wide-ranging appeal.