Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1996. [Vol. 3.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 23)

STUDIES - Gabriella Varró: The Theme of Comic Love in Blackface Minstrelsy: The Anatomy of the Grotesque

some of the techniques applied by songsmiths to create the minstrel grotesque in the thematic realm of the shows. 5. OTHER MANIFESTATIONS OF THE MINSTREL GROTESQUE As can be seen in these examples, minstrel grotesque penetrated various layers of the show, from stereotyped characters to minstrel props, themes and motifs. Yet, as should also be obvious from the previous accounts, the grotesque, although almost always present in every important feature of the shows, is hard to divorce from other branches of the comic, with which the grotesque tends to amalgamate in several of its occurrences. Hence it is worth reemphasizing the difficulty of giving exclusive dominance to a single comic quality in the analysis of different facets of the minstrel show, knowing what curious ambivalences of comic qualities (such as the grotesque, burlesque-like, satirical, farcical, ironical, humorous, etc.) are inherent in minstrelsy's characters, themes, styles and motifs. In closing it is also important to note that beyond the rather obvious occurrences of grotesque imagery in the portrayal of characters, in minstrel accessories and themes, there were other areas or layers in minstrelsy where the minstrel grotesque was present, but which are not treated in detail in the present analysis. These possible fields of analysis are not incorporated here, partly because they would demand the application of new types of inquiry (the analysis of the minstrel grotesque in the minstrel dialect for instance would require a thorough linguistic line of analysis), partly because critical inquiries into the area have been exhaustive (like in the case of the minstrel mask), and partly because data are missing concerning certain areas (such as dance features, where the only proof as for the grotesque appearance of these dance numbers come from the scarce sheet music illustrations, and some recollections regarding early shows such as Thomas Dartmouth Rice's "Jim Crow" number)

. Finally, here is a minstrel song, which to my mind epitomizes all the important aspects of the literary minstrel grotesque

, through its 111