Paper Title
Humor in Thai Traditional Plays

Abstract
The study aims at exploring the use of humor in Thai Traditional plays, especially examining the case study of Thepwilai play by Phraya Senaphubet (Sai Sarobol), a poet patronaged by king Pinklao and specializing in performance literature. The result of the study shows that humor from characters’ behaviors is prominent in Thepwilai play, which could be categorized into 4 types as follows: 1) Behaviors considered as not appropriate for characters’ status, 2) behaviors caused by jealousy, 3) Behaviors caused by anger and physical violence, 4) Behaviors caused by fear and chaos. These behaviors lead to audience’s enjoyment, which could help reduce stress. They also reflect Thai people’s taste in watching comedy plays through “dramatization” in Thepwilai play, which was portrayed during the reign of King Rama V. Keywords- Play, Thepwilai, Humor, Behavior .