Humor
Humor is an act, statement, or other form of communication done to invoke laughter, amusement, or happiness in the audience. Though humor is often associated with comedy, some humor can rely upon grotesque, perverse, and morally bereft themes to incite the desired effect upon an audience. This lower form of humor differs from comedy in that it uses emotional rather than intellectual devices. Though everyone finds differing things funny, and few people can agree on exactly what makes something funny, recent studies have shown that exposing children to scatalogical or 'toilet humor' can lead to a host of developmental problems[1]
There are many kinds of humor. There are jokes, which can be further broken down by kind of joke (knock-knock, one-liner, etc.); physical humor (slapstick, spit-takes); puns, limericks, and Spoonerisms; irony; and others.
Contents
Jokes
A joke can be elaborate or simple. The simplest jokes consist of the "setup", usually a question, followed by the answer or "punchline". The punchline may be a pun, or it may not bear too much relation to the setup. A perfect example of this is the following joke:
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: To get to the other side!
This most likely does not strike you as funny (five-year-olds seem to respond best to this one), because the punchline does not seem to have too much to do with the setup. Consider, however, the progression of this joke:
Q: Why did the hippopotomus cross the road?
A: Because it was glued to the chicken!
You can continue in this vein until you're sick of the whole thing or your audience needs a nap, whichever comes first.
Also in the simple-joke category are knock-knock jokes. These usually consist of five lines and involve a Pun. An oldie but goodie goes like this:
Person 1: Knock-knock.
Person 2: Who's there?
1: Annapolis.
2: Annapolis who?
1: Annapolis a fruit!
Then there is the infamous Banana Knock-Knock Joke:
Person 1: Knock-knock.
Person 2: Who's there?
1: Banana.
2: Banana who?
1: Knock-knock
2: Who's there?
1: Banana.
2: Banana who?
1: Knock-knock
2: Who's there?
1: Banana.
2: Banana who?
1: Knock-knock
2: Who's there?
1: Banana.
2: Banana who?
1: Knock-knock
2: Who's there?
1: Orange.
2: Orange who?
1: Orange you glad I didn't say 'banana'?
It is recommended that you only tell this joke once or twice in your life (and never tell it to the same person twice, unless they have very very short memories.)
Physical Humor
Physical humour is humour that stems from things happening to a person. The most common example of physical humour the nearly-ubiquitous Object Hitting Man In Crotch. Other common examples include but are not limited to Spilling Food Or Beverage On Person, Small Dog Clinging To Toy While Being Lifted Into The Air, and the classic Slipping On Stuff.
The U.S. cable television show 'Jackass' has elevated physical humour of the painful type into a successful show and two movies. For whatever reason, young men in the coveted 18-25 demographic find this to be the pinnacle of humour and often never grow out of it.
Puns, Limericks, And Spoonerisms
Puns are plays on words, normally involving homonyms or similar-sounding phrases. "Annapolis a fruit!" is a perfect example of a pun.
A limerick is a short poem consisting of five lines of varying length. Generally speaking, the last line of the limerick should reprise the first part of the limerick. Most limericks are ribald in nature, but there are plenty of perfectly tame limericks.
An example:
There once was a man from Nantucket
Who kept all his cash in a bucket
he had a daughter named Nan
who ran off with a man
and as for the bucket, Nan took it.
A Spoonerism is created by swapping the first letters or sounds of two words, named after Rev. William Archibald Spooner, Warden of New College, Oxford, who had this unfortunate and often hilarious habit.
An example of a Spoonerism:
A teacher, speaking to a student, says, "you've tasted two worms!" instead of 'you've wasted two terms!'.
Irony and Sarcasm
Irony is when situations are the opposite that one would expect. There are many types of irony in literature, however in humor it is often the expression of one's meaning using language that would indicate the opposite.[2] For example, "as fun as watching paint dry."
Sarcasm, is typically mean-spirited irony, which uses tone to indicate that opposite is meant, rather than a ridiculous juxtaposition.[3]Sarcasm, for example, would involve someone who dislikes, say racing, and states that NASCAR is the pinnacle of sporting excellence.
In drama, humorous dramatic irony can occur when a character makes a statement, when the audience knows that the exact opposite is true. For example, remarking how relaxing an empty room is when the audience has seen a character hiding moments before.
Satire
For a more detailed treatment, see Satire.
Satire is the use of sarcasm and Irony to mock or deride a subject.
Political Satire
For a more detailed treatment, see Political Satire.
References
- ↑ Psychoanalysis Quarterly Peller, L.E. (1956). Children's Humor. A Psychological Analysis: By Martha Wolfenstein. Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 1954. 224 pp.. Psychoanal Q., 25:106-108.
- ↑ New Oxford American Dictionary
- ↑ New Oxford American Dictionary
