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| examples of humor in literature: A Confederacy of Dunces John Kennedy Toole, 2007-12-01 Winner of the Pulitzer Prize “A masterwork . . . the novel astonishes with its inventiveness . . . it is nothing less than a grand comic fugue.”—The New York Times Book Review A Confederacy of Dunces is an American comic masterpiece. John Kennedy Toole's hero, one Ignatius J. Reilly, is huge, obese, fractious, fastidious, a latter-day Gargantua, a Don Quixote of the French Quarter. His story bursts with wholly original characters, denizens of New Orleans' lower depths, incredibly true-to-life dialogue, and the zaniest series of high and low comic adventures (Henry Kisor, Chicago Sun-Times). |
| examples of humor in literature: Fathers and Forefathers Slobodan Selenić, 2003 Starting in Belgrade before World War II, this is the story of the marriage between Steven, a Serb and Elizabeth, an Englishwoman. Through Steven's narrative and Elizabeth's letters home, it explores the difficulties and dangers of mixed marriages. |
| examples of humor in literature: Harpo Speaks! Harpo Marx, Rowland Barber, 2004-07-01 (Limelight). This is a riotous story which is reasonably mad and as accurate as a Marx brother can make it. Despite only a year and a half of schooling, Harpo, or perhaps his collaborator, is the best writer of the Marx Brother. Highly recommended. Library Journal . A funny, affectionate and unpretentious autobiography done with a sharply professional assist from Rowland Barber. New York Times Book Review |
| examples of humor in literature: Humor Writing Bruce A. Goebel, 2011 In an educational environment of high-stakes tests and school accountability, humor has been virtually banned from the classroom. That's a shame, and perhaps a mistake, since student success depends on engagement, and young adults seem to be naturally drawn to comic media. How can you take advantage of your students' interest in humorous material? According to Bruce A. Goebel, incorporating humor writing into the classroom not only reduces student anxiety but also provides them with an opportunity to study and practice the careful and effective use of language. Divided into four chapters--(1) Humorous Words, Phrases, and Sentences, (2) Funny Stories and Essays, (3) Light Verse, and (4) Parody--the book offers more than 150 activities you can use to help students develop writing skills in voice, word choice, style, and organization while exploring a variety of genres. Depending on your purpose and needs, you can either sprinkle brief lessons throughout your instructional units or create an extended humor writing unit. Perhaps most important, these activities offer students the rare opportunity to express their creative, divergent-thinking sides in an increasingly serious classroom space. |
| examples of humor in literature: Poking a Dead Frog Mike Sacks, 2014-06-24 A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR Amy Poehler, Mel Brooks, Adam McKay, George Saunders, Bill Hader, Patton Oswalt, and many more take us deep inside the mysterious world of comedy in this fascinating, laugh-out-loud-funny book. Packed with behind-the-scenes stories—from a day in the writers’ room at The Onion to why a sketch does or doesn’t make it onto Saturday Night Live to how the BBC nearly erased the entire first season of Monty Python’s Flying Circus—Poking a Dead Frog is a must-read for comedy buffs, writers and pop culture junkies alike. |
| examples of humor in literature: Humor in Young Adult Literature Walter Hogan, 2005 Celebrates the accomplishments of YA authors acclaimed for producing high-quality comedies, who have not yet been treated in a book-length bio-critical study. Simultaneously, it reminds readers that no matter how funny an author of fiction may be, if he shows off his wit in ways that fail to play a natural role in advancing his narrative, he is not writing good fiction. To demonstrate this, humorous passages are presented to illustrate the contribution a sense of humor can make to a work of fiction. The book is arranged topically to facilitate a comparison of distinctive treatments by various authors of adolescent life events, such as sibling rivalry, bullies, and first dates. |
| examples of humor in literature: “The” Satires of Juvenal,. Juvenal, 1785 |
| examples of humor in literature: A Guide to the Serbian Mentality Momo Kapor, 2008 |
| examples of humor in literature: Encyclopedia of Humor Studies Salvatore Attardo, 2014-02-25 The Encyclopedia of Humor: A Social History explores the concept of humor in history and modern society in the United States and internationally. This work’s scope encompasses the humor of children, adults, and even nonhuman primates throughout the ages, from crude jokes and simple slapstick to sophisticated word play and ironic parody and satire. As an academic social history, it includes the perspectives of a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, child development, social psychology, life style history, communication, and entertainment media. Readers will develop an understanding of the importance of humor as it has developed globally throughout history and appreciate its effects on child and adult development, especially in the areas of health, creativity, social development, and imagination. This two-volume set is available in both print and electronic formats. Features & Benefits: The General Editor also serves as Editor-in-Chief of HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research for The International Society for Humor Studies. The book’s 335 articles are organized in A-to-Z fashion in two volumes (approximately 1,000 pages). This work is enhanced by an introduction by the General Editor, a Foreword, a list of the articles and contributors, and a Reader’s Guide that groups related entries thematically. A Chronology of Humor, a Resource Guide, and a detailed Index are included. Each entry concludes with References/Further Readings and cross references to related entries. The Index, Reader’s Guide themes, and cross references between and among related entries combine to provide robust search-and-browse features in the electronic version. This two-volume, A-to-Z set provides a general, non-technical resource for students and researchers in such diverse fields as communication and media studies, sociology and anthropology, social and cognitive psychology, history, literature and linguistics, and popular culture and folklore. |
| examples of humor in literature: Christianity and the Triumph of Humor Bernard Schweizer, 2019-07-17 This book traces the development of religious comedy and leverages that history to justify today’s uses of religious humor in all of its manifestations, including irreverent jokes. It argues that regulating humor is futile and counterproductive, illustrating this point with a host of comedic examples. Humor is a powerful rhetorical tool for those who advocate and for those who satirize religious ideals. The book presents a compelling argument about the centrality of humor to the story of Western Christianity’s cultural and artistic development since the Middle Ages, taking a multi-disciplinary approach that combines literary criticism, religious studies, philosophy, theology, and social science. After laying out the conceptual framework in Part 1, Part 2 analyzes key works of religious comedy across the ages from Dante to the present, and it samples the breadth of contemporary religious humor from Brad Stine to Robin Williams, and from Monty Python to South Park. Using critical, historical, and conceptual lenses, the book exposes and overturns past attempts by church authorities, scholars, and commentators to limit and control laughter based on religious, ideological, or moral criteria. This is a unique look into the role of humor and comedy around religion. It will, therefore, appeal to readers interested in multiple fields of inquiry, including religious studies, humor studies, the history of ideas, and comparative literature. |
| examples of humor in literature: Humor and Information Literacy Joshua Vossler, Scott Sheidlower, 2011-08-23 Learn how to successfully employ practical techniques that infuse information literacy instruction with humor. How can humor be applied by academic librarians to better teach information literacy? And why is humor such an effective teaching tool? This book provides a cross-disciplinary review of the literature regarding use of humor in tertiary education settings, and specifically in library science; explains its effectiveness for capturing and maintaining student attention when covering necessary subjects; and presents the invaluable personal experiences of instruction librarians across North America who regularly use humor in the classroom. Humor and Information Literacy: Practical Techniques for Library Instruction addresses the subject in both a scholarly and a practical manner. The first section of the book contains original multi-disciplinary essays covering humor in the fields of communication theory, education, library science, psychology, and even stand-up comedy. The second section documents practical techniques that practicing librarians use to teach information literacy with humor, accompanied by commentary by the authors. |
| examples of humor in literature: A Modest Proposal Jonathan Swift, 2024-05-30 In one of the most powerful and darkly satirical works of the 18th century, a chilling solution is proposed to address the dire poverty and overpopulation plaguing Ireland. Jonathan Swift presents a shockingly calculated and seemingly rational argument for using the children of the poor as a food source, thereby addressing both the economic burden on society and the issue of hunger. This provocative piece is a masterful example of irony and social criticism, as it exposes the cruel attitudes and policies of the British ruling class towards the Irish populace. Jonathan Swift's incisive critique not only underscores the absurdity of the proposed solution but also serves as a profound commentary on the exploitation and mistreatment of the oppressed. A Modest Proposal remains a quintessential example of satirical literature, its biting wit and moral indignation as relevant today as it was at the time of its publication. JONATHAN SWIFT [1667-1745] was an Anglo-Irish author, poet, and satirist. His deadpan satire led to the coining of the term »Swiftian«, describing satire of similarly ironic writing style. He is most famous for the novel Gulliver’s Travels [1726] and the essay A Modest Proposal [1729]. |
| examples of humor in literature: Humour in Anglo-Saxon Literature Jonathan Wilcox, 2000 Humour is rarely seen to raise its indecorous head in the surviving corpus of Old English literature, yet the value of reading that literature with an eye to humour proves considerable when the right questions are asked. Humour in Anglo-Saxon Literature provides the first book-length treatment of the subject. In all new essays, eight scholars employ different approaches to explore humor in such works as Beowulf and The Battle of Maldon, the riddles of the Exeter Book, and Old English saints' lives. An introductory essay provides a survey of the field, while individual essays push towards a distinctive theory of Anglo-Saxon humour. Through its unusual focus, this collection will provide an appealing introduction to both famous and lesser-known works for those new to Old English literature, while those familiar with the usual contours of Old English literary criticism will find here the value of a fresh approach. Contributors: JOHN D. NILES, T.A. SHIPPEY, RAYMOND P. TRIPP JR, E.L. RISDEN, D.K. SMITH, NINA RULON-MILLER, SHARI HORNER, HUGH MAGENNIS. JONATHAN WILCOX is Associate Professor of English at the University of Iowa and editor of the Old English Newsletter. Although the question of humour in the surviving corpus of Old English literature has rarely been discussed, the potential for analyzing this literature in terms of its humor is in fact considerable. In the essays especially commissioned for this volume, the first book-length treatment of Anglo-Saxon humor, eight of the foremost scholars in the field use different approaches to explore humor in the surviving literature of Anglo-Saxon England, in such works as Beowulf and The Battle of Maldon, the riddles of the Exeter book, and Old English saints' lives. The articles are prefaced with an introduction surveying the field. Through its unusual focus, this collection will provide an appealing introduction to both famous and lesser-known works for those new to Old English literature, while those familiar with the usual contours of Old English literary criticism will find here the value of a fresh approach. JONATHAN WILCOX is Associate Professor of English at the University of Iowa and editor of the Old English Newsletter. |
| examples of humor in literature: Cruelty and Laughter Simon Dickie, 2011-12 A rollicking review of popular culture in 18th century Britain this text turns away from sentimental and polite literature to focus instead on the jestbooks, farces, comic periodicals variety shows and minor comic novels that portray a society in which no subject was taboo and political correctness unimagined. |
| examples of humor in literature: Hokum Paul Beatty, 2008-12-10 Edited by the author of The Sellout, winner of the 2016 Man Booker Prize, Hokum is a liberating, eccentric, savagely comic anthology of the funniest writing by black Americans. This book is less a comprehensive collection than it is a mix-tape narrative dubbed by a trusted friend-a sampler of underground classics, rare grooves, and timeless summer jams, poetry and prose juxtaposed with the blues, hip-hop, political speeches, and the world's funniest radio sermon. The subtle musings of Toni Cade Bambara, Henry Dumas, and Harryette Mullen are bracketed by the profane and often loud ruminations of Langston Hughes, Darius James, Wanda Coleman, Tish Benson, Steve Cannon, and Hattie Gossett. Some of the funniest writers don't write, so included are selections from well-known yet unpublished wits Lightnin' Hopkins, Mike Tyson, and the Reverend Al Sharpton. Selections also come from public figures and authors whose humor, although incisive and profound, is often overlooked: Malcolm X, Suzan-Lori Parks, Zora Neale Hurston, Sojourner Truth, and W.E.B. Dubois. Groundbreaking, fierce, and hilarious, this is a necessary anthology for any fan or student of American writing, with a huge range and a smart, political grasp of the uses of humor. |
| examples of humor in literature: How to Write Funny John Kachuba, 2001-07-15 A discussion of the basics and genres of the comic point of view includes essays and interviews with such authors as Dave Barry, Sherman Alexie, and Melissa Bank. |
| examples of humor in literature: God Does Have a Sense of Humor Rob Ballister, 2005-09 Winner, 2009 Military Writers' Society of America President's Award Winner, 2007 Military Writers' Society of America Gold Medal for Humor Rob Ballister will make you smile. He's survived cancer, dating, and growing up in New Jersey. God Does Have A Sense of Humor chronicles his journey: through surgery-- My understanding was that the doctor, while hopping up and down on one foot and singing the national anthem, was going to remove my lymph nodes using a butter knife, a hacksaw, and some 10W-30 motor oil. Into the confessional-- There sat Father Riener, who was technically old enough to have been one of the original apostles. As I began reciting my list, Father began falling asleep. Being only in the fourth grade, I did exactly what I did at home when my younger sister fell asleep. I kicked him. Surviving Christmas with his family That first year, Dad put a wreath and Mom put up a tree, and things were pretty much low key that season. Then I was born, and as I grew, so did Dad's commitment to having the house visible from orbiting spacecraft. Rob Ballister can find humor anywhere. Whether it's in the operating room, in the classroom, in a relationship, or in Spain, his unique style takes you on a journey through the significant events that shaped his life. Through a never-ending struggle to understand his family, women, and God's sense of humor, he stands defiantly with nothing more than a smile and his teddy bear Oscar. Follow him as he joins the Navy, sees the world, beats cancer, and gets beaten up. Ride with him as he learns to drive, learns the truth about Santa Claus, and learns where babies come from. It's a wild ride filled with laughter, friendship, a bit of heartbreak, and a lot of love. You will laugh, you may cry, but one thing is certain. You won't forget it. |
| examples of humor in literature: Breakfast of Champions Kurt Vonnegut, 2009-09-23 “Marvelous . . . [Vonnegut] wheels out all the complaints about America and makes them seem fresh, funny, outrageous, hateful and lovable.”—The New York Times In Breakfast of Champions, one of Kurt Vonnegut’s most beloved characters, the aging writer Kilgore Trout, finds to his horror that a Midwest car dealer is taking his fiction as truth. What follows is murderously funny satire, as Vonnegut looks at war, sex, racism, success, politics, and pollution in America and reminds us how to see the truth. “Free-wheeling, wild and great . . . uniquely Vonnegut.”—Publishers Weekly |
| examples of humor in literature: Strategies of Humor in Post-Unification German Literature, Film, and Other Media Jill Twark, 2011-01-18 The fourteen chapters in this anthology feature original analyses of contemporary German-language literary texts, films, political cartoons, cabaret, and other types of performance. The artworks display a wide spectrum of humor modes, such as irony, satire, the grotesque, Jewish humor, and slapstick, as responses to unification with the accompanying euphoria, but also alienation and dislocation. Kerstin Hensel’s Lärchenau, Christoph Hein’s Landnahme, and vignette collections by Jakob Hein (Antrag auf ständige Ausreise und andere Mythen der DDR) and Wladimir Kaminer (Es gab keinen Sex im Sozialismus) are interpreted as examples of the grotesque. The popular films Lola rennt, Sonnenallee, Herr Lehmann, NVA, Alles auf Zucker!, and Mein Führer—Die wirklich wahrste Wahrheit über Adolf Hitler are reexamined through the lens of traditional and more recent humor or comic book theories. The contributors focus on how each artwork enriches four prominent postwall German cultural trends: post-unification identity reconstruction, Vergangenheitsbewältigung (including Hitler humor), New German Popular Literature (Christian Kracht’s ironic subtexts), and immigrant perspectives (a “third voice” in the East-West binary reflected here pointedly in Eulenspiegel cartoons). To date, no other scholarly work provides as comprehensive an overview of the diverse strategies of humor used in the past two decades in German-speaking countries. |
| examples of humor in literature: Premeditated Murder Slobodan Selenić, 1996 Jelena is a young drama student and photographer in contemporary Belgrade. Lively, intelligent and complex, she hides a big heart behind a surly look, and uses highly-coloured, provocative language as an act of revolt against her society. Jelena comes across some old belongings of her grandmother and begins to reconstruct the story of her life. The life uncovered was one of passion and terror and crossed romance. This was a young woman caught between loyalties - to her step-brother, true friend and fellow explorer of sex; to her ideologies and principles; to an officer of the formidable secret police. Was she to resign herself to a disinherited life at the mercy of those running the country? And who was the father of her child? The grandfather of her grandchild? Selenic deftly links two lives across the chasm of half a century and explores the afflictions of personal separation and political chaos. |
| examples of humor in literature: The Strange Man Solomon Alexander Amu Djoleto, 1968 Mensa endures his Ghanaian childhood under the shadow of successive tyrannical headmasters. In his maturity he struggles with the trials that village jealousies and his own family lie upon him. |
| examples of humor in literature: The Boys of My Youth Jo Ann Beard, 2009-11-11 The utterly compelling, uncommonly beautiful collection of personal essays (Newsweek) that established Jo Ann Beard as one of the leading writers of her generation. Cousins, mothers, sisters, dolls, dogs, best friends: these are the fixed points in Jo Ann Beard's universe, the constants that remain when the boys of her youth -- and then men who replace them -- are gone. This widely praised collection of autobiographical essays summons back, with astonishing grace and power, moments of childhood epiphany as well as the cataclysms of adult life: betrayal, divorce, death. The Boys of My Youth heralded the arrival of an immensely gifted and influential writer and its essays remain surprising, original, and affecting today. A luminous, funny, heartbreaking book of essays about life and its defining moments. --Harper's Bazaar |
| examples of humor in literature: Excellence in Literature Handbook for Writers Ian Johnston, 2012-03 This two-part writer's handbook will take your student from high school into college. Part 1 is a course in essays and arguments (helpful for debate, too) with topic-sentence outline models and much more. Part 2 is a traditional reference guide to grammar, style, and usage. You will find yourself using the Handbook almost daily for instruction, reference, and evaluation. |
| examples of humor in literature: The Cask of Amontillado Edgar Allan Poe, 2008 After enduring many injuries of the noble Fortunato, Montressor executes the perfect revenge. |
| examples of humor in literature: Cruel Shoes Steve Martin, 1979 A collection of short humorous pieces including Women Without Bones, The Day the Dopes Came Over, How to Fold Soup, Dogs in My Nose, Cruel Shoes, and What to Say When the Ducks Show up. |
| examples of humor in literature: Humour Terry Eagleton, 2019-05-14 A compelling guide to the fundamental place of humour and comedy within Western culture—by one of its greatest exponents Written by an acknowledged master of comedy, this study reflects on the nature of humour and the functions it serves. Why do we laugh? What are we to make of the sheer variety of laughter, from braying and cackling to sniggering and chortling? Is humour subversive, or can it defuse dissent? Can we define wit? Packed with illuminating ideas and a good many excellent jokes, the book critically examines various well-known theories of humour, including the idea that it springs from incongruity and the view that it reflects a mildly sadistic form of superiority to others. Drawing on a wide range of literary and philosophical sources, Terry Eagleton moves from Aristotle and Aquinas to Hobbes, Freud, and Bakhtin, looking in particular at the psychoanalytical mechanisms underlying humour and its social and political evolution over the centuries. |
| examples of humor in literature: Right Ho, Jeeves P. G. Wodehouse, 2010-08-01 In this, the second novel in P.G. Wodehouse's delightful Jeeves series, the family fumbles through a comedy of errors that is set in motion by a marriage proposal and a downward spiral of miscommunication and crossed wires. This hilarious novel contains many of the most beloved scenes and set pieces from the series. A must-read for Wodehouse fans and lovers of top-notch humor writing. |
| examples of humor in literature: To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee, 2014-07-08 Voted America's Best-Loved Novel in PBS's The Great American Read Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep South—and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred One of the most cherished stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than forty million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father—a crusading local lawyer—risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime. |
| examples of humor in literature: The Comic Toolbox John Vorhaus, 1994 A straightforward, often humorous workbook approach to comedy writing as creative problem-solving. In it, veteran Hollywood comedy writer John Vorhaus offers his tools of the trade to writers, comics, and anyone else who wants to be funny. Among these indispensable tools are Clash of Context, Tension and Release, The Law of Comic Opposites, The Wildly Inappropriate Response, and The Myth of the Last Great Idea. Readers will learn that comedy = truth and pain (the essence of the comic situation), that fear is the biggest roadblock to comedy (kill the ferocious editor within and rich, useful comic ideas will flow), and much more. |
| examples of humor in literature: Sorry Please Thank You Charles Yu, 2012 Presents a collection of stories featuring a retail employee who is confronted by a zombie, a computer warrior who leads his fighter band across a virtual landscape, and a company that outsources grief. |
| examples of humor in literature: Cold comfort farm Stella Gibbons, 2020-05-05 Cold Comfort Farm is a comic novel by English author Stella Gibbons, published in 1932. It parodies the romanticised, sometimes doom-laden accounts of rural life popular at the time, by writers such as Mary Webb. Following the death of her parents, the book and 's heroine, Flora Poste, finds she is possessed of every art and grace save that of earning her own living. She decides to take advantage of the fact that no limits are set, either by society or one and 's own conscience, to the amount one may impose on one and 's relatives, and settles on visiting her distant relatives at the isolated Cold Comfort Farm in the fictional village of Howling in Sussex. The inhabitants of the farm – Aunt Ada Doom, the Starkadders, and their extended family and workers – feel obliged to take her in to atone for an unspecified wrong once done to her father. |
| examples of humor in literature: Lady Windermere's Fan Oscar Wilde, 1893 Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first produced 22 February 1892 at the St James's Theatre in London. The play was first published in 1893. Like many of Wilde's comedies, it bitingly satirizes the morals of society.The story concerns Lady Windermere, who suspects that her husband is having an affair with another woman. She confronts him with it but although he denies it, he invites the other woman, Mrs Erlynne, to his wife's birthday ball. Angered by her husband's supposed unfaithfulness, Lady Windermere decides to leave her husband for another lover. After discovering what has transpired, Mrs Erlynne follows Lady Windermere and attempts to persuade her to return to her husband and in the course of this, Mrs Erlynne is discovered in a compromising position. It is then revealed Mrs Erlynne is Lady Windermere's mother, who abandoned her family twenty years before the time the play is set. Mrs Erlynne sacrifices herself and her reputation to save her daughter's marriage. The best known line of the play sums up the central theme. |
| examples of humor in literature: The Psychology of Humor Rod A. Martin, Thomas Ford, 2018-07-14 Most of us laugh at something funny multiple times during a typical day. Humor serves multiple purposes, and although there is a sizable and expanding research literature on the subject, the research is spread in a variety of disciplines. The Psychology of Humor, 2e reviews the literature, integrating research from across subdisciplines in psychology, as well as related fields such as anthropology, biology, computer science, linguistics, sociology, and more. This book begins by defining humor and presenting theories of humor. Later chapters cover cognitive processes involved in humor and the effects of humor on cognition. Individual differences in personality and humor are identified as well as the physiology of humor, the social functions of humor, and how humor develops and changes over the lifespan. This book concludes noting the association of humor with physical and mental health, and outlines applications of humor use in psychotherapy, education, and the workplace. In addition to being fully updated with recent research, the second edition includes a variety of new materials. More graphs, tables, and figures now illustrate concepts, processes, and theories. It provides new brief interviews with prominent humor scholars via text boxes. The end of each chapter now includes a list of key concepts, critical thinking questions, and a list of resources for further reading. - Covers research on humor and laughter in every area of psychology - Integrates research findings into a coherent conceptual framework - Includes brain imaging studies, evolutionary models, and animal research - Integrates related information from sociology, linguistics, neuroscience, and anthropology - Explores applications of humor in psychotherapy, education, and the workplace - Provides new research, plus key concepts and chapter summaries |
| examples of humor in literature: Comedy Writing Secrets Melvin Helitzer, 1992 A comprehensive guide to writing, selling and performing all types of comedy. Includes comments, advice, gags and routines from top comics. |
| examples of humor in literature: The Conscious Lovers Richard Steele, 1805 |
| examples of humor in literature: Sh*t My Dad Says Justin Halpern, 2010-05-04 “This book is ridiculously hilarious, and makes my father look like a normal member of society.” —Chelsea Handler “Read this unless you’re allergic to laughing.” —Kristen Bell “If you’re wondering if there is a real man behind the quotes on Twitter, the answer is a definite and laugh-out-loud yes.” —Christian Lander, New York Times bestselling author of Stuff White People Like Tuesdays with Morrie meets F My Life in this hilarious book about a son’s relationship with his foul-mouthed father by the 29-year-old comedy writer who created the massively popular Twitter feed of the same name. |
| examples of humor in literature: Rationale of the Dirty Joke G. Legman, 2007-11-01 Why do people tell dirty jokes? And what is it about a joke's dirtiness that makes it funny? G. Legman was perhaps the foremost scholar of the dirty joke, and as legions of humor writers and comedians know, his Rationale of the Dirty Joke remains the most exhaustive and authoritative study of the subject. More than two thousand jokes and folktales are presented, covering such topics as The Female Fool, The Fortunate Fart, Mutual Mismatching, and The Sex Machine. These folk texts are authentically transcribed in their innocent and sometimes violent entirety. Legman studies each for its historical and socioanalytic significance, revealing what these jokes mean to the people who tell them and to the people who listen and laugh. Here -- back in print -- is the definitive text for comedians and humor writers, Freudian scholars and late night television enthusiasts. Rationale of the Dirty Joke will amuse you, offend you, challenge you, and disgust you, all while demonstrating the intelligence and hilarity of the dirty joke. |
| examples of humor in literature: Devine Comedy Dante Alighieri, 2023-01-02 Nowhere is Dante more eloquent and poetic than in his famous magnum opus. The Divine Comedy remains to this day a world blueprint that inspires and shapes artists of all genres, from painting to literature to cinema. Gröls-Classics - English Edition |
| examples of humor in literature: Anthology of Black Humor André Breton, 2021-01-29 This is the first publication in English of the anthology that contains Breton’s definitive statement on l’humour noir, one of the seminal concepts of Surrealism, and his provocative assessments of the writers he most admired. While some of the authors featured in The Anthology of Black Humor are already well known to American readers—Swift, Kafka, Rimbaud, Poe, Lewis Carroll, and Baudelaire among them (and even then, Breton’s selections are often surprising)—many others are sure to come as a revelation. The entries range from the acerbic aphorisms of Swift, Lichtenberg, and Duchamp to the theatrical slapstick of Christian Dietrich Grabbe, from the wry missives of Rimbaud and Jacques Vache to the manic paranoia of Dali, from the ferocious iconoclasm of Alfred Jarry and Arthur Craven to the offhand hilarity of Apollinaire at his most spontaneous. For each of the forty-five authors included, Breton has provided an enlightening biographical and critical preface, situating both the writer and the work in the context of black humor—a partly macabre, partly ironic, and often absurd turn of spirit that Breton defined as a superior revolt of the mind. Anthologies can aim to be groundbreaking or thought-provoking; few can be said to have introduced a new phrase—or a new concept—into the language. No one had ever used the term black humour before this one came along, unless, perhaps, it was from a racial angle.—The Guardian Andre Breton (1896-1966), the founder and principal theorist of the Surrealist movement, is one of the major literary figures of the past century. His best-known works in English translation include Nadja, Mad Love, The Manifestoes of Surrealism, The Magnetic Fields (with Philippe Soupault), and Earthlight. Mark Polizzotti is the author of Revolution of the Mind: The Life of Andre Breton. |
| examples of humor in literature: The Five Elements of Humor Zac Toa, 2012-08-05 This is the first book to condense humor into five elements. Here are the elements that make something funny. A- The element of surprise - Something unexpected is funny. B- The element of audacity - Someone who is inconsiderate or shameless is funny. C- The element of obsession - Someone who acts absurd or inflexible is funny. D- The element of relief - Making light of a frustration is funny. And E- The element of ego - Making yourself (and/or the people and things you like) superior is funny. This book lists 100 joke techniques primarily based on these five elements. The techniques include joke examples (181 in total) which come from varied sources, including popular sitcoms like The Simpsons and The Office, and popular comedians like Christopher Titus and the PhilosoRaptor. This short reference may be the only one you'll ever need to understand and create humor. UPDATE June 3, 2014: The bad reviews for this book are a bit puzzling, and seem to show a lack of understanding about the purpose of the book. That may be due to mistakes in marketing or preconceived expectation in the readers. So to make the purpose of the book clear: It's just a toolbox of joke techniques. When you use a tool (such as an electric screwdriver), you don't need to know how the tool works; you only need to know how to use it. So in the book, you get the joke technique, followed by an example or two that uses it. If you want to know why the technique works, you know it has something to do with the specific element of humor it's listed under. When it comes to learning how to write jokes, the names and examples of joke techniques and the basic underpinning of those techniques is all you need to create humor. Almost everything else is hogwash. |
Humor - Examples and Definition of Humor - Literar…
Definition, Usage and a list of Humor Examples in literature. Humor is a …
Elements of Humor in Literature | 6 Examples Fro…
Common Examples of Humor. Humor can take many forms, each with its …
Common Types of Humor Used in Literature - YourDictionary
12 Aug 2021 · Learn to identify the common types of humor and …
Humor definition and example literary device - EnglishLitera…
Humor plays many functions in a literary work. It arouses interest …
10 Literary Devices Used For Humor - EnglishLeaflet
These literary devices showcase the variety of ways humor can be …
Humor - Examples and Definition of Humor - Literary Devices
Definition, Usage and a list of Humor Examples in literature. Humor is a literary tool that makes audience laugh, or that intends to induce amusement or laughter.
Elements of Humor in Literature | 6 Examples From Literature
Common Examples of Humor. Humor can take many forms, each with its own unique flavor and appeal. Here are a few common examples: Wordplay: It contains puns, double entendres and …
Common Types of Humor Used in Literature - YourDictionary
12 Aug 2021 · Learn to identify the common types of humor and recognize them in your favorite books. From satire to surprise, there’s plenty of hilarity in literature.
Humor definition and example literary device
Humor plays many functions in a literary work. It arouses interest among readers, sustains their attention, helps them connect with the characters, emphasizes and relates ideas, and helps …
10 Literary Devices Used For Humor - EnglishLeaflet
These literary devices showcase the variety of ways humor can be integrated into writing. Each device plays on different aspects of humor, from linguistic mix-ups to absurd situations, …
Types of Humor - Excellence in Literature by Janice Campbell
17 Jan 2017 · If you want to learn to use humor in writing, it helps to understand the different types of humor and how they work. Here are five common humor techniques.
Humor | Definition, Types, Examples, & Facts | Britannica
8 Nov 2024 · Humor is the only form of communication in which a stimulus on a high level of complexity produces a stereotyped, predictable response on the physiological reflex level.
Types of Humour Used in Literature - Leacock
Types of Humour Used in Literature: A compilation by Michael Hill, President, Stephen Leacock Associates. Surprise and incongruity: Something unexpected happens. An unusual twist to a …
Humor - Poem Analysis
Humor takes many different forms and can be used in novels, short stories, plays, films, and every other form of entertainment and communication. There are many different examples in …
Comedy Examples and Definition - Literary Devices
Comedy is a form of entertainment meant to be humorous, whether in literature, television, film, or stand-up. The goal of most comedy examples is to induce laughter in the audience.
20 Types and Forms of Humor - Daily Writing Tips
24 Nov 2011 · 20 Types and Forms of Humor. by Mark Nichol. Humor comes in many flavors, any of which may appeal to one person but not to another, and which may be enjoyed in …
The Role of Humor in Literature: Books That Make Us Laugh
29 Aug 2024 · This article explores the role of humor in literature, its impact on readers, and highlights some notable examples of books that have mastered the art of comedy. The …
26 Types of Humor to Tickle Your Funny Bone (+ Examples)
23 Aug 2024 · Here are 26 types of humor you can use in any writing situation. 1. Physical (or Slapstick Humor) Physical humor relates to scenarios or characters who use exaggerated …
Humor - Examples and Definition of Humor - Literary Devices
Definition, Usage and a list of Humor Examples in literature. Humor is a literary tool that makes audience laugh, or that intends to induce amusement or laughter.
Comedy - Examples and Definition of Comedy as Literary Device
Examples of Comedy in Literature. Comedy is important as a literary device in that it typically uplifts readers through overall positivity. Writers construct comedy to amuse and entertain, …
72 Examples of Humor - Simplicable
24 Oct 2021 · 72 Examples of Humor. John Spacey, October 24, 2021 updated on May 19, 2023. Humor is a sharp sense of joy that can be generated by the surprising, absurd and slightly …
Satire Examples in Literature and Modern Life - YourDictionary
5 Jan 2022 · Satire is the use of humor, irony or hyperbole to critique something or someone, particularly in the context of political or social issues. Satire isn’t just as old as literature: It’s as …
Satire - Examples and Definition of Satire - Literary Devices
Here are some common and familiar examples of satire: political cartoons–satirize political events and/or politicians. The Onion –American digital media and newspaper company that satirizes …
Comic Relief in Literature: More Than Just Jokes? - The Write …
4 days ago · Sometimes comic relief comes in the form of witty dialogue, sometimes in a humorous character. Other times, it's just a moment of humor caused by the absurd situation. …
Examples and Definition of Black Humor - Literary Devices
Examples of Black Humor from Literature. Example #1. “Billy is spastic in time, has no control over where he is going next, and the trips aren’t necessarily fun. He is in a constant state of …
The Playful Side of Myth: Celebrating Trickster Tales
4 days ago · Humor is a vital component of trickster tales, serving as a tool for social commentary and critique. Through laughter, tricksters expose the absurdities of life, encouraging audiences …
Sarcasm - Definition and Examples of Sarcasm - Literary Devices
Sarcasm indicates a deliberate intention to mock, satirize, or otherwise poke fun at something. Verbal irony often generates subtle, gentle humor. The outcome of sarcasm is closer to explicit …
