Elements of Humor

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Who should use humor?

Anyone whose job it is to communicate to groups of individuals, to share information or to motivate, could use humor to invigorate their message and improve the reception of their audience. But on an individual basis, who should use humor? That depends on several things. Does the situation lend itself to a humorous approach? Would humor detract from your credibility with the audience? Perhaps most importantly, can you use humor effectively? The ability to see the humor in life is one of the most important assets you may have as a skilled writer or speaker. It takes skill and talent to apply humor effectively. Great damage can be done if you try to use humor in an important situation and fail. Again, your credibility as an expert in whatever field you may be in may be questioned. Be absolutely sure that your humor is relevant to your subject and appropriate for your audience.

Why use humor?

Cynicism is deeply rooted in modern culture. We often feel bombarded by negatives at every turn. A writer or speaker who can effectively use humor to engage and entertain his audience possesses a valuable gift. And more importantly, if you are in a situation where important, perhaps controversial ideas must be presented to less than open minds, humor allows those ideas to be presented in a non-threatening manner. Abraham Lincoln was famous for his ability to relate humorous stories to make a point.

What is humor exactly?

·         “The mental faculty of discovering, expressing or appreciating the ludicrous or absurdly incongruous.” Ludicrous: amusing or laughable through obvious absurdity, incongruity, exaggeration or eccentricity. Incongruity: something inconsistent within itself.

·         Wit is “the power to evoke laughter by remarks showing verbal felicity or ingenuity and swift perception, especially of the incongruous.” Synonymous with humor, irony, sarcasm, satire and repartee.

·         “Wit punctures, humor pictures” (Jarvis).

·         “A painful thing told playfully” or “tragedy separated by time and space” (Jarvis).

·         Serious thought viewed in a light manner. Ever heard someone say, “I laughed so hard I nearly cried”? Humor deals with serious subjects and is close to pathos: an emotion of sympathetic pity. Think about the old gag of someone slipping on a banana peel. Such an accident usually elicits a laugh. We might giggle or snicker when someone else takes a fall. Perhaps, though, not when we ourselves are the victim. The laugh would be stopped mid-snort though if the person was really hurt in the fall. Why? Because the playful element has been lost. Buster Keaton does a pratfall. Down he goes, but he must get up.

·         Self-effacing humor (making yourself the butt of the joke) is always safe in that you appear human to your audience and you do not risk offending them in any way.

What is humor specifically?

Visit the source website < http://www.squaresail.com/auh.html> and look up definitions for the following humor-building devices. Then use these devices, where applicable, for your analysis of your summer reading texts.