WHAT IS
HUMOR?
an introduction to
humor in literature
and in our lives
WE HEAR THE WORD ‘HUMOR’ ALL THE TIME…
But what does it mean?
According to the
Random House
Dictionary, humor is
defined as a comic,
absurd, or incongruous
quality causing
amusement.
WHAT DO WE THINK IS
FUNNY?
5 RHETORICAL CATEGORIES…
1. HYPERBOLE = EXAGGERATION
(OVERSTATEMENT OR
UNDERSTATEMENT)
FOR EFFECT
EX. CARICATURE = AN EXAGGERATION OF A
PERSON OR ARCHETYPE
2. INCONGRUITY/REVERSAL:
“THINGS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM.”
INCONGRUITY/REVERSAL
EVOKES HUMOROUS SURPRISE!
The thing that would logically follow does not
follow.
 You are led to think/believe one thing, but then it
ends up being something else.
 Someone/something doing something that it
normally does not do
 Ex. Self-deprecation, anthropomorphism,
absurdity, anything hilariously unexpected.
 Reversal is in effect if two roles are reversed. If
things just… don’t fit, then it’s plain ol’ incongruity.

3. SLAPSTICK:
Humor
that is physical in
nature—”physically funny”
Can involve (planned out)physical
violence.
Goes beyond rational common
sense or logical thinking.
Ex. People getting hit with/by
things, a funny walk or fall, etc.
SUCH AS…


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yc7sgN1zQM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9DNGgPNuFI
&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL0B13E
96303FE4097
4.SATIRE/PARODY
 Satire
and parody both poke fun at
people, government, celebrities, works of
art/literature, etc. (think Stephen
Colbert, The Onion, political cartoons,
Shrek, etc.)
 Verbal irony is involved (saying something
that is not to be taken literally) To “get”
this humor, you need to know that it’s not
really serious, but using a MOCKSERIOUS tone.
IRONY USES MOCK-SERIOUS TONE
SATIRE
VS.
More like mockery
 Humorous material
has a serious goal of
social/political
awareness or change
 Often harshly critical
underneath the humor
 (John Stewart and
Stephen Colbert)

PARODY
More like mimicry
 Imitates the thing it is
making fun of, but not in
part
 Goal is just to make
audience laugh by lightly
mocking humorous
aspects of the subject
 Sort of a tribute
 (Shrek)

SATIRE:
PARODY:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0SVw5MJBU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbgLapRAloQ
&feature=relmfu
5. WORDPLAY
Witty manipulation of words for humorous effect, often
similar sounding words or double-meanings are used.
 Ex. Puns, innuendo, excessive alliteration or funny
metaphors

A coffin falls out of the
vehicle carrying it. The
undertaker says, “Oh, we
should rehearse that.”
GET IT? RE-HEARSE??!!
Ahahahahaha….
WHAT IS NOT
FUNNY…
and why.
“Consistency is the last refuge of the
unimaginative.” --Oscar Wilde on
homogeneous, repeated potty humor
SOME KINDS OF “HUMOR” ARE
INAPPROPRIATE IN POLITE,
INTELLIGENT COMPANY
Racist,
sexist, religious, or homophobic
jokes
Teasing/Bullying for ANY reason
Vulgarity for the sake of being vulgar
Repeating the same thing over and over
Clichés
 Remember:
there is difference between
being cruel and immature and actually
being funny. It is never okay to laugh at
someone else’s expense, whether it is a
group of people or an individual.*
*Unless the person being
mocked knows it, and
is expressly okay with it (like
a“roast” of a
celebrity). If even SLIGHTLY
in doubt, don’t say it.
IS HUMOR UNIVERSAL?
 Humor
requires a relationship and an
understanding between the speaker
or writer and his audience. Without
this understanding, humor cannot
exist. Humor is worth nothing if the
audience doesn’t “get” the joke.
 Inside
jokes
WHAT IS THE
PURPOSE OF
HUMOR?
Effects on body, mind, and spirit
ACTUAL HEALTH BENEFITS!!
Humor can:
 relax an audience & make them
feel welcome.
 important persuasion tool
(humor is pathos!)
 makes troubles easier
 builds bonds between people
 increases immune system
activity
 stimulates creativity
 decreases tension, anger,
anxiety, and aggression
WHY ARE WE
STUDYING HUMOR IN
ENGLISH CLASS?
Humor
is a reflection of our
society
Humor is informative
Humor is persuasive
Humor engages an audience
Humor allows us to step back
and not take ourselves too
seriously
WHAT ARE WE
GONNA DO WITH
IT?
WE ARE GOING TO MAKE ZINES!
Use humor in literature
to bring us together
 Find common bonds we
didn’t know we had
 Share and teach each
other
 Improve interpersonal
(and interclass)
relations
 Have big time LOLZ!

LET’S SEE HOW
HUMOR-SMART
YOU ARE!
Where have you seen each of these elements of humor?
a. WORDPLAY
b. IRONY
c. SATIRE
d. SLAPSTICK
e. PARODY
f. HYPERBOLE
g. REVERSAL
h. INCONGRUITY