Humor Techniques
“Big Picture” Techniques
Apply
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to whole text
Irony
Situational
Verbal
Dramatic
Satire
 Purpose
is to expose faults of society,
institutions, etc. by holding them up to
ridicule

Horatian

Light, tolerant wit

Juvenalian

Sarcastic, caustic
Hyperbole/Litote

Both overstatement
(hyperbole) and
understatement (litote)
can be used for
humorous effect

“Reports of my
death are greatly
exaggerated.”

“I have seen this
river so wide it
only had one
bank.”
Parody
 Comic
interpretation of a well-known
piece of writing
Whose woods these are, I think I know;
His house is in the village, though.
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
Whose paper's this? Hell, I don't know!
His commas replace periods, though.
He will not see me stopping herr
To wonder how he misspelled “so.”
Tone/Slant
(Spin)
 The
tone (or slant or spin) of piece can
create the humor
Bald Eagle Tired of Everyone Just Assuming It
Supports War
THE OREGON WILDERNESS—Frustrated by the widely
held assumption that he unequivocally endorses the wars
in Afghanistan and Iraq, a bald eagle said Monday that his
thoughts on the conflicts were far more nuanced than
many Americans might expect.
Sentence Level

Sentence level techniques are called
epigrams

Antithesis (“The girl with a future
avoids a man with a past,” “A woman
begins by resisting a man's advances
and ends by blocking his retreat.”)

Chiasmus (“It's not the men in your
life, it's the life in your men.”)

Zeugma (“Always do your best, but
not your best friend.”)
 Twist-wit

Takes

a common saying,
proverb, etc., but “twists” it
“Familiarity breeds comtempt—
then children”
 “Little Willie”

“It gives me the willies!”

Sadism directed at juveniles
Willie saw some dynamite,
Couldn't understand it quite;
Curiosity never pays:
It rained Willie seven days.
Word Level (Word Play)
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Puns
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Malapropisms
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Play on words with similar sounds/meanings
“Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a
grave man.”
Misuse of one word for another word out of
ignorance
"It's a proven fact that capital punishment is a
well-known detergent to crime.
Goldwynisms/Beraisms


“Tell them to put more life in their dying!”
He hits from both sides of the plate; he's
amphibious.