Humor Techniques

“Big Picture” Techniques Apply 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. 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.

Blunting An ancient technique from Greek darma, which pretends to to dull the edge of bad news while really sharpening int.

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” “Familiarity breeds.” “Children should be seen and not hurt.”

“It gives me the willies!” Sadism directed at juveniles “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) Puns Malapropisms Goldwynisms/Beraisms Play on words with similar sounds/meanings “Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man.” Malapropisms Misuse of one word for another word out of ignorance "I ain't got no respect for no religion where the head guy claims he can't make no mistakes. Like he's, waddya call, inflammable.” Goldwynisms/Beraisms “Tell them to put more life in their dying!” “A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore.”

Wonderful Hybrids Some comedy comes from mixing various techniques: I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy. (pun + chiasmus) You can lead a horticulture, but you can’t make her think. (pun + twistwit) -Both courtesy of Dorothy Parker