1. Intro to Humor
Hum2 Honors

2. What is Funny? Aristotelian definition is imitation.
Relies on the audience’s relation to the subjects.

3. Comedic Forms Slapstick Hyperbole Litotes Irony Parody Satire
Black Comedy

4. Slapstick Slapstick—physical comedy
Often involves injury, but includes visual appearance.
Generally considered the lowest form of comedy.
Takes little intelligence/attention to get it.

5. Hyperbole Hyperbolic (Exaggerated)
Could include dialogue or speech, situations, or characterization.
This includes Tall Tales
Generally considered of low quality humor

6. Litotes Litotes is understatement Treating a large topic as if smaller
Opposite of Hyperbole
“It’s only a flesh wound” Monty Python

7. Irony Ironic (Unexpected)
When the situations, dialogue, or characterization is counter to what the audience expects.
Twist endings on stories or jokes
“I tended to place my wife under a pedestal.” Woody Allen
Sarcasm is a form of Verbal Irony

8. Satire Satiric (Cynical)
Exposes a common or general flaw in humanity (greed, vanity, gluttony, foolishness, etc)
Can be ironic or hyperbolic as well
Satirists reveal what they think is a problem in society and ridicule it.

9. Parody Parody (Mimicking)
Emulates a pre-existing work in a humorous way, so as to poke fun.
There must be an original artwork or figurehead to be parody.

10. Black Humor
Dark humor usually involving pain, great injury or bodily harm, and death.
Shouldn’t be funny—taboo
Shaun of the Dead, Fargo, anything by the Coen Brothers.

11. Realism Realistic (Funny because it is true)
Unofficially, this is where the audience can relate to a common stereotype or situation and find humor in it.
When life presents an issue that is only funny because the audience understands.