Humour

From ArticleWorld

Humour may be described as a quality of a person, situation or object to evoke a feeling of amusement in others. It is a form of entertainment that succeeds in making people laugh or feel happy. The term has ancient Greek roots – humours were believed to be a combination of fluids which controlled emotions and overall health of an individual. Humour is very relative to different individuals. Age group, geographical location, culture and context matter.

Techniques

There are numerous styles or techniques for making things humorous, some of which are:

VERBAL :

• Figure of speech : These include Triple, Paraprosdokian, Enthymeme, Syllepsis (zeugma), Hyperbole and Understatement

• Word play : Some examples are oxymorons and puns.

• Funny sounds or inherently comic words with sounds that make them sound hilarious in a language

• Joke : These may be Adages (often in the form of paradox “laws” of nature, like Murphy's law), Stereotyping (like blonde jokes, racial jokes, lawyer jokes), Sick Jokes (arousing humour via grotesque or exceptionally cruel scenes), Riddle, Non-sequitur, Parody, Irony (in the form of a statement or situation impling two meanings - superficial and concealed, which are at odds with each other), Wit, as in many one-liner jokes, Obscenity, Sarcasm, Droll, Satire, Ridicule, such as the Darwin Awards etc.

NON VERBAL :

• Deadpan : This includes a fake and stern manner
• Slapstick : This may be in the form of exaggerated movements or those that inflict pain, like a kick in the groin.
• Surreal humour or absurdity
• Faking stupidity
• Practical joke: A situation created by luring someone into a humorous position or circumstance and then laughing at their expense
• Clash of context humour, like “fish out of water”.
• Funny pictures: Photos / drawings / cartoons that are intentionally or unwittingly funny.
• Form-versus-content humour
• Visual humour: Like others, but is also narrative in films, theater and comics.

OTHERS :

• Anti-humour : Creation of deliberate ambiguity and confusion with reality
• Unintentional humour : It makes people laugh without actually intending to
• Character driven : It derives humour from the way characters act in some situations, without the use of punchlines
• Sarcasm

Formula

The components required for successfully creating humour are :

• An element of surprise
• Contradiction
• Paradoxical statement or situation
• Ambiguity
• Not totally real but quite similar to reality
• Appeal to human feelings or emotions