Humor Theories

by Don L. F. Nilsen and Alleen Pace Nilsen

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Victor Raskins Tripartite Classification

INCONGRUITY HOSTILITY
Contrast Incongruity Resolution Aggression Superiority Triumph Derision Disparagement

RELEASE
Sublimation Liberation Economy
(Attardo [2007], 103)

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Script-Model Grammar
Raskins 1985 Semantic-Script Theory of Humor (SSTH) sees humor as a violation of Grices cooperative principle. A joke consists of two overlapping scripts. The two scripts are in opposition (bona-fide vs. scatalogical) The punch line changes the joke from the bona-fide to the scatalogical script. (Attardo [2007] 108)
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Overlapping Scripts
Overlapping scripts occur not only in jokes, but also in the allegory, the oxymoron, the conceit, the simile, and perhaps in all allusion, symbolism, double entendre and intertextuality.

Overlapping scripts also occur in the master tropes-metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and irony.
And for all of these literary forms, there is the bonafide (or literal) script, and the non-bona-fide (or figurative) script. (Triezenberg [2008]: 536)
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Humor Enhancers
Katrina Triezenberg notes that humorous discourse also has humor enhancers. A humor enhancer is a narrative technique that is not necessarily funny in and of itself, but that helps the audience to understand that the text is supposed to be funny, that warms them up to the author and to the text so that they will be more receptive to humor, and that magnifies their experience of humor in the text. (Triezenberg [2008]: 537-538)
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 These humor enhancers allow a piece of humor to be instantaneous and epiphinal. They include:
Shared stereotypes, Cultural factors (prejudices, hang-ups, taboos, etc.), Familiarity (as with a good impersonation, or as with something that is spot-on), and Repetition and variation

(Triezenberg [2008]: 539)

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Why Mysteries Are Not Funny

Jokes and lies both violate Grices Conversational Implicatures. They are both examples of nonbona-fide communication. In murder mysteries, the reader is often led down the garden path, and given false clues. To solve the mystery, the reader has to consider script oppositions to determine if scripts are not compatible with each other, and if not, why not. (Triezenberg [2008]: 540)
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General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Script Opposition Incongruity & Resolution Situation (including props) Target (butt of the joke) Genre (joke, riddle, etc.) Language (compatible with both scripts) (Attardo [2007] 108)
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Jab Lines vs. Punch Lines

Jab lines are tendentious, but punch lines are not. Whereas punch lines are disruptive of the narrative they close, jab lines are not, and in fact often contribute to the development of the text. (Attardo [2007] 110).
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Salvatore Attardos Hierarchy

Lines that are related form a strand. A bunch of related strands is called a stack. A bridge is the occurrence of two related lines far from each other. A comb is the occurrence of several related lines in close proximity. (Attardo [2007] 111)
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Attardos Defining Moment

Each story that is not a picaresque story has a central defining event in the plot that sets the wheels in motion: Madame Bovarys adultery Raskolnikoffs homicide

Lolitas seduction, etc.

(Attardo [2007] 113)
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Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud distinguishes between innocent and tendentious jokes. (Attardo [2007], 104).

RIDDLE: What do you get when you cross a mafioso with a postmodern theorist?
ANSWER: Someone who will make you an offer you cannot understand. (Attardo [2007] 109)
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Humor Sophistication
Victor Raskin notes that sophistication in humor is similar to sophistication more generally, and that it entails:

Rarity, expensiveness, availability, complexity, exoticness, subtlety, refinement, obscurity, prestigiousness, desirability, unexpectedness, etc. (Raskin [2008]) 12)
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Sophistication via Innuendo

When I was young I helped a good fairy in distress, so she offered me a choice, an excellent memory or a large penis. I do not recall what I chose. NOTE: Fewer and fewer people get the jokes as sophistication increases. Perhaps sophistication correlates with the number of missing links in inferencing. (Raskin [2008] 13)
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Ranking of Humor Sophistication

1. He was a man of letters. He worked at the Post Office. 2. I am very unhappy. I have two girlfriends, and both are cheating on me. 3-9. No Examples Given 10. Whats the difference between the sparrow? No difference whatsoever. Both halves are identical, especially the left one. (Raskin [2008] 13)
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Superiority Theory & Humor Neither a Necessary nor a Sufficient Condition

When we see a Charlie Chaplin movie, do we feel superior to Charlie Chaplin. John Morreall feels that we laugh at the clever and acrobatic way Charlie Chaplin gets out of a tough situation. Morreall also notes that if we win a race, we feel superior to the losers, but humor does not automatically result from winning. (Morreall [2008] 233)
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Discuss the following:

Humor is hostile Humor diminishes self-control. Humor is irresponsible

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Discuss the following:

Humor is hostile Humor diminishes self-control. Humor is irresponsible. Humor is insincere. Humor is idle. Humor is hedonistic. Humor fosters sexual license. Humor fosters anarchy. Humor is foolish. (Morreall [2008] 237-238)
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HUMOR THEORIES
THE EVOLUTION THEORIES as proposed by Charles Darwin, and by the I. A. H. B. THE HUMOR-IS-GOOD-FOR-YOU THEORIES as proposed by Norman Cousins, et. al.

THE SUPERIORITY THEORIES as proposed by Aristotle, Plato, Thomas Hobbes, Henri Bergson, and Charles Gruner
THE INCONGRUITY THEORIES as proposed by Immanuel Kant, Arthur Shopenhauer, Paul McGhee and John Morreall THE SURPRISE THEORIES as proposed by Ren Descartes

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 THE AMBIVALENCE THEORIES (FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS) as proposed by Socrates THE CONFIGURATIONAL THEORIES (GESTALT RECOGNITION AND SUDDEN INSIGHT) as proposed by G. W. F. Hegel

THE PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORIES as proposed by Sigmund Freud THE RELEASE AND RELIEF THEORIES as proposed by Harvey Mindess and William Fry
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A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT HUMOR THEORIES: FEATURES FUNCTIONS SUBJECTS

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FEATURES OF HUMOR: INCONGRUITY AND INCONGRUITY RESULUTION

Unresolved Resolved

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FEATURES OF HUMOR: SURPRISE AND TENSION

Surprise Garden Path Epiphany Tension and Relief

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ALLEEN NILSENS FEATURES OF HUMOR

Ambiguity Exaggeration Understatement Hostility Incongruity or Irony Situation-Insight Sudden Insight Superiority Surprise or Shock A Trick or Twist Word Play (A. Nilsen Living Language 202-203)
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EXPLAIN THE FEATURES IN THE FOLLOWING JOKES:

David Lettermans first job in broadcasting was at Ball State Universitys classical music radio station, WBST. He was a constant trial to Tom Watson, the manager, who in exasperation fired him after he introduced the song Clair de Lune with You know the de Lune sisters; there was Claire; there was Mabel. Word Play (A. Nilsen Living Language 204)

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 Left to our own devices, we Wobegonians go straight for the small potatoes.
Majestic doesnt appeal to us; we like the Grand Canyon better with Clarence and Arlene parked in front of it smiling. Understatement (Nilsen & Nilsen Encyclopedia 301)

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 Will Rogers solemnly declared, They have an unwritten law in the Senate that a new member is not allowed to say anything when he first gets in, and another unwritten law that whatever he says afterward is not to amount to anything. Superiority (A. Nilsen Living Language 205)

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 A good man dies and goes to heaven. When St. Peter asks him if theres anything he can do for him, the man explains that he would love to talk to Mary, the mother of Jesus. St. Peter is happy to set up such a meeting. After a few polite formalities, the man tells Mary the purpose of his request. He has always wanted to ask her something. When she encourages him to go ahead, he says, Ive wondered why in all your pictures you look so sad. Please tell me what it is. Mary sighs and then with a little wistful smile confesses, I always wanted a daughter. Incongruity and Surprise (A. Nilsen Living Language 205)
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 In one of her routines, eleven-year-old Claire Friedman told about a classmate she calls Tiffany: During lunch, Tiffany was staring at her carton of orange juice. I asked why. She said, The box says concentrate.
Claire said, Tiffany is so dumb shed get fired from an M&M factory for throwing away all the Ws. Superiority, Hostility, Wordplay (A. Nilsen Living Language 204)
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 During the 1960s, there was talk of nominating Senator Margaret Chase Smith for President of the United States. One reporter stuck a microphone in her face and asked, Mrs. Smith, what would you do if you should wake up some morning and find yourself in the White House? Without batting an eye she responded, I would go to the presidents wife, apologize, and leave immediately. Situation, Surprise,etc. (A. Nilsen Living Language 204)

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 A four-year-old was brought to the emergency room of a hospital with a bad cough.
The child kept up a nonstop conversation while the nurse was trying to assess her lung sounds. Finally, the nurse said, Shhh, I have to see if Barney is in there. The child looked at her and calmly stated, I have Jesus in my heart. Barney is on my underwear. Surprise, Incongruity, etc. (A. Nilsen Living Language 204)

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 At the opening of a new play, George Bernard Shaw sent two tickets to Winston Churchill. Shaw wrote on the letter, Here is a ticket for you and your friendif you have one. Churchill sent back the tickets with a message for Shaw. I cant attend on the opening night, but I would love to go to the second performanceif you have one. Hostility, Exaggeration, Word Play, etc. (A. Nilsen Living Language 204)

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 In Alice in Wonderland, the Mock Turtle explains to Alice that he only took the regular course. What was that? inquired Alice. Reeling and Writhing, of course, to begin with, and then the different branches of ArithmeticAmbition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision. Word Play, etc. (A. Nilsen Living Language 205)

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Literary Functions of Humor: Scripts and Double Entendre

The text of a joke is always fully or in part compatible with two distinct scripts and the two scripts are opposed to each other in a special way.

The punchline triggers the switch from the one script to the other by making the hearer backtrack and realize that a different interpretation [of the joke] was possible from the very beginning. (Attardo and Raskin [1991] 308)
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PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF HUMOR

Arousal Social Control Establishment of Superiority Relief, and Release Ego Defense, Coping, and Saving Face Gaining Status Healing Testing Limits

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SELF-DISPARAGEMENT
Self-disparagement humor is actually intended to empower the user. Here are some effective ads using selfdisparagement: Terminix Pest Control: When you think of pests, think of us.

Twist Lemon-Menthol Cigarettes: Our new menthol is a lemon.

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 Champion International Trend Carpet: Eight million people walked all over us. And they dont even know our name.
Quaker Oats as a diet food: Quaker Oats: Breakfast of losers. Simmons bunk beds: Simmons beds are a lot of bunk. (Nilsen & Nilsen 273)

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EDUCATIONAL FUNCTIONS OF HUMOR

Teaching and Learning

Arguing and Persuading

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SOCIAL FUNCTIONS OF HUMOR

In-Bonding and Out-Bonding

Promoting Social Stability and Control Promoting Social Change
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SUPERIORITY VS. INCONGRUITY

In Reflections upon Laughter, Frances Hutcheson argued against Thomas Hobbess century-old superiority theory. He pointed out that people dont go to asylums to laugh at the inferior beings, nor do we laugh at animals unless they resemble human beings. We laugh at someone who slips on a banana peel not because we feel superior, but because of the incongruity between our expectations and the sudden insight. (Nilsen & Nilsen 163)

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!SUBJECTS OF HUMOR
Ethnic Identification Politics

Sexual Roles and Scatology

Occupations

Religion and Belief Systems

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 !!OLD TABOOS AND CENSORSHIP These are the taboo areas in American English. Theyre the subjects that we cant talk about, but we must talk about. But these taboos are changing. Most of our censorship used to come from the right, but now our censorship is coming from both the right and the left. Censorship from the left is called political correctness.

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 !!!NEW TABOOS AND CENSORSHIP

TABOO AND CENSORSHIP FROM THE RIGHT INCLUDES: Sex, Religion, Body Parts, Swear Words, Obscenities and Vulgarities

TABOO AND CENSORSHIP FROM THE LEFT (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS) INCLUDES: Women, Gays, Disabled People, Ethnic Minorities and Old People

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HUMOR WEB SITES

AMERICAN COMEDY ARCHIVES (JENNI MATZ): www.emerson.edu/comedy THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF PLAY: http://www.tasplay.org

COMEDY ARCHIVES (JENNI MATZ): http://www.greaterboston.tv/features/gb_20060509_comedy.html

COMEDY USA (BARRY WEINTRAUB): www.comedyusa.com THE HUMOR COLLECTION (RUTH HAMILTON): www.thehumorcollection.org
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HUMOR MATTERS (STEVE SULTANOFF): http://www.humormatters.com THE HUMOR PROJECT (JOEL GOODMAN): www.HumorProject.com INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF HUMOR STUDIES (MARTIN LAMPERT): www.humorstudies.org ISHS HISTORICAL SITE (DON NILSEN): http://www.uniduesseldorf.de/WWW/MathNat/Ruch/Secretar yPage.html
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LAUGHING JAPAN (TILL WEINGAERTNER): http://www.tillchan.typepad.com/laughing MIRTH: HUMOR AND LAUGHTER IN TEACHING (RON BERK): www.mirthium.com PARENTING HUMOR (TIM BETE): http://www.TimBete.com A PLAYFUL PATH TO WHOLENESS (BERNIE DEKOVEN): http://www.deepfun.com SNIGLETS (RICH HALL): http://www.ziplink.net/users/wood/funny/snigglets.html

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References: Apter, Michael J. Humour and Reversal Theory. Chapter 8 in Michael Apters The Experience of Motivation: The Theory of Psychological Reversals. New York, NY: Academic Press, 1982.

Apter, Michael J., and Kenneth C. P. Smith. Humour and the Theory of Psychological Reversals. in Chapman and Foot (1977): 95-100.
Attardo, Salvatore. The General Theory of Verbal Humor, Twenty Years After. HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research 24-2 (2011): 123. Attardo, Salvatore. Linguistic Theories of Humor. Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter, 1994. Attardo, Salvatore. A Multiple-Level Analysis of Jokes. HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research 2.4 (438-439).

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Attardo, Salvatore. A Primer for the Linguistics of Humor in Raskin 2007, 101-156.
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