Table on Humor

[deelaundry]

Working on something else, I found this table on humor that I thought was interesting. Note the distinction between "sarcasm" and "invective," for example.

What do you think? Agree?  Disagree?

From H.W. Fowler ["Modern English Usage," 1926].

device	HUMOR	WIT	SATIRE	SARCASM
motive/aim	discovery	throwing light	amendment	inflicting pain
province	human nature	words & ideas	morals & manners	faults & foibles
method/means	observation	surprise	accentuation	inversion
audience	the sympathetic	the intelligent	the self-satisfied	victim & bystander

device	INVECTIVE	IRONY	CYNICISM	SARDONIC
motive/aim	discredit	exclusiveness	self-justification	self-relief
province	misconduct	statement of facts	morals	adversity
method/means	direct statement	mystification	exposure of nakedness	pessimism
audience	the public	an inner circle	the respectable	the self

Comments

[petrichor-fizz.livejournal.com]

I find it interesting that it lists "the self-satisfied" as the audience of satire. I suppose it's true, in a sense, but I think that satire is incredibly important. Unless you recategorise things like The Daily Show, for example, (usually described as satirical) as invective. That works.

Did what I just said make sense? I can't tell.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

It did make sense. I don't know if "audience" is quite the right word, but I do think satire is aimed at (so maybe "target") people who are self-satisfied. Think about who The Daily Show takes down - politicians, news reporters, activists... people who are very self-satisfied. They don't take down the nervous and timid.

Or maybe I'm wrong, I don't know.

[petrichor-fizz.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see. I took "audience" to be the people appreciating the humour, rather than the "victims" of it, so to speak. But that could make sense, yeah.

[asynca.livejournal.com]

I don't agree with anything in the "WIT" column. 'Surprise' as the means? PLEASE. 'Understated illumination' would be more appropriate. Additionally, House/Wilson wouldn't be NEARLY as popular if wit were only for the intelligent.

The motive for CYNICISM is self-justification? What is this, a PSYCH MANUAL? Actually, the whole CYNICISM column is odd.

'SARDONIC' is great, though. I agree with all of it.

[petrichor-fizz.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't think you can strip things like wit and humour down to their bare components like that, because they're a lot more complex than that implies.

[asynca.livejournal.com]

I sometimes think about what it must be like to construct a dictionary, and be forced to define very difficult concepts to explain like Irony.

[petrichor-fizz.livejournal.com]

It's like when a kid (or someone with a really tiny vocabulary) asks you to explain a word that you use all the time with total confidence, and you completely draw a blank, because it's not a concept that can be easily encapsulated. It's the kind of thing that you gradually come to understand through familiarity with/exposure to it, rather than by having it explained to you.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

"Surprise" is the wrong word, but it definitely has to be original and different to be wit. A bon mot you've heard before may still be humorous, but it's no longer witty. And I choose to believe that "the intelligent" can refer to just about anyone who's in the right mood. Football in groin is funny but it's not wit. House/Wilson banter - the best kind - appeals to and inspires intelligence; it makes you want to go look up a reference you didn't get because you know it'll be good.

"Cynicism" is odd, and the irony column is weird too.

[asynca.livejournal.com]

Yes, you're right. 'Wit' is understated innovative illumination or observation. The 'innovation' is the most important part of it.

[roga.livejournal.com]

I don't agree with everything here, but I do find the provinces and audiences to be mostly correct. And it's important to remember that humor isn't exclusive to any of these categories - something can be witty, sarcastic and cynical, for instance, all at the same time.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

True, true. I don't even know what parts I might agree with, but it's interesting to see it laid out.

[purridot.livejournal.com]

That is kinda cool! It took me a while to puzzle out the "irony" column though. Thinking of House and Wilson, Wilson seems to prefer more private jokes and subtle jibes like wit and irony, while House likes a more public platform like sarcasm and invective for his performance. Hmm, I wonder what that means from a psychological point of view ;-)

[daisylily.livejournal.com]

There isn't the vaguest possibility of the slightest chance that I can make any sense of that at the moment, so I will come back to it later... XD