What is humour in literature

Some features of this site may not work without it. This Collection. Login Register. Getting Started About Contact Us. Humour in literature: Three levels Gloss, Teresa Guerra.

Use this link to cite this item:. Item Statistics Statistics Report. Humour, depending on the level of comprehension of the audience to which it is directed, may be divided in three levels for analysis.

There is a universal humour that can be understood by everybody, without regard to culture or formal education. But what is humorous in a literary piece differs from person to person. Humor is very important in a literary piece because it breaks monotony, boredom and arouses the interest of readers or audience.

Writers use literary devices such as exaggeration or hyperbole, irony, and sarcasm to bring our humor in their workpiece. Humor is used by some writers to reveal the main character in their story or play, set the theme of their work and sometimes even the tone or style of the writer is implored by humor.

In the novel "The Simple Heart" by Gustave Flaubert , Flaubert used a lot of humor to reveal the main character Felicite as …show more content… Though it 's very humorous, Flaubert uses it to help lay emphasis on the good heart of Felicite is having. Because no servant will behave that way. Another aspect Flaubert uses to lay emphasis on Felicite 's good heart is when she takes her las breath.

Because of the love she has for the parrot, she even thinks that the parrot is a holy spirit. It may seem funny though but because of her good and simple heart, that is " Secondly, humor can be used in a story to imply the style or tone of the story. The tone being the choice of words or language used by the author. The style is also the features used by the author. Flaubert continuously makes fun of Felicite from the start to the finish. He makes sure Felicite was mentioned most in his story making his style a linear one.

His choice of language is an exaggeration. How he describes Felicite physically, how he describes her character and almost everything about Felicite was exaggerated. This makes Flaubert 's work a humorous one.

Something unexpected happens, and this makes the reader laugh. Wait a minute! Self-deprecating humor is when the speaker or a character makes fun of himself or herself. This makes the character vulnerable to the reader, but at the same time, it also shows strength. The situation, whether real or imaginary, is just funny.

Throughout literature, there are many examples of situational humor that leave readers laughing. Often situational humor is based on perspective as in this example from The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler:.

I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul - chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth! Many literary texts use irony in a humorous way. There are several types of irony, but they all involve the contrast between what is said or seems to happen and what actually happens. One specific type is dramatic irony , in which the reader knows something the character does not.