Humor in Rhetoric

I.  What is Humor?

A.  Definitions:

1.  Quintilian:  "that art which expels the grave emotions of the audience by exciting them to laughter, often against their own wills."

• art:  body of knowledge used for a particular end
  • based upon observation; has certain rules; that can be taught
  • end = laughter
• dispels more serious emotions:  anger, hatred, sorrow
• has an "imperious force":  hard to resist

B.  Humor as a Means

1.  Aristotle/ Cicero:  Good Humor is a means between....

• buffoonery
• humorlessness

C.  Objects of Humor (What Makes us Laugh?):

        1.  words/actions that are clever/witty

        2.  words that reveal the character defects (blemishes) of others

• Cicero:  Laughter has its basis in the unseemly/ugly.  "for the chief, if not the only, objects of laughter are those sayings which remark upon and point out something unseemly in no unseemly manner."

II.  Purpose of Humor in Rhetoric

1.  Quintilian:

• "dispels the graver emotions of the audience by exciting laughter"
• "frequently diverts the audiences attention from the facts of the case."
• "refreshes members of the audience and revives them when they have begun to be bored or wearied by the [speech]

2.  Cicero:

• helps to win the goodwill of the audience for the speaker
• helps to win the admiration of the audience by demonstrating cleverness & refinement
• destroys/ undermines an opponent;  can throw him off

III.  How to Use Humor in Rhetoric

A.  Quintilian:   Three Types of Humor

1.  Physical Humor

2.  Verbal Humor

3.  Combination:  witty remark + ridiculous look or gesture

B.  Three Uses of Humor in Rhetoric

1.  Derision of an Opponents Character/Position

2.  Self-Directed Humor

3.  Cheating the Expectations of the Audience through clever use of language 

C.  Tips from the Romans

1.  Humor can poke fun at foibles of others but  should never be designed to wound, abuse  or offend

2.  Quintilian:  "The Gravity in which a jest is uttered increases it attraction."  (i.e., dry humor)

3.  Quintilian:  "As for obscenity, it should not merely be banished from...language, but should not even be suggested."  (Quintilian even rejects the use of double entendres)

4.  Cicero: Never use humor when attacking wickedness (crime) or speaking about victims of great wretchedness (poverty/hunger/sickness/warfare).  "the things most easily ridiculed are those which call for neither strong disgust nor the deepest sympathy."

5.  Try not to appear insolent or arrogant when using humor.