If you think they are all the same with minor differences here and there, you have not even scratched the surface of the English language. A wit is a natural aptitude for using words and ideas in a quick and inventive way to create humour. This requires a capacity for inventive thought, quick understanding and keen intelligence. The ability to use words or ideas in an amusing, clever, and imaginative way is often a treasured attribute which very few people have.
Wit, humour, irony, sarcasm, satire, repartee mean a mode of expression intended to arouse amusement. When a writer uses wit in their work they're attempting to provoke laughter by mocking someone or something. Wit often uses paradoxes and clever turns of phrase in order to surprise and please the reader. Traditionally, the ability to create witty statements has been seen as a trait of high intelligence. One key hallmark of wit is that it often takes a second to figure out. A witty remark is one that goes over people’s heads at first, but that they then get (and laugh at) after a few moments. It is a kind of mental time-bomb that only goes off once it’s been processed a bit. Thus, wittiness is a subjective quality – for some people, a line will be immediately understood and therefore not very witty (even though it might still be funny or clever). But other people might hear the same line and need to process it for a moment before they get it. To them, it took some time to land, so the line would be witty.
Wit is one of the defining features of James Bond in every Bond film. In particular, the character Q, who gives Bond his gadgets, is famous for his witty lines. In The World is Not Enough, Q even makes a witty remark about this attribute of the films! When he meets Bond for the first time, he says “Ah, the legendary 007 wit – or at least half a one.” I intend to list a bunch of famous witty statements from history later on for you to savour.
Sarcasm
Sarcasm is an ironic statement meant to mock or ridicule another person. The term has its origins from the Greek root word “sarkezein” meaning “to tear flesh, bite the lip in rage, sneer.” Wit is often sarcastic – that is, the speaker says the opposite of what they mean, but in a dry or cutting way. There is a cruel or contemptuous element in sarcasm. For example, saying "they're really on top of things" to describe a group of people who are very disorganized is using sarcasm. When you get an “F” on an exam and your friend says, “Nice job, Einstein” that is sarcasm.
Sarcasm can differ from country to country. While an Englishman will keep a straight face and quip “Wow, did you get dressed in the dark this morning?” an American will gently punch your shoulder while guffawing loudly “Wow, did you get dressed in the dark this morning? Just kidding! Your clothes are fine! You look great! Hahahahah”
Banter/Repartee
As the two main characters meet, they exchange a series of humorous jabs, making light of their situation and causing one another to laugh, this witty back-and-forth is referred to as banter or repartee, and is frequently used in movies to show that two characters are clever, as well as personally close. Of course, a witty repartee is also important in real life, as friends frequently talk this way with one another. Example:
Friend 1 -“You’re not doing much, are you?”
Friend2 – “You should quit your day job and be my bodyguard. I’ll pay you double”
Wordplay/Pun
Wordplay is a broad term that can encompass any kind of playing around with language for humor and fun. Obviously, this broad definition would include many examples of wit as well. A pun is a literary device that is also known as a “play on words.” Puns involve words with similar or identical sounds but with different meanings. Their play on words also relies on a word or phrase having more than one meaning. Let us see a few examples:
· The cyclist was two tyred to win the race.
· It’s difficult for crabs to share because they are shellfish
· If you stand by the window, I’ll help you out
· The population of Ireland is always Dublin
· The road to success is always under construction
· My fat friend did not buy a belt, thinking it is a waist of time.
Irony
Irony describes situations that are strange or funny because things happen in a way that seems to be the opposite of what you expected. Note the "opposite" here. If an expectation is black, then an ironic outcome would be white, not off-white or gray. Example:
Bill Hillmann, the author of multiple books about how to not get gored by bulls was the only non-Spaniard to get gored in the 2014 running of the bulls in Pamplona. If it’s raining outside and someone says, “What lovely weather we’re having!” — that is irony.
Satire
Satire is the art form of using hyperbole to ridicule the egregious. Most commonly it’s used to expose the follies of the over-pompous or the self-important. Satire often makes fun of people by imitating them in ways that expose their stupidity or flaws. American presidential elections are a season for satires in the television programme Saturday Night Live. Oh My God on India TV is a satire on the state of Indian politics. Satire is often made to make you laugh and then make you think. It's not humour for its own sake — there is a message to it. Sarcasm and satire are both caustic remarks trying to bring out the discrepancy, dichotomy, hypocrisy, the double- standard, the falsehood, the moral degradation of an individual, or of the society
Lampoon
A lampoon is an attack on someone, something, an institution, or an activity. It more specific than satire and seeks to address broader social behaviors and vices. For example, it’s easy to draw a difference between satire about politics and the specific lampooning of a political figure. Sometimes, these attacks are unjust. It is certainly going to depend on the reader to determine whether or not they’re deserved and/or if they’re funny. Half of India feels calling a political leader ‘Pappu’ is funny while his party men think it as unjustifiable lampooning!
Famous witty statements from history
A good insult truly is rare, and is something to be relished like a fine wine. When you offend somebody with such artistry and wit, you can't pretend to be offended. It's best not to take such put-downs personally, and just let it go. Let me share with you a few of my favorite crushing zingers.
- “She ran the whole gamut of the emotions, from A to B.” What author
Dorothy Parker had to say on Katharine Hepburn’s acting.
- “All morons hate it when you call them a moron.” Author J.D. Salinger, from his novel Catcher in the Rye.
- “My dear, you are ugly, but tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be ugly.” What the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said to Lady Astor, the first female Member of Parliament, after she called him “disgustingly drunk.”
- “Nancy, if you were my wife, I’d drink it.” What Winston Churchill had
to say after being informed by Lady Astor that if she was married to him, she
would have poisoned his coffee.
- “Bill Clinton is a man who thinks international affairs means dating a girl from out of town.” This is what author Tom Clancy had to say on the 42nd President of the United States.
- “I like your opera. I think I will set it to music.” Composer Ludwig van Beethoven, slapping another composer with his wit.
- “I don’t approve of political jokes; I have seen too many of them get elected.” Comedian Jon Stewart on the tools of his trade.
- “If your brains were dynamite, there wouldn’t be enough to blow your hat off.” Quoted from the novel Timequake, by author Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
- “She speaks five languages and can’t act in any of them.” Sir John Gielgud on Casablanca star Ingrid Bergman.
- “One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bonafide stupidity there ain’t nothing can beat teamwork.” One of author Mark Twain's most famous insults.
- “What problems do you have, apart from being blind, unemployed, and a moron?” Tennis star John McEnroe, to a Wimbledon spectator.
- “Your hair wants cutting.” Taken from Lewis Carroll's novel, Alice in Wonderland - what the Mad Hatter said to the March Hare.
- “His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.” Actress Mae West on a man she didn’t like in Belle of the Nineties (1934).
- “Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses.” Actress Elizabeth Taylor on her storied acting career.
- “Gentleman, Chicolini here may look like an idiot and talk like an idiot, but don’t let that fool you. He really is an idiot.” Comedian Groucho Marx in Duck Soup (1933).
- “He is simply a hole in the air.” What author George Orwell wrote in his novel The Lion and the Unicorn.
- “He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I ever met.” President Abraham Lincoln, on one of his political opponents.
- “He has Van Gogh’s ear for music.” What writer and filmmaker Billy Wilder had to say, while listening to an actor sing in the movie Kiss Me, Stupid.
- “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.” Dolly Parton, referring to herself.
- “Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.” Mark Twain on the members of Capitol Hill.
Wit is a biting or insightful kind of humor. It includes sharp comebacks, clever banter, and dry, one-line jokes. It is often cynical or insulting, which is what provides it with its characteristic sharpness. To distinguish irony from satire and sarcasm, remember that irony pertains to situations while satire and sarcasm are forms of expression. People make satire and sarcasm happen. Irony is just there. Pun is playing around with language for humor and fun and lampoon is a deliberate attack on a person or an institution or an event in a funny way.
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