Humor

The best and most effective jokes reveal some inner truth about the joke’s target. In the context of a story, the wonderful part is that they also advance the story, and the audience hardly has a reason to notice it is a “joke” except that they are laughing. These are fifth degree jokes. Fifth degree … Read more

Ecclesiastes is the book of the Holy Bible most frequently quoted in popular culture and used as the source for titles of books and movies. Its verses are an absolute treasure trove of beautifully written, insightful, and pithy statements. “The Sun Also Rises,” and “The House of Mirth” are two that stand out. But when … Read more

Third degree jokes deal with reversal of scale–something little made big, or something of great value trivialized. The most persistent example I have in my head is from when David Letterman first had a night time talk show, he had a running bit one week with a really large doorknob. It was about three feet … Read more

Continuing my earlier post regarding the Five Degrees of Jokes, here now is a brief discussion of second degree jokes. Second degree jokes juxtapose the sacred with the profane. This is fairly easy to explain because it can be shocking, and the shock to the system is what raises tension and elicits laughter. If the … Read more

First degree jokes are puns, wordplay, and overly literal use of words. I breathe these kind of jokes because they are mostly innocent, playful, or silly, and I have raised two children to their teen years, and first degree jokes were fairly safe.If my daughter asks me how my day went, I might reply, “fine.” … Read more