History of English Humour, Vol. 1: With an Introduction upon Ancient HumourL'Estrange, A. G. K. (Alfred Guy Kingan)
Philosophy
History of English Humour, Vol. 1: With an Introduction upon Ancient Humour
L'Estrange, A. G. K. (Alfred Guy Kingan)
English wit and humor -- History and criticism; Wit and humor -- History and criticism
Next in order, we come to consider some of the many instances in
Aristophanes of what may be called optical humour--that in which the
point principally depends upon the eye. Thus he makes Hercules say he
cannot restrain his laughter on seeing Bacchus wearing a lion's skin
over a saffron robe. A Megarian reduced to extremities, determines to
sell his little daughters as pigs, and disguises them accordingly.[12]
In the Thesmophoriazusae, there is a shaving scene, in which the man
performed upon has his face cut, and runs away, "looking ridiculous with
only one side of his face shaven." In another play where the ladies have
stolen the gentlemen's clothes, the latter come on the stage in the
most ludicrous attire, wearing saffron-coloured robes, kerchiefs, and
Persian slippers. In another, the chorus is composed of men representing
wasps, with waists pinched in, bodies striped with black and yellow, and
long stings behind. The piece ends with three boys disguised as crabs,
dancing a furious breakdown, while the chorus encourages them with,
"Come now, let us all make room for them, that they may twirl themselves
about. Come, oh famous offsprings of your briny father!--skip along the
sandy shore of the barren sea, ye brothers of shrimps. Twirl, whirl
round your foot swiftly, and fling up your heels in the air like
Phrynicus, until the spectators shout aloud! Spin like a top, pass along
in circle, punch yourself in the stomach, and fling your leg to the sky,
for the King himself, who rules the sea, approaches, delighted with his
children!"
The greater the optical element in humour, the lower and more simple it
becomes, the complexity being more that of the senses than of intellect.
It may be said there is always some appeal to both, but not in any equal
proportions, and there is manifestly a great difference between the
humour of a plough-boy grinning through a horse-collar, and of a sage
observing that "when the poor man makes the rich a present, he is
unkind to him." Caricature drawings produce little effect upon educated
people, unless assisted by a description on which the humour largely
depends. We can see in a picture that a man has a grotesque figure, or
is made to represent some other animal; by gesticulation we can
understand when a person is angry or pleased, or hungry or thirsty; but
what we gain merely through the senses is not so very far superior to
that which is obtained by savages or even the lower animals, except
where there has been special education.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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