Wit and its relation to the unconscious — John Shaqi
Wit and its relation to the unconsciousFreud, Sigmund
Science
Wit and its relation to the unconscious
Freud, Sigmund
Subconsciousness; Wit and humor -- Psychological aspects
The query, “_where is the Savior?_” or “_where is the picture of the
Savior?_” arouses the conjecture that the two pictures have reminded the
speaker of a similar arrangement familiar to him as it is familiar to
us. This arrangement, of which one element is here missing, shows the
figure of the Savior between two other figures. There is only one such
case: Christ hanging between the two thieves. The missing element is
emphasized by the witticism, and the similarity rests in the figures at
the right and left of the Savior, which are not mentioned in the jest.
It can only mean that the pictures hanging in the drawing-room are
likewise those of thieves. This is what the critic wished to, but could
not say, “You are a pair of scoundrels,” or more in detail, “What do I
care about your portraits? You are a pair of scoundrels, that I know.”
And by means of a few associations and conclusive inferences he has said
it in a manner which we designate as “allusion.”
We immediately remember that we have encountered the process of allusion
before. Namely, in double meaning, when one of the two meanings
expressed by the same word stands out very prominently, because being
used much oftener and more commonly, our attention is directed to it
first, whereas the other meaning remains in the background because it is
more remote—such cases we wished to describe as double meaning with
allusion. In an entire series of examples which we have hitherto
examined, we have remarked that their technique is not simple and we
realized that the process of allusion was the factor that complicated
it. For example, see the contradiction-witticism in which the
congratulations on the birth of the youngest child are acknowledged by
the remark that it is remarkable what human hands can accomplish (p.
77).
In the American anecdote we have the process of allusion without the
double meaning, and we find that the character of this process consists
in completing the picture through mental association. It is not
difficult to guess that the utilized association can be of more than one
kind. So as not to be confused by large numbers we shall discuss only
the most pronounced variations, and shall give only a few examples.
The association used in the substitution may be a mere sound, so that
this sub-group may be analogous to word-wit in the pun. However, it is
not similarity in sound of two words, but of whole sentences,
characteristic combinations of words, and similar means.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account