DOCSLIB.ORG

Don Marquis: the Tragic Humorist

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Don Marquis: the Tragic Humorist FORGOTTEN VOICES FROM ILLINOIS HISTORY Don Marquis: The Tragic Humorist By John Hallwas many jobs around his home town—in a drug store and a clothing store, for a llinois has produced some sewing-machine company and a poultry nationally famous humorists, H slaughterhouse, at the post office and Iincluding newspaper the local newspaper. columnists Eugene Field, Finley In 1898 he moved to Galesburg, to Peter Dunne, and George Ade— study at Knox College, but for financial all associated with Chicago—but reasons, he dropped out after a few the most broadly talented figure of that months. He returned to Bureau County, kind was Don Marquis, who enjoyed where he taught in country schools and success as a newspaper columnist, edited a village newspaper —jobs that fiction writer, poet, and playwright. required no college education. He amused his fellow Americans from Influenced by Eugene Field and George World War I into the 1930s—becoming Ade, he wanted to write a news paper the most well-known humorist of his column. But his experience with small- era—and he also wrote some serious town culture convinced him that better Born in Walnut, Illinois, Don works as well. But ironically, his life opportunities were found in cities. Marquis had a distinguished career was marked by one tragedy after Marquis moved to Washington, as a newspaper columnist in another during his later years. When D.C. in 1900 and worked in the Washington, D.C., and New York Marquis died in 1937, newspapers Census Bureau and for the Washington City. Photos and illustrations courtesy across the country carried articles Times. He was also a reporter in of Western Illinois University Archives. celebrating his work, but since then, Philadelphia for a short time. Then he he has become an obscure figure. moved to Atlanta, where he wrote claiming that Archy composed them, Marquis was born in 1878 at newspaper editorials and later assisted and typed them out at night, but was Walnut, a hamlet east of Rock Island humorist Joel Chandler Harris by co- unable to reach the shift key on the in Bureau County. The son of a physi- editing, and writing for, Uncle Remus typewriter.) cian, he graduated from the local high Magazine. Of course, Harris often A literary cockroach, Archy rails at school at age 15. Like Carl Sandburg, wrote about animal characters, many social problems, but he often who was born in the same year, at especially Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox, takes a pragmatic view of intellectual nearby Galesburg, Marquis worked at who are central to “The Wonderful matters. Referring to Einstein’s relativ- Tar-Baby Story” and others, so that ity theory, for example, he says, probably influenced the young writer from Illinois. “old doc Einstein has Marquis moved again, to New abolished time, but they York, in 1909, and soon became widely haven’t got the news known as a columnist for the New York at sing sing yet.” Sun and the Herald Tribune. He also wrote his first book, the novel Danny’s Mehitabel is an amorous but aging Own Story (1912), about a youth alley cat of easy virtue and wide experi- whose disillusioning experiences are ence, whose persistence in the face of akin to those of Huckleberry Finn. As challenges is inspirational. As she says that suggests, the aspiring author was in “the song of mehitabel,” deeply influenced by Mark Twain. But the most famous literary “i have had my ups and downs characters created by Marquis were but wot-the-hell, wot-the-hell . animals, Archy and Mehitabel—an my youth i shall never forget, insightful cockroach who used a type- but there is nothing i really regret. writer and an old cat who claimed she wot-the-hell, wot-the-hell, had a human soul. Their adventures there’s a dance in the old dame yet.” and discussions formed a humorous commentary on contemporary interests As that suggests, the free-spirited Marquis attended Knox College in and values. (Marquis always wrote the Mehitabel is always undefeated, Galesburg and went on to write 32 imaginative columns reflecting their despite her impoverished circum- books, most of them humorous views without using any capital letters, stances and the challenges of old age. satire. 10 I LLINOIS H ERITAGE It is now hard for us to realize how been a popular physician in Walnut. other child, a daughter named Barbara. well-known these two animal commen- As those stories show, despite his long But Maud was an unstable person and tators were in the first half of experience in New York, soon became a constant source of the 20th century, but the Marquis did some- concern and expense. In fact, by 1925 Archy and Mehitabel articles times base writings on she had become a dope addict, so he were later published in three his Illinois background. struggled to help her. collections that went through Indeed, his insightful Marquis gave up his column to be several editions. but unfinished, posthu- at home and help his daughter cope Marquis went on to mously published novel, with her mother’s death. And he was write 32 books, most of Sons of the Puritans remarried in 1926, to an actress named which were volumes of (1939), also reflects Marjorie Vonnegut, who was a good humorous or satirical writ- small-town culture and stepmother for Barbara. But tragedy ing in verse or prose—such was obviously influenced struck again, for Barbara died of pneu- as Hermione and Her Little by his background in monia in 1931, at age 13. Marquis had Group of Serious Thinkers Walnut. difficulty coping with that loss. Then, (1916), Prefaces (1919), He also wrote a very in 1936, Marjorie became ill and died Poems and Portraits successful play called The also, at the age of 44. So, the socially (1922), The Almost Perfect Old Soak (1926), in which outgoing American humorist eventually State (1927), and Chapters for the the main character is a humorous, had no family. Orthodox (1934). Because he was a good-natured drinker. It had a long run By that time, too, Marquis had congenial drinker, his favorite topic on Broadway and was also performed already suffered a stroke, so he spent was Prohibition, and he often ridiculed in many towns during the Prohibition the last couple years of his life in ill the socially insensitive anti-liquor era—including Skowhegan, Maine, health. He died in 1937, at age 59. movement. Or as Archy once put it, where Marquis himself played the lead In one of his finest poems, “A in a summer stock production. (It was Gentleman of Fifty Soliloquizes,” “prohibition makes you eventually filmed, in 1937, as The Marquis expresses the emotional want to cry into your beer Good Old Soak.) strain involved in close relation- and denies you the beer Marquis wrote a ships—and the potential for to cry into.” few other plays tragedy. He ends that poem with that were per- an anguished appeal for humor, It is not surprising that one of the formed as a kind of relief for one who most engaging short stories by Marquis in New York, but has known so much sadness, is “How Hank Signed the Pledge,” they were not as and who harbors profound per- which appeared in his story collection, successful. He was sonal losses: The Revolt of the Oyster (1922). I dis- also an occasional cussed it long ago in a scholarly article screenwriter in “Give me your mirth. for MidAmerica (1979), pointing out Hollywood. It bores me when you weep. that it was “about an unregenerate Marquis was My loves you cannot touch. drinker who obstinately stands against eventually elected to They’re buried deep.” the efforts of an entire town to reform the National Institute him,” and “it satirizes those people who of Arts and Letters and In famous author E. B. put stock in temperance pledges and was awarded the Mark White’s introduction to a posthumous other outward indications of decency, Twain Medal for his outstanding collection, the lives and times of archy such as church membership.” So, it contribution to American humor. and mehitabel (1940), he asserts that reveals some shallow aspects of But if he was fortunate as a writer, Marquis was “a parodist, historian, Midwestern small-town culture. I also his private life was just the opposite. poet, clown, fable writer, satirist, indicated that the central figure in the His only son, a precocious child named reporter, and teller of tales”—in short, story, Hank Walters, was inspired by a Bobby, died of a degenerative disease a multi-talented writer. He was man who had lived in Walnut, Illinois, in 1921, at the age of five. Marquis indeed, and his best works deserve when the author was a boy. blamed himself for not saving the continuing appreciation. Another Marquis short story that I boy—even though he had taken Bobby also discussed years ago is “Country to several physicians for treatment. John Hallwas is the author or editor Doctor,” which appeared in American Two years later, his wife, Reina, of thirty books related to Illinois history Magazine in 1935. It portrays the most suddenly went into convulsions and and literature, and he speaks widely admirable man in a small town, who died at their home, with Marquis look- on a variety of historical topics. A has great concern for those around ing on helplessly. He was devastated. long-time member of the ISHS, he him—and it was an attempt to pay Marquis took in his unmarried can be reached through his website: tribute to the author’s father, who had sister, Maud, to help raise his only www.johnhallwas.jimdo.com.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Grumpy Old Humorist Tells All: Three Short Essays on Writing, Plus Random Thoughts on Same by Ed Mcclanahan
    224 Ed McClanahan Grumpy Old Humorist Tells All: Three Short Essays On Writing, Plus Random Thoughts on Same by Ed McClanahan —“I can read readin’, but I can’t read writin’. The reason I can’t read writin’ is, it’s wrote too close to the paper.” —Clem Kadiddlehpopper When book reviewers deign to notice that I exist at all, they tend to refer to me as (among other lower life forms) a “humorist.” I’m always flattered, of course, to be nominated for the post, but I’m afraid I must politely decline to run, on the grounds that it would entail too much responsibility, trying to be funny all the time. The fact is, at my age, being funny ain’t really all that easy—or, to put it another way, being my age ain’t really all that funny . or, for that matter, all that easy either. We’ve all heard it said—usually of some poor, befuddled old bird like me—that “he’s taken leave of his senses.” What actually happens, though, is that our senses often pre- empt us to the punch, and take their own leave almost before we suspect they’re even contemplating a separation, much less a divorce. Corrective measures may, of course, sometimes be taken; cataract surgery is a wonder and a marvel, and I suppose there’s probably one of those “almost invisible” hearing aids circling my head at this very mo- ment, looking for an ear to build its unsightly nest in. My sense of smell has long since abandoned me (an impairment which, having its own occasional compensations, doesn’t even qualify me for disability assistance); and when it left, it took with it a disheartening measure of my sense of taste—so that, at dinnertime, I sit there grieving silently while everyone else is saying grace.
    [Show full text]
  • “The Grin of the Skull Beneath the Skin:” Reassessing the Power of Comic Characters in Gothic Literature
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research: Department of English English, Department of 12-2011 “The grin of the skull beneath the skin:” Reassessing the Power of Comic Characters in Gothic Literature Amanda D. Drake University of Nebraska-Lincoln Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/englishdiss Part of the Literature in English, British Isles Commons Drake, Amanda D., "“The grin of the skull beneath the skin:” Reassessing the Power of Comic Characters in Gothic Literature" (2011). Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research: Department of English. 57. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/englishdiss/57 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the English, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research: Department of English by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. “The grin of the skull beneath the skin:” Reassessing the Power of Comic Characters in Gothic Literature by Amanda D. Drake A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy English Nineteenth-Century Studies Under the Supervision of Professor Stephen Behrendt Lincoln, Nebraska December, 2011 “The grin of the skull beneath the skin:” 1 Reassessing the Power of Comic Characters in Gothic Literature Amanda D. Drake, Ph.D. University of Nebraska, 2011 Advisor: Dr. Stephen Behrendt Neither representative of aesthetic flaws or mere comic relief, comic characters within Gothic narratives challenge and redefine the genre in ways that open up, rather than confuse, critical avenues.
    [Show full text]
  • Stand-Up Comedy in Theory, Or, Abjection in America John Limon 6030 Limon / STAND up COMEDY / Sheet 1 of 160
    Stand-up Comedy in Theory, or, Abjection in America John Limon Tseng 2000.4.3 18:27 6030 Limon / STAND UP COMEDY / sheet 1 of 160 Stand-up Comedy in Theory, or, Abjection in America 6030 Limon / STAND UP COMEDY / sheet 2 of 160 New Americanists A series edited by Donald E. Pease Tseng 2000.4.3 18:27 Tseng 2000.4.3 18:27 6030 Limon / STAND UP COMEDY / sheet 3 of 160 John Limon Duke University Press Stand-up Comedy in Theory, or, Abjection in America Durham and London 2000 6030 Limon / STAND UP COMEDY / sheet 4 of 160 The chapter ‘‘Analytic of the Ridiculous’’ is based on an essay that first appeared in Raritan: A Quarterly Review 14, no. 3 (winter 1997). The chapter ‘‘Journey to the End of the Night’’ is based on an essay that first appeared in Jx: A Journal in Culture and Criticism 1, no. 1 (autumn 1996). The chapter ‘‘Nectarines’’ is based on an essay that first appeared in the Yale Journal of Criticism 10, no. 1 (spring 1997). © 2000 Duke University Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper ! Typeset in Melior by Tseng Information Systems, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data appear on the last printed page of this book. Tseng 2000.4.3 18:27 6030 Limon / STAND UP COMEDY / sheet 5 of 160 Contents Introduction. Approximations, Apologies, Acknowledgments 1 1. Inrage: A Lenny Bruce Joke and the Topography of Stand-Up 11 2. Nectarines: Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks 28 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Comic Vision and Comic Elements of the 18 Century Novel Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
    Pamukkale Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi Sayı 25/1,2016, Sayfa 230-238 COMIC VISION AND COMIC ELEMENTS OF THE 18TH CENTURY NOVEL MOLL FLANDERS BY DANIEL DEFOE Gülten SİLİNDİR∗ Abstract “It is hard to think about the art of fiction without thinking about the art of comedy, for the two have always gone together, hand in hand” says Malcolm Bradbury, because the comedy is the mode one cannot avoid in a novel. Bradbury asserts “the birth of the long prose tale was, then the birth of new vision of the human comedy and from that time it seems prose stories and comedy have never been far apart” (Bradbury, 1995: 2). The time when the novel prospers is the time of the development of the comic vision. The comic novelist Iris Murdoch in an interview in 1964 states that “in a play it is possible to limit one’s scope to pure tragedy or pure comedy, but the novel is almost inevitably an inclusive genre and breaks out of such limitations. Can one think of any great novel which is without comedy? I can’t.” According to Murdoch, the novel is the most ideal genre to adapt itself to tragicomedy. Moll Flanders is not a pure tragedy or pure comedy. On the one hand, it conveys a tragic and realistic view of life; on the other hand, tragic situations are recounted in a satirical way. Moll’s struggles to live, her subsequent marriages, her crimes for money are all expressed through parody. The aim of this study is to analyze 18th century social life, the comic scenes and especially the satire in the novel by describing the novel’s techniques of humor.
    [Show full text]
  • Donoso the Humorist: a Study of Entropy
    DONOSO THE HUMORIST: A STUDY OF ENTROPY _____________________________________________________ A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board _____________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY _____________________________________________________ by John A. Cunicelli August 2017 Examining Committee Members: Hortensia Morell, Advisory Chair, Department of Spanish and Portuguese Hiram Aldarondo, Department of Spanish and Portuguese Sergio Ramírez-Franco, Department of Spanish and Portuguese Michael Colvin, External Reader, Marymount Manhattan College ii © Copyright 2017 by John A. Cunicelli All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Donoso the Humorist: A Study of Entropy John A. Cunicelli Doctor of Philosophy Temple University, 2017 Doctoral Advisory Committee Chair: Hortensia Morell For over two millennia, humor has been the topic of philosophical discussion since it appears to be a nearly universal element of human experience and offers different perspectives on that experience. Humor delves deep into the cultural norms governing religion, family, sex, society, and other aspects of day to day life in order to investigate the absurdities therein. Viewing such reified aspects of life in a new, humorous light is one of the principal characteristics of the Chilean author José Donoso’s novels. Oftentimes irreverent and scathing, Donoso’s dark humor reaches entropic proportions since it accentuates (and at times even seems to celebrate) the human condition’s descent into chaos. Given this downward trajectory, a selection of the Chilean author’s novels will be analyzed under the entropic humor theory originated by literary theorist Patrick O’Neill. The notion of entropy contains the very idea of a breakdown of order that tends toward chaos, so this special brand of humor is a unique fit for a study of Donoso.
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliography
    Bibliography Bibliography Primary Sources Addison, Joseph. The Works of Joseph Addison. Ed. Richard Hurd. London: George Bell & Sons, 1893. Addison, Joseph and Richard Steele. The Spectator. 5 volumes. Ed. Donald F. Bond. Oxford: Claren- don P, 1965. Beowulf. A Verse Translation. Ed. Michael Alexander. London: Penguin, 2001. Boileau, Despréaux, Nicolas. L’Art Poétique. Ed. D. Nichol Smith. London: Cambridge UP, 1907. —————. The Art of Poetry Written in French by Sieur de Boileau. In Four Canto’s. Made English by Sir William Soames. By Since Revis’d by John Dryden, Esq. London: Printed and Sold by H. Hills, 1710. Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Web. 26 Nov. 2009. —————. Œuvres poétiques; suivies d’Oeuvres en prose. Paris: Ernest Flammarion, 1935. Bouhours, Dominique. “The Conversations of Aristo and Eugene.” The Continental Model: Selected French Critical Essays of the Seventeenth Century in English Translation. Eds. Scott Elledge and Don- ald Schier. Ithaca: Cornell University, 1970. —————. La Manière de bien penser dans les ouvrages d’esprit. Dialogues. A Amsterdam: Aux dépens d’Estienne Roger Marchand libraire, chez qui l’on trouve un assortiment général de toute sorte de musique très correctement corrigée, & qu’il vendra toûjours á meilleur marché que qui que ce soit quand même il devroit la donner pour rien, 1709. —————. Les Entretiens d’Ariste et d’Eugene. A Amsterdam : Aux dépens d’Estienne Roger, Marchand Libraire chez qui l’on trouve un assortiment général de toute sorte de Musique, 1703. —————. The Art of Criticism: or, the Method of Making a Right Judgment upon Subjects of Wit and Learn- ing. Translated from the best edition of the French, of the famous Father Bohours, by a person of quality.
    [Show full text]
  • Containing Humour: the Humorist As Prisoner in Twentieth-Century Literature
    Containing Humour: The Humorist as Prisoner in Twentieth-Century Literature by Jeanne Mathieu-Lessard A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Comparative Literature University of Toronto © Copyright by Jeanne Mathieu-Lessard 2017 Containing Humour: The Humorist as Prisoner in Twentieth-century Literature Jeanne Mathieu-Lessard Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Comparative Literature University of Toronto 2017 Abstract The boundary-crossing categories of the prison, society, and the body, are spaces of constraint for literary characters which trigger humour in the works of five twentieth-century authors: Romain Gary, Giovannino Guareschi, Wyndham Lewis, Vladimir Nabokov and Luigi Pirandello. These categories encompass a multiplicity of configurations of imprisonment, from the prison cell to ventriloquism. In twentieth-century fictions, spaces of imprisonment not only provide the setting and the cause for many humoristic situations, but they often become the root of a humoristic view of the human condition. Taking imprisonment as a concrete spatial setting or a metaphorical image, my work analyzes confinement as a trigger for humour—indeed, as an essential structural condition for the emergence of twentieth-century humour. By comparing prominent modernist authors such as Nabokov and Pirandello with less studied ones such as Guareschi, individual thematic studies highlight the development of a paradigm which crosses languages, literary genres, and so-called national styles. Chapter 1 maps out a theoretical and chronological outline of humour in the twentieth century, highlighting recurring structures such as the split self, the association of opposites or the self-reflexivity inherent in humour, in order to prepare the ground for the following three thematic ii chapters, centred around the figures of the prison cell, society, and the body.
    [Show full text]
  • Mark Twain's Subtle Sword of Satire
    Mark Twain’s Subtle Sword of Satire 3-5 class days High School English DESIRED RESULTS: What are the “big ideas” that drive this lesson? Students will be able to identify satire and its intended point and target as it was employed by Mark Twain. They then should be able to employ the same technique of writing to satirize an aspect of modern society. What are the “essential questions” that students must answer in order to understand the “big ideas?” What is satire and why is it used? What is a humorist, and how does Mark Twain exemplify a humorist? What is an aphorism, and how can it be used as satire? CORE UNDERSTANDINGS: Identify what students will know and/or be able to do. Students will be able to define “satire” and recognize it in Mark Twain’s literature. Students will be able to differentiate between blatant and more subtle forms of humorous satire. Students will be able to write their own satirical work on a foible of modern society to emulate the style of Mark Twain. SUGGESTED ASSESSMENTS: In small groups, students examine the more dark satire that is present in chapter XXI and XXII (the description of the town in Arkansas and Col. Sherburn’s speech). Each group determines Twain’s purpose in the satire, the target he is focused on, and the devices he uses to both bring in comedy/humor while also pointing out a serious message. Following chapter XXII, individually, students find an example of dark/subtle satire and write a multi-paragraph response that determines Twain’s purpose in the satire, the target he is focused on, and the devices he uses to both bring in comedy/humor while also pointing out a serious message.
    [Show full text]
  • THE JUDICIAL HUMORIST. by William L. Prosser. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1952
    University of Miami Law Review Volume 7 Number 3 Article 25 4-1-1953 THE JUDICIAL HUMORIST. By William L. Prosser. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1952. Clifford C. Alloway University of Miami School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.miami.edu/umlr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Clifford C. Alloway, THE JUDICIAL HUMORIST. By William L. Prosser. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1952., 7 U. Miami L. Rev. 450 (1953) Available at: https://repository.law.miami.edu/umlr/vol7/iss3/25 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at University of Miami School of Law Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Miami Law Review by an authorized editor of University of Miami School of Law Institutional Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MIAMI LAW QUARTERLY return from Moscow will prove itself in the future developments of our American-Soviet policies. 2 The reviewer feels that a statement from one of Mr. Kennan's speeches emphasizes the thoughts which he has generally expressed in American Diplomacy, to wit: . .. join me in recognizing the profundity of the foreign policy problems with which we are faced today; that you recognize the depth intime and space of the origin of those problems; and that you do not be misled into the easy conclusion that the dangers and challenges and dilemmas of world situation are the product of the mistakes or the ill will of any individuals who bear responsibility at this moment for the conduct of foreign affairs.
    [Show full text]
  • Satire As the Driving Force in Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin Jennifer Reisch South Dakota State University
    The Journal of Undergraduate Research Volume 2 Journal of Undergraduate Research, Volume Article 11 3: 2004 2004 "He Hath Wrong'd Himself ": Satire as the Driving Force In Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin Jennifer Reisch South Dakota State University Follow this and additional works at: http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/jur Part of the American Literature Commons, and the Literature in English, North America Commons Recommended Citation Reisch, Jennifer (2004) ""He Hath Wrong'd Himself": Satire as the Driving Force In Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin," The Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2, Article 11. Available at: http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/jur/vol2/iss1/11 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in The ourJ nal of Undergraduate Research by an authorized administrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SATIRE IN STOWE'S UNCLE TOM'S CABIN 65 "He Hath Wrong'd Himself": Satire as the Driving Force In Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin Author: Jennifer Reisch Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Mary R. Ryder Department: English Why, who cries out on pride That can therein tax any private party? Doth it not flow as hugely as the sea, [ ] Who can come in and say that I mean her. When such a one as she, such is her neighbor? Or what is he of basest function That says his bravery is not on my cost.
    [Show full text]
  • Humour and Irony in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility
    International Journal of Research ISSN NO:2236-6124 HUMOUR AND IRONY IN JANE AUSTEN’S SENSE AND SENSIBILITY K.ISHWARYA II M.A ENGLISH, S.T.E.T WOMEN’S COLLEGE, MANNARGUDI V.REGA ASSISTANT PROFESOR, DEPT. OF ENGLISH, S.T.E.T WOMEN’S COLLEGE, MANNARGUDI ABSTRACT The novel ‘Sense and Sensibility’ is rich in ‘Humour and Irony’. The humour of Jane Austen grows subtler in her later novels but it is never again more triumphantly fanny. She has a genius for using irony in her novel. Jane Austen is a first-rate humorist and belong, in fact, to the category of the foremost humorists in English literature. The irony employed by her is, therefore, necessarily of the comic kind. Sir John Middleton is so foolish that he relates Willoughby’s cruelty with his riding, and the folly’s puppies he had given him. Mrs. Palmer sympathies with Marianne by wishing that Combe Magna was not near Cleveland. Her greatest triumph in the use of comic irony is her novel ‘Emma’, ‘Sense and Sensibility’ is somewhat deficient absent from it. The present article examines and analysis the psychological, humour and irony and satire involved in this novel by Jane Austen. INTRODUCTION ‘Jane Austen’ is certainly respected as one of the great humourists in English novel. Comedy is our corresponding weapon against the forces of disintegration within human society, and against the germs of anarchy and defeatism in our own minds. The artistic detachment, which expresses itself in proportion and balance, is pre-requistite of comedy. The sense of humour, though not identical with this kind of detachment usually accompanies of sense of humour.
    [Show full text]
  • Stand-Up Comedy and Progressive Social Change David M
    University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School January 2015 Was It Something They Said? Stand-up Comedy and Progressive Social Change David M. Jenkins University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Communication Commons, Philosophy Commons, and the Sociology Commons Scholar Commons Citation Jenkins, David M., "Was It Something They aidS ? Stand-up Comedy and Progressive Social Change" (2015). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5710 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Was It Something They Said? Stand-up Comedy and Progressive Social Change by David M. Jenkins A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with a concentration in Performance Studies Department of Communication College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Co-Major Professor: Elizabeth Bell, Ph.D. Co-Major Professor: A. David Payne, Ph.D. Mahuya Pal, Ph.D. John Barnshaw, Ph.D. Date of Approval: June 26, 2015 Keywords: Culture, Humor, Performance, Rhetoric Copyright © 2015, David M. Jenkins DEDICATION This project is dedicated to many, all of whom are partially responsible for getting me here. First, the educators: Dr. Lee Beger, Dr. Patrick Finelli, David Frankel, Dr. Ralf Remshardt, Dr. Mikell Pinkney, Dr. David Shelton, Dr. Stacy Holman Jones, Dr.
    [Show full text]