Abstract
This paper explains that the Elizabethans believed that all human beings were made up of four humours or bodily fluids. These fluids were associated with certain personality traits. The paper continues to use Shakespearean characters to qualify and quantify the theory of the humors.

From the Paper
"In contrast, according to the theories of the humors, a choleric person would have an imbalance of yellow bile within him. The most obviously choleric person of "Henry V" would be the Dauphin of France. According to the theories of the humors, these persons were usually slim, wiry, and showed a great deal of color in their face when they were angry. They are, like Dauphin, ambitious, energetic, and direct. The Dauphin angers Henry V by sending the king tennis balls, a foolish and rash action. He constantly proclaims the French superiority to the English, and rages at every chance he has about the English actions."

Tags:bodily, fluids, Elizabethan

Abstract
The paper outlines the four major schools of humor theory; incongruity theory, relief theory, play theory and superiority theory. The paper then discusses the joke of 'The Wise Hunter'; the hunter's friend has collapsed and in response, the hunter simultaneously asks for help and helps with the demise of his friend. The paper analyzes how this joke utilizes the incongruity theory of humor.

Outline:
Part 1: Introduction
Summary of Theories
Part 2: Joke #1-The Wise Hunter

From the Paper
"Stand up comedians often use the build up of stories to gather interest and excitement. The audience waits for the conclusion or punch line. The comic then delivers the punch line and the audience releases its built up pressure through laughter.
Unlike the Relief Theory of humor, the incongruity theory is the main theory of humor and accounts for most cases of humor.
"Aristotle presents the earliest glimmer of an Incongruity Theory of humor by stating that the best way to get an audience to react is by setting them up and delivering something that adds a twist to the ending. Modern day television programs like Seinfeld provide the viewer with either a play on words or a situational outcome that is completely different from what they expected. The use of incongruity often culminates in situations that are unexpected and therefore humorous to the audience."

Tags:superiority, play, relief, incongruity, laughter, amusement

Abstract
This paper examines how in a philosophical context the superiority relief and incongruity theories of humor offer revealing insights into human nature the role of humor in society and the various psychological factors that play a primary role in determining what human beings consider humorous. The superiority relief and incongruity theories of humor are all credible and relevant, for they each provide a distinct emphasis and perspective even though they all share many of the same basic characteristics of humor.

Tags:theories, of, humor

Abstract
This paper explains the three theories of humor - using research from several sources for a diversity of definitions - and then examines specific humor excerpts from the "Blue Collar Comedy Tour" DVD. The excerpts are analyzed using material from Francis Hutcheson, Immanuel Kant, John Morreall, Michael Clark and Sigmund Freud. The three theories discussed are: The Incongruity Theory, the Relief Theory and the Superiority Theory.

From the Paper
"Michael Clark in his essay, "The Rejection of Humor in Western Thought" writes that laughter and humor should not be seen as the same thing. Clark says philosophers sometimes see laughter "as a form or scorn and humiliation..." and further believes that "to ridicule and humiliate another person just because doing so makes you feel better about yourself, is antisocial at best and curl at worst." By saying a married man rarely has sex with his wife, and that a gay man likewise can't remember the last time he had sex with a woman (since likely he has never had intercourse with a female), Foxworthy is creating laughter by ridiculing both men."

Tags:comical, satire, psychology, incongruity, relief

Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses that Emily Dickinson employs humour thematically in her poetry, but she also constructs the form of some of her poems in such a way as to mirror the rhythm and meter of jokes. The writer also points out that in some of Dickinson's poetry, form becomes an oblique way of articulating an often subversive truth. Dickinson also employs humour or the theme of joking and jest in her poetry thematically, going so far as to use the idea of joking as the central theme of several poems. The writer maintains that humour seems to be for Dickinson a way of articulating a subversive truth that often stems from relationships of power. The writer concludes that Dickinson's use of form and theme tie together humour theory and feminist scholarship to create a poetics of subversion through slantness that has perhaps not been attended to with the depth it warrants. The writer further suggests that brevity, as we know, is the soul of Dickinson, but wit is her weapon.

From the Paper
"That "I know that He exists" contains throughout the poem the language of finance is, as we will see later in "Surgeons must be very careful" a way of further contextualizing power relations in terms of gender. The language of finance is decidedly male. As close as Dickinson was to her father and brother and their affairs, however, Dickinson would have been well-versed in such terminology. Economic terms appear throughout the poem. In the last two lines of the first stanza, "He has hid his rare life / From our gross eyes." "Gross" can have several connotations, all of which work in "I know that He exists." At first without reading through the entire poem "gross" seems to refer to size. "Our gross eyes" paints a picture of childlike, wide-eyed wonder that accompanies meeting the awesome. "Gross" could also function as an indication of number; "our gross eyes" could be not just "our" eyes in the sense of each of us as the singular reader, but instead all of us as a mass noun. In the context of the other financial terminology used in the poem, however, it seems as if "gross" functions in the sense of what Webster's defines as "before any deductions" as in "gross income." The "gross eyes" of the living in the poem have not yet met the point at which the deduction has taken place. The metaphorical deduction takes place at the point of death."

Tags:mirth, jest, truth, comic, perspective

From the Paper
"There are three basic types of humor: verbal, visual and physical. Verbal humor involves the use of words and it can be found in such things as puns, jokes and witticisms. Visual humor involves the use of images as seen in cartoons and in the physical appearance of some comedians. Physical humor relates to the use of actions. Perhaps the best example of physical humor is "slapstick" comedy which includes such wild actions as pie fights or chase scenes. There are verbal, visual, and physical forms of humor; however, it is obvious that verbal, visual or physical things alone are not funny. There are other conditions added to the verbal, visual or physical stimuli which contribute to their being humorous. In order to determine what is involved in humor and why some things are funny and others are not, it is necessary to turn to the theories of humor which have been ... "

Abstract
This paper discusses the way Shakespeare questions, criticizes and dismantles his era's ideas of gender norms in his play "Macbeth." The writer explains the way in which gender was perceived in Shakespeare's times and the role of the theory of humors in defining the biological and psychological differences between men and women. Examples are given of how, in "Macbeth," Shakespeare questions the validity of this concept by pumping up his era's idea of masculinity to the point of implosion in Macbeth and by injecting male aggressiveness into Lady Macbeth and other female characters. The paper concludes that Shakespeare has created a work transcending his times in that it speaks to human sensibilities, and not gender-conscious ones.

From the Paper
"The biological and philosophical understanding of gender during Shakespeare's time brings concrete gender conceptualizations of superior and dominant men and subordinate women to a reading of Macbeth, but it also leaves one with a sense of balance and commonality that becomes apparent by the end of the play. In tracing the ancient construction of these archetypes, one can turn to the distribution of labor in primitive societies: the male's generally greater physical strength lent him to aggressive duties such as hunting, while the female cooked. Taking this basis a step further, one finds the system of elements and humors forming the basis of male and female physiology and psychology."

Tags:bravado, inhumane, evil, feminine, sex, balance, dominance, gender-specific

Abstract
This paper discusses how in "The Swaggering Soldier", Plautus demonstrates that he is a skilled comedian, capable of employing a wide variety of literary, illusory and allusory techniques both to create and maintain laughter. The paper contends that in order for a comedy to be funny, an underlying theme referencing social tensions is essential, absence of this would render the play un-funny. It briefly discusses humor theory and relates this to what makes a comedy funny; indicating how a social context is vital to this.The paper then examines this context by analyzing the play, paying particular attention to how different themes of love are pursued by the different characters, with different results. It attempts to show that this is the primary theme of the play and it is precisely the existence of such a theme that makes "The Swaggering Soldier" successful as a comedy in the first place.

From the Paper
"Raskin and Attardo's general theory of verbal humour contends that there are four stages in parsing humour; recognition of a social context, cognitive reasoning, affective responses and finally, laughter. A social tension is identified and negotiated leading to a therapeutic response from the audience, then follows laughter, either from amusement or relief. Assuming that the prime goal of a comedian is to make the audience laugh, then it follows that an serious and recognisable theme is essential for this goal to be realised. Plautus takes commonly held Roman views about love, blends these together with stock character types to create an absurd, reversed, saturnalial world for his audience to revel in. The audience is free to enjoy this revelry in safety, unlike tragedy there will be a happy ending. The viewer is free to laugh and be entertained, all the while knowing that appropriate social justice will prevail for both the good and the bad. "

Tags:humor, theory, love

Abstract
This paper discusses how Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleep Hollow" appears to subscribe to the aspect of the supernatural not only in its plot, but in the setting and characters, as well. It also looks at how superstition, a belief in something that results from ignorance of its true meaning, and is usually associated with the magical, or out-of-the-ordinary, is also employed in the "Sleepy Hollow" text. In addition, the paper looks at how critic Wilton Eckley uses his formalist theory to develop the supernatural theme in Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" to entertain readers and how critic Samuel Bellman projects an unconvincing analysis of bad humor in his use of reader-response.

From the Paper
"One may ask why Irving chooses the supernatural theme to utilize in the first place. Well, according to Eckley, Irving's choice was precipitated by the people's lifestyles in the United States in the beginning of the 18th century, amidst changing economic and social times. Most of them were uprooted from some quieter, rural lifestyle, into an industrialized and noisy metropolis, so they did not share a connection with a "past." Also, during Irving's era, society was concentrating on new ideals in newly found lifestyles. The old was definitely out, and people had to be entertained in fresh, different ways in the literary sense. The tension that Irving feels in the 18th century in trying to discover a new literary topic, while battling the changes of the newly formed cultural influence, led him to utilize the supernatural and discover a very interested audience (Eckley). "

Tags:superstition, Ichabod, Crane

Abstract
This report looks at Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" from the perspective of how the author uses comedy in the play to achieve plot and character development. It primarily looks at Shakespeare's ironic references but also considers more serious themes in the play. For example, when Shakespeare refers to the players as asses in the work, this highlights the ridiculousness and humorous aspects of the scene. The paper concentrates on such scenes, around the general theory that Shakespeare used comedy to further some contrast to the serious scenes in the play.

From the Paper
"In the first scene of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's
Dream, the character Helena, after the other characters have gone offstage, continues to speak to the audience about her conception of love. She seems to contradict herself, first saying that love is born of the mind and then stating its blindness and irrationality. This
is showing some humor already in that there is a willful contradiction for the audience. More seriously, her idea of love is one that is mixed up in power and revenge, and these themes come into play later on in the work, when Oberon and Titania have their own schemes of power and revenge in the forest."

Tags:helena, oberan, ouck, love, forest