Rhetorical scholarship criticizes melodrama for its tendency to simplify and reify public controversies and valorizes the comic frame as an ethically superior mode of rhetoric. These judgments are rooted in the discipline's reliance on Burkean categories, a reductionist conception of melodrama, and an implicit assumption that social unification…

Anne Tyler's rare talent for combining comedy and pathos enables her to create characters whose pain is felt by the reader or student even as that same reader is led into laughter by the ludicrous situations in which Tyler places these characters. In her last three novels, "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant,""The Accidental…

A study investigated whether positive response to humor in a speech would enhance audience evaluation of the speech/speaker. A short informative speech on "listening" which included nine relevant jokes was audio tape-recorded in two versions, one in which each joke was punctuated by laughter, and one in which a stony silence greeted each…

Describes a writing exercise and discussion to help students broaden their concept of what constitutes comedy so that they may better appreciate Moliere's "The Misanthrope." (HTH)

This reference encyclopedia contains information on both the historical and contemporary aspects of humor and comedy in the United States. Arranged in an A-to-Z format, the encyclopedia is a collection of article-length essays that examine humor from many perspectives, from defining terms; to providing information on humor writers, comedians, and…

Discusses implications and possible applications of Northrop Frye's concept of mythos" as a theory of speech criticism. (RD)

Discusses a variety of alternative viewpoints about humor and presents some theories about the way humor works. Also addresses the role of humor in education and how it may affect the learning process. Discusses humor as a therapy and as an intervention used to change behavior in children and young adults. (Author/KW)

There are many situations of potential conflict that can be defused with humor. Humor in discipline can be used when it is a natural part of the adult's personality and style, and/or there is a relationship that has been built with a child that allows for off-beat words or actions to be accepted in a nondefensive way. (Author)

This study attempted to identify gifted child humorists among 1,204 children in grades 3-6. Final identification of 13 gifted child humorists was determined through application of such criteria as funniness, originality, and exemplary performance or product. The influence of intelligence, development, social factors, sex differences, family…

A new movie version of Shakespeare's classic troubling comedy, "The Merchant of Venice" (Brokaw, Cowan, Navidi, Piette, & Radford, 2004), has appeared, bringing up an ancient issue of the possible bigotry of the greatest writer in the English language. Shakespeare's plays about minority characters in the Venetian Republic have caused more and more…

This resource presents scripts for eight Shakespearean plays. The scripts are adapted for classroom presentation by intermediate level students. Each play includes introductory materials, instructions for staging and costumes, a vocabulary list, and a cast of characters. Enough roles are provided for participation by every child in the class. Many…

After an extensive review of the literature on the theoretical underpinnings of humor in human interaction, a six-category typology of humor was developed and exemplified by examples from mass media comedy. Humor can first be divided into two major types: individual level humor or social level humor. These levels are then further divided into the…

Comedy feature films are especially important resources for film teachers. (JH)