Humor in literature

Abstract

This chapter considers applications of the linguistics of humor to literary texts. It considers in particular applications of the Semantic-Script Theory of Humor (SSTH) and the General theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH), under two approaches: the expansionist approach, which applies the SSTH as is to larger texts, and the revisionist approach, which introduces a set of other tools for the analysis of longer texts, among which is the distinction between punch lines and jab lines. Other approaches are also considered including narratological, stylistic, and register humor.