Can Transcendence Be Humorous?
Written by Theda Nunn
“Transcendent Humor could be defined as “the difference between what is and what ought to be.”
Can Transcendence be Humorous?
The Latin verbscandere means "to climb", so transcend has the basic meaning of climbing so high that you cross some boundary. A transcendent experience is one that takes you out of yourself and convinces you of a larger life or existence; in this sense, it means something close to "spiritual". (1)
Transcendent Humor could be defined as “the difference between what is and what ought to be.”
“Quarantine turned us into dogs. We roamed the house all day looking for food. We were told ‘no’ if we got too close to strangers. And we got really excited about car rides.” (2)
Humor is a tool we use to transcend our situations. So-called “gallows humor” allows us to laugh at some of the darkest times we face. Laughing at the same things draws us closer to one another.
Here’s your writing exercise for creating humor:
Start with 3 Questions
Start by taking a sentence, --you can follow this link: Random Sentence Generator-- then ask three questions:
What is assumed, expected, or what do I imagine the audience sees, and can I shatter it?
Is there a double-entendre in the sentence that I can write an alternate meaning on? In other words, does a word have an implied meaning that I can turn into a comedic meaning?
Are there two dissimilar ideas converging that I can do a list with and juxtapose those ideas?
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