Good Humor Research Articles

Ten Per Cent Ballads and the ‘Shodeocracy’: Labour, Violence, and Humour

This article is based on the ‘ten per cent’ ballads contained in scrapbooks held in Lancashire Archives. The ballads were composed, printed, and sold on the streets during the Preston lock-out of 1853–1854, and were eventually collected by the union leaders Thomas Banks and George Cowell, and the mill owner Henry Ashworth. The article analyses examples of the ballads to interrogate topics including literature as labour, the role of women in the dispute, the use of violent language in permissible contexts, and the use of humour to emotionally offset these violent threats. The Preston lock-out occurred during what W.L. Burn famously defined as the ‘Age of Equipoise’ (c.1850–1867), and the political function of the ballads is considered in relation to this. Ten per cent ballads are found not just to reflect attitudes, but to be integral to the social connective tissue. Functions included enhancing solidarity, maintaining the good humour of strike meetings, as well as the economic necessity of raising funds for suffering workers. It is also argued that the singing of the ballads represented emotionally imperative voicing of physical threat in a controlled mode, and that this contributed to the relative lack of violence during the lock-out.

PERCEIVING YOURSELF IN HEALTHCARE EXPERIENCES WITH THE THERAPEUTIC PLAY: THE NURSE REPRESENTING HIMSELF THROUGH THE DRAWING-STORY

Introduction. Among the playful interventions recommended for the children’s care, the use of Therapeutic Play stands out in healthcare. Scientific evidence highlights benefits for children as an expression of their feelings, doubts, fears, desires and, consequently, greater tranquility, collaboration and learning in health procedures. There are also positive outcomes related to the reduction of pain, anxiety and negative attitudes. The use of this Brazilian technology is regulated by the Nursing Federal Council, integrating the role of the one who works in pediatric contexts. However, research indicates barriers to the systematic implementation of this practice by nurses in their daily care for children/adolescents. Goal. To understand how nurses represent themselves experiencing the use of Therapeutic Play in the care of children/adolescents supported by Drawing- Story. Methods. This is a qualitative study carried out considering Symbolic Interactionism and Grounded Theory. Eleven nurses of both genders participated with experience in using/teaching Therapeutic Play. Data were collected through participant observation and semi-structured interviews, they were recorded and finalized by Drawing-Story simultaneously with the analysis following the steps: initial coding, categorization, theoretical coding, apprehension of the Central Category, until reaching theoretical saturation, allowing the construction of the Theoric Model. Results. The analysis of the graphic messages in the drawings and verbalizations make it possible to understand that when promoting Therapeutic Play in childcare, nurses perceive themselves dynamically represented by virtuous adjectives that motive them to action such as: helping, conserving, understanding, repairing and welcoming. When you act like this, you are connecting yourself with positive feelings: good humor, joy, hope, perseverance, empathy, love, and gratitude with resilience. Conclusion. The Drawing-Story technique enriched data collection, as it enabled nurses to release their inner inclinations through graphic expression, revealing the essence of the playful nurse-person, constituted by ludic affection and humanism.

‘Text Corruptions’ Corruption: Restoring C.S. Lewis's Critical Satire

This essay examines in detail a C.S. Lewis letter, published in The Times Literary Supplement that was, in fact, an example of ‘mock-criticism’ (as in ‘mock-epic’), being a satiric parody of an argument made by eminent Shakespeare scholar John Dover Wilson. Lewis published his ‘minor disagreement’ in March 1950, to which Dover Wilson responded with appreciation for Lewis's good humour but continued disagreement on the point of contention – that Shakespeare would ever include lines of verse in a section of his prose. By close analysis, the essay demonstrates how the editor of The Collected Letters inadvertently ‘corrupted’ Lewis's original by his formatting and editorial changes. Three versions of the letter are compared to show the specifics of the corruption. Further, Lewis's long critical encounter with Dover Wilson from the late 1920s onward as well as his little-known role as a textual criticism scholar at Oxford are demonstrated to provide the context for interpreting and appreciating the letter. Finally, two other Lewis letters, previously pointed out by Stephanie Derrick (neither published in The Collected Letters) are presented from the Dover Wilson archives as evidence of the cordial scholarly relationship that eventually developed between the two. The essay shows Lewis as a clever, thorough, combative, yet friendly scholar (though perhaps not always all at the same time) engaging in and, in fact, initiating important discussions with perhaps the most significant Shakespearean textual scholar of his time.

Christian Concepts in the Works by the Ukrainian Poet Viktor Boiko

The article aims to analyse the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the implementation of elements of Christian concepts “God” and “Soul” in the language of poetry by Viktor Boiko – Ukrainian artist of the late twentieth – early twenty-first century. A comprehensive qualitative analysis is employed to study the peculiarities of verbalization of numerous semantic planes of the mentioned concepts in the works by Viktor Boiko. It has been found that in the Ukrainian language space elements of the Christian conceptsphere are realised in biblical, folklore and linguistic interpretation, in semiotic and verbal planes, in synchronic and diachronic aspects and are accordingly reflected in the language of Ukrainian writers. It has been concluded that the elements of the concepts of “God” and “Soul” are a part of the linguistic picture of the world of any ethnic group, which manifests the language of poets who show their attitude to a higher power as a protector and interlocutor. That is why Viktor Boiko, as a Ukrainian poet, syncretically combining patriotism and lyrics, politics and everyday motives, satire and good humour in his works, looking for certain trends in the universe, turns to Christian concepts within the framework of “quiet poetry”.

Глаголы, репрезентирующие концепт «радость» в якутском языке (на материале текстов олонхо)

The paper examines Yakut verbs in the verbalization of the concept “joy” in order to identify features of the use of these verbs in the actualization of the concept and to identify characteristic ways of perception of the language picture of the world of Yakut speakers, as linguistic representations of the concept “joy” in the Yakut language have not been studied enough. There are used the method of component analysis to study dictionary definitions of the lexeme; the method of continuous sampling to collect examples from the epic texts; the method of contextual analysis, which provides an opportunity to identify different meanings of the features of representation of the studied concept in the context of epic texts. As a result, based on the considered olonkho texts, we can say that in the Yakut language the concept “joy” is represented by the verbs üör “to rejoice”, uör-köt “to rejoice, to exult”, kül “to laugh, to rejoice”, kül-оonnyоo “to rejoice, to have fun, to joke”, körülee “to have fun, to play, to frolic for fun and for your pleasure”, oonnyoo-körulee “to make merry, to amuse oneself”, kötüölee-körülee “to make merry, to frolic”, körülee-narylaa “to have fun, to make merry with the heart”, michiy “to shine, to shine with a silent smile”, michiliy “to shine with a smile, to radiate joy”, ymay “to smile, grin, to spread in a smile”, which are included in one lexical-semantic field “joy”. The emotion of joy appears in the texts of the olonkho in actions when the heroes learn long-awaited news, in descriptions of happy moments in the life of the heroes, from the seen or heard deeds of the heroes. In addition, when a feeling of joy appears, it is accompanied by such phenomena as laughter, smile, pleasure, light, fun, good humour, play, flight, amusement. The use of these verbs adds figurativeness, expressiveness and colourfulness in the epic texts, the application of verbs, depending on the circumstances and in relation to certain characters, in our opinion, shows the national particularity of perception of the Yakut language world picture.

SOCRATES THE EUTRAPELOS: XENOPHON AND ARISTOTLE ON ETHICAL VIRTUE

AbstractThe social virtues are not discussed thematically in the Socratic writings of Plato and Xenophon, but they are on display everywhere. Taking Aristotle's accounts of these virtues as a touchstone, this paper explores the portrait of Socrates as a model of good humour in Xenophon's Symposium. While Xenophon is addressing the same issues as Aristotle, and shares some of his red lines, his conception of the ideal humourist and of virtue in general differs from Aristotle's not only in detail but also in general conception. While he never actually violates the rules Aristotle sets down for eutrapelia, Xenophon's Socrates strives not to avoid opposites but to combine them. It is the careful combining of the spoudaion and the geloion that redeems Xenophon's otherwise outrageous portrait of Socratic humour. This suggests a broader paradigm in which virtuous behaviour is a combination of opposites rather than a middle path.

FRANCES HESSELBEIN: A STUDY IN COURAGE AND GRACE

AbstractThe author, an executive coach, and Adjunct Full Professor at the University of Pennsylvania knew and collaborated with Frances Hesselbein for many years. She discusses the qualities that made Frances stand out as a person and as a leader: “Frances stood up for honor, for responsibility, and for choosing the right path. More, Frances called on us to see the truth, maybe especially when it hurt, and to optimistically choose that right path even when the forces that be were insidiously pushing us to choose the easier, quieter, and yes, the cowardly path.” Along with courage, “I believe that what enabled Frances to overcome people’s natural resistance was grace. What is grace? Grace is compassion and dignity and eloquence and serenity in the face of opposition. Grace is optimism even when things look bleak. Grace is good humor and playfulness. Grace is joy.”

Grains of Allowance: Liberty, Toleration, and Justice in George Farquhar’s The Recruiting Officer

This article examines the representation of the justices of the peace in George Farquhar’s 1706 play The Recruiting Officer. I place this play in the context of Farquhar’s work of literary criticism, “A Discourse Upon Comedy” (1701), in which he claims “Liberty and Toleration” as guiding principles for his home-grown, anti-Aristotelian aesthetic. The political, legal, and theatrical history surrounding the 1688 English revolution and its aftermath frames my examination of the justices’ position at the intersection of local and national legal procedures. The Recruiting Officer interrogates the justice of the peace’s role in recruiting and conscription during the War of Spanish Succession. Justices of the peace in The Recruiting Officer, I argue, enable inquiry into liberty and toleration’s limits and costs in their use of discretionary power and informal mediation. The situational and empirical legal judgments of Farquhar’s justices render a pattern for moral judgments allowing for a temporary and tame personal license—“grains of allowance”—relative to cynical Restoration rakishness. Legal and quasi-legal relationships drive the plotlines of The Recruiting Officer—whether in representing recruiters empowered to enlist men, local justices’ roles in military conscription, contractual aspects of the marriage bond, or extramarital encounters, real and imagined. Farquhar uses the justices’ characters to suggest that the balances of power at home, in the community, in the government, and in the global theaters of war are all interlinked, mutually sustaining, and prone to destabilization. I maintain that the play invites critique of the law, the military, and marriage, but avoids, in its fundamental optimism and good humor, a trenchant satire on any of these institutions.

HUMOROUS SKILL OF THE WRITER MARHABAT BAIGUT

The article analyzes the problem of humor in the works of the writer Marhabat Baigut. The place and artistic function of humor in the ideological, thematic, author-worldview, figurative and stylistic terms in the writer's prose works are studied. The writer's unique style in the use of humor is seen as a creative achievement. The pathos that evokes the reader's amusement and easy smile comes from the character of the work, the behavior of the characters, the skills, the actions, the general pictorial components. Situations created by humor in depicting everyday life and reality, conflicts, relationships, types of language use are differentiated, and humor is recognized as one of the most rational techniques found in the writer's works. The active use of dialogue in the works under study in order to comprehensively cover, accurately and clearly convey what the writer wants to say, through the use of humor, language turns, short and unexpected sentences, a successful monologue, dialogue characterized by naturalness, as well as the author's narrative patterns, details are shown on concrete examples and confirmed by the concept in scientific works. It is also said about his good humor, which leads the reader to serious thoughts, light, sincere jokes in a friendly atmosphere perform an important social function. The goal was to identify the place of humor in the writer's work, which is deeply connected with the identity of the Kazakh people.

Laugh Lines: Humor, Genre, and Political Critique in Late Twentieth-Century American Poetry

Laugh Lines: Humor, Genre, and Political Critique in Late Twentieth-Century American Poetry

Editorial

Editorial

Alexander (Sandy) Fleming Barr Frew.

An academic and highly skilled large and small animal vet, who provided support to many organisations in and around Shrewsbury. A larger-than-life character, he had an infectious laugh and ceaseless good humour.

Autoethnography: a personal reflection on the work of the family bar in the North of England

ABSTRACT This study offers a personal reflection on 18 months at the Family Bar. It provides a unique perspective on a family justice system, which despite acute pressure has retained some of the most compassionate professionals who despite severe cuts to funding, and lack of resources, continue to work efficiently and effectively and with good humour, under stress. The authors are experienced practising lawyers who have published extensively in the area of family law relating to children and family justice. This experience, coupled with the methodological approach of autoethnography, provides a distinct perspective to which academics and practitioners may relate. The aim of this paper is to reflect upon the impact of recent changes in family justice on barristers working in both private and public law family cases.

Aziz against la zizanie 1

In the 1980s, Farid Boudjellal, José Jover and Larbi Mechkour published “Aziz Bricolo,” a humor-based comics series, in Pif, a children’s periodical associated with the French Communist party. The series marked a postcolonial turn in French comics featuring multicultural groups of children as protagonists, a genre with a history reaching far back into the colonial period. “Aziz Bricolo” broke with the previous dominant paradigm, in which white middle-class characters were the main protagonists, while the history and cultural heritage of their sidekicks of color were often erased through assimilation. The technological wizardry, humanism, and good humor of Aziz Bricolo, the series’ primary character, constitute him as a young superhero and empower him to defend the disadvantaged, and to foster harmonious relations between different sociocultural or ethnic groups in postcolonial France, in clever and amusing ways.

The Rivals

The Rivals

Intertextuality and Autointertextuality as a Means of Conceptualization of the Author’s World Perception

Postmodern writings stand out with vivid intertextuality. To study postmodern literary texts ignoring intertextual ties or intertexts would mean to do a vain study. In the given article it is suggested to carry out conceptual analysis of literary texts from the perspectives of intertextuality and autointertextuality. As an example can serve the conceptual analysis of the concept ‘’smile’’ in J.Fowles’ novel ‘’The Magus’’. J.Fowles is an outstanding British writer whose writings have deep psychological and philosophical ideology which can have a great impact on different generations. He touches upon such issues as ‘’love’’, ‘’freedom’’, ‘’ death’’, ‘’isolation’’ and so on. Freedom is reflected nearly in all his writings from various aspects. The novel ‘’The Magus’’ is no exception. The conceptual analysis on this novel will help the investigator to study J. Fowles’ unique individual perception of the world The conceptual analysis of the concept ‘’smile’’ is essential first of all in the sense that only due to the profound understanding of this concept in the novel ‘’The Magus’’ the reader will be able to decode the message of the novel completely. Actually the key concept of ‘’The Magus’’ is ‘’freedom’’. However, only deep understanding of the concept ‘’smile’’ will allow the reader to perceive the ‘’freedom’’. The study reveals that according to J. Fowles in order to be truly free man should ‘’learn to smile’’, but in a specific sense, they should have a smile that is full of good metaphysical good humour like in a dramatic irony, which itself is a manifestation of freedom.

ANALYSIS OF INSULT AS HUMOR IN THE CONTEXT OF POLITICS THROUGH STAND-UP COMEDY SHOW

This research explains the humor styles used in the stand-up comedy show by Kiki Saputri. She owns material that is known as "Roast." It is used for a specific person on the show. A roast consists of an insult, which is the background of this research. This kind of comedy can be found on TV programs or Youtube videos that contain comedy content because they get special attention from the viewers. Besides that, many films featured comedians, particularly stand-up comedians. They can use comedy to not only make people laugh but also to criticize, deliver messages, and capitalize on unrest. In this research, the researcher used descriptive qualitative research as the method of the research. The analysis used the theory of Arthur Asa Berger. In this theory, Berger said that there are 45 indicators of humor, but the researcher just used insult as one indicator to focus on this research. The researcher wants to analyze the use of insults in the Roast Stand Up Comedy Show in a political context from Youtube. The research results show that using insults can be humorous because it can make the audience laugh. Furthermore, the show was served in good humor but not for serious insults in front of politicians. Thus, they not only entertain the audience but also deliver messages or criticism directly to the politicians. Keywords: Humor, Roast, Insult, Comedian, Politician.

Lee Shai Weissbach (1947–2022)

Lee Shai Weissbach (1947–2022) Janice W. Fernheimer (bio) Lee Shai Weissbach, professor emeritus of history at the University of Louisville, passed away on September 29, 2022. Born in Haifa to an Egyptian-born father and a Virginian-born mother, he moved to Cincinnati at the age of five. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati with high honors (1969), he went on to pursue a PhD in history at Harvard. His dissertation formed the basis for his first book, Child Labor Reform in Nineteenth-Century France: Assuring the Future Harvest (Louisiana State University Press, 1989). Lee Shai joined the faculty of the University of Louisville in 1978 and spent his entire scholarly career there until his retirement in 2015. I had the honor and pleasure of meeting him in person when he agreed to be interviewed for the recently launched Jewish Kentucky Oral History Project. I was a little nervous to meet the scholar whom I had informally referred as the "father" of Jewish Kentucky studies, but his warmth and kindness immediately put me at ease. What touched me most at the time (as a new and first-time mom) was learning how his scholarly trajectory had shifted to fit the needs of his growing family. With two young children at home, he was unable to continue his travels to France, so he shifted his studies to Jewish life in the United States, with particular interest in his local surroundings; the research that grew out of this shift transformed the way we think about and tell the story of American Jews and Judaism.1 Lee Shai had profound impact on the way American Jewish history is both told and analyzed. The Synagogues of Kentucky: History and Architecture (University Press of Kentucky, 1995) and the field-transforming Jewish Life in Small Town America (Yale University Press, 2005) have become foundational texts for thinking about American Jews and their institutions beyond the major industrial cities of the Northeast and Midwest. He authored more than a dozen scholarly articles that engaged Jewish life in both France and the United States, often focusing on Jews in southern and non-urban (and thus under-studied) settings. Before his retirement, he published A Jewish Life on Three Continents (Stanford [End Page 409] University Press, 2013). In this deeply personal scholarly work, Lee Shai introduced, translated, and annotated his own grandfather's memoir. A transnational story of migration, global politics, and the upheavals of change in Jewish life at the turn of the century, the project reflected both his familial roots and his historical interests. During his long career at the University of Louisville, Lee Shai was a productive scholar and an active university citizen. He served as department chair twice, spearheaded the creation of an endowed chair in Judaic studies, and was associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 2000–2003. Long-time friend and UofL colleague Tracy K'Meyer recalled Lee Shai to be "a warm, generous, and funny colleague, mentor, and friend. I will remember him most fondly for his pun-filled grammar tip sheet for students, which I still use in class; the truly bad jokes he shared at the department's annual winter potluck lunch; and his deep commitment to service to the profession, university, and community." Ranen Omer-Sherman, the scholar recruited to fill the endowed position in Judaic studies that Lee Shai created, recalls that his colleague enjoyed a "stellar reputation for his energy and enthusiasm for the historical profession, his eagerness to engage with colleagues no matter what their specialization, and his ability to make connections and forge intellectual ties across the boundaries of field and discipline. Indeed, for anyone active in the field of Jewish studies, he represents a truly exemplary model—even though that specialization is only a part of his accomplishments over a truly tireless and prolific career." Perhaps what most people will remember about Lee Shai is his mentschlichkeit. Long-time UofL colleague and professor of political science Jasmine Farrier praised Lee Shai for his willingness to mentor and collaborate across a wide variety of fields, as well as for his generosity with his time, advice, and good humor. Farrier also...

Naomi Noble Richard

Naomi Noble Richard

« Guter Humor und scherzende Satyre ». Les fonctions du rire dans Die Abentheuer des Don Sylvio von Rosalva

The article deals with the articulation between the conceptions of the Enlightenment about laughter and its role in the novel. Drawing on both the tradition of farce and wit, Wieland makes laughter a sign of the interdependence of mind and body and the cardinal point of his break with a dichotomous vision of the Enlightenment based upon the opposition between reason and sensibility, truth and fiction. Ultimately, Wieland emphasises the therapeutic function of laughter and’good humor’ in society, as these factors alleviate the pathological affects which caused the main character’s suffering.