W. H. Hazlitt on Humor and Wit |
"Humour is the describing of the
ludicrous as it is in itself; wit is the exposing of it, by comparing or contrasting it
with something else"
-- Lectures on the English Poets
Hazlitt argued that humor and wit were two essentially
different impulses and, therefore, two different kinds of comedy. Humor practices
more sympathy and attachment with others. Wit promotes its own brilliance, perhaps
at the expense of others |
Humor |
Wit |
- Has a clear sensibility and sympathy with others' conditions
|
- Has a sense of detachment and relative insensibility for others'
concerns
|
- It laughs with what it is. It recognizes itself in the object
of humor.
|
- It mocks what is different from itself.
|
- It is whimsical, more sporadic.
|
- It strives to show off its brilliance.
|
- It is wistful of the past or the future, almost timeless in its
setting.
|
- It is focused on the present, social fabric.
|
|
|
|