Name: Humour: A Very Short Introduction
ISBN: 9780199552221

Noël Carroll

Examines the leading theories of humor, focusing on the incongruity theory.

Humour: A Very Short Introduction

Although I still think this is essential reading for anyone interested in a short survey of the most recent theories of humor, and while I was encouraged by the author's evenhandedness in his treatment of transgressive humor, he ends up copping out in the last few paragraphs, admonishing us to err on the side of caution when employing transgressive humor. Good advice for guests at dinner parties, I guess, but not something a comic or writer should pay much attention to.