Just as distinctive literary voice or style is marked by the ease with which it can be parodied, so too can specific aspects of humor be unique. Playwrights, television writers, novelists, cartoonists, and film scriptwriters use many special technical devices to create humor. Just as dramatic writers and novelists use specific devices to craft their work, creators of humorous materials—from the ancient Greeks to today's stand-up comics—have continued to use certain techniques in order to generate humor. This book is a unique analytical offering for those interested in humor and provides writers and critics with a sizeable repertoire of techniques for use in their own future comic creations.

Arthur Asa Berger is professor emeritus of broadcast and electronic communication arts at San Francisco State University. He is the author of numerous articles, book reviews, and books on media, popular culture, humor, and tourism, and the series editor of Transaction’s Classics in Communication and Mass Culture.