Wit, Humor, and Shakspeare: Twelve Essays

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weiss, John, 1818-1879

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Wit, Humor, and Shakspeare: Twelve Essays" by John Weiss is a collection of essays written in the late 19th century. The book explores various aspects of wit, humor, and the literary works of Shakespeare, delving into how these themes intersect with human experience and understanding. Weiss reflects on how laughter and humor are uniquely human traits, with implications for social interactions and personal reflections. The opening of the collection begins with the essay "The Cause of Laughter," where Weiss examines the nature of laughter, suggesting that it stems from man's unique neurological and social capacities. He discusses the evolutionary origins of laughter and the physical responses associated with it, pointing out how it distinguishes humans from other animals. Through a variety of anecdotes and observations, he also highlights how humor arises from incongruities in life, ultimately connecting these reflections to the works of Shakespeare, who adeptly captures the complexity of human emotions and social dynamics in his writing. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

The cause of laughter

Wit, irony, humor

Dogberry, Malvolio, Trolius and Cressida (Ajax), Bottom, Touchstone

Falstaff: his companions; Americanisms

Hamlet

The porter in "Macbeth", the clown in "Twelfth night", the fool in "Lear"

Women and men: Maria, Helena, Imogen, Constance

Lord Bacon and the plays, Shakspeare's women, love in Shakspeare

Portia

Helena; Ophelia

Macbeth

Blonde women: Lady Macbeth.

Credits:

Chris Curnow, Graeme Mackreth and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)

Notes:

Reading ease score: 63.8 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.

Release date is 2021-04-11