British humour

Encyclopedia : B : BR : BRI : British humour

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British humour is notable due to its intellectual depth, usage of British slang, wit, and self-effacing culture.

Aspects, such as slang terms and English personal references have a reputation for being puzzling to non-British speakers of English —but certain Commonwealth nations (such as Australia) tend to find it more familiar. Nonetheless, many UK comedy TV shows which use it as a basis have been internationally popular, and have been a strong avenue for the export and representation of British culture to an international audience.

General features

Some general features characteristic of British humour are:

• Puns: these do not too easily translate into other languages (if at all).
• Nonsense: has its origins in the writings of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear.
• Black humour: main features of black humour can already be found in the drama of the Elizabethan era.
• Eccentricity
• Satire and sarcasm
• The use of understatement and irony so that many jokes pass unnoticed by those not familiar with it.

Themes

Some themes (with examples) which underpinned late twentieth-century British humour were:

Smut and innuendo

Smut and innuendo with sexual and scatological themes, typified by:

• the seaside postcards of Donald McGill
• the humour of Benny Hill
• the series of Carry On films
• the comic magazine Viz

Disrespect to members of the establishment

Disrespect to members of the establishment and authority, typified by:

• Beyond the Fringe, stage revue from the 1960s
• Private Eye, satirical magazine
• Spitting Image, TV puppet comedy lampooning the famous and powerful
• Discworld, a series of fantasy books written by Terry Pratchett, heavy with irony criticizing various aspects of society

The absurd

The absurd, typified by:

• The Goon Show
• Monty Python
• Vic Reeves Big Night Out
• Green Wing
• Bottom

The banality of everyday life

The banality of everyday life, as seen in:

• Hancock's Half Hour
• The Office
• The Royle Family
• Peep Show (television)
• The Giles cartoons

The 'war' between parents/teachers and children

The 'war' between parents/teachers and their children, typified by:

• The Beano and The Dandy, comics of publisher D C Thomson.
• Just William, books by Richmal Crompton
• Molesworth books
• St Trinians books and films

The British class system

The British class system, especially pompous or dim-witted members of the upper/middle classes or embarrassingly blatant social climbers, typified by:

• Jeeves and Wooster, books by P. G. Wodehouse
• Dad's Army, comedy TV series
• Fawlty Towers, comedy TV series
• Keeping Up Appearances, comedy TV series
• You Rang, M'Lord?, comedy TV series
• Absolutely Fabulous, comedy TV series

The lovable rogue

The lovable rogue, usually an impoverished working class lad trying to make some money and better himself, typified by:

• The Andy Capp cartoon strip created by Reginald Smythe
• Steptoe and Son
• ''The Likely Lads
• Only Fools and Horses
• Flashman books
• Norman Wisdom

The embarrassment of social ineptitude

The embarrassment of social ineptitude, typified by:

• Mr. Bean, comedy TV series starring Rowan Atkinson
• Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, comedy TV series starring Michael Crawford
• Alan Partridge comedy TV series starring Steve Coogan
• Count Arthur Strong radio show

Making fun of foreigners

Making fun of foreigners, sometimes bordering on racism and especially common in television sitcoms and films of the 1970s, typified by:

• Love Thy Neighbour, TV programme that Bill Bryson once referred to as 'My Neighbour's a Darkie'
• Mind Your Language, TV programme set in a language school in London
• Till Death Us Do Part, TV sitcom which mocked its own main character, Alf Garnett, for his racism
• The Italian Job, film starring Michael Caine in which British criminals mock the Italian Mafia and authorities
• 'Allo 'Allo!, British TV comedy series about a French village occupied by Germans during the Second World War.

Bullying and harsh sarcasm

Harsh sarcasm and bullying, though with the bully usually coming off worse than the victim - typified by:

• Blackadder, comedy TV series
• The Young Ones, comedy TV series

Making fun of Britishness

Making fun of British stereotypes, typified by:

• Little Britain
• Catherine Tate in her sketch show, The Catherine Tate Show

Tolerance of, and affection for, the eccentric

Tolerance of, and affection for, the eccentric, especially when allied to inventiveness

• Heath Robinson cartoons
• Professor Branestawm books
• Wallace and Gromit animations
• Doctor Who science fiction TV programme

Historical roots

Some deep roots for British humour are:

• the historical reaction to an intolerant Puritanism (thus the acceptance of saucy and smutty humour), although ribald humour existed much earlier. An example is the Miller's tale in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1380s-1390s).
• the tradition of absurd and nonsense poetry made immensely popular by Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll (thus the development of an eccentric form of 'home-brewed surrealism' that leads us to the Goons, Monty Python, Ivor Cutler, etc.)
• the Pantomime with its mix of social role reversals

See also

• British comedy and British sitcoms (which blend elements of all of these in varying weaves)
• British comics
• Understatement
• Irony
• American humor

References

• Sutton, David. A chorus of raspberries: British film comedy 1929-1939. Exeter: University of Exeter Press, (2000) ISBN 085989603X

External links

• [History of English Humour, Vol. 1], by Alfred Guy Kingan L'Estrange, 1878, from Project Gutenberg

 

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