Laughter. It’s that bubbly, sometimes uncontrollable, often infectious sound that bursts forth when something strikes us as funny. But where did it come from? Why do we crack up at a clever pun, a silly situation, or even a slightly mean-spirited jab? The journey of humor is as old as humanity itself, a winding road reflecting our changing societies, beliefs, and understanding of the world, and ourselves.
Echoes of Ancient Chuckles
Pinpointing the very first joke is like trying to catch smoke. Humor, especially in its earliest forms, was likely spontaneous, physical, and situational – things that don’t fossilize well. However, we have glimpses. Scholars often point to a Sumerian proverb from around 1900 BC as potentially the oldest recorded joke, though its humor might be lost in translation or cultural context: “Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.” Okay, maybe not a knee-slapper today, but it hints at humor based on bodily functions and defying expectations – themes still present in comedy.
Ancient Greece certainly had a well-developed sense of humor. The playwright Aristophanes, writing in the 5th century BC, filled his comedies like “Lysistrata” and “The Frogs” with satire, political commentary, slapstick, and sexual innuendo. The Greeks even worshipped Gelos, a minor deity or personification of laughter. Philosophers like Plato and Aristotle pondered humor, too. Plato wasn’t entirely keen on laughter, seeing it as potentially disruptive and linked to malice – laughing at someone’s misfortune. Aristotle explored humor in his Poetics (though the section on comedy is famously lost), suggesting it often involved observing ugliness or defect without causing pain.
The Romans inherited and adapted Greek comedic traditions. Playwrights like Plautus and Terence crafted intricate plots involving mistaken identities, clever servants outwitting masters, and plenty of wordplay. Roman graffiti found in places like Pompeii also reveals a penchant for crude jokes and satirical scribbles, showing humor wasn’t just for the stage but part of everyday life.
Jesters, Fools, and Medieval Merriment
The Middle Ages often get a reputation for being solely grim and pious, but humor persisted, albeit sometimes in rougher forms. The court jester or fool held a unique position. Often physically distinctive, they were granted license to speak truths, mock the powerful, and entertain through wit, acrobatics, and music – all under the guise of foolishness. Figures like Will Kempe in England (associated with Shakespeare’s troupe later) or Triboulet in France became legendary.
Beyond the courts, humor thrived in folk tales, fabliaux (short, often bawdy narrative poems), and popular festivals like Carnival. These were times when social hierarchies were temporarily overturned, rules were relaxed, and mockery, parody, and physical comedy reigned. Think giant puppets, satirical plays, and a general atmosphere of letting loose. Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” from the late 14th century masterfully blends piety with earthy humor, showcasing the diverse comedic tastes of the era, from the witty to the downright crude.
Wit, Satire, and the Renaissance Stage
The Renaissance and the subsequent Enlightenment saw a flourishing of more sophisticated verbal humor. The printing press helped disseminate witty texts, satires, and comedic plays more widely. William Shakespeare mastered the art of comedy, weaving intricate plots with clever wordplay, puns, mistaken identities, and insightful observations about human nature in plays like “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Twelfth Night.” His clowns and fools continued the tradition of speaking truth to power, often being the wisest characters on stage.
Across the channel, Molière became the master of French comedy, satirizing hypocrisy, pretension, and social follies in works like “Tartuffe” and “The Misanthrope.” The Enlightenment also sharpened the tools of satire. Writers like Jonathan Swift (“Gulliver’s Travels,” “A Modest Proposal”) and Voltaire (“Candide”) used humor and irony to critique society, politics, and religion with devastating effect. Humor became a weapon of intellect, a way to expose absurdity and provoke thought.
Why Do We Even Laugh? The Theories
While jokes and comedic styles evolved, people started seriously trying to figure out the mechanics behind laughter. Why does a certain arrangement of words or a specific situation trigger this physical and emotional response? Several major theories emerged:
The Superiority Theory
This is one of the oldest ideas, traceable back to Plato and Aristotle, and later championed by Thomas Hobbes. Essentially, we laugh when we feel a sudden sense of superiority over others – laughing at someone’s mistakes, stupidity, or misfortune. Think slapstick comedy where someone slips on a banana peel (as long as they aren’t seriously hurt). It’s that feeling of “I’m glad that’s not me” or “Look at that idiot.” While it explains some types of humor, it feels incomplete and a bit unkind as a universal explanation.
The Relief Theory
Promoted by thinkers like Herbert Spencer and Sigmund Freud, this theory suggests laughter is a way to release pent-up nervous energy. Imagine building tension in a scary movie, only for the “monster” to be revealed as a small kitten – the laughter that follows is seen as venting that built-up fear or stress. Freud specifically linked it to releasing repressed sexual or aggressive energy in a socially acceptable way. Jokes, in this view, allow us to briefly bypass our internal censors.
The Incongruity Theory
Perhaps the most dominant theory today, championed by Immanuel Kant and Arthur Schopenhauer among others, focuses on the element of surprise and mismatch. We laugh when we perceive something unexpected, illogical, or inappropriate – when our minds encounter something that doesn’t fit our usual patterns or expectations. A punchline works because it reframes the setup in a surprising way. Absurdist humor, puns (playing on multiple meanings of words), and surreal situations all fit well within this framework. It’s the cognitive juggling and the sudden “aha!” moment of “getting” the unexpected connection that triggers amusement.
Understanding Humor Theories: No single theory perfectly explains all instances of laughter. Most likely, humor is a complex phenomenon where elements of superiority, relief, and incongruity often overlap and interact. The context, the joke-teller, the audience, and cultural background all play significant roles in what is perceived as funny.
These theories aren’t mutually exclusive. A single joke might tap into incongruity for its structure, touch on superiority if it pokes fun at a group, and provide relief from social tension.
From Vaudeville to Viral Memes
The 19th and 20th centuries saw humor become a major industry. Vaudeville stages featured comedians, slapstick artists, and musical acts. The rise of film created new comedic stars like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, masters of physical comedy who could elicit laughter without words. Sound brought witty dialogue and banter, leading to the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 40s.
Radio and then television brought comedy directly into homes. Stand-up comedy evolved from short routines into a distinct art form, with comedians developing unique personas and observational styles. Sitcoms created relatable characters and situations, using humor to explore family life, work, and relationships. Sketch comedy shows pushed boundaries with satire and absurdity.
And then came the internet. Humor now travels at light speed. Jokes take the form of memes, viral videos, witty tweets, and online comics. Participation is key; people don’t just consume humor, they create and remix it constantly. Online communities form around shared senses of humor, often niche and baffling to outsiders. The very structure of jokes has adapted to these new mediums – sometimes becoming shorter, more visual, or reliant on layered references (in-jokes).
What Tickles Our Funny Bone Today?
So, after millennia of evolution, what actually makes us laugh now? While tastes vary wildly, some core elements remain potent:
- Surprise/Incongruity: The unexpected punchline, the absurd situation, the violation of expectations. This remains a cornerstone.
- Relatability: Jokes about everyday frustrations, common experiences, or universal human flaws often resonate deeply. “It’s funny because it’s true.”
- Exaggeration (Hyperbole): Taking a situation or characteristic and blowing it way out of proportion.
- Wordplay: Puns, double entendres, witty turns of phrase. The clever manipulation of language.
- Observational Humor: Pointing out the overlooked absurdities of everyday life.
- Satire and Irony: Using humor to critique or comment on society, politics, or individuals.
- Physical Comedy (Slapstick): Though perhaps less dominant than in earlier eras, well-executed physical humor still works.
- Self-deprecation: Laughing at one’s own flaws or misfortunes can be endearing and relatable.
Humor is Highly Subjective: Remember that what one person finds hilarious, another might find offensive, boring, or simply incomprehensible. Cultural norms, personal experiences, age, and even current mood heavily influence our perception of humor. There’s rarely a universally “funny” joke.
Laughter is also profoundly social. We are far more likely to laugh in a group than when alone. Shared laughter builds bonds, eases tension, and signals inclusion. It’s a way of saying, “I get it, and I’m with you.” From the ancient campfire storyteller to the modern stand-up comedian working a crowd, humor has always been a performance, an interaction between teller and audience.
The history of humor is the history of humanity finding ways to cope, connect, critique, and celebrate through laughter. It has shifted from broad physical comedy and simple riddles to intricate wordplay, sharp satire, and the lightning-fast evolution of internet memes. But the fundamental impulse remains: to find joy, relief, and understanding in the unexpected, the absurd, and the wonderfully flawed experience of being human.
