English Humour

A sense of humour is a defining characteristic.

It’s what helps us forge bonds and relationships with others. We gravitate toward those that share our same idiosyncratic view of the world and we seek to validate this with interaction as much as possible. What makes us laugh is as individualistic as it is predictable. We pride ourselves on our unique sense of humour but are never shocked that swathes of others share our laughter.

Humour is a science: the telling of a joke is a wonderful construction as much as it is ridiculous.  This covers vast swathes of human interaction and is never tiresome of exploration; the plethora of comedic out-pouring is testament to this.

For the British, comedy and humour are tied to our history of liberalism and independent thinking. From the great satirical cartoonists of the 18^th Century to the birth of surrealist comedy from Monty Python in the 1960’s and the irreverent comedians of 1980’s alternative comedy, we are constantly finding new and innovative ways of raising a smile. 

Our love of laughter is embedded in our literature too; from the witty aphorisms of Oscar Wilde to the musings of P.G. Wodehouse and onto the populist writers such as Nick Hornby we seek solace and acceptance through the shared experience of humour.

In a way this love of comedy stems from our awkwardness from social situations; our complex systems of social behaviour and manners are always fuel for amusement.  No matter which part of British society that one may inhabit we are always able to crack a joke and guffaw with conviction and our heritage pays homage to our peculiarly individual sense of humour.

After all; it’s the way we tell ‘em.

 

Mr. Costa Dyer, Business Academy Bexley, Kent (England)