Humour, Irony, and Related Phenomena in Proverbs

While several studies have stressed the importance of humour, irony, and other analogous forms of discourse for understanding Proverbs, discussions of these phenomena have usually sufficed with imprecise and undetailed characterisations. The extensive theoretical literature dedicated to defining and identifying these linguistic and rhetorical phenomena has yet to be incorporated into discussions of Proverb's rhetorical makeup. The present article aims to fill this desideratum in scholarship, availing itself of theories and vocabulary drawn from linguistics, psychology, and literary studies. After the relevant theories of irony, humour, the grotesque, and caricature have been presented and summarised, Proverbs' figure of the »lazy man« serves as a case study for their application. The insincere exhortations directed towards him (such as the injunction to observe the ant), the humorous characterisations of his laziness (his inability to lift his hand from a bowl), and the hyperbolic words and thoughts attributed to him (his fear of lions and other unlikely dangers) all demonstrate the use of specific rhetorical strategies for excoriating a despised figure and indirectly critiquing his undesirable character traits.