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Humour

The Functions of Humor in Writing

Omar Sabbagh contemplates the use of humor, in fiction, and in life.

My work as a novelist and short story writer inevitably involves plenty of moments in which I stare into space. In such moments, I sometimes consider the ways in which I use humor in my own writing, and these moments have prompted me to write this article. If this were a systematic discussion of the functions of humor, I might start by making distinctions between the different types of humor, such as, irony, wit, satire, and sarcasm. However, this article is no such thing. It is instead a meditation or a reflection on the different ways humor has happened to play out in my published fiction, as well as in my life and thinking more generally.

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