A humorous work shows the flaws of life through laughter. It has two main forms. In satire laughter is bitter and sharp: the writer criticises a vice strongly in order to eradicate it. In humour laughter is light and kind: a flaw is shown through friendly joking. Humorous works often use hyperbole, irony and contrast. In Uzbek literature Hamza, Abdulla Qahhor and Said Ahmad, and in world literature Gogol (“The Government Inspector”) and Chekhov are famous for humorous works. For example Qahhor’s play “Og‘riq tishlar” is a humorous work. Muqimiy’s “Tanobchilar” is close to satire, while To‘xtaboyev’s “Sariq devni minib” is closer to humour.
Worked examples
Example — humour: a simple joke about a hare afraid of its own shadow raises light laughter.
Example — satire: a work criticising a bribe-taking official is written with bitter, sharp laughter and exposes the vice.
Class activity
“Humour or satire?”: the teacher reads six short situations (e.g. a boy who lost his book; a bribe-taking official); pupils raise hands to name the type.
Practice
1
What is the main difference between satire and humour?
In satire laughter is bitter and sharp, in humour it is light and kind.
2
Which Uzbek writer wrote the humorous play “Og‘riq tishlar”?
Abdulla Qahhor.
3
Identify the device in our example: “The director said ‘no’ a thousand times in one hour.”
Hyperbole.
4
Why is humorous writing useful for society?
Because flaws become visible through laughter and people try to correct them.