Humor in HP

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 186510


> 
> Carol again:
> Thanks for retrieving my lost post, which I'd forgotten about. The reason I posted it on OT was that I was hoping for someone British to help me with the famous concept of understated British humor. I don't think that JKR's sense of humor quite qualifies most of the time. The puns might: "griffin door knocker" (Gryffindor knocker) is so subtle that it probably goes right over the heads of most readers. But the examples you mention, especially the teenage boy humor (so crude that it strikes me as preteen) and the slapstick are anything but understated. JKR has a penchant for hyperbole, especially in dealing (sorry to say) with fat people. Slughorn, for example, takes up a quarter of the shop when he encounters the Trio at Honeydukes. Dudley at age thirteen or so (I forgot which book) has finally succeeded in becoming as broad as he is tall.

Potioncat:
One thing that's different about British humour from American humor is the timing. I'm not sure if that shows so much in a written work, but it might. An American author might set up the scene differently. Does anyone know?---The only thing I can think of is some very funny lines in Austen, but I can't think of an American work to compare it to.

Back to timing, there is a British show I like very much, As Time Goes By. It's not unusual for something funny to happen, but the action goes on without a pause--unless the characters themselves are supposed to react to it. In fact, I've missed jokes, or had a delayed reaction because the action had kept on moving.

Is that sort of what you had in mind?

As for what I found humorous...a series of puns based on Divination. DD says something about never having taken Divination himself and so could not foresee how much trouble the class would be be. And Percy tells Harry to take Divination because it's never too early to think about your future.

I love that sort of joke. A few others were particularly funny because I missed them at first--especially some of the names that are real puns when you hear them out loud.