I agree with Aynsley (see post somewhere below) in that there is this sense of humor that shows itself in various places throughoutLewis' writings. The interesting thing is the these bursts of humor can sometimes seem so sudden (and, indeed, a bit random) that I wonder if Lewis himself always meant it (or even understood it) to be funny. Of course, he could have intentionally written something purely for the purpose of laughter, or to temporarily lighten the tone of an otherwise dark or difficult book/essay (such as Aynsley's example).
But are all his humorous sections done "on purpose"? Take, for example, this section from THE LAST BATTLE when Ginger the cat comes streaking out of the stable: " 'Aii-aii-aouwee! - ' The most horrible caterwaul you ever heard made everyone jump. You have been wakened yourself by cats quarreling or making love on the roof in the middle of the night: you know the sound" (chapter ten). Do you think Lewis meant for us to curl over in laughter (or start snickering: you pick) after reading such a section? Or could he have just written it as it came to him, without really quite realizing what some of his readers may think funny about it?
That being said, I was wondering if we could get a little section up on this Blog, which is completely devoted to the humorous sayings of C. S. Lewis (or, at least, what different people of this group may find funny; I realise that humor differs from individual to individual, and that what I find to be funny may not necessarily be what you or another person may find funny). It would be kind of cool if, by the end of the semester, we could have a huge line of comments listing many of these amusing anecdotes and what exactly we find amusing about them . . . just for the sake of pure silliness!
Laugh if you will!
Oh . . . by the way, one of my favorite humorous parts is what I have already quoted, and I do not think that that needs an explanation! ;) Another would be the following, from a letter that Lewis wrote on March 10, 1954: "He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it, hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart." [This is, of course, artistically rephrasing the incident of when Jesus says that if a man even looks at a woman lustfully, he has slready committed adultery with her in his own heart (Matthew 5:28).] Did Lewis like ham and eggs? . . . hmm . . .
But are all his humorous sections done "on purpose"? Take, for example, this section from THE LAST BATTLE when Ginger the cat comes streaking out of the stable: " 'Aii-aii-aouwee! - ' The most horrible caterwaul you ever heard made everyone jump. You have been wakened yourself by cats quarreling or making love on the roof in the middle of the night: you know the sound" (chapter ten). Do you think Lewis meant for us to curl over in laughter (or start snickering: you pick) after reading such a section? Or could he have just written it as it came to him, without really quite realizing what some of his readers may think funny about it?
That being said, I was wondering if we could get a little section up on this Blog, which is completely devoted to the humorous sayings of C. S. Lewis (or, at least, what different people of this group may find funny; I realise that humor differs from individual to individual, and that what I find to be funny may not necessarily be what you or another person may find funny). It would be kind of cool if, by the end of the semester, we could have a huge line of comments listing many of these amusing anecdotes and what exactly we find amusing about them . . . just for the sake of pure silliness!
Laugh if you will!
Oh . . . by the way, one of my favorite humorous parts is what I have already quoted, and I do not think that that needs an explanation! ;) Another would be the following, from a letter that Lewis wrote on March 10, 1954: "He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it, hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart." [This is, of course, artistically rephrasing the incident of when Jesus says that if a man even looks at a woman lustfully, he has slready committed adultery with her in his own heart (Matthew 5:28).] Did Lewis like ham and eggs? . . . hmm . . .
Labels: Humor
posted by Christensen at 1:51 PM
1 Comments:
Hmm . . . No one has found anything to add to this? Surely, there are plenty of humorous additions to be mentioned . . . :)
Anyway, I found a passage in “Reflections on the Psalms” (the book which I am doing for my book review) that seemed worth sharing, and I thought might, perhaps, show some of Lewis' own perspective towards laughter:
Lewis states, “I have not the least objection to . . . laughing; a little comic relief in a discussion does no harm, however serious the topic may be. (In my own experience the funniest things have occurred in the gravest and most sincere conversations.)” (Chapter IX, pg. 90).
I believe this is a true; at least, in my own experience, there have been many times when I have been discussing a “serious” topic, such as death or ethics, and someone has chimed in with a humorous anecdote related to (or even part of) the subject (i.e. not too far out in left-field, overly crude, or bawdy).
Such “unexpected” humor is often so unlooked-for that it takes many people by surprise - then all start laughing . . . and tensions may ease a bit; thus, humor has led to the calming of many nerves, and has even, on certain occasions, caused people to have a “good” time.
(There are, of course, those semi-embarrassing moments when I myself am the one to “break the ice,” so to speak, and cause everyone in the discussion to start laughing. In my defense, I can say quite honestly that half the time this has happened to me I did not even mean to say anything humorous in the first place; it just sort of came out that way.)
Probably like some of you might take the preceding paragraph . . .
So, let us now start adding some of Lewis' “humorous quotes” . . . please? ;)
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