“Humor is one of the elements of genius--admirable as an adjunct; but as soon as it becomes dominant, only a surrogate for genius.” HumorGeniusElementsDominantAdmirableSurrogates Book:The Wisdom of Goethe Source: The Wisdom of Goethe
“The essence of humor is that it should be unexpected, that it should embody an element of surprise, that it should startle us out of that reasonable gravity which, after all, must be our habitual frame of mind.” ShouldMindHumorElementsEssenceSurpriseReasonableUnexpectedGravityHabitualFrame Of MindElement Of Surprise Book:Americans and Others Source: Americans and Others
“There is scarcely an aspect of the American character to which humor is not related, few which in some sense it has not governed. ... It is a lawless element, full of surprises.” CharacterHumorElementsAspectSurpriseRelatedAmerican Character Author:Constance Rourke
“As a comedian, you have to start the show strong and you have to end the show strong. Those are the two key elements. You can't be like pancakes. You're all happy at first, but then by the end, you're sick of 'em.” FirstsTwoEndsShowsHumorFunnyStrongKeysElementsSickComedianEmsPancakes Author:Mitch Hedberg