Comic timing: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Use of timing to enhance a comedic purpose}} | {{Short description|Use of timing to enhance a comedic purpose}} | ||
{{Broader|Chronotope}} | |||
{{Multiple issues| | {{Multiple issues| | ||
{{more citations needed|date=August 2017}} | {{more citations needed|date=August 2017}} | ||
{{original research|date=July 2017}} | {{original research|date=July 2017}} | ||
}} | }} | ||
{{ | {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}} | ||
[[File:Scene from One Week (1920).webm|thumb|thumbtime=1|A comically timed scene from [[Buster Keaton]]'s 1920 film ''[[One Week (1920 film)|One Week]]'']] | |||
'''Comic timing''' or '''comedic timing''' | '''Comic timing''' or '''comedic timing''' is a performer's joke delivery as they interact with an audience using [[Intonation (linguistics)|intonation]], [[rhythm]], [[cadence]], [[tempo]], and beat to guide the comedic [[narrative]].<ref>{{cite book | ||
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|quote=The comedian doesn't ''have'' timing; the comedian ''spontaneously creates'' timing based on how he or she is being affected by the audience... it's an act of creativity that happens in the present }}</ref> The pacing of the delivery of a [[joke]] can have | |quote=The comedian doesn't ''have'' timing; the comedian ''spontaneously creates'' timing based on how he or she is being affected by the audience... it's an act of creativity that happens in the present }}</ref> The pacing of the delivery of a [[joke]] can have an impact on its effect or change its meaning. This can also be true in physical comedy.<ref>{{Citation|last=Capture Your Flag|title=Matt Ruby on How to Improve Comic Timing|date=19 October 2011|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8ljIlqGNp0|access-date=19 March 2017}}</ref> | ||
== History == | == History == | ||
The use of comic timing can be | The use of comic timing can be seen in the plays of the ancient Greeks. [[Aristophanes]] indicated brief pauses in his works in order to cause laughter.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Timothy|first=Long|date=September 1976|title=Understanding Comic Action in Aristophanes|journal=The Classical World|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press|volume=70|issue=1|pages=1–8|doi=10.2307/4348563|jstor=4348563}}</ref> [[William Shakespeare]] also used comic timing in plays. [[Cleopatra]]'s interjections during [[Mark Antony's]] speech in Act 1 Scene 2 of ''[[Antony and Cleopatra]]'', shift a serious scene to a comic one.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hill|first=James|date=Spring 1986|title="What, Are They Children?" Shakespeare's Tragic Women and the Boy Actors|journal=SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500–1900|publisher=Rice University|volume=26|issue=2|pages=235–258|doi=10.2307/450506|jstor=450506}}</ref> [[George Bernard Shaw]] continued the use of comic timing. In his 1894 play ''[[Arms and the Man]]'', Shaw uses it near the end of Act 2 through Nicola's losses of composure.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dukore|first=Bernard|date=2002|title=The Ablest Man in Bulgaria|journal=Shaw: The Annual of Bernard Shaw Studies|volume=22|pages=67–82|doi=10.1353/shaw.2002.0006|s2cid=171024682}}</ref> | ||
While the use of comic timing | While the use of comic timing became more used on stage, by the mid-20th century, comic timing became used for [[comedy film]], [[Television comedy|television]] and stand-up comedy. In movies, comedians such as [[Charlie Chaplin]], [[Laurel and Hardy]] and Buster Keaton used it in their comedic performances through timing in films like ''[[One A.M. (1916 film)|One A.M.]]'', ''[[The Lucky Dog]]'', and ''[[The Playhouse (film)|The Playhouse]]'' respectively.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Comedy of Charlie Chaplin: Artistry in Motion|last=Kamin|first=Dan|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0810877801|pages=42}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Laurel and Hardy's Comic Catastrophes: Laughter and Darkness in the Features and Short Films|last=Bliss|first=Michael|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publisher|year=2017|isbn=9781538101537|pages=66}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Theater and Cinema of Buster Keaton|last=Knopf|first=Robert|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1999|isbn=978-0691004426|pages=63}}</ref> In television, [[Lucille Ball]] used comic timing in her show ''[[I Love Lucy]]''. For example, in the episode "[[Lucy Does a TV Commercial]]" Ball acts out an advertisement within a fake television set, but ruins the illusion by a timed break of the TV's fourth wall.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Landay|first=Lori|date=Summer 1999|title=Millions "Love Lucy": Commodification and the Lucy Phenomenon|journal=NWSA Journal|volume=11|issue=2|pages=25–47|doi=10.1353/nwsa.1999.0013|s2cid=144394351}}</ref> In stand-up, [[George Carlin|George Carlin's]] routine "[[Seven dirty words|Seven Words You Can't Say on Television]]" uses comedic timing through the difference between the delivery of the first 6 words and the 7th. [[Rowan Atkinson]]'s routine "No One Called Jones" used comic timing in his list of students' names to reveal multiple [[double entendres]]. | ||
==Beat== | ==Beat== | ||
{{Main | {{Main|Beat (filmmaking)}} | ||
A | A beat is a pause taken for the purposes of comic timing, often to allow the audience time to recognize the joke and react, or to heighten suspense before delivering the expected punch line. For example, in Jack Benny’s radio and television sketches, he often used a prolonged pause after a setup line, such as responding to a question about his age with silence and a stare, amplifying the humor through audience anticipation. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Benny |first=Jack |title=Sunday Nights at Seven: The Jack Benny Story |publisher=Warner Books |year=1990 |isbn=978-0446515467 |pages=123–125}}</ref> Dramatic pauses can also be used to distinguish subtext from what the speaker is thinking about. | ||
==Pregnant pause== | ==Pregnant pause== | ||
A pregnant pause (as in the [[wiktionary:pregnant|classical definition]], "many possibilities") is a technique of comic timing used to accentuate a comedy element, which uses | A pregnant pause (as in the [[wiktionary:pregnant|classical definition]], "many possibilities") is a technique of comic timing used to accentuate a comedy element, which uses pauses at the end of a phrase to build up [[suspense]]. It is often used at the end of an awkward statement or in the silence after a seemingly non-comic phrase to build up a comeback. Refined by [[Jack Benny]], who introduced specific body language and a phrase in his pregnant pauses,<ref>{{cite news |title=Well! Jack's Back: HBO tribute remembers the late comedian |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-10-04-tv-632-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=29 September 2018|date=4 October 1992 }}</ref> the pregnant pause has become popular in [[stand-up comedy]]. | ||
==Pacing== | |||
Pacing, e.g. slow-paced vs. fast-paced, can affect comedic timing.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-14 |title=What Is Comedic Timing? How to Tell Jokes With Ease |url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/comedic-timing-tips-75129/ |access-date=2025-09-03 |website=www.backstage.com |language=en}}</ref> In some cases, fast dialogue can create a frantic and silly atmosphere. | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Latest revision as of 08:52, 25 November 2025
Template:Short description Template:Broader Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Template:Use dmy dates
Comic timing or comedic timing is a performer's joke delivery as they interact with an audience using intonation, rhythm, cadence, tempo, and beat to guide the comedic narrative.[1][2][3] The pacing of the delivery of a joke can have an impact on its effect or change its meaning. This can also be true in physical comedy.[4]
History
The use of comic timing can be seen in the plays of the ancient Greeks. Aristophanes indicated brief pauses in his works in order to cause laughter.[5] William Shakespeare also used comic timing in plays. Cleopatra's interjections during Mark Antony's speech in Act 1 Scene 2 of Antony and Cleopatra, shift a serious scene to a comic one.[6] George Bernard Shaw continued the use of comic timing. In his 1894 play Arms and the Man, Shaw uses it near the end of Act 2 through Nicola's losses of composure.[7]
While the use of comic timing became more used on stage, by the mid-20th century, comic timing became used for comedy film, television and stand-up comedy. In movies, comedians such as Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy and Buster Keaton used it in their comedic performances through timing in films like One A.M., The Lucky Dog, and The Playhouse respectively.[8][9][10] In television, Lucille Ball used comic timing in her show I Love Lucy. For example, in the episode "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" Ball acts out an advertisement within a fake television set, but ruins the illusion by a timed break of the TV's fourth wall.[11] In stand-up, George Carlin's routine "Seven Words You Can't Say on Television" uses comedic timing through the difference between the delivery of the first 6 words and the 7th. Rowan Atkinson's routine "No One Called Jones" used comic timing in his list of students' names to reveal multiple double entendres.
Beat
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A beat is a pause taken for the purposes of comic timing, often to allow the audience time to recognize the joke and react, or to heighten suspense before delivering the expected punch line. For example, in Jack Benny’s radio and television sketches, he often used a prolonged pause after a setup line, such as responding to a question about his age with silence and a stare, amplifying the humor through audience anticipation. [12] Dramatic pauses can also be used to distinguish subtext from what the speaker is thinking about.
Pregnant pause
A pregnant pause (as in the classical definition, "many possibilities") is a technique of comic timing used to accentuate a comedy element, which uses pauses at the end of a phrase to build up suspense. It is often used at the end of an awkward statement or in the silence after a seemingly non-comic phrase to build up a comeback. Refined by Jack Benny, who introduced specific body language and a phrase in his pregnant pauses,[13] the pregnant pause has become popular in stand-up comedy.
Pacing
Pacing, e.g. slow-paced vs. fast-paced, can affect comedic timing.[14] In some cases, fast dialogue can create a frantic and silly atmosphere.
See also
References
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