Over the course of this class, we have used the term wit over and over again. In a presentation over British comedy, one aspect that was common was wit. But what is wit? We threw the word around frequently this semester, but did we actually know what it meant? Could we put it in words? I would have said that wit is intellectual comedy. It is a higher level of laughter or amusement. Anyone can take a pie to the face and make a group laugh, but wit requires some substance. Some people might have said that wit is a sort of cunning or wordplay. Although I frequently use the word, I do not think I could have articulated its meaning. Mark Twain had no problem articulating wit. “Wit” Twain said, “ is the sudden marriage of ideas which , before their union, were not perceived to have and relation.”
By Twain’s definition, I think we were on the right track. We used it in the proper grammatical form and in the proper context. We understood its meaning, but, we did miss one thing—its purpose. Twain felt like wit in and of itself was of little substance. It was able to make someone smile or chuckle but had nothing to it. Twain said “Wit, by itself, is of little account. It becomes of moment only when grounded on wisdom.” The title of the compilation of Twain’s quotes is The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain. He seems to be the authority on wit and wisdom and based on the words that fill the pages of this book, he had enough of both wit and wisdom to go around.
Strangely, the word “wisdom” was not one of the many words that received its own section in the compilation of quotes. It seems that Twain was full of wisdom, but never directly addressed the topic. Regardless, Twain’s one liners espouse moral and ethical wisdom. Lines such as “If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.” or “Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest.” inspire the reader to be as better person while at the same time allowing them to laugh at the simplicity and ease of living an upright and moral life.
Garrett, great post; this really made me think. I like your insight into the relationship between wit and wisdom. I was struggling to articulate that same idea in a response to a post on Manoj’s blog. I wondering though, do you think wit grounded in wisdom constitutes humor? If it doesn’t make you laugh or even smile, but you appreciate the weight and message it carries, is necessarily always humorous?
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