Wit: Difference between revisions
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[[File:'The feast of reason, and the flow of soul,' - ie - the wits of the age, setting the table in a roar by James Gillray.jpg|thumb|'The feast of reason, and the flow of soul,' - i.e. - the wits of the age, setting the table in a roar, by [[James Gillray]] (1797)]] |
[[File:'The feast of reason, and the flow of soul,' - ie - the wits of the age, setting the table in a roar by James Gillray.jpg|thumb|'The feast of reason, and the flow of soul,' - i.e. - the wits of the age, setting the table in a roar, by [[James Gillray]] (1797)]] |
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'''Wit''' is a form of intelligent [[humour]], the ability to say or write things that are clever and usually funny. |
'''Wit''' is a form of intelligent [[humour]], the ability to say or write things that are clever and usually funny.<ref name="Merriam-Webster">{{cite web| url=http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/wit|title=Wit|publisher=Merriam-Webster|access-date=2012-05-27}}</ref> Someone '''witty''' is a person who is skilled at making clever and funny remarks.<ref name="Merriam-Webster"/><ref>{{cite web|title=wit|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/wit|website=Oxford Dictionaries|access-date=29 May 2015}}</ref> Forms of wit include the '''quip''', '''repartee''', and '''wisecrack'''. |
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==Forms== |
==Forms== |
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==In poetry== |
==In poetry== |
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Wit in [[poetry]] is characteristic of [[metaphysical poetry]] as a style, and was prevalent in the time of English playwright [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]], who admonished pretension with the phrase "Better a witty fool than a foolish wit".<ref name="Salingar1976">{{cite book |
Wit in [[poetry]] is characteristic of [[metaphysical poetry]] as a style, and was prevalent in the time of English playwright [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]], who admonished pretension with the phrase "Better a witty fool than a foolish wit".<ref name="Salingar1976">{{cite book|last=Salingar |first=Leo |title=Shakespeare and the Traditions of Comedy |url=https://archive.org/details/shakespearetradi0000sali/page/245 |year=1976 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-29113-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/shakespearetradi0000sali/page/245 245–6]}}</ref> It may combine [[word play]] with conceptual thinking, as a kind of verbal display requiring attention, without intending to be laugh-aloud funny; in fact wit can be a thin disguise for more poignant feelings that are being versified. English poet [[John Donne]] is the representative of this style of poetry.<ref name="Daley1990">{{cite book|last=Daley |first=Koos |title=The Triple Fool: A Critical Evaluation of Constantijn Huygens' Translations of John Donne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3bRaAAAAMAAJ |
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|access-date=6 October 2010 |year=1990 |publisher=De Graaf |isbn=978-90-6004-405-6 |page=58}}</ref> |
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|last=Salingar |
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|first=Leo |
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|title=Shakespeare and the Traditions of Comedy |
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|url=https://archive.org/details/shakespearetradi0000sali/page/245 |
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|year=1976 |
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|publisher=Cambridge University Press |
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|isbn=978-0-521-29113-2 |
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|pages=[https://archive.org/details/shakespearetradi0000sali/page/245 245–6] |
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}}</ref> It may combine [[word play]] with conceptual thinking, as a kind of verbal display requiring attention, without intending to be laugh-aloud funny; in fact wit can be a thin disguise for more poignant feelings that are being versified. English poet [[John Donne]] is the representative of this style of poetry.<ref name="Daley1990">{{cite book |
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|last=Daley |
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|first=Koos |
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|title=The triple fool: a critical evaluation of Constantijn Huygens' translations of John Donne |
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|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3bRaAAAAMAAJ |
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|access-date=6 October 2010 |
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|year=1990 |
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|publisher=De Graaf |
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|isbn=978-90-6004-405-6 |
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|page=58}}</ref> |
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==Further meanings== |
==Further meanings== |
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More generally, one's wits are one's intellectual powers of all types. Native wit — meaning the wits with which one is born — is closely synonymous with [[common sense]]. To live by one's wits is to be an [[Opportunism|opportunist]], but not always of the scrupulous kind. To have one's wits about one is to be alert and capable of quick [[reasoning]]. |
More generally, one's wits are one's intellectual powers of all types. Native wit — meaning the wits with which one is born — is closely synonymous with [[common sense]]. To live by one's wits is to be an [[Opportunism|opportunist]], but not always of the scrupulous kind. To have one's wits about one is to be alert and capable of quick [[reasoning]]. To be at the end of one's wits ("I'm at my wits' end") is to be immensely [[Frustration|frustrated]]. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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{{Portal|Comedy}} |
{{Portal|Comedy}} |
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<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order & add a short description [[WP:SEEALSO]] --> |
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{{div col|colwidth=20em|small=yes}} |
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* [[Hartford Wits]] |
* [[Hartford Wits]] |
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* [[New Oxford Wits]] |
* [[New Oxford Wits]] |
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* [[Oxford Wits]] |
* [[Oxford Wits]] |
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*[[Wit (play)]] |
*[[Wit (play)|''Wit'' (play)]] |
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*[[Wit (film)|''Wit'' (film)]] |
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{{div col end}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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===Bibliography=== |
===Bibliography=== |
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* D. W. Jefferson, "''Tristram Shandy'' and the Tradition of Learned Wit" in ''Essays in Criticism'', 1(1951), 225-49 |
* D. W. Jefferson, "''Tristram Shandy'' and the Tradition of Learned Wit" in ''Essays in Criticism'', 1(1951), 225-49 |
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Revision as of 16:25, 30 March 2021
Wit is a form of intelligent humour, the ability to say or write things that are clever and usually funny.[1] Someone witty is a person who is skilled at making clever and funny remarks.[1][2] Forms of wit include the quip, repartee, and wisecrack.
Forms
As in the wit of Dorothy Parker's set, the Algonquin Round Table, witty remarks may be intentionally cruel (as in many epigrams), and perhaps more ingenious than funny.
A quip is an observation or saying that has some wit but perhaps descends into sarcasm, or otherwise is short of a point, and a witticism also suggests the diminutive.
Repartee is the wit of the quick answer and capping comment: the snappy comeback and neat retort. (Wilde: "I wish I'd said that." Whistler: "You will, Oscar, you will".)[3]
In poetry
Wit in poetry is characteristic of metaphysical poetry as a style, and was prevalent in the time of English playwright Shakespeare, who admonished pretension with the phrase "Better a witty fool than a foolish wit".[4] It may combine word play with conceptual thinking, as a kind of verbal display requiring attention, without intending to be laugh-aloud funny; in fact wit can be a thin disguise for more poignant feelings that are being versified. English poet John Donne is the representative of this style of poetry.[5]
Further meanings
More generally, one's wits are one's intellectual powers of all types. Native wit — meaning the wits with which one is born — is closely synonymous with common sense. To live by one's wits is to be an opportunist, but not always of the scrupulous kind. To have one's wits about one is to be alert and capable of quick reasoning. To be at the end of one's wits ("I'm at my wits' end") is to be immensely frustrated.
See also
References
- ^ a b "Wit". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2012-05-27.
- ^ "wit". Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ^ Monty Python: Oscar Wilde sketch
- ^ Salingar, Leo (1976). Shakespeare and the Traditions of Comedy. Cambridge University Press. pp. 245–6. ISBN 978-0-521-29113-2.
- ^ Daley, Koos (1990). The Triple Fool: A Critical Evaluation of Constantijn Huygens' Translations of John Donne. De Graaf. p. 58. ISBN 978-90-6004-405-6. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
Bibliography
- D. W. Jefferson, "Tristram Shandy and the Tradition of Learned Wit" in Essays in Criticism, 1(1951), 225-49
Wikiquote has quotations related to Wit.
Look up wit in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Look up native wit in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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