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Benchley and Wodehouse works provoke laughter
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share thisTrying to explain why a comedian or humorist is funny is as difficult as attempting to describe a sunset to a person blind from birth.
Articles that theorize why Jack Benny or Laurel and Hardy or Jackie Gleason and Art Carney are funny usually have the readability of a phone book. This holds true for humorists as well as comedians.
For example, P.G. Wodehouse and Robert Benchley were two of the best and funniest comic writers in the 20th century, but I simply can't convey their humor when I try to share my enthusiasm for their works with friends.
These authors are so enjoyable and laugh-provoking that I cannot resist the urge to share their laughter with others. However, when I paraphrase humorous passages from Wodehouse and Benchley or even read selections from their works, my efforts are like rain that falls on hot macadam and instantly disappears.
All I can hope is that they will someday come across the writings of those humorists and discover for themselves Benchley's and Wodehouse's talent for provoking laughter.
I have the same lack of success in conveying to others my enthusiasm for an infinitely more important subject - God and His love. My efforts to try to share the Good News with others usually evaporate in an instant.
All I can hope is that they will some day discover for themselves the awesome power cited in Romans 8:31, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"
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Laughter is one of God's greatest gifts;
His love is the greatest.
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