Photo courtesy of Mike Licht, licensed under CC by 2.0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s the perfect joke. It\u2019s a Jackie Gleason joke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy grandfather always said that I shouldn\u2019t watch my money. That I should watch my health. So while I was watching my health, someone stole my money. It was my grandfather.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you say it out loud? Try it, it\u2019s even better. Even a cabinet minister would find that punchline almost impossible to mess up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why is it so good?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three reasons \u2013 parallelism<\/strong>, symmetry<\/strong>, and the narrative arc.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Parallelism <\/strong>is a rhythmic device. When a series of sentences (or clauses within sentences) repeat the same basic structure, the reader responds to the repetition. Human brains love repetition \u2013 it\u2019s a big part of how music works. For example;<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Talking Heads, Once In a Lifetime<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n But back to the joke. Jackie Gleason\u2019s repeats \u2018watch my\u2019 three times, providing the basic rhythm that holds the joke together. The active voice, combined with the basic verb ‘watch’ gives us an easy hook. But what really gives the joke power is the symmetry<\/strong> of the nouns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take away everything but the nouns, and you\u2019ve got;<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grandfather – money – health |<\/strong> health – money – grandfather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The way the nouns are positioned splits the joke in two, creating two symmetrical halves. Three nouns are listed – ‘grandfather, money, health’ – then the list is reversed, creating a simple pattern that\u2019s short enough to immediately catch the ear. It\u2019s another pleasing rhythm, more sophisticated than the basic parallelism that serves as a basic pulse. Like an offbeat snare pattern over a \u2018four to the floor\u2019 bass drum thud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a piece of writing, it\u2019s technically flawless. And that\u2019s before you even consider the genius of the narrative arc.<\/strong> In 31 words, Gleason establishes two main characters and their relationship. There\u2019s a misbelief (the grandfather is trying to help) which leads to a dramatic event, and a surprise ending that also gives a strong sense of closure by ending on \u2018grandfather\u2019, the same word that began the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the best thing is\u2026. you don\u2019t need to know any of this to enjoy the joke. There\u2019s nothing political, or cultural here. There\u2019s no assumption of a certain level of education. No chance you \u2018won\u2019t get it because you\u2019re thick\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just a great idea, delivered with perfect simplicity. The kind of simplicity that takes a lifetime to master.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you got a better joke than that? Drop it in the comments below. Or maybe you\u2019re looking for an SEO copywriter who\u2019ll put in the graft to give you something simple and beautiful. Tell me what you need<\/a>, and I\u2019ll get back to you ASAP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo courtesy of Mike Licht, licensed under CC by 2.0 Here\u2019s the perfect joke. It\u2019s a Jackie Gleason joke. \u201cMy grandfather always said that I shouldn\u2019t watch my money. That I should watch my health. So while I was watching my health, someone stole my money. It was my grandfather.\u201d Did you say it out …<\/p>\n\u201cYou may find yourself living in a shotgun shack<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
And you may find yourself in another part of the world<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile\u201d.<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n