Humor In Frances Burney's Use Of Satirical Essay

Humor is a tricky concept to pin down. In the dictionary, it is defined as “a comic, absurd, or incongruous quality causing amusment” (Dictionary.com). This quality, whatever it is, is much more complicated than that however. Most people can probably identify what things they find humorous—knock-knock jokes or political satire or situational comedy—but the reason behind why they find something funny is much more elusive. “Because it just is” is the answer that most readily springs to mind. From Aristotle to Freud, philosophers and psychologists have spent countless hours debating and discussing and creating theories to explain the phenomena that is humor. Thus far, no one theory has been able to provide a complete answer; each has loopholes of its own. Identifying the comedic elements that make something funny is a slightly easier task, and one that this essay will attempt concerning Frances Burney’s second novel, Cecilia. Her coming-of-age tale gives readers a front row seat in the world of the story’s protagonist (and title character), Cecilia Beverly. The action starts right in the middle of Cecilia’s life, a few years before she turns twenty-one, as she …show more content…
However, modern readers classify comedies using stricter standards; namely, to be labeled “comedy,” the goal of the work in question should be to make its audience laugh. This was most likely not Burney’s purpose in writing Cecilia; it reads much more as a social and moral commentary than it does a joke book. Nonetheless, it is arguable that Burney did not set out to write a tragedy, either. The sad parts of her novel seem to exist simply as a way to further the plot, while her literary talent truly shines when she crafts humorous scenes. The key to the humor in the story is that the people and situations Cecilia encounters are not stuck in the eighteenth century; they are applicable even to modern day