Benjamin Franklin's HumorAlthough he called himself merely a ÒprinterÓ in his will, Benjamin Franklin could have also called himself a diplomat, a doctor, an electrician, a frontier general, an inventor, a journalist, a legislator, a librarian, a magistrate, a postmaster, a promoter, a publisherÑand a humorist. John Adams wrote of Franklin, ÒHe had wit at will. He had humor that when he pleased was pleasant and delightful . . . [and] talents for irony, allegory, and fable, that he could adapt with great skill, to the promotion of moral and political truth.Ó In Benjamin FranklinÕs Humor, author Paul M. Zall shows how one of AmericaÕs founding fathers used humor to further both personal and national interests. Early in his career, Franklin impersonated the feisty widow Silence Dogood in a series of comically moralistic essays that helped his brother James outpace competitors in BostonÕs incipient newspaper market. In the mid-eighteenth century, he displayed his talent for comic impersonation in numerous editions of Poor RichardÕs Almanac, a series of pocket-sized tomes filled with proverbs and witticisms that were later compiled in FranklinÕs The Way to Wealth (1758), one of AmericaÕs all-time bestselling books. Benjamin Franklin was sure to be remembered for his early work as an author, printer, and inventor, but his accomplishments as a statesman later in life firmly secured his lofty stature in American history. Zall shows how Franklin employed humor to achieve desired ends during even the most difficult diplomatic situations: while helping draft the Declaration of Independence, while securing FranceÕs support for the American Revolution, while brokering the treaty with England to end the War for Independence, and while mediating disputes at the Constitutional Convention. He supervised and facilitated the birth of a nation with customary wit and aplomb. Zall traces the development of an acute sense of humor throughout the life of a great American. Franklin valued humor not as an end in itself but as a means to gain a competitive edge, disseminate information, or promote a program. Early in life, he wrote about timely topics in an effort to reach a mass reading class, leaving an amusing record of early American culture. Later, Franklin directed his talents toward serving his country. Regardless of its origin, the best of Benjamin FranklinÕs humor transcends its initial purpose and continues to evoke undying laughter at shared human experiences. |
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Page ix
... person used humor to craft the image of an iconic sociable American . Besides noting that mood affected mo- tive and mode , I have identified Franklin's practical purpose in writing and that his topics were timely , that his models were ...
... person used humor to craft the image of an iconic sociable American . Besides noting that mood affected mo- tive and mode , I have identified Franklin's practical purpose in writing and that his topics were timely , that his models were ...
Page 19
... The latter only mentions three Quali- fications of one Person who was deceased , which therefore could raise Grief and Compassion but for One . Whereas the former , ( our most excellent Poet ) gives his Reader a Sort of 19 Silence Dogood.
... The latter only mentions three Quali- fications of one Person who was deceased , which therefore could raise Grief and Compassion but for One . Whereas the former , ( our most excellent Poet ) gives his Reader a Sort of 19 Silence Dogood.
Page 20
... Persons , viz . -a Wife , a Daughter , and a Sister , which is Three Times as great a Loss as the Death of One , and con- sequently must raise Three Times as much Grief and Compassion in the Reader . I should be very much straitned for ...
... Persons , viz . -a Wife , a Daughter , and a Sister , which is Three Times as great a Loss as the Death of One , and con- sequently must raise Three Times as much Grief and Compassion in the Reader . I should be very much straitned for ...
Page 21
... Person, take all his Virtues, Excellencies, &c. and if he have not enough, you may borrow some to make up a sufficient Quantity: To these add his Last Words, dying Expressions, &c. if they are to be had; mix all these together, and be ...
... Person, take all his Virtues, Excellencies, &c. and if he have not enough, you may borrow some to make up a sufficient Quantity: To these add his Last Words, dying Expressions, &c. if they are to be had; mix all these together, and be ...
Page 23
... Person of an ill Character , and kept a criminal Correspondence with a Gentleman who assisted me in Writing . One of the Gallants clear'd me of this random Charge , by saying , That tho ' I wrote in the Character of a Woman , he knew me ...
... Person of an ill Character , and kept a criminal Correspondence with a Gentleman who assisted me in Writing . One of the Gallants clear'd me of this random Charge , by saying , That tho ' I wrote in the Character of a Woman , he knew me ...
Contents
1 | |
11 | |
27 | |
3 Philadelphias Poor Richard | 47 |
4 Philadelphia Comic Relief | 65 |
5 Making Friends Overseas | 85 |
6 Losing London | 103 |
7 Seducing Paris | 119 |
8 Comic Release | 137 |
9 Revising Past and Future | 153 |
Notes | 169 |
Sources | 175 |
Index | 181 |
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Common terms and phrases
Albany Congress almanac American Andrew Bradford apologues bagatelles Benjamin Franklin Boston Britain British Business Busy-Body called character Colonies comic common Congress Court D. H. Lawrence Death Elegy England familiar letters Father Abraham Franklin Laughing Franklin on Franklin French Friend Gentleman give hear Honour Hoops Husband Ibid impersonated invective irony Jane Mecom Jonathan Swift Joseph Priestley Keimer Lemay liberty living London Lord Lord Hillsborough Madame Helvétius married Maypole Mother Nature Neighbour never New-England Courant newspaper Number Papers Paris Parliament parody Pennsylvania Gazette perhaps Person petition Philadelphia political Poor Richard says Poor Richard's Almanac popular preface printed Printer proposed Public Advertiser readers Reason satire Scalps September Silence Dogood sketch Spectator spirit story style Swift taxes tell thing Thomas Penn thou tion Titan Leeds told Wife wine Woman Women Words World Writings young Zall