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. |
From inside the book
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Page 1
... newspaper in Boston, later for his own Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard's Almanac, for newspapers in London and Paris, and for pamphlets for fun or propa- ganda at home and abroad. In journalism, humor gave him a competi- tive edge ...
... newspaper in Boston, later for his own Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard's Almanac, for newspapers in London and Paris, and for pamphlets for fun or propa- ganda at home and abroad. In journalism, humor gave him a competi- tive edge ...
Page 2
... newspapers to ridicule the British government's American policies, as well as the 1780s in Paris newspa- pers for such whimsical notions as saving daylight to conserve candles. In conversation and correspondence, Franklin used humor as ...
... newspapers to ridicule the British government's American policies, as well as the 1780s in Paris newspa- pers for such whimsical notions as saving daylight to conserve candles. In conversation and correspondence, Franklin used humor as ...
Page 6
... newspapers at home and abroad . He would let real anger overflow in other letters never sent . Infuri- ated by fellow peace commissioner Arthur Lee's constant carping , he addressed him as paranoid , an extreme “ proud and angry man ...
... newspapers at home and abroad . He would let real anger overflow in other letters never sent . Infuri- ated by fellow peace commissioner Arthur Lee's constant carping , he addressed him as paranoid , an extreme “ proud and angry man ...
Page 27
... newspaper, Andrew Bradford's American Weekly Mercury, was too frivolous, but that excuse hid the fact that Keimer was undercutting Franklin's plan to start his own newspaper. Keimer reached peak circulation of about 2501 but lost ...
... newspaper, Andrew Bradford's American Weekly Mercury, was too frivolous, but that excuse hid the fact that Keimer was undercutting Franklin's plan to start his own newspaper. Keimer reached peak circulation of about 2501 but lost ...
Page 31
... newspaper . He wrote serious papers on civic affairs along with such fashionable humor as his celebrated epitaph that circulated in manuscript from about 1728. As Silence Dogood's night- rambling sailors punned on nautical terms , so ...
... newspaper . He wrote serious papers on civic affairs along with such fashionable humor as his celebrated epitaph that circulated in manuscript from about 1728. As Silence Dogood's night- rambling sailors punned on nautical terms , so ...
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