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 2
... tion from other correspondents, all likewise impersonated by Franklin himself. In the 1760s and early 1770s, Franklin adopted the same kind of comic monologues in London newspapers to ridicule the British government's American policies ...
... tion from other correspondents, all likewise impersonated by Franklin himself. In the 1760s and early 1770s, Franklin adopted the same kind of comic monologues in London newspapers to ridicule the British government's American policies ...
Page 11
... tion was necessary, because readers would have known Addision and Steele's style anywhere. Such copying, common in Franklin's time, would be considered legitimate imitation.1 Franklin, fearing that James never would have published work ...
... tion was necessary, because readers would have known Addision and Steele's style anywhere. Such copying, common in Franklin's time, would be considered legitimate imitation.1 Franklin, fearing that James never would have published work ...
Page 24
... tion of those who have been fatigu'd with Business or Study , and occasionally observe their pretty Gestures and Impertinencies . But among Men of Business , the Shoemakers , and other Dealers in Leather , are doubly oblig'd to them ...
... tion of those who have been fatigu'd with Business or Study , and occasionally observe their pretty Gestures and Impertinencies . But among Men of Business , the Shoemakers , and other Dealers in Leather , are doubly oblig'd to them ...
Page 28
... tion is to put some One of the Company to the Blush , who per- haps must pay an equal Share of the Reckoning with himself . If such a Fellow makes Laughing the sole End and Purpose of his Life , if it is necessary to his Constitution ...
... tion is to put some One of the Company to the Blush , who per- haps must pay an equal Share of the Reckoning with himself . If such a Fellow makes Laughing the sole End and Purpose of his Life , if it is necessary to his Constitution ...
Page 40
... tion all these , and more ; but I hate to be thought a Scandalizer of my neighbours , and therefore forbear . And for your part , I would advise you , for the future , to entertain your Readers with some- thing else besides People's ...
... tion all these , and more ; but I hate to be thought a Scandalizer of my neighbours , and therefore forbear . And for your part , I would advise you , for the future , to entertain your Readers with some- thing else besides People's ...
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