BLACK HUMOUR AS A PECULIAR KIND OF COMIC

Abstract

The article attempts to investigate the essence of the phenomenon of “black humour” in diachronic and synchronic aspects. The research focus is on the evolutionary nature of the phenomenon; the features of the origin, formation and development of black humour in different historical periods are studied. Special attention is paid to revealing the essence of the phenomenon “black humour” as a special type of comic. The relevance of the research is substantiated and a number of theoretical works devoted to the study of the phenomenon “black humour” in literature, art, linguistics, translation studies, film production, etc. are analyzed. The characteristic features of black humour distinguishing it from other forms of comic humour are identified. It is eclecticism that is a combination of seemingly incongruous, such as existing of the funny in the tragic. A number of stylistic tools and artistic techniques involved in creating a black-humorous effect are identified. Metaphor, hyperboles, litotes, comparison, syllepsis, zeugma, pun, antithesis, and personification are among them. In the course of the research, those thematic dominants that are considered fruitful material for “black” comedians were found out. The most common ones are national or ethnic identity, gender stereotypes, sexual orientation, illness, death, physical and mental disabilities, politics, immigration, religion, war, social status, and so on. The functionality of black humour is analyzed. As a result, it is determined that one of its key functions is self-defense. The importance of this function cannot be overemphasized, because the self-defense mechanism is triggered unconsciously when a person is faced with events or phenomena that cannot be perceived or rationally explained. An equally crucial function of black humour is communicative, the essence of which is the importance of showing both negative and positive emotions, which play a significant role in the process of communication. This function also helps to stabilize the mental state of an individual, because black humour is a kind of a behavior regulator that keeps life processes within optimal limits of meeting needs and prevents the destructive nature of any factors for human life. This function is closely related to the function of satisfying “emotional hunger”, which is a necessary condition for maintaining and strengthening person’s mental health. Thus, the phenomenon “black humour” has a number of characteristic features that distinguish it from other types of comic. The nature of black humour is ambivalent, because it simultaneously reflects such categories as humor and tragedy. It can be stated that this type of humour has its own laws and principles of functioning.