I was pleased to rediscover this table today.
| Motive or Aim | Province | Method or Means | Audience | |
| humor |
Discovery | Human nature | Observation | The sympathetic |
| wit | Throwing light | Words and ideas | Surprise | The intelligent |
| satire | Amendment | Morals and manners | Accentuation | The self-satisfied |
| sarcasm | Inflicting pain | Faults and foibles | Inversion | Victim and bystander |
| invective | Discredit | Misconduct | Direct statement | The public |
| irony | Exclusiveness | Statement of facts | Mystification | An inner circle |
| cynicism | Self-justification | Morals | Exposure of nakedness | The respectable |
| the sardonic | Self relief | Adversity | Pessimism | Self |
That’s lifted from the entry on humor found in Fowler’s Modern English Usage (1927). Now I need one for the various forms of physical and visual humor.
Homework: Print copies for all. Take to dinner with the day’s comics. Categorize.
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