SERIOUS: Humour Through Which Seriousness is Intended

    From The Encyclopedia of Arabic Rhetoric

    هزل يراد به جد
    SERIOUS: Humour Through Which Seriousness is Intended
    CategoryLinguistic Embellishments
    (‘ilm al-badī‘)
    SubcategoryPersuasive Tricks
      
    Balaghascore.com
    CodeCC-2
      
    BalaghaBase.org
    CodeQ122
      
    OpenAlex.org
    IDW4415405309
      
    Cite this page
    🔗 DOI10.64393/balagha.Q122
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    Taxonomy
    ARDTv0.1.0, v0.1.1

    Definition

    Humour Through Which Seriousness is Intended (al-hazl yurād bihi al-jidd) is an Arabic rhetorical device in which the communicator intends praise or blame through utterance cast in jest (hazl), so that a serious purpose is conveyed through humorous or facetious expression.[1][2][3][4]

    Mechanism

    • The utterance appears humorous, facetious, or mocking on its surface, while the intended communicative purpose remains serious.[1][2]
    • The serious purpose is conveyed through the vehicle of jest, so that seriousness emerges through the humorous expression rather than replacing it.[1][4]
    • The serious purpose concerns praise or blame, expressed through wit or facetiousness.[2][4]

    Recognition

    Humour Through Which Seriousness is Intended may be present when:

    • An utterance outwardly appears jesting or mocking, but its intended purpose is praise or blame.[1][4]
    • The humorous surface serves as the vehicle for the serious communicative purpose.[2][3]

    The following diagnostic test aids identification:

    • If the utterance appears jesting or facetious on the surface, but the underlying intent is identifiably praise or blame of a person or their affairs, the device is likely present.

    Diagnostic Rhetorical Effects

    • It enables the speaker to convey praise or blame through witty or facetious expression.[2][4]

    Applying the Recognition Framework

    The information on this page can be used to evaluate whether this device is present in a candidate lexical item using the Specific Device Recognition part of the Universal Framework for Identifying Arabic Rhetorical Devices:

    • Use the Definition, Mechanism, and Recognition sections of this page in Step 1.
    • Apply the substitution test in Step 2.
    • Consider contextual indicators in Step 3.
    • Use the Diagnostic Rhetorical Effects section of this page in Step 4.

    Examples

    Source Example

    When a Tamīmī comes to you boasting, then say: Stop that! How is it with your lizard meals?

    Explanation
    The utterance takes the form of teasing mockery, but the intended purpose is serious censure of boastfulness.[3]
    Source Example

    أنزلنا الدَّهْرُ على مَعْشر / فَما أكَلنا من ضِيافاتهم
    تَغُرُّ بالناس أحاديثهم / ما أكَلَت منا بَراغيثهم

    Fate decreed that we be guests of people / yet we did not feast upon their bounty.
    Their talk deceives people / but their fleas feasted upon us.

    Explanation
    The speaker presents the complaint in a witty and humorous form, but the intended meaning is serious blame directed at the hosts' poor hospitality.[1][2]
    Constructed Example

    يا صديقي، ما أروعَ كرمَك! دعوتَنا إلى وليمةٍ فاخرة، وقدَّمتَ لنا ماءً وابتسامة.

    My friend, how magnificent your generosity! You invited us to a grand feast, then served us water and a smile.

    Explanation
    The utterance adopts the outward form of praise and admiration, but the intended purpose is serious blame directed at the host's failure to honour his guests as promised.

    Notes

    • Terminology: The expression literally means "jest by which seriousness is intended." The defining contrast lies between the outward humorous form and the inward serious purpose.

    References

    1. ↑ a b c d e W. P. Heinrichs, ‘Rhetorical Figures’, in Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, ed. Julie Scott Meisami and Paul Starkey (London: Routledge, 1998), 657, ISBN 0415068088. DOI: 10.4324/9780203020425
    2. ↑ a b c d e f See: (103) Serious Jest in: Pierre Cachia, The Arch Rhetorician: Or The Schemer’s Skimmer : A Handbook of Late Arabic Badīʻ Drawn from ʻAbd al-Ghanī an-Nābulsī’s Nafaḥāt al-Azhār ʻala Nasamāt al-Asḥār, Studies in Arabic Language and Literature 3 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1998), 32-33, ISBN 9783447040327.
    3. ↑ a b c See: (103) al-hazl al-murād bihi al-jidd in: Pierre Cachia, The Arch Rhetorician: Or The Schemer’s Skimmer : A Handbook of Late Arabic Badīʻ Drawn from ʻAbd al-Ghanī an-Nābulsī’s Nafaḥāt al-Azhār ʻala Nasamāt al-Asḥār, Studies in Arabic Language and Literature 3 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1998), ISBN 9783447040327.
    4. ↑ a b c d e Inʿām Fawwāl ʿAkkāwī, Al-Muʿjam al-Mufaṣṣal fī ʿUlūm al-Balāgha: Al-Badīʿ wa-al-Bayān wa-al-Maʿānī (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1996), 671.



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