Don L. F. Nilsen – författare

British writers of the 20th century have used humor in various ways throughout their works. Some writers, such as George Bernard Shaw and W. Somerset Maughm, were known for their comedies of manners. Others, like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Alfred Hitchcock, wrote mystery novels infused with humorous elements. Political humor permeated the works of Sir Winston Churchill and George Orwell, while writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis combined humor with religion and myth. Many of the trends that began in the nineteenth century were continued into the twentieth, though these trends were shaped by the social conditions of the period. This reference surveys humor in British literature of the 20th century.Included are authors who were active during the 20th century, ranging from Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934) through Douglas (Noel) Adams (1952-). Each of these authors is profiled individually, with entries analyzing humor in their works and providing extensive bibliographical information. The first chapter covers includes authors born between 1855 and 1869, while each of the following chapters includes authors born during a particular decade. Within each chapter, the entries are arranged chronologically, so that the reader may trace the evolution of British literary humor over time. An index additionally allows the user to locate individual authors alphabetically.

Humor began in British literature during the Middle Ages, when Chaucer developed the storytelling tradition along with the ironies that resulted from the juxtaposition of people from different classes and points of view. Shakespeare later developed vernacular and street humor in his comedies, festive humor in his romances and histories, and dark humor in his tragedies. During the Restoration, Congreve established the Comedy of Manners. This book overviews scholarship in humor in British literature from the Middle Ages through the seventeenth century. Chapters are devoted to particular centuries, with authors listed individually within each chapter. Each entry discusses the role of humor in the author's work and includes a bibliography.The volume begins with an introductory essay on the origins of British humor in the Middle Ages. Chapters then examine British literary humor during particular centuries. Each chapter begins with an overview of humor during that time period. Entries for individual authors follow, with each entry discussing the role of humor in the author's work and providing a bibliography of modern studies. Entries are arranged chronologically to show the development of humor over time, while an index allows alphabetical access to individual authors.

This book shows how authors of young adult literature use the creation of names for people, places, events, inventions, animals, and imaginary concepts as one of their most important literary techniques. Chapters address how authors use names to stretch readers' emotions, to reveal ethnic values and differences, to create "other worlds," and to establish tone. Other chapters focus on how authors use names to help readers remember who is who, such as J. K. Rowling in the Harry Potter books, or to communicate separate messages to adults and to young readers, as exemplified by Richard Handler in the Lemony Snicket books.Names and Naming in Young Adult Literature equips readers with the interest and the skill to make similar observations about names and naming when they read other books. Looking at the names an author has chosen to use is a wonderful first step in introducing readers to the concept of literary criticism as something to help readers get more pleasure and information from their reading. Public and school librarians, college instructors of young adult literature, teachers of creative writing, high school English teachers, and anyone else who is interested in young adult literature will find this book extremely interesting.

Much of today's communication is carried out through various kinds of humor, and we therefore need to be able to understand its many aspects. Here, two of the world's leading pioneers in humor studies, Alleen and Don Nilsen, explore how humor can be explained across the numerous sub-disciplines of linguistics. Drawing on examples from language play and jokes in a range of real-life contexts, such as art, business, marketing, comedy, creative writing, science, journalism and politics, the authors use their own theory of 'Features, functions and subjects of Humor' to analyze humor across all disciplines. Each highly accessible chapter uses a rich array of examples to stimulate discussion and interaction even in large classes. Supplemental PowerPoints to accompany each of the 25 chapters are available online, taking many of the insights from the chapters for further interactional discussions with students.