This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Kolokol (talk | contribs) at 22:09, 10 January 2006. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 22:09, 10 January 2006 by Kolokol (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)A non sequitur is a literary device; in comedy (as opposed to in formal logic), it is a comment which, due to its lack of meaning relative to the comment it follows, is absurd to the point of being humorous. Its use can be deliberate or unintentional. Literally, it is Latin for "it does not follow." In other literature, a non sequitur can denote an abrupt, illogical, unexpected or absurd turn of plot or dialogue not normally associated with or appropriate to that preceding it.
Non sequiturs often appear to be disconnected or random comments, or random changes in subject, especially socially inappropriate ones.
Examples of works which make heavy use of this device to humorous effect are the comic strips Zippy the Pinhead and Non Sequitur, the radio show The Goon Show, the television series Monty Python's Flying Circus, the cartoons Family Guy and The Simpsons, a string of shows on Adult Swim such as Robot Chicken and Aqua Teen Hunger Force, the novels of Douglas Adams, the comedy of Mitch Hedberg, the absurdist stories of underground Russian author Daniil Kharms, the music of They Might Be Giants and Cake, and the character Homsar from Homestar Runner.
Non sequiturs in Zippy the Pinhead:
- "Let me do my tribute to fishnet stockings, are we having fun yet? Fishnet, fishnet, fishnet, fishnet."
- "Accept provolone into your life."
- "Laundry is the fifth dimension."
- "If you can't say something nice, say something surrealistic."
A good example of a comic non sequitur is comedian and actor Jerry Van Dyke's line, "I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous."
The non sequitur can be understood as the opposite of cliché. To illustrate: in theatre, traditional comedy and drama depend on the ritualization—that is, the predictability—of human emotional experiences. In contrast, the theatre of the absurd depends upon the disjunction—that is, the unpredictability—of that experience. Predictability in its most extreme form is cliché; unpredictability, then, expresses itself most naturally as non sequitur.
Categories: