It is by all odds the loftiest of cities. It even managed to reach the highest point in the sky at the lowest moment of the depression.
E. B. WhiteRead
Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that analyzing humor diminishes its essence and enjoyment, much like dissecting a frog destroys it.
E. B. White's quote implies that humor, like the life of a frog, is best appreciated in its natural state. When one tries to overanalyze or dissect the nuances of what makes something funny, they risk losing the joy and spontaneity that come with it. Just as few people have the desire to dissect a frog, few find value in analyzing humor to the point where it loses its vitality.
Themes
HumorAnalysisEnjoymentJoyDissection
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about creativity, you might use this quote to illustrate how some things are better left unexamined.
More from E. B. White
All quotes βIt isn't silence you can cut with a knife any more, it's interchange of ideas. Intelligent discussion of practically everything is what is breaking up modern marriage.
E. B. WhiteRead
The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. Because I have the greatest respect for the reader, and if he's going to the trouble of reading what I've written -- I'm a slow reader myself and I guess most people are -- why, the least I can do is make it as easy as possible for him to find out what I'm trying to say, trying to get at. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.
E. B. WhiteRead
A good farmer is nothing more nor less than a handy man with a sense of humus.
E. B. WhiteRead
A despot doesn't fear eloquent writers preaching freedom- he fears a drunken poet who may crack a joke that will take hold.
E. B. WhiteRead
All writing is communication; creative writing is communication through revelation-it is the Self-escaping into the open.
E. B. WhiteRead
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I'm not a man who constantly thinks up jokes. But I think it's very important to be able to see the funny side of life and its joyful dimension and not to take everything too tragically. I'd also say it's necessary for my ministry. A writer once said that angels can fly because they don't take themselves too seriously. Maybe we could also fly a bit if we didn't think we were so important.
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If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.
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