Comic

This type of experience is “poetic” in the sense that poetic responses are those arising from concepts found in Artistotle’s  Poetics, which have formed the foundation for much of modern theatre.  Poetic responses are “aesthetically engineered” by the elements and structures of the arts event.

Comic aesthetic responses are to comedy/humour.  That’s pretty obvious.  It’s also pretty easy to figure out how they are “aesthetically engineered”.  Comedians and comedy writers use all kinds of specific strategies to create a humourous response.   It’s not just “being funny”, it’s pre-planned.

There are lots of websites and blogs that explore how to create comedy.  Some examples of strategies include:

– something unexpected

– exaggeration

– sarcasm or irony

– double entendres

– misunderstandings

…and presenting the elements with timing that gives the audience a brief moment to “get it”.