4. CLASSIFICATION, STYLE, CONTENT

As the study deals with verbal humour a look at the use of words is essential, not simply their use in the creation of humorous meanings but also their use in how we actually describe these creations. Given the variable nature of humour it is perhaps no great surprise that there is no common agreement about how to differentiate between the varieties of forms. The forms themselves draw on all the resources language has to offer and can be used for purposes both innocent and tendentious.