3. Language and The Marx Brothers
A contextualisation of the themes of this dissertation would be incomplete
without reference to the main protagonists, the Marx Brothers themselves,
as it is necessary to show what linguistic tools they use to achieve their
aim of disturbing dominant discourse through humour. This review of their
linguistic repertoire will focus on just the main feature(s) from each of
the three Marx Brothers – Groucho, Chico, and Harpo respectively. Other
qualities they have will show themselves in Part Two, particularly Groucho’s
and Chico’s strategic use of verbal nonsense to undermine conventional
discourse and common sense.