Wit and Humour

Class 7 English · Poorvi · Chapter 2

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The story in short

Unit 2 of Poorvi is a lighthearted celebration of wit, nonsense and the comedy of everyday life. The main prose extract, 'Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle' by Hugh Lofting, tells how a people's doctor learns from his clever parrot Polynesia that animals have languages of their own. Fascinated, Doctor Dolittle begins noting down bird and animal words, becomes fluent enough to talk with every creature, and gives up treating humans to become a much-loved animal doctor. The unit's poem, 'A Funny Man' by Natalie Joan, describes a comical stranger who wears a shoe on his head and hats on his feet, calls a currant bun a rose, and addresses the speaker as 'Your Highness', creating gentle nonsense humour through reversed, absurd behaviour. The third reading is a humorous play by G.C. Thornley in which a mother coaches her outspoken daughter Mary to make polite conversation before two important guests arrive; despite all the advice, Mary blunders disastrously with tactless remark after tactless remark, each met with embarrassed silence. Together the readings show how humour arises from imagination, exaggeration and dramatic irony, while the play gently teaches the value of tact and knowing the right thing to say.

The story in 6 beats

  1. 1Mrs. Shaw cleans the room and tells Mary to behave politely when two guests come to visit.
  2. 2Mary insists that she can talk well, so her mother gives her careful advice about pleasing guests.
  3. 3When the guests arrive, Mary wrongly says Mrs. Harding has beautiful children she has seen before.
  4. 4Mary keeps making rude remarks about bankers, clothes, doctors, talkative women, dogs, and horses.
  5. 5Again and again, the guests feel awkward because Mary unknowingly insults things connected to their family.
  6. 6As the guests leave, Mary forgets the right words and says, 'Oh, must you stay? Can't you go?'
Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle (prose) — Doctor Dolittle and PolynesiaA Funny Man (poem) — nonsense humour and inversionThe humorous play (drama) — Mary and the comedy of tactlessnessTheme: wit, humour and dramatic ironyLiterary devices: inversion, phrasal verbs and dialogue

Characters & key ideas

Doctor DolittleA kind human physician who learns animal languages from his parrot and happily becomes an animal doctor.
PolynesiaDoctor Dolittle's clever parrot who reveals that animals can speak and teaches him their languages.
The funny manThe eccentric figure in the poem whose reversed, absurd actions (shoe on head, hats on feet) create nonsense humour.
Mary ShawThe outspoken young girl in the play whose blunt, tactless remarks cause one comic blunder after another.
Dramatic ironyA device in the play where the audience sees Mary doing the very opposite of the polite advice she was given.
InversionA poetic device in 'A Funny Man' where normal word order and object roles are reversed for comic, nonsensical effect.

Word meanings · शब्दार्थ

hilariously
in a very funny way
blunders
careless mistakes
embarrasses
makes others feel uncomfortable
wealthy
rich
gladly
happily
quietly
in a soft, low voice
banker
person who works in a bank
talkative
talking too much
practises shooting
does shooting as an activity
unable
not able

Extra questions & answers (board-style)

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Let us do these activities before we read.

Let us discuss

Let us think and reflect

Let us learn

Let us listen

Let us speak

Let us write

Let us explore

Let us do these activities before we read.

Let us discuss

Let us discuss

Let us think and reflect

Let us learn

Let us listen

Let us speak

Let us write

Let us explore

Try one from this chapter
In 'Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle', who teaches the Doctor that animals have their own languages?
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Practice quiz · Wit and Humour

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