Application of Humor in the Poems (Essay Sample)

Application of Humor in the Poems “The Gun Joke,” and the “Rape Joke”
Poetry is one of the literary genres that allow utmost creativity and use of a language that helps retain the musicality and enjoyability of the poem and, at the same time, the purpose and meaning. Among the poems that recognize this aspect are "the gun joke" by Jamaal May and "the rape joke" by Patricia Lockwood. One of the key concepts that stand out between these two poems is the extensive use of the term "joke." The term joke is used by both Lockwood and May in different dimensions and for different purposes, including setting the tone of the poem, conveying the intensity of the message, and manifesting the negative aspect of humor. Therefore, this analysis explores the ways Lockwood and May have humorously used "joke."
To understand the role of humor, particularly the use of the term joke in poetry, one must first understand what the term ideally means. In the English dictionary, a joke is a noun that refers to something used to evoke laughter. In simpler terms, jokes are humor, and the main role is to make people laugh. In conversation and literary pieces, the term joke, besides being used as a subject that evokes a joke, can be used to describe a subject or something that is not taken seriously. In addition, there are two types of humor or joke, positive and negative.
The term joke in both poems has not been used to trigger laughter, as the key definition of the term asserts. For instance, the poet talks about gun violence and how people react to the shooting in the Gun joke. The general perception of this subject entails scary and frightening concepts, and thus no laughter can be evoked from such instances. On the other hand, Lockwood's Rape joke talks about rape, and rape, in this case, is described as prevalent among teens and children. For example, the poet says, "the rape joke is that you were 19 years old" (Bibbins, l. 1). And she continues to add that "since you were too young to be interesting to him" (Bibbins, l. 7). From these instances, the poet is describing rape among young children and, in this case, teens, which is also a scary subject. Therefore, no laughter can be evoked by the subject.
The term joke has been used primarily to manifest people's normalization of the issues they should not. That means the issues that ought to be taken seriously are disregarded and taken as a joke. According to Jamaal May, "she doesn't mean funny as in funny…" (May, L. 3). This phrase sums up the general use of the term funny, meaning it is not funny associated with laughter but funny to mean worryingly sickening to see people normalize the shootings. The same case applies to the poem, rape joke. Here, Patricia Lockwood starts with a heavy note, "the rape joke is that you were only 19 years old (Bibbins, L. 1).” The term joke here is used as a quantification measure and tells how the audience has not taken the issue with the supposed weight. Rape for a 19-year-old is equally damaging and devastating, and to manifest the intensity of the sickening and worrying aspect, she adds the word joke.