Involuntary Maltese humour

Abstract

When Matthew Arnold complained that Wordsworth lacked a sense of humour, he did not mean that we should expect Wordsworth to make us laugh. What he meant was that Wordsworth took himself and the world too seriously and that some of the things he wrote, though never meant to raise a giggle, do, in fact, sound funny and produce an effect upon the reader which is diametrically opposed to the one the poet intended. I think the same thing can be said, by and large, of us Maltese; and not only as regards literature. A lot of what we say and do, as well as much of what we write and broadcast, has that ludicrous quality about it which is the result of an unintentional juxtaposition of contrasting elements: style unsuited to content, form clashing with subject-matter, a dress which does not fit. This is what I mean by 'involuntary humour'. [excerpt]