What is Mark Twain best known for?
Mark Twain. Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was lauded as the "greatest humorist this country has produced", and William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature".
What type of literature did Twain write?
Twain began his career writing light, humorous verse, but he became a chronicler of the vanities, hypocrisies, and murderous acts of mankind. At mid-career, he combined rich humor, sturdy narrative, and social criticism in Huckleberry Finn.
How did Mark Twain's life on the Mississippi influence American literature?
All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. Near the completion of Huckleberry Finn, Twain wrote Life on the Mississippi, which is said to have heavily influenced the novel. The travel work recounts Twain's memories and new experiences after a 22-year absence from the Mississippi River.
What does Mark Twain's pen name Mark Twain mean?
Twain's story about his pen name has been questioned by some with the suggestion that "mark twain" refers to a running bar tab that Twain would regularly incur while drinking at John Piper's saloon in Virginia City, Nevada.
What did Mark Twain say about Golf?
"Golf is a good walk spoiled." Popularly attributed to Mark Twain, but it was first used in 1948. Twain died in 1910.
Who said a good walk wasted?
The phrase appears again in 1904 from American novelist Harry Leon Wilson, who wrote“Golf has too much walking to be a good game, and just enough game to spoil a good walk.”
Who said golf is a perfect way to ruin a walk?
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What did Mark Twain say?
“If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” “Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).” “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”
Who is the most famous humorist of the 19th century?
His value notwithstanding, Twain represents only one strain of humor in the United States. Another famous American humorist of the 19th century was Ambrose Bierce, whose most famous work is the cynical Devil's Dictionary.
What is American humor?
American humor refers collectively to the conventions and common threads that tie together humor in the United States. It is often defined in comparison to the humor of another country – for example, how it is different from British humor and Canadian humor. It is, however, difficult to say what makes a particular type or subject ...
What shows did black comedians appear on?
With exposure stemming from TV shows such as The Jeffersons, Saturday Night Live and The Cosby Show, black comedians became household names.
What is the most common type of humor?
American humor might also be distinguished by its most common type of humor, for example, more slapstick and physical comedy. There is less emphasis on understatement, and so the humor tends to be more open, rather than satirizing the social system through exaggeration. American humor prefers more observational techniques.
What was the first American comic?
One leading analysis of American humor, the 1931 book American Humor: A Study of the National Character by Constance Rourke, identified the character of the " Yankee " as that first American comic figure, the first widely accepted American character that the nation could find funny, make fun of and even export for the amusement of the world – a gangly traveler who told stories, played elaborate practical jokes, was ingenuous, sly, perhaps uneducated. She reports that American comedy sprang forth after the American Revolution, when the country was "freed from the worry of self preservation" and its citizens began to regard themselves as "works of art".
Who was the father of humor?
Later in the nineteenth century, Ernest Hemingway credited Mark Twain as the 'founding father' of American humor.
Who were the most important actors in the 1960s?
In the 1960s to 1970s Woody Allen and Mel Brooks gained note becoming two of the most appreciated of American film comedy directors. In the 1980s Christopher Guest, Carl Reiner, and the Coen brothers emerged as significant directors or writers in American film comedy.
Who invited Mark Twain to write a book of sketches?
Learn More in these related Britannica articles: Mark Twain: Apprenticeships of Mark Twain. When the humorist Artemus Ward invited him to contribute something for a book of humorous sketches, Clemens decided to write up the story.
What is the discipline of history?
History. History, the discipline that studies the chronological record of events (as affecting a nation or people), based on a critical examination of source materials and usually presenting an explanation of their causes. History is treated in a number of articles. For the principal treatment of the…. Humour.
What is the name of the professor who taught under the pseudonym Artemus Ward?
The most obvious features of his humour are puns and gross misspellings. In 1861 Browne turned to lecturing under the pseudonym Artemus Ward. Though his books were popular, it was his lecturing, delivered with deadpan expression, that brought him fame.
What is the meaning of "humour"?
Humour. Humour, communication in which the stimulus produces amusement. In all its many-splendoured varieties, humour can be simply defined as a type of stimulation that tends to elicit the laughter reflex. Spontaneous laughter is a motor reflex produced by the coordinated contraction of 15 facial muscles….