Both paths at the same time

The joke writer must follow one of two basic structural procedures. The first begins from a fixed punchline. The joke is then constructed backwards from its completion so that the narrative set-up appears to precede rather than follow the pay-off. The joke is engineered to flow along the most efficient path towards its resolution. Succinctness in moving from set-up to release is the key to presenting the punchline in its best aspect. The second structure involves an exploratory procedure which emerges organically from the iteration of the joke's narrative, and which may only complete the release from its lifecycle by encountering an unexpected twist. With the first approach, the audience is invited to laugh in recognition at the all too familiar. With the second, laughter is drawn as if from the audience's own perplexity. It reacts out of tension like it is being presented with an exit that it could not otherwise have imagined. With this distinction in mind, we may reflect that our historical moment seems to be characterised by its insistence on conforming to both joke pathways at the same time.