When uttered at the right moment, a rude word can suddenly bring an otherwise dull and lifeless sentence dramatically to life. It adds emphasis and a touch of the unexpected, a necessary component of humour. It is often particularly funny when coming from an unlikely source, such as the mouth of a sweet old lady or a seemingly innocent child.
Swearing in Comedy
On numerous occasions in comedy, swearing seems wholly appropriate. In the popular British comedy series Little Britain, which airs in Canada on HBO Canada, elderly women unexpectedly blurt out rude words, as in the "Daffyd Thomas, Only Gay in the Village" sketches ("I didn't know he liked c***!" they exclaim politely.)
In the Big Train "Duck Watch" sketch, a giant duck interrupts a group of bird-watchers and abruptly orders them to leave the shelter. "Are you a duck? Are you a duck?" it inquires angrily. "No," they reply. "Well f*** off then!" In this case, if the giant duck had said "Well go away then!" the skit would almost certainly have lost a great deal of its comedic appeal.
Do People Who Swear Really Have a Poor Vocabulary?
Obviously, if a person is unable to get through a sentence without using an expletive, then said expletives can lose their potency and become extremely tiresome. However, when the odd swear word is dropped into a sentence, that person can seem wittier and more entertaining, as well as dangerously bold for allowing such words to pass through his or her lips.
"There used to be mad, silly, prissy people who used to say swearing is the sign of a poor vocabulary," explains English actor, comedian, writer and all-round national treasure Stephen Fry, "which is such utter nonsense. The people I know who swear the most tend to have the widest vocabularies and the kind of person who says that swearing is a sign of a poor vocabularly, usually have a pretty poor vocabulary themselves."
The Benefits of Swearing
Some people claim that being able to swear demonstrates that one is comfortable with one's masculine side and that that the F-word in particular is a way of releasing pent-up energy. Time magazine and other media outlets reported on a recent study by Richard Stephens of Britain's Keele University that found that swearing seems to diminish physical pain. Others say they just enjoy swearing because it is "taboo" and considered "improper behaviour." As the great English essayist, Walter Bagehot once said: "The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."
As far as comedy is concerned, no one is suggesting that every show should be riddled with swear words, but when they are used, they should be used sparingly and appropriately and timed to perfection in order to elicit maximum audience reaction.
In everyday life, it is important to remember who you are with when expressing thoughts and feelings through bad language, as some people can be offended by swear words, no matter how they are used. In either situation, it is merely a case of choosing your moment, and your audience, very carefully.
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