Punch and Judy - Comedy

Comedy

Despite Punch’s unapologetic murder throughout the performances, it is still a comedy. The humour is aided by a few things. Since the puppets are carved from wood, their facial expressions cannot change, but are stuck in the same exaggerated pose, which helps to deter any sense of realism and to distance the audience . The use of the swazzle also helps to create humour; the kazoo-like sound of Punch’s voice juxtaposed against the violence made the show funny rather than cruel . According to Crone, a third aspect that helped make the violence humorous was that Punch’s violence toward his wife was prompted by her own violence toward him . In this aspect, he retains some of his previous hen-pecked persona. This would suggest that since Punch was merely acting violently out of self-defence, it was okay. This is a possible explanation for the humour of his violence toward his wife, and even towards others who may have somehow “had it coming,” but does not do anything to justify his violence toward the baby, whose only crime was to cry, as babies often do. Another explanation is that Punch’s treatment of his shrewish wife, as well as others, is so exaggerated that it is clearly not a representation of good behavior, but more of a commentary on how we all have felt toward someone at one time or another, especially a significant other. His larger-than-life abuse combined with his nonchalant attitude upon realizing he has just killed someone makes the scene so ridiculous that it can’t be anything but funny . This suggestion better explains the humour of the violence toward the baby. Other characters that had to incur the wrath of Punch varied depending on the punchman, but the most common were the foreigner, the blind man, the publican, the constable, and the devil, however the most interesting and developed relationship continued to be that of Punch and Judy themselves .