Wit and Its Relation to the Unconscious

Renowned as the father of psychoanalysis, Freud was uniquely qualified to write this fascinating exploration of the nature of wit — including jokes and joking — and its role and function as a manifestation and vehicle of unconscious impulses. First analyzing the techniques and tendencies of wit, the great analyst probes the origins of wit in the "pleasure mechanism." He then discusses the motives of wit, wit as a social process, the relation of wit to dreams and the unconscious, and wit and...