Microsoft Word final-current Developments at the Intersection of British Children-online-version doc

4.4
 
Humour 
As we have observed in chapter 4.3, graphic violence and cruelty play an important, 
growing role in current British fantasy literature for children. In order to counteract a fusion 
with Horror fiction, the momentum of its own that graphic violence develops must be 
controlled. However, this requires conscientious action. It stands to reason to try and 
counterbalance the horror with humour so as to somewhat cushion and relax the situation of 
fright. That way the horror is not undone but put into perspective and made more bearable. 
The purpose of calm, humorous intervals is to avoid an overload of aggression and goriness. 
Through this momentary distance aggression and tension, pent-up during the reading, can be 
at least partially abreacted. Considering the distinct
violence- potential of the genre, humour 
thus acts as a counterpoint to scenes of horror, carnage and destruction. Therefore, its 
soothing and relaxing properties make humour an indispensable element given the relative 
importance of graphic violence in the genre. Where comic relief as a counterweight is absent, 
the violence stands in the foreground. In this case, the novel obtains a much darker touch and 

---

130 
general impression. By intentionally limiting or even refraining completely from the use of 
humour, an author actively controls both seriousness and darkness of his work.
In the corpus of the present study such truly dark fantasies or those with a strong dark 
colouring are represented by fantasy novels like Keepers and Seekers, The Edge Chronicles, 
volumes four to seven of the Harry Potter series, G.P. Taylor’s four novels or the Abhorsen 
trilogy
.
In these novels either the absence or the sparse occurrence of humour leads to an 
intentional accumulation of aggression and tension; the task of which is to either reflect or to 
distort reality. Often enough reality does not need any exaggeration as far as graphic violence 
is concerned – it is terrible enough as it is. By portraying dark, menacing events and 
situations, the authors of such fantasy novels can initiate thought processes concerning the 
state of society and the world in general; for instance those with respect to value standards, 
behaviour, politics, power-relations and esteem for the individual. Through their uncanny and 
violence-laden atmosphere, for some people dark fantasies can elicit
feelings of discomfort 
and alarm. For others, by contrast, this is what constitutes the attraction and thrill of those 
novels. The other side of the coin is therefore the danger of becoming insensible given the 
practice of the constantly growing potential of violence and the mounting competitive 
pressure within the genre.
By definition, dark fantasies hardly provide any opportunities for development for 
humour. Humorous incidents or characters may be slipped into the novels, yet their relative 
importance is clearly subordinated to the events. Since in dark fantasies no long-term 
brightening up of the gloomy atmosphere is desirable, the comic relief is, if existent at all, 
only momentary and short-lived.
Stewart and Riddell’s Edge Chronicles are a good example to illustrate this point. The 
series is not broken up by humour but by artistic and elaborate drawings that often visualise 
acts of violence from the text. So far from offering some distance from the cruelty of the 
story, these pictures intensify the effect of the text. Rather than getting a break, the reader is 
therefore confronted with even more stimuli when not only the textual-imaginary channel is 
addressed but also the visual one. So if the reader has not imagined a scene as gruesome as 
intended by the authors, then the added drawing ensures that their imagination is helped 
along. With just a few choice happy moments or witty replies, fantasies of this kind can leave 
quite a sour aftertaste, as the proportion between seriousness and play is not balanced.
Humour that deserves its name can be found in more light-hearted fantasy novels. This 
is not to say that these novels do not contain any graphic violence. Rather, violence and 
humour are more balanced. Just like violence, humour is an essential element of British 

---

131 
fantasy literature for children. Ever since children’s literature started breaking away from the 
straight path of strict schooling, indoctrination and moralising and turned towards the 
“amusement” of its readers, comic relief became a popular, integral part of the genre. 
Whereas in former times humour was used to playfully relieve monotonous didactics or to 
even mock them,
151
nowadays it can help put graphic violence into perspective. However, the 
spectrum of comic relief varies considerably between the humorous fantasy novels.