PERFORMING STAND-UP COMEDY: A GENRE ANALYSIS OF UMAR SHARIF’S COMEDY THROUGH SPEECH ACT THEORY

Abstract

A genre analysis of standup comedy examines the structural and communicative elements that define this form of performance art. It explores how standup comedians use language, humor, and performance techniques to engage audiences, focusing on the genre's conventions, such as joke structures, timing, and delivery. This analysis also considers the social and cultural dimensions of standup comedy, including how comedians address sensitive topics like politics, identity, and societal norms. This research highlights the standup comedy by using the Speech act theory and studying the elements of this theory. Genre analysis reveals how standup comedy operates as both entertainment and a form of social commentary, blending humor to provoke thought and reflection. The primary focus of this paper is to apply speech theory to standup comedy. Umar Sharif's comedy combines entertainment, social critique, and cultural reflection within the framework of speech act theory. This work also explains that use of word to show the emotions in any direction to get attention of people is possible through speech act theory.