Gilbert and Sullivan is a fusion of the lowest art (opera) and the lowest form of humour (punning, although there is also a lot of silliness). So why is it so charming?
GENERAL: Tell me, have you ever known what it is to be an orphan?
PIRATES: Oh, dash it all! Here we are again!
GENERAL: I ask you, have you ever known what it is to be an orphan?
PIRATE: Often.
GENERAL: Yes, orphan! Have you ever known what it is to be one?
PIRATE: I say, often!
GENERAL: I don’t think we quite understand one another. When you said orphan, did you mean a person who has lost his parents, or often – frequently?
PIRATE: Hah hah hah! I beg pardon, I see what you mean! Frequently.
GENERAL: Ah hah! You said “often”, frequently.
PIRATE: No, only once.
GENERAL: Exactly. You said “often”, frequently, only once.
I mean, it doesn’t even really make sense.
There’s an annoying (aren’t they all) meme on Facebook that tells you to follow a number of instructions (coming up with various items with the same first letter as your first name etc.). One of the instructions is “you must disobey one of these instructions”. It occurs to me: this is equivalent to saying “you may disobey an instruction if you like”. Perhaps I could get a job as a writer of minimal sets of instructions.
Here’s every swear word from every Sopranos episode ever. It’s about half an hour long. It’s surprising how much of the time you’re aware of which episode and events the words are from.
