Comic timing
use of timing to enhance a comedic purpose
Comic timing or comedic timing is a performer's joke delivery as they interact with an audience using intonation, rhythm, cadence, tempo, and beat to guide the comedic narrative. The pacing of the delivery of a joke can have an impact on its effect or change its meaning. This can also be true in physical comedy.
History
The use of comic timing can be seen in the plays of the ancient Greeks. Aristophanes indicated brief pauses in his works in order to cause laughter. William Shakespeare also used comic timing in plays. Cleopatra's interjections during Mark Antony's speech in Act 1 Scene 2 of Antony and Cleopatra, shift a serious scene to a comic one. George Bernard Shaw continued the use of comic timing. In his 1894 play Arms and the Man, Shaw uses it near the end of Act 2 through Nicola's losses of composure.
While the use of comic timing became more used on stage, by the mid-20th century, comic timing became used for comedy film, television and stand-up comedy.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Comic timing” as use of timing to enhance a comedic purpose. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as use of timing to enhance a comedic purpose. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q703333. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1894.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Comic timing”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Comic timing primary sources, Comic timing archive and Comic research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Comic timing”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Comic timing” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.