--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The world is indeed comic, but the joke…" description: "\"The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind.\" — H. P. Lovecraft" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81f/h-p-lovecraft-1408_comedy_the-world-is-indeed-comic-but-the-joke-i_2738254.png" --- # The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind. ![“The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind.” quote by H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81f/h-p-lovecraft-1408_comedy_the-world-is-indeed-comic-but-the-joke-i_2738254.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81f/h-p-lovecraft-1408_comedy_the-world-is-indeed-comic-but-the-joke-i_2738254.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81f/h-p-lovecraft-1408_comedy_the-world-is-indeed-comic-but-the-joke-i_2738254.png) > “The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind.” [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humanity is the punchline of a cosmic joke, highlighting existential absurdity. **In simple terms:** World is a joke. Key Takeaway Recognize absurdity to find meaning. Themes existential absurdity humor Mood dark wry Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - creative writing - psychology - cultural critique - personal reflection Key Concepts philosophy literature Questions to Reflect On - What makes life absurd? - How can humor alleviate existential dread? A Different Perspective Humor can be a coping tool, not just despair. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/) [Joke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joke/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [All great humorists are sad... I cannot help seeing beyond the tinsel of humour, and recognising the pitiful basis of jest - the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/all-great-humorists-are-sad-i-cannot-help-seeing-beyond-the-tinsel-of/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Creating my own world in a comic or selling my first penny newspaper aged nine was a way of gaining recognition and acceptance by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-hefner/creating-my-own-world-in-a-comic-or-selling-my-first-penny-newspaper/) [Hugh Hefner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-hefner/) > [ “The world of \[comic book\] collecting is not a pretty place. For a bunch of guys who like good-over-evil stories, you sure meet a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/the-world-of-comic-book-collecting-is-not-a-pretty-place-for-a-bunch/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [It's just that... working on 'Green Lantern,' I saw how difficult it is to make that concept palatable, and how confused it all can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-reynolds/it-s-just-that-working-on-green-lantern-i-saw-how-difficult-it-is-to/) [Ryan Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-reynolds/) > [Comedy makes everything accessible. Watching the news is kind of like being fed your evening pill. What's fun about it? Nothing. And so if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-aykroyd/comedy-makes-everything-accessible-watching-the-news-is-kind-of-like/) [Dan Aykroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-aykroyd/) > [Truth is of no practical value to mankind save as it affects terrestrial phenomena, hence the discoveries of science should be concealed or glossed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/truth-is-of-no-practical-value-to-mankind-save-as-it-affects/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Chris Nolan went through Slamdance a year and a half after us, and he went on to direct 'The Dark Knight.' So the joke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-russo/chris-nolan-went-through-slamdance-a-year-and-a-half-after-us-and-he/) [Joe Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-russo/) > [A comic strip has a rhythm and a pattern, and you got to get in and out quick. So you set up a joke,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/a-comic-strip-has-a-rhythm-and-a-pattern-and-you-got-to-get-in-and/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [Westminster is no joke. I took some tough classes there. It prepared me for a tough career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-baldwin/westminster-is-no-joke-i-took-some-tough-classes-there-it-prepared-me/) [Brooke Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-baldwin/) > [I don't like it when I see a racist comedian go up and say, 'What are we gonna do about all these immigrants?' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/i-don-t-like-it-when-i-see-a-racist-comedian-go-up-and-say-what-are/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [We're all basically decent human beings so if 3,000 people are laughing at a joke then it's worth telling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-mack/we-re-all-basically-decent-human-beings-so-if-3-000-people-are/) [Lee Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-mack/) > [I don't do plays without jokes anymore. I've retired from those plays. I think it's bad manners to invite people to sit in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/i-don-t-do-plays-without-jokes-anymore-i-ve-retired-from-those-plays/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [I'm always looking at new ways to tell a joke so that it doesn't get stale while working on new jokes every night or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burr/i-m-always-looking-at-new-ways-to-tell-a-joke-so-that-it-doesn-t-get/) [Bill Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burr/) > [Nobody calls me a racist when I do redneck jokes. Jeff Foxworthy can do as many 'You might be a redneck jokes' as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-mencia/nobody-calls-me-a-racist-when-i-do-redneck-jokes-jeff-foxworthy-can/) [Carlos Mencia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-mencia/) > [“You know where you can shove your joke. Just get me a new drink and try not to include and of your STD-laced body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrington/you-know-where-you-can-shove-your-joke-just-get-me-a-new-drink-and/) [Kim Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrington/) ## More by H. P. Lovecraft > [It is the night-black Massachusetts legendry which packs the really macabre "kick". Here is material for a really profound study in group-neuroticism; for certainly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/it-is-the-night-black-massachusetts-legendry-which-packs-the-really/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [“Sounds—possibly musical—heard in the night from other worlds or realms of being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/sounds-possibly-musical-heard-in-the-night-from-other-worlds-or/) [H. P. 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Crossing the bridge and turning toward the roar of the lower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/thus-i-began-my-systematic-though-half-bewildered-tour-of-innsmouth-s/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Of what use is it to please the herd? They are simply coarse animals - for all that is admirable in man is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/of-what-use-is-it-to-please-the-herd-they-are-simply-coarse-animals/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [“How little does the earth self know life and its extent! How little, indeed, ought it to know for its own tranquility!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/how-little-does-the-earth-self-know-life-and-its-extent-how-little/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [The trees grew too thickly, and their trunks were too big for any healthy New England wood. There was too much silence in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/the-trees-grew-too-thickly-and-their-trunks-were-too-big-for-any/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Plots may be simple or complex, but suspense, and climactic progress from one incident to another, are essential. Every incident in a fictional work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/plots-may-be-simple-or-complex-but-suspense-and-climactic-progress/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/searchers-after-horror-haunt-strange-far-places/) [H. P. 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This is a gift God gave me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/i-ve-been-funny-my-whole-life-this-is-a-gift-god-gave-me/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) > [“Laugh and grow strong”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-loyola/laugh-and-grow-strong/) [Ignatius of Loyola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-loyola/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [There's a difference between delivering real funny and just silly funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-rel-howery/there-s-a-difference-between-delivering-real-funny-and-just-silly/) [Lil Rel Howery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-rel-howery/) > [Oh to that corkscrew, the useful tool to unlock the treasure of wit, the treasury of laughter, the front door of fellowship, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-guzaldo/oh-to-that-corkscrew-the-useful-tool-to-unlock-the-treasure-of-wit/) [Andrew Guzaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-guzaldo/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [I do love to laugh!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-giudice/i-do-love-to-laugh/) [Teresa Giudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-giudice/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. 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