--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Humour and high seriousness... Perfect…" description: "\"Humour and high seriousness... Perfect bedfellows, I think. Though I usually phrase it in terms of comedy and darkness. Comedy without darkness rapidly..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/438/mark-haddon-1056_bedfellows_humour-and-high-seriousness-perfect-bedf_1797333.png" --- # Humour and high seriousness... Perfect bedfellows, I… ![“Humour and high seriousness... Perfect bedfellows, I think. Though I usually phrase it in terms of comedy and darkness. Comedy without darkness rapidly becomes trivial. And darkness without comedy rapidly becomes unbearable.” quote by Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/438/mark-haddon-1056_bedfellows_humour-and-high-seriousness-perfect-bedf_1797333.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/438/mark-haddon-1056_bedfellows_humour-and-high-seriousness-perfect-bedf_1797333.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/438/mark-haddon-1056_bedfellows_humour-and-high-seriousness-perfect-bedf_1797333.png) > “Humour and high seriousness... Perfect bedfellows, I think. Though I usually phrase it in terms of comedy and darkness. Comedy without darkness rapidly becomes trivial. And darkness without comedy rapidly becomes unbearable.” [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comedy and darkness must coexist; without darkness comedy is shallow, without comedy darkness is unbearable. **In simple terms:** Comedy needs darkness; darkness needs comedy. Key Takeaway Balance humor with depth. Themes balance humor darkness Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - stand‑up routines - film scripts - literary analysis - personal coping Key Concepts dualism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you gauge the right mix? - When does humor become trivial? A Different Perspective Too much darkness can alienate audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bedfellows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bedfellows/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Comedy Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy-darkness-1999363/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Darkness Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness-comedy-1999365/) [High Seriousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-seriousness-1999364/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Humour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humour/) [Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect/) [Phrases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phrases/) [Seriousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seriousness/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Terms Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terms-comedy-1377659/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Unbearable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unbearable/) ## Related quotes > [My dream role is Richard Pryor, no question about that. I'm a big Richard Pryor fan. I've always been intrigued about the darkness behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorian-missick/my-dream-role-is-richard-pryor-no-question-about-that-i-m-a-big/) [Dorian Missick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorian-missick/) > [In terms of a comedy plan I don't really have a list of what I want accomplish. I'm just riding the wave! I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doc-brown/in-terms-of-a-comedy-plan-i-don-t-really-have-a-list-of-what-i-want/) [Doc Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doc-brown/) > [In terms of comedy, I never did five-minute sets or clubs or anything. I just started doing shows. Coming from that theater background, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-minchin/in-terms-of-comedy-i-never-did-five-minute-sets-or-clubs-or-anything/) [Tim Minchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-minchin/) > [I naturally think in terms of comedy whenever I see anything because tragedy is so close to comedy, so I like to add the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hill/i-naturally-think-in-terms-of-comedy-whenever-i-see-anything-because/) [Amy Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hill/) > [I'm never going to say, 'Well, I'm never going to do comedy again.' I love comedies, and it's what people know me for, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hader/i-m-never-going-to-say-well-i-m-never-going-to-do-comedy-again-i-love/) [Bill Hader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hader/) > [“The reason politics makes strange bedfellows is because they all like the same bunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/los-angeles-times/the-reason-politics-makes-strange-bedfellows-is-because-they-all-like/) [Los Angeles Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/los-angeles-times/) > [Resurrection, like politics, makes strange bedfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jose-farmer/resurrection-like-politics-makes-strange-bedfellows/) [Philip Jose Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jose-farmer/) > [I like to piece together different guitarists, unlikely bedfellows. You have Jonny Greenwood playing next to Nile Rodgers on the same track, so it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-ferry/i-like-to-piece-together-different-guitarists-unlikely-bedfellows-you/) [Bryan Ferry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-ferry/) > [Ancient wisdom and quantum physicists make unlikely bedfellows: In quantum mechanics the observer determines (or even brings into being) what is observed, and so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/ancient-wisdom-and-quantum-physicists-make-unlikely-bedfellows-in/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [War makes strangers bedfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-winsor/war-makes-strangers-bedfellows/) [Kathleen Winsor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-winsor/) > [For corporations to be bedfellows with the arts is good business for both. The architecture that houses a company is a more visible statement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/for-corporations-to-be-bedfellows-with-the-arts-is-good-business-for/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [The bedfellows politics made are never strange. It only seems that way to those who have not watched the courtship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-achard/the-bedfellows-politics-made-are-never-strange-it-only-seems-that-way/) [Marcel Achard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-achard/) > [Politics make strange bedfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/politics-make-strange-bedfellows/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [Celebrity and charity have been bedfellows for many years. The key is to try and choose practical, sound and effective ones. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-zane/celebrity-and-charity-have-been-bedfellows-for-many-years-the-key-is/) [Billy Zane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-zane/) > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) ## More by Mark Haddon > [But I said that you could still want something that is very unlikely to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/but-i-said-that-you-could-still-want-something-that-is-very-unlikely/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“So often these days she seemed to hover between worlds, none of them wholly real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/so-often-these-days-she-seemed-to-hover-between-worlds-none-of-them/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery…and I was brave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-i-know-i-can-do-this-because-i-went-to-london-on-my-own-and/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [And what he meant was that maths wasn't like life because in life there are no straightforward answers in the end](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-what-he-meant-was-that-maths-wasn-t-like-life-because-in-life/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [You love someone, you've got to let something go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/you-love-someone-you-ve-got-to-let-something-go/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“when you describe something by using a word for something that it isn’t. This means that the word metaphor is a metaphor. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/when-you-describe-something-by-using-a-word-for-something-that-it-isn/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/they-are-very-logical-but-you-could-never-work-out-the-rules-even-if/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Places remained and time flowed through them like wind through the grass. Right now. This was the future turning into the past. One thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/places-remained-and-time-flowed-through-them-like-wind-through-the/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I suffer depression only in the sense that I am a writer. We don't have proper jobs to go to. We are on our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-suffer-depression-only-in-the-sense-that-i-am-a-writer-we-don-t/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I better make the plot good. I wanted to make it grip people on the first page and have a big turning point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-better-make-the-plot-good-i-wanted-to-make-it-grip-people-on-the/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“And it was strange because he was calling, "Christopher. . . ? Christopher. . . ?" and I could see my name written out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-it-was-strange-because-he-was-calling-christopher-christopher-and/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [A lot of roles for people with disabilities are quite patronising. It's a real pity when they are just used to give dull PC…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/a-lot-of-roles-for-people-with-disabilities-are-quite-patronising-it/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I do not like strangers because I do not like people I have never met before. They are hard to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-do-not-like-strangers-because-i-do-not-like-people-i-have-never-met/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Lots of people wrote to the magazine to say that Marilyn vos Savant was wrong, even when she explained very carefully why she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/lots-of-people-wrote-to-the-magazine-to-say-that-marilyn-vos-savant/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I read very, very little fiction as a kid. All the books I can remember are junior science books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid-all-the-books-i-can-remember/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) [Explore all 278 Mark Haddon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) ## More Bedfellows quotes > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [Celebrity and charity have been bedfellows for many years. The key is to try and choose practical, sound and effective ones. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-zane/celebrity-and-charity-have-been-bedfellows-for-many-years-the-key-is/) [Billy Zane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-zane/) > [Politics make strange bedfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/politics-make-strange-bedfellows/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [The bedfellows politics made are never strange. It only seems that way to those who have not watched the courtship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-achard/the-bedfellows-politics-made-are-never-strange-it-only-seems-that-way/) [Marcel Achard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-achard/) > [For corporations to be bedfellows with the arts is good business for both. The architecture that houses a company is a more visible statement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/for-corporations-to-be-bedfellows-with-the-arts-is-good-business-for/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [War makes strangers bedfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-winsor/war-makes-strangers-bedfellows/) [Kathleen Winsor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-winsor/) > [Ancient wisdom and quantum physicists make unlikely bedfellows: In quantum mechanics the observer determines (or even brings into being) what is observed, and so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/ancient-wisdom-and-quantum-physicists-make-unlikely-bedfellows-in/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [I like to piece together different guitarists, unlikely bedfellows. You have Jonny Greenwood playing next to Nile Rodgers on the same track, so it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-ferry/i-like-to-piece-together-different-guitarists-unlikely-bedfellows-you/) [Bryan Ferry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-ferry/) > [Resurrection, like politics, makes strange bedfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jose-farmer/resurrection-like-politics-makes-strange-bedfellows/) [Philip Jose Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jose-farmer/) > [“The reason politics makes strange bedfellows is because they all like the same bunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/los-angeles-times/the-reason-politics-makes-strange-bedfellows-is-because-they-all-like/) [Los Angeles Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/los-angeles-times/) > [In a sense, the music business and I haven't always been the best of bedfellows. Artists often have to fight their corner. Your music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/in-a-sense-the-music-business-and-i-haven-t-always-been-the-best-of/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [Sexual attraction makes the strangest bedfellows of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/sexual-attraction-makes-the-strangest-bedfellows-of-all/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [War makes strange bedfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-thomas/war-makes-strange-bedfellows/) [Helen Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-thomas/) > [“Religion makes strange bedfellows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/religion-makes-strange-bedfellows/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [Art and business may be strange bedfellows, but an artist must make room in her bed for both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/art-and-business-may-be-strange-bedfellows-but-an-artist-must-make/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) [Browse all 31 Bedfellows quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bedfellows/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Humour and high seriousness... 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