--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Comedy is what happens when you cross the…" description: "\"Comedy is what happens when you cross the dateline from the unbearable. Things become so unbearable they become a joke.\" — Robyn Hitchcock" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/robyn-hitchcock-11103_comedy_comedy-is-what-happens-when-you-cross-th_1129870.png" --- # Comedy is what happens when you cross the dateline from… ![“Comedy is what happens when you cross the dateline from the unbearable. Things become so unbearable they become a joke.” quote by Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/robyn-hitchcock-11103_comedy_comedy-is-what-happens-when-you-cross-th_1129870.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/robyn-hitchcock-11103_comedy_comedy-is-what-happens-when-you-cross-th_1129870.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/robyn-hitchcock-11103_comedy_comedy-is-what-happens-when-you-cross-th_1129870.png) > “Comedy is what happens when you cross the dateline from the unbearable. Things become so unbearable they become a joke.” [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comedy emerges when suffering becomes so extreme it turns into humor, highlighting absurdity in hardship. **In simple terms:** Hardship can become humor when it’s too much. Key Takeaway Find humor in pain. Themes humor pain absurdity Mood wry reflective Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - personal loss - political satire - daily stress - health crises Key Concepts psychology relief catharsis Questions to Reflect On - How does humor change your perception of pain? - When does humor become avoidance? A Different Perspective Humor may mask underlying issues instead of solving them. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Comedy Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy-happens-810921/) [Crosses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crosses/) [Dateline Unbearable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dateline-unbearable-3099040/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Joke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joke/) [Jokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jokes/) [Things Unbearable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-unbearable-1777848/) [Unbearable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unbearable/) [Unbearable Joke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unbearable-joke-3099039/) [Unbearable things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unbearable-things/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes things seem so unbearable in the middle of the night, don't they? In the middle of the night, we're all such children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/sometimes-things-seem-so-unbearable-in-the-middle-of-the-night-don-t/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Of all things I find most unbearable is the injustice of one generation to another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-cary/of-all-things-i-find-most-unbearable-is-the-injustice-of-one/) [Joyce Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-cary/) > [If our view is limited to mortal life, some things become unbearable because they seem so unfair and so permanent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyd-k-packer/if-our-view-is-limited-to-mortal-life-some-things-become-unbearable/) [Boyd K. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyd-k-packer/) > [I know things are unbearable but in spite of that we have to bear them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mahy/i-know-things-are-unbearable-but-in-spite-of-that-we-have-to-bear-them/) [Margaret Mahy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mahy/) > [If goodness can't come from bad things, it makes bad things unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/if-goodness-can-t-come-from-bad-things-it-makes-bad-things-unbearable/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [There is nothing heavier than compassion. Not even one's own pain weighs so heavy as the pain one feels for someone, pain intensified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/there-is-nothing-heavier-than-compassion-not-even-one-s-own-pain-3/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [The war had made a man of him! It had coarsened him and hardened him. There was no other way to look at it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/the-war-had-made-a-man-of-him-it-had-coarsened-him-and-hardened-him/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [The most unbearable thing about many successful people is not - as we flatteringly think - how lazy they are, but how hard they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-most-unbearable-thing-about-many-successful-people-is-not-as-we/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [The brain appears to possess a special area which we might call poetic memory and which records everything that charms or touches us, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-brain-appears-to-possess-a-special-area-which-we-might-call-3/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I don't think so, I don't agree. The most unbearable thing I think by far, she said, is hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/i-don-t-think-so-i-don-t-agree-the-most-unbearable-thing-i-think-by/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [If only we were wiser or better people, perhaps the gods would explain to us the mad, unbearable things they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/if-only-we-were-wiser-or-better-people-perhaps-the-gods-would-explain/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I thought about the earth then, really thought about it, the tsunami's and earthquakes and volcanoes, all the horrors I haven't witnessed but have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-beth-pfeffer/i-thought-about-the-earth-then-really-thought-about-it-the-tsunami-s/) [Susan Beth Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-beth-pfeffer/) > [Life is bearable even when it's unbearable: that is what's so terrible, that is the unbearable thing about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/life-is-bearable-even-when-it-s-unbearable-that-is-what-s-so-terrible/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [We live everything as it comes, without warning, like an actor going on cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/we-live-everything-as-it-comes-without-warning-like-an-actor-going-on-3/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) ## More by Robyn Hitchcock > [I'm 63. It's kind extraordinary that I'm out here at all and people want to see me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/i-m-63-it-s-kind-extraordinary-that-i-m-out-here-at-all-and-people/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [People's intelligence tends to be in inverse proportion to their number. People don't tend to get smarter as they get into bigger groups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/people-s-intelligence-tends-to-be-in-inverse-proportion-to-their/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [After the Soft Boys I just didn't want to work with any more guitarists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/after-the-soft-boys-i-just-didn-t-want-to-work-with-any-more/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [People from the past always seem to have much more time to create beautiful, intricate, delicate things that often reach the future in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/people-from-the-past-always-seem-to-have-much-more-time-to-create/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [I thin many people's deviant behavior starts with dreams because dreams are so non-linear... as if there's an assumption that everything has to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/i-thin-many-people-s-deviant-behavior-starts-with-dreams-because/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [“You have to come from somewhere, but you don't have to go back there anymore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/you-have-to-come-from-somewhere-but-you-don-t-have-to-go-back-there/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [We have a need to be religious, we need to worship, we need to build totems and shrines and icons, but nobody's sure in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/we-have-a-need-to-be-religious-we-need-to-worship-we-need-to-build/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [In this world of doubt, one thing is certain for me; that I will go on writing songs up to and - I hope,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/in-this-world-of-doubt-one-thing-is-certain-for-me-that-i-will-go-on/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [I think The Beatles are the lasting influence on me, even more so than Dylan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/i-think-the-beatles-are-the-lasting-influence-on-me-even-more-so-than/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [If you miss someone too much you turn into them... though it doesn't seem to work for the Christian Church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/if-you-miss-someone-too-much-you-turn-into-them-though-it-doesn-t/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [As soon as a norm is established, people start questioning it, which is probably a good thing in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/as-soon-as-a-norm-is-established-people-start-questioning-it-which-is/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [Everyone has a right to change their consciousness, but ultimately the whole process is misleading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/everyone-has-a-right-to-change-their-consciousness-but-ultimately-the/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [If you do things out of time you're weird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/if-you-do-things-out-of-time-you-re-weird/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [I was always jealous of something getting more attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/i-was-always-jealous-of-something-getting-more-attention/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [I've been able to make a good living as a musician, but now it's time to do all the other stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/i-ve-been-able-to-make-a-good-living-as-a-musician-but-now-it-s-time/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) [Explore all 61 Robyn Hitchcock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) ## More Comedy quotes > ['Mad TV' is one of my most favorite shows of all time and is a huge part of my obsession with sketch comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-dawson/mad-tv-is-one-of-my-most-favorite-shows-of-all-time-and-is-a-huge/) [Shane Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-dawson/) > [You can laugh at me, but I understand show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/you-can-laugh-at-me-but-i-understand-show-business/) [Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/) > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [I wouldn't want people to laugh at me. That's why I have to give all that I can, and at least produce something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhao-wei/i-wouldn-t-want-people-to-laugh-at-me-that-s-why-i-have-to-give-all/) [Zhao Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhao-wei/) > [“Our world will not die as a result of the bomb, as the papers say, it will die of laughter, of banality, of making a joke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/our-world-will-not-die-as-a-result-of-the-bomb-as-the-papers-say-it/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [I've been funny my whole life. 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. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) [Browse all 19,795 Comedy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Comedy is what happens when you cross the dateline from the unbearable. 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