It was Oscar Wilde who said that “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit but the highest form of intelligence.” We could also assume that the bolded part was even sarcastic.
A lot of writers use sarcasm not to mock but to achieve something similar to what journalists call Preemptive journalism.
A sarcastic question or response may eventually be advantageous if you master how to use it properly. Though it may also provoke anger, and that may lead to you being accused of being disrespectful. However, it may make the other party, in an attempt to defend themselves, give you the actual information you are looking for.
Sarcasm may help us retrieve otherwise difficult answers from a third party.
What if both parties understand sarcasm?
Let me share with you one encounter with a very good friend.
Village Boy, I want to ask you a sincere question, and I need an honest answer.
Fire on all cylinders, please.
What inspires you to write poems?
Laziness!
How now? What are you not telling me?
Anyway, I love prose more, and whenever I think I cannot meet my target, I switch to poetry.
That is not convincing, though. By the way, what is your minimum word count for an article?
At least a thousand words.
But your poems are good.
Well, I see myself as an amateur, so I write poems when I have to write.
Which ‘kin yeye amateur’. If you are not an amateur, nko?
The truth is, I used to love writing poems until someone who lived with me stole one of mine. It was written on paper, so there was no way I could retrieve it. And the person denied it to the high heavens.
Hmmm. Can I ask what the poem was about?
Na love poem o.
Give me the person’s address, and I will arrange for the boys to beat him up.
No oh! Na King’s yam ate king’s goat o.
What will I do with you bayi?
What did I do wrong now?
You know what? I will have to auction you and this friendship.
Shebi, I will be the one to collect the money?
How can you collect the money? I want to auction you, for crying aloud.
But I am the accountant here. I will collect and share accordingly.
Share wetin? The auction money belongs to me.
Don’t worry, I will use the Pareto formula for the sharing.
Meaning?
I get 80% as the ‘auctionee’ and you, the auctioneer, get 20%.
How is that possible? Where did I even meet you, sef?
On the way to Damascus!
This conversation is ended.
Auction or auction?
Only if I am getting 100%.
When you are ready, please let me know.
Interesting or not interesting?
Once during a family conversation, my boys responded at the same time with my answer, and said, “That is sarcasm there.”
Las, las dem don get me! (I have finally been unmasked)
©TheVillageBoy.
(The figure man who loves alphabets)
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If you want it in a specific file format (PDF, DOCX, etc.) just let me know.
