Amphigorey

The word “amphigory” or “amphigouri” is used as a pun in collections of Edward Gorey’s works (Amphigorey), as stated in the beginning of the first book. In the words of Gorey himself, “amphigory” means “a nonsense verse or composition.” 

Who is Edward Gorey? 

Edward Gorey (February 22, 1925-April 15, 2000) was one of the most influential American illustrators/writers of the 20th century. He spent most of his childhood in Chicago, and became an avid reader from a very young age.  Described as a “legendary balletomane,” he attended nearly all performances of the NYC Ballet for about 30 years. His fashion consisted of many brightly-colored fur coats, rings/earrings, canvas sneakers, and a beard which gave him a wizard-like appearance. He was suggested to be an antiquarian as shown by his vast collections of mummy parts, Roman coins, and Victoriana. In addition to all this, he owned many cats. 

Gorey studied French at Harvard, although he proclaimed that at the time, Harvard had a “god awful French department.” He would incorporate French into works such as in The Listing Attic (a collection of limericks). French and English art/literature highly influenced his Victorian aesthetic. However, this led some to believe he was British himself, when in fact, he only visited England once. The Victorian world depicted in his works is very fictional, and features elements from other time periods (such as the 1920’s). 

In addition to his own works, he made book covers and illustrations, designed sets/costumes for stage performances (he would win a Tony for his work on the Broadway adaptation of Dracula), and would continue to create various small plays after 1985 when he moved to Cape Cod. Some may know him from the use of his illustrations for the animated intro of Mystery, a series on PBS. He often published under various pseudonyms, which were all just anagrams of his name (e.g. Ogdred Weary, Drew Dogyear, Mrs. Regera Dowdy, etc.). 

Humor 

Gorey’s style of humor could be described as “dark, cartoonish surrealism and Anglophilic light camp.” He was most well known for parodies such as the Gashlycrumb Tinies, which parodied a children’s alphabet book. In fact, many of his stories are satire of children’s books. Other than his dark comedy, one of the defining aspects of his humor is intertextuality, or connections with other texts/genres; recognizing these connections contributes to the humorous effect (i.e. recognizing a reference to what is being parodied). What I find most interesting about his humor is that it treads the line between comic and dark. The tone is often uncertain because of this, though the absurdity of the contrast alone is humorous on its own. For example, Gorey often uses food-based names/puns for characters, places, objects, and book titles. However, many of these food-related incidents/characters become associated with morbid events. The sheer contrast between, say, a woman being buried alive and an alien turnip, makes the scenario nonsensical to the point of hilarity. 

Gorey took much inspiration from the nonsense literature of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, with his stories carrying little to no meaning. A food-related death doesn’t elicit any moral lesson, sympathy, or inquiry; rather, it’s expressed quite bluntly in contrast to the cruelty displayed. In a way, Gorey emphasizes the senselessness of tragedy, albeit playfully. I find that his work overall plays into the Incongruity Theory of humor, which emphasizes how the violation of an expectation elicits a humorous response.

Impact

Here are some videos of Gorey’s influence: the first parodies The Gashlycrumb Tinies and his art style. The second is a tribute album made by the Tiger Lillies, which musically adapts Gorey’s unpublished stories. The third is an interview on the Dick Cavett show, which is possibly the earliest video recording of Gorey himself.

Ever since I randomly discovered one of Gorey’s collections in the library, I’ve been a considerable fan of his work for a long time. In fact, I own many of his works, including all the Amphigorey collections, seasonal greeting cards, and two classics that he illustrated (Dracula and War of the Worlds). For an art project last year, I also made a very crude clay bobblehead of the doubtful guest, one of his characters. To this day Gorey remains one of my favorite authors/illustrators.

As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you check out some of Gorey’s work. Stay tuned for (hopefully) July. 

Sources

Edward Gorey | American writer and illustrator | Britannica. (2023, May 8). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-Gorey

Horne, L. (2016). A Peculiar Approach to Death: The Work of Edward Gorey. The University of Vermont. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1147&context=hcoltheses

Lenfield, S. L. (2019, March). Mark Dery on Edward Gorey, reviewed by Spencer Lee Lenfield. Harvard Magazine. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2019/03/edward-gorey-mark-dery-biography

Morreall, J. (2012, November 20). Philosophy of Humor (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved June 26, 2023, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/#IncThe

Novaković, N. (2022). “E is for Ernest who choked on a peach”: food, death, and humour in the works of Edward Gorey. European Journal of Humor Research, 10(3), 17. https://doi.org/10.7592/EJHR.2022.10.3.665

Schaub, M. (2018, November 14). 'Born To Be Posthumous' Brings Edward Gorey's Name To His Work. NPR. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://www.npr.org/2018/11/14/667432542/born-to-be-posthumous-brings-edward-goreys-name-to-his-work