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class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Story with long setup and no payoff</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">This article is about the joke. For the television program, see <a href="/wiki/Shaggy_Dog_Story_(TV)" title="Shaggy Dog Story (TV)">Shaggy Dog Story (TV)</a>.</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="background-color: #DEDEE2">Shaggy-dog story</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/wiki/File:Captain_kopeikin_by_boklevsky.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Captain_kopeikin_by_boklevsky.jpg/220px-Captain_kopeikin_by_boklevsky.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="296" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Captain_kopeikin_by_boklevsky.jpg/330px-Captain_kopeikin_by_boklevsky.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Captain_kopeikin_by_boklevsky.jpg/440px-Captain_kopeikin_by_boklevsky.jpg 2x" data-file-width="973" data-file-height="1311" /></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">Captain Kopeikin, illustration by Pyotr Boklevsky; a fictional character from Gogol's <i>Dead Souls</i> who tells a shaggy dog story.</div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p><p>In its original sense, a <b>shaggy-dog story</b> or <b>yarn</b> is an extremely long-winded <a href="/wiki/Anecdote" title="Anecdote">anecdote</a> characterized by extensive narration of typically <a href="/wiki/Non_sequitur_(literary_device)" title="Non sequitur (literary device)">irrelevant incidents</a> and terminated by an <a href="/wiki/Anticlimax_(narrative)" class="mw-redirect" title="Anticlimax (narrative)">anticlimax</a>. In other words, it is a long story that is intended to be amusing and that has an intentionally silly or meaningless ending.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Shaggy-dog stories play upon the audience's preconceptions of joke-telling. The audience listens to the story with certain expectations, which are either simply not met or met in some entirely unexpected manner.<sup id="cite_ref-Cohen_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Cohen-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A lengthy shaggy-dog story derives its humour from the fact that the joke-teller held the attention of the listeners for a long time (such jokes can take five minutes or more to tell) for no reason at all, as the long-awaited resolution is essentially meaningless, with the joke as a whole playing upon humans' search for <a href="/wiki/Meaning_(philosophy)" title="Meaning (philosophy)">meaning</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-:0_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The nature of their delivery is reflected in the <a href="/wiki/English_language" title="English language">English</a> <a href="/wiki/Idiom" title="Idiom">idiom</a> <i><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spin_a_yarn" class="extiw" title="wiktionary:spin a yarn">spin a yarn</a></i>, by way of <a href="/wiki/Analogy" title="Analogy">analogy</a> with the production of <a href="/wiki/Yarn" title="Yarn">yarn</a>. </p><p>As a comic device, the shaggy-dog story is related to unintentional long windedness, and the two are sometimes both referred to in the same way. While a shaggy-dog story is a comic exaggeration of the real life experience, it is also deliberately constructed to play off an audience who are expecting a comedic payoff and uses that expectation to subvert expectations and create comedy in unexpected ways. In such kind of humorous story, the humor lies in the pointlessness or irrelevance of the plot or punch line.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Humanities scholar Jane Marie Todd observed that the shaggy-dog story demonstrates the nature of desiring humor and how that process occurs.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Archetypal_story">Archetypal story</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Shaggy_dog_story&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Archetypal story"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-More_citations_needed_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Shaggy_dog_story" title="Special:EditPage/Shaggy dog story">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a> in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">December 2020</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The eponymous <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shaggy" class="extiw" title="wikt:shaggy">shaggy</a> dog story serves as the <a href="/wiki/Archetype" title="Archetype">archetype</a> of the genre. The story builds up a repeated emphasizing of the dog's exceptional shagginess. The climax of the story culminates in a character reacting to the animal by stating: "That dog's not so shaggy." The expectations of the audience that have been built up by the presentation of the story, both in the details (that the dog is shaggy) and in the delivery of a punchline, are thus subverted. <a href="/wiki/Ted_Cohen_(philosopher)" title="Ted Cohen (philosopher)">Ted Cohen</a> gives the following example of this story: </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>A boy owned a dog that was uncommonly shaggy. Many people remarked upon its considerable shagginess. When the boy learned that there are contests for shaggy dogs, he entered his dog. The dog won first prize for shagginess in both the local and the regional competitions. The boy entered the dog in ever-larger contests, until finally he entered it in the world championship for shaggy dogs. When the judges had inspected all of the competing dogs, they remarked about the boy's dog: "He's not that shaggy."<sup id="cite_ref-Cohen_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Cohen-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <p>However, authorities disagree as to whether this particular story is the archetype after which the category is named. <a href="/wiki/Eric_Partridge" title="Eric Partridge">Eric Partridge</a>, for example, provides a very different story, as do William and Mary Morris in <i>The Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins</i>. </p><p>According to Partridge and the Morrises, the archetypical shaggy-dog story involves an advertisement placed in the <i>Times</i> announcing a search for a shaggy dog. In the Partridge story, an aristocratic family living in <a href="/wiki/Park_Lane_(road)" class="mw-redirect" title="Park Lane (road)">Park Lane</a> is searching for a lost dog, and an American answers the advertisement with a shaggy dog that he has found and personally brought across the Atlantic, only to be received by the butler at the end of the story who takes one look at the dog and shuts the door in his face, saying, "But not so shaggy as <i>that</i>, sir!" In the Morris story, the advertiser is organizing a competition to find the shaggiest dog in the world, and after a lengthy exposition of the search for such a dog, a winner is presented to the aristocratic instigator of the competition, who says, "I don't think he's so shaggy."<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Examples_in_literature">Examples in literature</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Shaggy_dog_story&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Examples in literature"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-More_citations_needed_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Shaggy_dog_story" title="Special:EditPage/Shaggy dog story">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a> in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">December 2020</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Mark_Twain_and_the_story_of_grandfather's_old_ram"><span id="Mark_Twain_and_the_story_of_grandfather.27s_old_ram"></span>Mark Twain and the story of grandfather's old ram</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Shaggy_dog_story&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Mark Twain and the story of grandfather's old ram"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A typical shaggy-dog story occurs in <a href="/wiki/Mark_Twain" title="Mark Twain">Mark Twain</a>'s book about his travels west, <i><a href="/wiki/Roughing_It" title="Roughing It">Roughing It</a></i> (1872). Twain's friends encourage him to go find a man called Jim Blaine when he is properly drunk, and ask him to tell "the stirring story about his grandfather's old ram."<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Twain, encouraged by his friends who have already heard the story, finally finds Blaine, an old silver miner, who sets out to tell Twain and his friends the tale. Blaine starts out with the ram ("There never was a bullier old ram than what he was"), and goes on for four more unparagraphed pages. </p><p>Along the way, Blaine tells many stories, each of which connects back to the one before by some tenuous thread, and none of which has to do with the old ram. Among these stories are a tale of boiled missionaries; of a lady who borrows a false eye, a peg leg, and the wig of a coffin-salesman's wife; and a final tale of a man who gets caught in machinery at a carpet factory and whose "widder bought the piece of carpet that had his remains wove in ..." As Blaine tells the story of the carpet man's funeral, he begins to fall asleep, and Twain, looking around, sees his friends "suffocating with suppressed laughter." They now inform him that "at a certain stage of intoxication, no human power could keep [Blaine] from setting out, with impressive unction, to tell about a wonderful adventure which he had once had with his grandfather's old ram—and the mention of the ram in the first sentence was as far as any man had heard him get, concerning it." </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Nikolai_Gogol_and_the_story_of_Captain_Kopeikin">Nikolai Gogol and the story of Captain Kopeikin</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Shaggy_dog_story&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Nikolai Gogol and the story of Captain Kopeikin"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A lengthy shaggy-dog story (roughly 2,500 words in English translation) takes place in chapter 10 of <a href="/wiki/Nikolai_Gogol" title="Nikolai Gogol">Nikolai Gogol</a>'s novel <i><a href="/wiki/Dead_Souls" title="Dead Souls">Dead Souls</a></i>, first published in 1842.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The novel's central character, Chichikov, arrives in a Russian town and begins purchasing deceased serfs ("souls") from the local landowners, thus relieving the landowners of a tax burden based on an infrequent census. As confusion and suspicion about Chichikov's motives spreads, local officials meet to try to discern Chichikov's background and purpose. At one point, the local postmaster interrupts: "He, gentlemen, my dear sir, is none other than Captain Kopeikin!" None of the others in the room are familiar with a Captain Kopeikin, and the postmaster begins to tell his story. </p><p>Captain Kopeikin was seriously wounded in battle abroad during military conflict with Napoleonic France in 1812. He was sent back to St. Petersburg due to the severity of his injuries, which include the loss of an arm and a leg. At the time, financial or other support was not readily provided to soldiers in such condition as a result of combat wounds, and Captain Kopeikin struggles to pay for room and board with his quickly depleted funds. As his situation becomes increasingly dire, Kopeikin takes it upon himself to confront the leader of "a kind of high commission, a board or whatever, you understand, and the head of it is general-in-chief so-and-so." It is understood that this senior military figure might have the means to assist Kopeikin or put in a word for a pension of some kind. This is followed by a lengthy summary of Kopeikin's meetings and repeated attempts to solicit help from this leader over a period of time. Eventually the postmaster states: "But forgive me, gentlemen, here begins the thread, one might say, the intrigue of the novel" and begins to introduce a band of robbers into the story. </p><p>At this point, a listener interrupts apologetically, "You yourself said that Captain Kopeikin was missing an arm and a leg, while Chichikov...." The postmaster suddenly slaps himself on the head and admits this inconsistency had not occurred to him at the start and "admitted that the saying 'Hindsight is the Russian man's forte', was perfectly correct." </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Isaac_Asimov_and_the_story_of_the_Shah_Guido_G.">Isaac Asimov and the story of the Shah Guido G.</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Shaggy_dog_story&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Isaac Asimov and the story of the Shah Guido G."><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In the collection of stories by <a href="/wiki/Isaac_Asimov" title="Isaac Asimov">Isaac Asimov</a> titled <i><a href="/wiki/Buy_Jupiter_and_Other_Stories" title="Buy Jupiter and Other Stories">Buy Jupiter and Other Stories</a></i> is a story titled "<a href="/wiki/Shah_Guido_G." title="Shah Guido G.">Shah Guido G.</a>"<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In his background notes, Asimov identifies the tale as a shaggy-dog story, and explains that the title is a play on "shaggy dog". </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Examples_in_music">Examples in music</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Shaggy_dog_story&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Examples in music"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Arlo_Guthrie" title="Arlo Guthrie">Arlo Guthrie</a>'s antiwar "<a href="/wiki/Alice%27s_Restaurant_Massacree" class="mw-redirect" title="Alice's Restaurant Massacree">Alice's Restaurant Massacree</a>" is a shaggy-dog story about the military draft, hippies, and improper disposal of garbage.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/David_Bromberg" title="David Bromberg">David Bromberg</a>'s version of "Bullfrog Blues" (on <i><a href="/wiki/How_Late%27ll_Ya_Play_%27Til%3F" title="How Late'll Ya Play 'Til?">How Late'll Ya Play 'Til?</a></i>) is a rambling shaggy-dog story performed as a <a href="/wiki/Talking_blues" title="Talking blues">talking blues</a> song.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/%22Weird_Al%22_Yankovic" title=""Weird Al" Yankovic">"Weird Al" Yankovic</a>'s "<a href="/wiki/Albuquerque_(song)" title="Albuquerque (song)">Albuquerque</a>", the final track on his 1999 album <i><a href="/wiki/Running_with_Scissors_(%22Weird_Al%22_Yankovic_album)" class="mw-redirect" title="Running with Scissors ("Weird Al" Yankovic album)">Running with Scissors</a></i>, is an over-eleven-minute digression from one of the first topics mentioned in the song, the narrator-protagonist's longstanding dislike of <a href="/wiki/Sauerkraut" title="Sauerkraut">sauerkraut</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_J._Geils_Band" title="The J. Geils Band">The J. Geils Band</a>'s "No Anchovies, Please" on their 1980 album <i><a href="/wiki/Love_Stinks_(album)" title="Love Stinks (album)">Love Stinks</a></i>, is a shaggy-dog story that tells the tale of an American housewife who meets an unfortunate fate after opening a can of <a href="/wiki/Anchovies_as_food" title="Anchovies as food">anchovies</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Other_examples">Other examples</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Shaggy_dog_story&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Other examples"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Myles-na-gCopaleen" class="mw-redirect" title="Myles-na-gCopaleen">Myles-na-gCopaleen</a>, one of the pen-names of <a href="/wiki/Flann_O%27Brien" title="Flann O'Brien">Flann O'Brien</a>, was a master of long shaggy-dog stories, most commonly in his '''<b>Various Lives of Keats and Chapman</b>''' stories in his <a href="/wiki/The_Irish_Times" title="The Irish Times">Irish Times</a> column the ''Cruisceann Lawn''. Almost all the stories would have meandering, painful, often esoteric detail, leading to a meaningless ending to justify a dreadful yet amusing pun or spoonerism, the more excruciating the better. Indeed the name and characters of the column, based on the poets Keats and Chapman derive from the first such story where <a href="/wiki/John_Keats" title="John Keats">John Keats</a>, in addition to his poetical gifts, is somehow reckoned an expert vet, to whom a prize homing pigeon belonging to <a href="/wiki/George_Chapman" title="George Chapman">George Chapman</a> is brought, choking. Keats opens the bird's beak widely, stares down for some seconds, deftly removes a piece of stuck champagne cork from the bird's throat, and health is restored to Chapman's animal. Upon which happy event, Keats is moved to write his famous sonnet, "<a href="/wiki/On_First_Looking_into_Chapman%27s_Homer" title="On First Looking into Chapman's Homer">On First Looking into Chapman's Homer</a>" (homer being slang for <a href="/wiki/Homing_pigeon" title="Homing pigeon">Homing pigeon</a>, as well as the name of the great Greek poet for whom Keats' poem was actually written).<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li>In the film <i><a href="/wiki/Six_of_a_Kind" title="Six of a Kind">Six of a Kind</a></i>, Sheriff John Hoxley (played by <a href="/wiki/W.C._Fields" class="mw-redirect" title="W.C. Fields">W.C. Fields</a>) explains how he came to be known as Honest John. The story itself is short for a shaggy-dog story,<sup class="noprint Inline-Template noprint noexcerpt Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:NOTRS" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:NOTRS"><span title="The current source is insufficiently reliable (WP:NOTRS). The opinion of one WP:USERG blogger from 2010 is WP:NOT. (February 2024)">better source needed</span></a></i>]</sup> but it is padded by Fields's drunken and unsuccessful attempts to make a simple shot at pool. In the end, it turns out that the reason for the nickname is that he once returned a glass eye to its owner, who had left it behind.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li>Comedians <a href="/wiki/Buddy_Hackett" title="Buddy Hackett">Buddy Hackett</a> and <a href="/wiki/Norm_Macdonald" title="Norm Macdonald">Norm Macdonald</a> were famous for telling shaggy-dog stories.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li>In <i><a href="/wiki/The_Simpsons" title="The Simpsons">The Simpsons</a></i>, the character <a href="/wiki/Grampa_Simpson" title="Grampa Simpson">Grampa Simpson</a> frequently tells nonsensical shaggy-dog stories, often to the annoyance of other characters. In the season 4 episode "<a href="/wiki/Last_Exit_to_Springfield" title="Last Exit to Springfield">Last Exit to Springfield</a>", Grampa tells <a href="/wiki/Mr._Burns" title="Mr. Burns">Mr. Burns</a> that he uses "stories that don't go anywhere" as a strike-breaking technique before launching into a rambling tale.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li>In the novel <i><a href="/wiki/V." title="V.">V.</a></i> by <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon" title="Thomas Pynchon">Thomas Pynchon</a>, the main character Benny Profane recalls a shaggy-dog story about a boy who is born with a golden screw in his belly button, the only purpose of which turns out to be to hold the boy's bottom in place.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Rolling_Stone" title="Rolling Stone">Rolling Stone</a></i> called <i><a href="/wiki/The_Illuminatus!_Trilogy" title="The Illuminatus! Trilogy">The Illuminatus! Trilogy</a></i> "The longest shaggy-dog joke in literary history..."<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li>In a <a href="/wiki/Boy_Scouts_of_America" title="Boy Scouts of America">Boy Scouts of America</a> <a href="/wiki/Campfire_story" title="Campfire story">campfire story</a> called "You're not a monk", a storyteller tells a 10-minute long story about a man who goes through a long series of trials to become a monk in hopes of gaining permission to learn a mysterious secret, and at the end, the storyteller refuses to tell the audience what the secret is because "you aren't a monk."<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Shaggy_dog_story&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Anti-humor" title="Anti-humor">Anti-humor</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Aristocrats" title="The Aristocrats">The Aristocrats</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chekhov%27s_gun" title="Chekhov's gun">Chekhov's gun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Feghoot" title="Feghoot">Feghoot</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Information_overload" title="Information overload">Information overload</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/No_soap_radio" title="No soap radio">No soap radio</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rakugo" title="Rakugo">Rakugo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Red_herring" title="Red herring">Red herring</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shaggy_dog_(disambiguation)" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="Shaggy dog (disambiguation)">Shaggy dog (disambiguation)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shaggy_God_story" title="Shaggy God story">Shaggy God story</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Shaggy_dog_story&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150911085801/http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/shaggy-dog-story">"shaggy-dog story Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/shaggy-dog-story">the original</a> on 11 September 2015<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">5 January</span> 2025</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=shaggy-dog+story+Meaning+in+the+Cambridge+English+Dictionary&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdictionary.cambridge.org%2Fdictionary%2Fenglish%2Fshaggy-dog-story&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AShaggy+dog+story" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Cohen-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Cohen_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Cohen_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCohen1999" class="citation book cs1">Cohen, Ted (1999). <i>Jokes</i>. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">31 May</span> 2022</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Hits+Just+Keep+On+Comin%27&rft.atitle=Still+Another+Great+Moment+in+the+History+of+Background+Music&rft.date=2006-05-13&rft.au=jb&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fthjkoc.net%2F2006%2F05%2F13%2Fstill-another-great-moment-in-the-history-of-background-music%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AShaggy+dog+story" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/flann-obrien/the-various-lives-of-keats-and-chapman-and-the-bro/"><i>THE VARIOUS LIVES OF KEATS AND CHAPMAN (AND … | Kirkus Reviews</i></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=THE+VARIOUS+LIVES+OF+KEATS+AND+CHAPMAN+%28AND+%E2%80%A6+%7C+Kirkus+Reviews&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kirkusreviews.com%2Fbook-reviews%2Fflann-obrien%2Fthe-various-lives-of-keats-and-chapman-and-the-bro%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AShaggy+dog+story" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFO'Neill2003" class="citation news cs1">O'Neill, Jamie (22 November 2003). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/nov/22/classics.flannobrien">"Whims and shams, puns and flams"</a>. <i>The Guardian</i>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0261-3077">0261-3077</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">29 March</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Guardian&rft.atitle=Whims+and+shams%2C+puns+and+flams&rft.date=2003-11-22&rft.issn=0261-3077&rft.aulast=O%27Neill&rft.aufirst=Jamie&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbooks%2F2003%2Fnov%2F22%2Fclassics.flannobrien&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AShaggy+dog+story" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://theoscentury.com/oldies10.htm">"OLDIES"</a>. <i>theoscentury.com</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">31 May</span> 2022</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=theoscentury.com&rft.atitle=OLDIES&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Ftheoscentury.com%2Foldies10.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AShaggy+dog+story" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/for-norm-macdonald-facts-are-just-starting-points-for-comedy/2016/09/20/ad39cfd6-7f42-11e6-8d13-d7c704ef9fd9_story.html">"For Norm Macdonald, facts are just starting points for comedy - The Washington Post"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/The_Washington_Post" title="The Washington Post">The Washington Post</a></i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Washington+Post&rft.atitle=For+Norm+Macdonald%2C+facts+are+just+starting+points+for+comedy+-+The+Washington+Post&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fentertainment%2Fbooks%2Ffor-norm-macdonald-facts-are-just-starting-points-for-comedy%2F2016%2F09%2F20%2Fad39cfd6-7f42-11e6-8d13-d7c704ef9fd9_story.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AShaggy+dog+story" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.simpsoncrazy.com/lists/grampa-stories">"Simpson Crazy, the ultimate Simpsons fan site — in association with Krusty Krowd Kontrol Barriers"</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Simpson+Crazy%2C+the+ultimate+Simpsons+fan+site+%E2%80%94+in+association+with+Krusty+Krowd+Kontrol+Barriers&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simpsoncrazy.com%2Flists%2Fgrampa-stories&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AShaggy+dog+story" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-20">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPynchon1963" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon" title="Thomas Pynchon">Pynchon, Thomas</a> (18 March 1963). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=STZbAAAAMAAJ"><i>V</i></a>. J. B. Lippincott. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780397003013" title="Special:BookSources/9780397003013"><bdi>9780397003013</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=V.&rft.pub=J.+B.+Lippincott&rft.date=1963-03-18&rft.isbn=9780397003013&rft.aulast=Pynchon&rft.aufirst=Thomas&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DSTZbAAAAMAAJ&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AShaggy+dog+story" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-21">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFShea2010" class="citation book cs1">Shea, Robert (13 January 2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=gnO76vZELmQC&dq=%22Rolling+Stone%22+%22The+Illuminatus!+Trilogy%22+%22The+longest+shaggy+dog+joke+in+literary+history%22&pg=PP3"><i>The Illuminatus! Trilogy: The Eye in the Pyramid, The Golden Apple, Leviathan</i></a>. Random House Publishing Group. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-307-56964-6" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-307-56964-6"><bdi>978-0-307-56964-6</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Illuminatus%21+Trilogy%3A+The+Eye+in+the+Pyramid%2C+The+Golden+Apple%2C+Leviathan&rft.pub=Random+House+Publishing+Group&rft.date=2010-01-13&rft.isbn=978-0-307-56964-6&rft.aulast=Shea&rft.aufirst=Robert&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DgnO76vZELmQC%26dq%3D%2522Rolling%2BStone%2522%2B%2522The%2BIlluminatus%21%2BTrilogy%2522%2B%2522The%2Blongest%2Bshaggy%2Bdog%2Bjoke%2Bin%2Bliterary%2Bhistory%2522%26pg%3DPP3&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AShaggy+dog+story" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-22">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/joke/youre_not_a_monk-605.asp">"You're Not a Monk Joke"</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=You%27re+Not+a+Monk+Joke&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.boyscouttrail.com%2Fcontent%2Fjoke%2Fyoure_not_a_monk-605.asp&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AShaggy+dog+story" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Shaggy_dog_story&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFJan_Harold_Brunvand1963" class="citation journal cs1"><a href="/wiki/Jan_Harold_Brunvand" title="Jan Harold Brunvand">Jan Harold Brunvand</a> (January–March 1963). "A Classification for Shaggy Dog Stories". <i>The Journal of American Folklore</i>. <b>76</b> (299). American Folklore Society: <span class="nowrap">42–</span>68. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.2307%2F538078">10.2307/538078</a>. <a href="/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="JSTOR (identifier)">JSTOR</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/538078">538078</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Journal+of+American+Folklore&rft.atitle=A+Classification+for+Shaggy+Dog+Stories&rft.volume=76&rft.issue=299&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E42-%3C%2Fspan%3E68&rft.date=1963-01%2F1963-03&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.2307%2F538078&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F538078%23id-name%3DJSTOR&rft.au=Jan+Harold+Brunvand&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AShaggy+dog+story" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFAsimov1991" class="citation book cs1">Asimov, Isaac (1991). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/isaacasimovstrea00asim/page/49">"Shaggy Dog"</a></span>. <i>Isaac Asimov's Treasury of Humor: A Lifetime Collection of Favorite Jokes, Anecdotes, and..</i>. Houghton Mifflin Books. pp. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/isaacasimovstrea00asim/page/49">49–67</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-395-57226-6" title="Special:BookSources/0-395-57226-6"><bdi>0-395-57226-6</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Shaggy+Dog&rft.btitle=Isaac+Asimov%27s+Treasury+of+Humor%3A+A+Lifetime+Collection+of+Favorite+Jokes%2C+Anecdotes%2C+and...&rft.pages=49-67&rft.pub=Houghton+Mifflin+Books&rft.date=1991&rft.isbn=0-395-57226-6&rft.aulast=Asimov&rft.aufirst=Isaac&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fisaacasimovstrea00asim%2Fpage%2F49&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AShaggy+dog+story" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPartridge1931" class="citation news cs1"><a href="/wiki/Eric_Partridge" title="Eric Partridge">Partridge, Eric</a> (1931). "The Shaggy Dog Story". <i><a href="/wiki/New_Statesman" title="New Statesman">New Statesman</a></i>. Statesman Pub. Co. p. 534.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=New+Statesman&rft.atitle=The+Shaggy+Dog+Story&rft.pages=534&rft.date=1931&rft.aulast=Partridge&rft.aufirst=Eric&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AShaggy+dog+story" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPartridge1953" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Eric_Partridge" title="Eric Partridge">Partridge, Eric</a> (1953). <i>The 'Shaggy Dog' Story: Its Origin, Development and Nature (with a few seemly examples)</i>. C.H. Drummond (illustrator). London: Faber & Faber.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+%27Shaggy+Dog%27+Story%3A+Its+Origin%2C+Development+and+Nature+%28with+a+few+seemly+examples%29&rft.place=London&rft.pub=Faber+%26+Faber&rft.date=1953&rft.aulast=Partridge&rft.aufirst=Eric&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AShaggy+dog+story" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFFrancis_Lee_Utley_and_Dudley_Flamm1969" class="citation journal cs1">Francis Lee Utley and Dudley Flamm (1969). "The Urban and the Rural Jest (With an Excursus on the Shaggy Dog)". <i>Journal of Popular Culture</i>. <b>2</b> (4): <span class="nowrap">563–</span>577. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.0022-3840.1969.0204_563.x">10.1111/j.0022-3840.1969.0204_563.x</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Popular+Culture&rft.atitle=The+Urban+and+the+Rural+Jest+%28With+an+Excursus+on+the+Shaggy+Dog%29&rft.volume=2&rft.issue=4&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E563-%3C%2Fspan%3E577&rft.date=1969&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1111%2Fj.0022-3840.1969.0204_563.x&rft.au=Francis+Lee+Utley+and+Dudley+Flamm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AShaggy+dog+story" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output 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.navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Narrative" title="Template:Narrative"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Narrative" title="Template talk:Narrative"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Narrative" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Narrative"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Narrative" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Narrative" title="Narrative">Narrative</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Character_(arts)" title="Character (arts)">Character</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Antagonist" title="Antagonist">Antagonist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Archenemy" title="Archenemy">Archenemy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Character_arc" title="Character arc">Character arc</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Character_flaw" title="Character flaw">Character flaw</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Characterization" title="Characterization">Characterization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Confidant" title="Confidant">Confidant</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Deuteragonist" title="Deuteragonist">Deuteragonist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/False_protagonist" title="False protagonist">False protagonist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Focal_character" title="Focal character">Focal character</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Foil_(narrative)" title="Foil (narrative)">Foil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gothic_double" title="Gothic double">Gothic double</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hamartia" title="Hamartia">Hamartia</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hero" title="Hero">Hero</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Antihero" title="Antihero">Anti</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Byronic_hero" title="Byronic hero">Byronic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tragic_hero" title="Tragic hero">Tragic</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Narration" title="Narration">Narrator</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Protagonist" title="Protagonist">Protagonist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stock_character" title="Stock character">Stock character</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Straight_man" title="Straight man">Straight man</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Supporting_character" title="Supporting character">Supporting character</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Title_character" title="Title character">Title character</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tritagonist" title="Tritagonist">Tritagonist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Villain" title="Villain">Villain</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Plot_(narrative)" title="Plot (narrative)">Plot</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Ab_ovo" title="Ab ovo">Ab ovo</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Action_(narrative)" title="Action (narrative)">Action</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Backstory" title="Backstory">Backstory</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Origin_story" title="Origin story">Origin story</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chekhov%27s_gun" title="Chekhov's gun">Chekhov's gun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Clich%C3%A9" title="Cliché">Cliché</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cliffhanger" title="Cliffhanger">Cliffhanger</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Conflict_(narrative)" title="Conflict (narrative)">Conflict</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Deus_ex_machina" title="Deus ex machina">Deus ex machina</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dialogue_in_writing" title="Dialogue in writing">Dialogue</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dramatic_structure" class="mw-redirect" title="Dramatic structure">Dramatic structure</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eucatastrophe" title="Eucatastrophe">Eucatastrophe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Foreshadowing" title="Foreshadowing">Foreshadowing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flashback_(narrative)" title="Flashback (narrative)">Flashback</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flashforward" title="Flashforward">Flashforward</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Frame_story" title="Frame story">Frame story</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/In_medias_res" title="In medias res">In medias res</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Kish%C5%8Dtenketsu" title="Kishōtenketsu">Kishōtenketsu</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/MacGuffin" title="MacGuffin">MacGuffin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pace_(narrative)" title="Pace (narrative)">Pace</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plot_device" title="Plot device">Plot device</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plot_twist" title="Plot twist">Plot twist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Poetic_justice" title="Poetic justice">Poetic justice</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Red_herring" title="Red herring">Red herring</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reveal_(narrative)" title="Reveal (narrative)">Reveal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Self-insertion" title="Self-insertion">Self-insertion</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Shaggy dog story</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stereotype" title="Stereotype">Stereotype</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Story_arc" title="Story arc">Story arc</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Story_within_a_story" title="Story within a story">Story within a story</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Subplot" title="Subplot">Subplot</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Suspense" title="Suspense">Suspense</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trope_(literature)" title="Trope (literature)">Trope</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Setting_(narrative)" title="Setting (narrative)">Setting</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Alternate_history" title="Alternate history">Alternate history</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Backstory" title="Backstory">Backstory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Crossover_(fiction)" title="Crossover (fiction)">Crossover</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dream_world_(plot_device)" title="Dream world (plot device)">Dreamworld</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dystopia" title="Dystopia">Dystopia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fictional_location" title="Fictional location">Fictional location</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Fictional_city" class="mw-redirect" title="Fictional city">city</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fictional_country" title="Fictional country">country</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fictional_universe" title="Fictional universe">universe</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Parallel_universes_in_fiction" title="Parallel universes in fiction">parallel</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Utopia" title="Utopia">Utopia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Worldbuilding" title="Worldbuilding">Worldbuilding</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Theme_(narrative)" title="Theme (narrative)">Theme</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Irony" title="Irony">Irony</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Leitmotif" title="Leitmotif">Leitmotif</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Metaphor" title="Metaphor">Metaphor</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Moral" title="Moral">Moral</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Moral_development" title="Moral development">Moral development</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Motif_(narrative)" title="Motif (narrative)">Motif</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Deal_with_the_Devil" title="Deal with the Devil">Deal with the Devil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Good_and_evil" title="Good and evil">Conflict between good and evil</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Self-fulfilling_prophecy" title="Self-fulfilling prophecy">Self-fulfilling prophecy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Time_travel" title="Time travel">Time travel</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Writing_style" title="Writing style">Style</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Allegory" title="Allegory">Allegory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bathos" title="Bathos">Bathos</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Comic_relief" title="Comic relief">Comic relief</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Diction" title="Diction">Diction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Figure_of_speech" title="Figure of speech">Figure of speech</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Imagery" title="Imagery">Imagery</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mode_(literature)" title="Mode (literature)">Mode</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mood_(literature)" title="Mood (literature)">Mood</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Narration" title="Narration">Narration</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_narrative_techniques" title="List of narrative techniques">Narrative techniques</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Narrative_hook" title="Narrative hook">Hook</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Show,_don%27t_tell" title="Show, don't tell">Show, don't tell</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stylistic_device" title="Stylistic device">Stylistic device</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Suspension_of_disbelief" title="Suspension of disbelief">Suspension of disbelief</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Symbolism_(arts)" class="mw-redirect" title="Symbolism (arts)">Symbolism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tone_(literature)" title="Tone (literature)">Tone</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Dramatic_structure" class="mw-redirect" title="Dramatic structure">Structure</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Act_(drama)" title="Act (drama)">Act</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Dramatic_structure" class="mw-redirect" title="Dramatic structure">Act structure</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Three-act_structure" title="Three-act structure">Three-act structure</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Freytag%27s_Pyramid" class="mw-redirect" title="Freytag's Pyramid">Freytag's Pyramid</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Exposition_(narrative)" title="Exposition (narrative)">Exposition</a>/<a href="/wiki/Protasis" title="Protasis">Protasis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Epitasis" title="Epitasis">Rising action/Epitasis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Climax_(narrative)" title="Climax (narrative)">Climax</a>/<a href="/wiki/Peripeteia" title="Peripeteia">Peripeteia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Catastasis" title="Catastasis">Falling action/Catastasis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Catastrophe_(drama)" title="Catastrophe (drama)">Denouement/Catastrophe</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Narrative_structure" class="mw-redirect" title="Narrative structure">Linear narrative</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nonlinear_narrative" title="Nonlinear narrative">Nonlinear narrative</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_nonlinear_narrative_films" title="List of nonlinear narrative films">films</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_nonlinear_narrative_television_series" title="List of nonlinear narrative television series">television series</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Premise_(narrative)" title="Premise (narrative)">Premise</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Types_of_fiction_with_multiple_endings" title="Types of fiction with multiple endings">Types of fiction with multiple endings</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_narrative_forms" title="List of narrative forms">Form</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Drama" title="Drama">Drama</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Fabliau" title="Fabliau">Fabliau</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flash_fiction" title="Flash fiction">Flash fiction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Folklore" title="Folklore">Folklore</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Fable" title="Fable">Fable</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fairy_tale" title="Fairy tale">Fairy tale</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legend" title="Legend">Legend</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Myth" title="Myth">Myth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tall_tale" title="Tall tale">Tall tale</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gamebook" title="Gamebook">Gamebook</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Narrative_art" title="Narrative art">Narrative art</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Narrative_poetry" title="Narrative poetry">Narrative poetry</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Epic_poetry" title="Epic poetry">Epic poetry</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Novel" title="Novel">Novel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Novella" title="Novella">Novella</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parable" title="Parable">Parable</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Short_story" title="Short story">Short story</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vignette_(literature)" title="Vignette (literature)">Vignette</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Literary_genre" title="Literary genre">Genre</a><br />(<a href="/wiki/List_of_writing_genres" title="List of writing genres">List</a>)</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Fiction" title="Fiction">Fiction</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Action_fiction" title="Action fiction">Action fiction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Adventure_fiction" title="Adventure fiction">Adventure</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Comic_novel" title="Comic novel">Comic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Crime_fiction" title="Crime fiction">Crime</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Docufiction" title="Docufiction">Docu</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Epistolary_novel" title="Epistolary novel">Epistolary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ergodic_literature" title="Ergodic literature">Ergodic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Erotic_literature" title="Erotic literature">Erotic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Historical_fiction" title="Historical fiction">Historical</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Western_fiction" title="Western fiction">Western</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mystery_fiction" title="Mystery fiction">Mystery</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nautical_fiction" title="Nautical fiction">Nautical</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paranoid_fiction" title="Paranoid fiction">Paranoid</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philosophical_fiction" title="Philosophical fiction">Philosophical</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Picaresque_novel" title="Picaresque novel">Picaresque</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Political_fiction" title="Political fiction">Political</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pop_culture_fiction" title="Pop culture fiction">Pop culture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Psychological_fiction" title="Psychological fiction">Psychological</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Inspirational_fiction" title="Inspirational fiction">Religious</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rogue_literature" title="Rogue literature">Rogue</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Romance_novel" title="Romance novel">Romance</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Chivalric_romance" title="Chivalric romance">Chivalric</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Romance_(prose_fiction)" title="Romance (prose fiction)">Prose</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Saga" title="Saga">Saga</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Satire" title="Satire">Satire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Speculative_fiction" title="Speculative fiction">Speculative fiction</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Fantasy" title="Fantasy">Fantasy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gothic_fiction" title="Gothic fiction">Gothic</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Southern_Gothic" title="Southern Gothic">Southern</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Horror_fiction" title="Horror fiction">Horror</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Magic_realism" class="mw-redirect" title="Magic realism">Magic realism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Science_fiction" title="Science fiction">Science</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Hard_science_fiction" title="Hard science fiction">Hard</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Utopian_and_dystopian_fiction" title="Utopian and dystopian fiction">Utopian and dystopian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_underwater_science_fiction_works" title="List of underwater science fiction works">Underwater</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Superhero_fiction" title="Superhero fiction">Superhero</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Theological_fiction" title="Theological fiction">Theological</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thriller_(genre)" title="Thriller (genre)">Thriller</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Urban_fiction" title="Urban fiction">Urban</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nonfiction" class="mw-redirect" title="Nonfiction">Nonfiction</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Autobiography" title="Autobiography">Autobiography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Biography" title="Biography">Biography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Non-fiction_novel" title="Non-fiction novel">Novel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Creative_nonfiction" title="Creative nonfiction">Creative</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Narration" title="Narration">Narration</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Diegesis" title="Diegesis">Diegesis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/First-person_narrative" title="First-person narrative">First-person</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second-person_narrative" class="mw-redirect" title="Second-person narrative">Second-person</a></li> <li><a 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