LAUSR

Abstract To the best of my knowledge, this is the first (rhetorical) investigation of Persian stand-up comedy. In the present research, a rhetorical approach is taken to examine humor styles and techniques used in seven stand-up performances. These performances were performed by two Iranian comedians, the finalists from a recent (and probably the first) Persian stand-up comedy contest in Iran. Initially, Asian stand-up comedy is briefly addressed. Then, Persian stand-up comedy is introduced within the continuum of Iranian performing traditions. Afterward, the typology, unit of analysis and the communication framework employed in this research are elaborated on. Having established the historical and theoretical preliminaries, the paper reports on and discusses the findings. Particularly, the rhetorical devices used by the comedians to create humor are highlighted. Moreover, several aspects of the interaction between the comedians and the audience are touched upon. Finally, the paper points out several directions of Persian stand-up comedy, the study’s limitations and suggestions for further research.