Channel Frederator Blog

There is something in comedy called the “Rule of Three”.

The rule of three is a formula of sorts for comedy writing, and it can be applied to many different things. The way it works is to use the first two elements to set up a pattern. This gets the audience to expect something similar to the first two elements from the third element. The third element is something different, and that’s where the comedy comes in.

An example of this in action would be a character who is eating donuts from a box.

Element one: The character picks up one jelly filled donut. He takes his first bite. He chews, swallows, and has an uneventful first taste.

Element two: The character takes his second bite and swallows it. Again, this is uneventful.

At this point, you have established a pattern. The audience is expecting a third taste which is the same as the first two.

Element three: The character takes a third bite. The donut explodes, coating his face in a thick layer of blue jelly.

This action example is all over classic cartoons and comedy shows and films. You’d be hard pressed to watch the Three Stooges, Laurel & Hardy, or Tom & Jerry and NOT see the rule of three in action.

Here you can see the rule of three in action in the Tex Avery short “Ventriloquist Cat”.

But that’s not all. The rule of three also works for dialog. Here’s an example.

In the first “Ice Age” film (I only pick that film because I know it very well), Manny is talking to Sid the Sloth. Sid is trying to take shelter from the rain with Manny in his spot, and Manny is trying to get rid of him. Their exchange goes like this:

Sid: Any chance I could squeeze in there with you, Manny, ol’ pal?

Manny: Isn’t there someone else you can annoy? Friends? Family? Poisonous reptiles?

The writer used the rule of three to set up the pattern and inject some comedy into a part of the film with little action.

The rule-of-three structure sets a pattern like the train coming down the tracks. You’ll see a similar principle in action in a two-person comedy act. The straight person sets up the pattern which the funny person’s punchline will break. The rule-of-three structure uses this same structure. The first two items in the triplet set the pattern (the “straight” line) and the third item breaks the pattern (the curve/the twist/the derailment). Breaking the pattern heightens the tension and creates the surprise, usually resulting in laughter.

Why three? It’s just one of those tried and true rules of comedy. It’s a rhythm that works. It’s part of the music of the humor structure. Experiment and you’ll find it’s true…a series of three almost always works better than a series of two or four.

-Floyd Bishop