Jokes by their shape: one-liners, riddles, knock-knocks, stories and more, with what makes each form work.
A one-liner has nowhere to hide: no story, no setup, one sentence that has to turn on itself, usually on the last word. That makes the good ones unusually portable. Drop one into a conversation and you are done.
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The classic shape: a statement that points one way, then a line that goes the other. The setup does the honest work and the punchline breaks the promise. Most jokes you know by heart are this shape, whether they admit it or not.
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A question that sets a trap, a pause while everyone tries to answer, and an answer nobody guessed. It is the format behind most jokes children tell, which is not a criticism: it is the format that teaches people how jokes work.
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A tiny two-person play with a script everyone knows, which is exactly why kids love it: they get to be in it. The whole joke lives in the last line, a pun on a name. These are the ones that earned their place.
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Two voices, usually one sensible and one not. The dialogue joke is a scene: a customer and a shopkeeper, a patient and a doctor, two drunks and a lamppost. The laugh comes from the second speaker refusing to be reasonable.
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Story jokes take their time. There is a character, a situation, often three things in a row, and a last line that reframes everything before it. They are the ones to tell at a dinner table when you have the floor, and the hardest to tell well, which is why a good one is worth keeping.
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A list joke is several small jokes wearing one coat: top tens, signs that, things you never hear. The pleasure is in the rhythm and in the one entry that is funnier than the rest. Read them out; they are built for a room.
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