Monty Python’s Argument Sketch

Posted byJill LondonPosted inInspirational people, Moving picturesTags:, ,

This is definitely a Marmite thing (you either love it or you hate it, for those unfamiliar). I adore Monty Python but I know for some others it’s a real fingernails-down-the-blackboard experience. This is one of my favourite sketches, which I thought I’d share today after noticing a python theme going on with two of my fellow bloggers, namely; The Other Watson at http://wantoncreation.wordpress.com/ and The Stressed Out Student at http://stressingoutcollege.wordpress.com/about-stressed-out-student/ so my thanks, and your appreciation (or ire) is due to them 😉

For me this clip is one of the best examples of Pythonesque humour; Palin and Cleese’s timing is impeccable, they don’t miss a beat, despite the fact that the script must have been a nightmare to memorize and is far more complex than a cursory glance might suggest. The sketch is just over 6 minutes long, and the dialogue runs at the speed of the average game of ‘yes/no’ which most of us can’t keep up for more than a few seconds, making it the verbal equivalent of a championship tennis rally.

Group shot of the Monty Python crew in 1969
Group shot of the Monty Python crew in 1969 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cleese: Look, if I argue with you, I must take up a contrary position!

Palin : Yes, but it isn’t just saying ‘no it isn’t’.

Cleese: Yes it is!

Palin: No it isn’t! ( pauses for double-take)

Also, because you’ve been very good and because I’m in a good mood, I’m including a link to ’20 of the best Monty Python sketches’ which is featured in Paste Magazine http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2011/07/the-20-best-monty-pythons-flying-circus-sketches.html

Bon appétit!

 

An adult human foot is about 28 centimetres long.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Published by Jill London

Hi, I’m Jill, a writer and teacher living in the UK, usually behind a desk but sometimes on a sofa with a book or a film. I began writing at around age three, legibly by five, although I didn’t write any stories until I was older. Aged eleven, I began writing children’s fiction, mostly middle-grade fantasy and I’m still doing it to this day. I have had stories published online and in My Weekly magazine. The best bit about writing is when ideas pop into your head (from the writing fairy presumably?) and everything starts clipping together like a jigsaw puzzle. The worst bit? When you start to get the feeling there's a piece missing from the box...

2 thoughts on “Monty Python’s Argument Sketch”

Comments are closed.

%d bloggers like this: