Who's on First? or Who's on First.

"Who's on First?" is a comedy routine made famous by American comedy duo Abbott and Costello. The premise of the sketch is that Abbott is identifying the players on a baseball team for Costello. However, the players' names can simultaneously serve as the basis for questions (e.g., "Who is the first baseman?") and responses (e.g., "The first baseman's name is Who."), leading to reciprocal misunderstanding and growing frustration between the performers. 

Intonation, word stress, and sentence stress play significant roles in the effectiveness of the "Who's on First" skit. These elements of speech contribute to the comedic misunderstandings and the overall delivery of the skit. Here's how they work:

Intonation

Intonation refers to the rise and fall of the voice when speaking. In the skit:

Abbott's calm, explanatory intonation contrasts with Costello's increasingly frustrated and confused intonation. This difference in intonation highlights the misunderstanding and adds to the comedic effect.

• Rising intonation in questions: Costello often uses a rising intonation at the end of his questions, reflecting his confusion and seeking clarification. Abbott's responses, often with a falling intonation, provide seemingly straightforward answers that paradoxically confuse Costello even more.

Word Stress

Word stress involves emphasizing certain syllables within words. In the skit:

• Emphasis on the player names: Abbott stresses the names of the players ("Who," "What," "I Don't Know"), which sound like regular words, creating the ambiguity. For instance, stressing "Who" makes it clear it's a name, yet it sounds like a question.

• Costello's stress on pronouns and verbs: Costello emphasizes different words in his responses to try to clarify the situation ("WHO is on first?" vs. "Who is ON first?"). This shift in stress changes the perceived meaning and adds to the confusion.

Sentence Stress

Sentence stress is about emphasizing certain words within a sentence to convey meaning or importance. In the skit:

Abbott's sentence stress on the names reinforces the notion that these are actual player names, maintaining his serious, informative tone.

Costello's varied sentence stress reflects his attempt to make sense of the responses. By stressing different parts of the sentences, he tries to pinpoint the misunderstanding, but this only leads to further confusion.

Examples in the Skit

Intonation and Sentence Stress:

Abbott: "Who is on first." (falling intonation, stress on "Who")

Costello: "Who is on first?" (rising intonation, stress on "Who")

Word Stress:

Abbott: "Yes, Who is on first." (stress on "Who")

Costello: "That's what I'm asking YOU! Who is on first?" (stress on "You" and "Who")

Sentence Stress and Intonation:

Abbott: "You got it." (neutral intonation, stress on "got")

Costello: "Got what?" (rising intonation, stress on "what")

These elements of intonation, word stress, and sentence stress work together to enhance the humor by creating layers of misunderstanding. They also help to delineate the characters' different perspectives, making the skit more dynamic and engaging. The careful use of these speech elements is essential for the timing and delivery that make "Who's on First" a timeless piece of comedy.

Here is a shortened version of the classic skit using five characters.  Have a watch.