What was the first moden knock-knock joke?

[bibliophage]

And when was it delivered and by whom?

The first knock-knock joke is sometimes attributed to Shakespeare, but if it's what I'm thinking of (Macbeth, II, iii), it certainly isn't modern in form.

Porter. [Knocking.] Knock, knock, knock. Who';s there?—'Faith, here's an English tailor come hither for stealing out of a French hose: come in, tailor; here you may roast your goose.

There's more besides, but I won't bore you with it. Although the scene is mildly amusing in its own way and does include the words "knock-knock/who's there", it isn't of the modern knock-knock—joke form

Knock-knock
Who's there?
Pencil
Pencil who?
Pencil fall down if you don't wear a belt.

Now that's comedy. To whose genius do we owe this form?

[samclem]

What do you make of this as per Shakespeare? Shakespeare

Knowing you, I'm sure you have seen this thread.

I guiess I'm intrigued with the mention of "a series of knock knock jokes" by the porter.

I'm also intrigued by the assertion that "some folios" have "who's there" called from below. How old would they be? While I doubt that they truly go back to shakespeare, it is intriguing.

[Sultan Kinkari]

Whosever idea it was to put windows in doors must have had a major stick up their ass.

[KneadToKnow]

Originally posted by samclem
While I doubt that they truly go back to shakespeare, it is intriguing.

I would take the opposite position, samclem. If Shakespeare could rely on getting laughs out of anything resembling a knock-knock joke, then that would be evidence that they were already known at the time, even if not in the form we think of them now. From the example quoted above (and I have not read the entire scene or followed the link above, so forgive me if I'm making a poo-poo head out of myself here), they sound more like an Elizabethan version of Bob Newhart's telephone call gag where the jokester is carrying on a one-sided conversation.

But that's just me.

[3waygeek]

My understanding is that the "modern knock-knock joke" started during Prohibition as a takeoff of the password protocol used to gain entry to the local speakeasy.

This, of course, was several hundred years after Shakespeare's time, so it's probably safe to say that the Bard had little to do with it.

[samclem]

geek said

My understanding is that the "modern knock-knock joke" started during Prohibition as a takeoff of the password protocol used to gain entry to the local speakeasy.

Would love to know your source. Thx.

KtK What I meant was did "some folios" have "who's there" called from below" mean that there were folios from Shakespeare's time period? or are those folios from the 1800-1900s?

[KneadToKnow]

I get you now, samclem. Sorry for the confusion on my part. It's a recurring theme, if you must know.

If it helps, the so-called First Folio dates to 1623 and was published, according to the source I have at hand, by two members of Shakespeare's company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, and contained the most authoritative versions they could come up with at the time.

According to this same source, Shakespeare died in 1616. So the short answer is no, no folio dates back to what can truly be called "Shakespeare's time."

Hope this helps.

BTW, the source in question is The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Sorry, it's just what I can lay my hands on at the moment.