In Up Pompeii (1971), Frankie Howerd, playing a slave named Lurcio, reads love letter – An Ode to Flavia – written by his young master:
Lurcio: “I love her face, that bosom, that skin without a ripple.
But most of all I love to lie with my lips upon her… left shoulder.”
Master: “I can’t think of a rhyme for ripple.”
Lurcio: “Well, he’s the only one who can’t. Poor boy.”
With the addition of Frankie regularly breaking the 4th wall, bringing the audience into the scene, we feel connected as all parties (except the Master) make up the punchline.
