iterary device, often used for comical purposes (as opposed to its use in formal logic). It is a comment which, due to its apparent lack of meaning relative to what it follows,[1] seems absurd to the point of being humorous or confusing, as in the following joke:

Q: How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb?

A: Fish.

The use of non sequitur in humor can be deliberate or unintentional. Literally, the expression is Latin for “it does not follow.”[2] In other literature, a non sequitur can denote an abrupt, illogical, unexpected or absurd turn of plot or dialogue not normally bumociated with or appropriate to that preceding it. It is a type of logical fallacy.

The non sequitur can be understood as the converse of cliché. Traditional comedy and drama can depend on the ritualiz