A non sequitur is a literary device; used in comedy (as opposed to its use in formal logic) it is a comment which, due to its lack of meaning relative to the comment it follows, is absurd to the point of being humorous. Its use can be deliberate or unintentional. Literally, it is Latin for "it does not follow." In other literature, a non sequitur can denote an abrupt, illogical, unexpected or absurd turn of plot or dialogue not normally associated with or appropriate to that preceding it.

When non sequiturs are used frequently this can be called "absurd humor".

Non sequiturs often appear to be disconnected or random comments, or random changes in subject, especially socially inappropriate ones.

Examples of works which make heavy use of this device to humorous effect are the comic strips Zippy the Pinhead and Non Sequitur, the radio show The Goon Show, the television series Monty Python's Flying Circus, the cartoons Family Guy and The Simpsons, a string of shows on Adult Swim such as Robot Chicken and Aqua Teen Hunger Force, the novels of Douglas Adams, the comedy of Jack Handey and Mitch Hedberg, the absurdist stories of underground Russian author Daniil Kharms, the music of They Might Be Giants and Cake, Space Tree the webtoon created by Ed Atlin, the character of Homsar from Homestar Runner (as well as the title character), Ayumu Kasuga (Osaka) from Azumanga Daioh, and, to some extent, the The Andy Milonakis Show. The character Caboose from the web series Red vs Blue often provides humour in this form. Ike Broflovski, younger brother of Kyle, is often a never-ending source of non sequitor in South Park.

A good example of this device can be seen in Season 2 of the Micallef Programme in which Shaun Micallef hosts a game show called Non-Sequitur Family Feud. He asks the question "Name ten things you plug in", to which Francis Greenslade answers with a list of ten random words, including mules, Lewis Carroll, 1832 and 'I like butterscotch'.

The non sequitur can be understood as the opposite of cliché. To illustrate: in theatre, traditional comedy and drama depend on the ritualization—that is, the predictability—of human emotional experiences. In contrast, the theatre of the absurd depends upon the disjunction—that is, the unpredictability—of that experience. Predictability in its most extreme form is cliché; unpredictability, then, expresses itself most naturally as non sequitur.

See also

• Dadaism
• Surrealism