Answer:
"This is why in conclusion" <em>and</em> "Billy Bud might have shown a great similarity between..." "contrast" and "sympathy" and "express"
Hope this helps
<em>-kiniwih426</em>
If this is an excerpt from a story, I wouldn’t be of much help. But from a layman's perspective, it seems like the character is attempting to please the failed humorist or he or she would have been frank. This in turn may have triggered a chain reaction, prompting the humorist to continue with his jokes which would have further affected the character. He or she is also giving the former a false sense of happiness and appreciation.
This passage may not affect the whole story in a remarkably discernible manner, but it definitely proves the character's penchant for politeness. And that may be be a deciding factor in his or her further decisions that ultimately define the plot of the story.
In poetry, when stress is placed on certain words or sounds, it is called Meter.
