The Prism of Laughter

Angebote / Angebote:

The fusion of the comic and the tragic in the Shakespearean oeuvre seems a commonplace, however, in-depth studies devoted to this field have been quite rare. The present work chose laughter as an umbrella term and is mainly based on critical practice. The different manifestations of laughter and the (open or latent) comic on stage/page are examined in detail, with theoretical considerations. The introduction of the problems arising in laughter theories is followed by the investigation of the grotesque correlation of violence and laughter in Titus Andronicus and The Comedy of Errors. The demonic side of laughter and Shakespeare's "great villains" are explored in the following, then different aspects of the carnival provide the groundwork for interpretation: of Falstaff's carnivalesque laughter, the ambiguity of (carnivalesque) masquerading (Edgar), and finally, the carnivalesque anti-carnival of King Lear is treated at great length. Informed but relatively free of technical jargon, the book should help not only the literary or Shakespeare scholar but might prove useful and enjoyable to anyone else interested in Shakespearean drama.