Immortal comedy : the comic phenomenon in art, literature, and life / Agnes Heller.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Heller, Ágnes.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Comic, The.

Physical Description:

xiv, 225 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, MD : Lexington Books, [2005]

Summary:

Immortal Comedy is the first book to "think" philosophically about the comic phenomenon in general. Eminently approachable, this book is a deep meditation on the subject of the comic form in film, literature, and life. In it, Agnes Heller takes us on a journey through theories of comedy, beginning with classical thought. She then detours through foundational political thinkers who refer to, for instance, laughter and power. We are also introduced to several approaches to thinking comedy: modern systematic approaches, psychological approaches, and existential approaches. The discerning combination of Heller's individual taste for the pantheon of comedic work-and also what critics may consider "less significant" work-gives this book a character apart from all others. It is the detail with which Heller makes her discussion, how and where she locates "the comic," and, most significantly, her discussion of comedy and our own lives that make Immortal Comedy a seminal book for the entire range of humanities scholars and enthusiasts.

Contents:

The undeterminable essence of the comic

On laughter

The comic drama

The comic novel

Existential comedy

The joke, or, The third kind of narrative prose

The comic image in visual arts I

The comic image in visual arts II

An address to the faithful reader.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [215]-217) and index.

ISBN:

0739109197

0739112465

OCLC:

60401908