Irony's antics : Walser, Kafka, Roth, and the German comic tradition / Erica Weitzman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weitzman, Erica, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Walser, Robert, 1878-1956--Criticism and interpretation.

Walser, Robert.

Kafka, Franz, 1883-1924--Criticism and interpretation.

Kafka, Franz.

Roth, Joseph, 1894-1939--Criticism and interpretation.

Roth, Joseph.

Roth, Joseph, 1894-1939.

Kafka, Franz, 1883-1924.

Walser, Robert, 1878-1956.

German literature--20th century--History and criticism.

German literature.

Irony in literature.

Comic, The, in literature.

Criticism and interpretation.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

xi, 257 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Evanston, Illinois : Northwestern University Press, 2015.

Summary:

This book marks a major intervention into the underexplored role of the comic in German letters. At the book's heart is the relationship between the comic and irony. Weitzman argues that in the early twentieth century, irony, a key figure for the German Romantics, reemerged from its relegation to "nonsense" ; in a way that both rethought Romantic irony and dramatically extended its reach. Through readings of works by Robert Walser, Franz Kafka, and Joseph Roth, as well as theorists of the comic such as Freud, Schlegel, Hegel, Kierkegaard, and Jean Paul, 'Irony's Antics' traces the development of a specifically comic irony, a play with irony that is itself the condition for all play. It thus constitutes a significant advance in German literary history and shows how the question of the comic has been and continues to be decisive for modern thought.

Contents:

Introduction : the comic ethos

Senses of humor : the origins of comic irony

The playgrounds of literature : Robert Walser

Slap happy : comic Kafka

Bearing wit to history : Joseph Roth

Conclusion : last laughs.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 229-246) and index.

ISBN:

9780810129832

0810129833

OCLC:

905564416