Words that tear the flesh : essays on sarcasm in medieval and early modern literatures and cultures / edited by Alan Baragona and Elizabeth L. Rambo.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Baragona, Alan, editor.

Rambo, Elizabeth L., editor.

Series:

Fundamentals of medieval and early modern culture ; Volume 21.

Fundamentals of Medieval and Early Modern Culture ; Volume 21

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Irony.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (378 pages).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berlin, [Germany] ; Boston, [Massachusetts] : De Gruyter, 2018.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

The rhetorical trope of irony is well-trod territory, with books and essays devoted to its use by a wide range of medieval and Renaissance writers, from the Beowulf-poet and Chaucer to Boccaccio and Shakespeare; however, the use of sarcasm, the "flesh tearing" form of irony, in the same literature has seldom been studied at length or in depth. Sarcasm is notoriously difficult to pick out in a written text, since it relies so much on tone of voice and context. This is the first book-length study of medieval and Renaissance sarcasm. Its fourteen essays treat instances in a range of genres, both sacred and secular, and of cultures from Anglo-Saxon to Arabic, where the combination of circumstance and word choice makes it absolutely clear that the speaker, whether a character or a narrator, is being sarcastic. Essays address, among other things, the clues writers give that sarcasm is at work, how it conforms to or deviates from contemporary rhetorical theories, what role it plays in building character or theme, and how sarcasm conforms to the Christian milieu of medieval Europe, and beyond to medieval Arabic literature. The collection thus illuminates a half-hidden but surprisingly common early literary technique for modern readers.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Acknowledgements and Dedications

Table of Contents

Introduction / Baragona, Alan / Rambo, Elizabeth L.

Encountering Snarks in Anglo-Saxon Translation / McDonald, Rick

Trolling in Old Norse / Abram, Christopher

Snark and the Saint / Johnson, Máire

Comic Authority / Farrell, Jeremy

Sarcasm and its Consequences in Diplomacy and Politics in Medieval Italy / Applauso, Nicolino

"A lowed laghtur that lady logh" / Best, Debra E.

"Hostilis Inrisio" / Lee, Brian S.

Self-Evident Morals? / Bernstein, Esther

Let's Not Get Snarky about Derision! / Sokolski, Patricia

Poking [Fun] at [the Foibles of] the Flesh / Friedrich, Ellen Lorraine

Sarcasm in Medieval German and Old Norse Literature / Classen, Albrecht

Sarcasm and Heresy / Tiner, Elza C.

Lorenzo Valla's "Intellectual Violence" / O'Neil, Scott

Snarky Shrews / Ricke, Joe

Bibliography

Contributors' Biographies

Index of Names

Index of Subjects

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (EBC, viewed February 10, 2018).

ISBN:

9783110562255

3110562251

OCLC:

1020699568