3 options
Humour in Old English Literature / Jonathan Wilcox.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Wilcox, Jonathan, 1960- author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Comic, The, in literature.
- English literature--Old English, ca. 450-1100--History and criticism.
- English literature.
- English wit and humor--History and criticism.
- English wit and humor.
- Humor in literature.
- Genre:
- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (358 pages).
- Edition:
- First edition.
- Place of Publication:
- Toronto, Ontario : University of Toronto Press, [2023]
- Summary:
- "Humour in Old English Literature deploys modern theories of humour to explore the style and content of surviving writing from early medieval England. The book analyses Old English riddles, wisdom literature, runic writing, the deployment of rhymes, and humour in heroic poetry, hagiography, and romance. Drawing on a fine-tuned understanding of literary technique, Jonathan Wilcox engages the large body of didactic literature, pinpointing humour in two anonymous homilies along with extensive use in saints’ lives. The book presents a revisionist view of Old English literature, partly by reclaiming often-neglected texts and partly by uncovering ironies and embarrassments within well-established works, including Beowulf. Each chapter ends by revealing a different audience that would have shared in the laughter. Wilcox suggests that the humour of Old English literature has been scantily covered in past scholarship because modern readers expect a dour and serious corpus. Humour in Old English Literature aims to break that cycle by highlighting works and moments that are as entertaining now as they were then."-- Provided by publisher.
- Contents:
- Risible Riddles and Witty Wisdom: The Appeal of Playful Puzzles
- Laughing at Letters: Runic Riddles and Riddling Runes
- Metrical Mirth: Sonorous Sounds and Rambunctious Rhymes
- Heroic Humour: Comic Insouciance and Embarrassments of Etiquette
- Playing with Parody to Comic Effect
- Homiletic Humour: Christian Laughter and Clerical Satire
- Hagiographic Humour: Decorous Delight and Full-Throated Funniness
- Relishing Romance: Horror and Happiness in Apollonius of Tyre.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Description based on print version record.
- Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.
- ISBN:
- 1-4875-4570-3
- 1-4875-4571-1
- OCLC:
- 1369033469
The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.