Harry Levinone of America's major literary criticsoffers a brilliant and original study of the whole world of comedy, concentrating on playwrights through the centuries, from Aristophanes and Plautus in classical times to Bernard Shaw and Bertolt Brecht and their recent successors.
Viewing the comic repertory as a richly varied yet broadly unified whole, Levin provides a synthesis of theories and practice. Isolating two fundamental aspects of comedythe ludicrous and irreverent "playboy," whom we laugh with, and the ridiculous and forbidding "killjoy," whom we laugh athe traces the dialectical interplay of these components throughout history and across various cultures and media. While mainly focusing on the plays and the stage, with discussions of such major dramatists as Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Moli re, and William Congreve, Levin also includes essays on such related topics as humor, satire, and games.
Harry Levinone of America's major literary criticsoffers a brilliant and original study of the whole world of comedy, concentrating on playwrights through the centuries, from Aristophanes and Plautus in classical times to Bernard Shaw and Bertolt Brecht and their recent successors.
Viewing the comic repertory as a richly varied yet broadly unified whole, Levin provides a synthesis of theories and practice. Isolating two fundamental aspects of comedythe ludicrous and irreverent "playboy," whom we laugh with, and the ridiculous and forbidding "killjoy," whom we laugh athe traces the dialectical interplay of these components throughout history and across various cultures and media. While mainly focusing on the plays and the stage, with discussions of such major dramatists as Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Moli re, and William Congreve, Levin also includes essays on such related topics as humor, satire, and games.
Playboys and Killjoys: An Essay on the Theory and Practice of Comedy
Playboys and Killjoys: An Essay on the Theory and Practice of Comedy
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Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780198021551 |
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Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
Publication date: | 01/01/1988 |
Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
Format: | eBook |
File size: | 374 KB |