Taking Humour Seriously

ISBN-13: 9780415102667 / Angielski / Twarda / 1993 / 212 str.

Jerry Palmer

Opis

In Taking Humour Seriously, Jerry Palmer argues that we must take humour seriously (as well as humorously) or fail to understand a fundamental element of culture. He aims to unravel humour's multi-dimensional nature. It is part of our personality and our cognitive and emotional processes and subject to the social rules which govern our behaviour on different occasions. It is integral to literary and visual narrative; it is subject to moral and aesthetic judgement and it is a rhetorical instrument. Palmer argues that only by investigating these separate dimensions can we begin to understand the phenomenon of humour.

Spis treści

INTRODUCTION Part I Occasions for humour 1 JOKING RELATIONSHIPS 2 CLOWNS AND RELIGION 3 MEDIEVAL COMEDY: FOOLS AND FOLLY Part II The functions of humour 4 FUNCTION AND FUNCTIONALISM 5 GENDER AND HUMOUR 6 FREUD Part III The structure of humour 7 INCONGRUITY 8 INCONGRUITY AND DISCURSIVE CUES 9 HUMOUR AND NARRATIVE STRUCTURE 10 COMEDY, FARCE AND NEO-CLASSICISM 11 MANNERS, WIT AND THE REFORM OF LANGUAGE Part IV The limits of humour 12 COMPREHENSION AND HUMOUR 13 PERFORMANCE AND OFFENCE

O autorze

Jerry Palmer is Professor of Communications at London Guildhall University and the author of numerous studies of popular culture, fiction, film and comedy.