Comic Effects: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Humor in LiteratureLewis draws on both humor theories and research, arguing for the development of interdisciplinary methodologies in the study of literary humor. He demonstrates that the sociologist of humor and the comic playwright approach the same subject—humor in and between groups—with different tools, that writers of Bildungsromane and developmental psychologists share a common interest in the role of humor in maturation, and that the monsters that haunt the psyches of professional comedians can be useful in understanding the odd minglings of humor and fear in Gothic fiction. His treatment of writers who differ widely in their use of humor suggests that the complexity and diversity of humor make it a richly variable determinant of character, genre, and writer. |
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Ahab Alice allows amused analysis argues aware Barrett Bergson Bildungsroman butt Carathis Carrie's Cathy characters Cherry child cognitive comedy comic Country Wife death define Dutch Courtesan Ernest Becker evil experience fail fantasy fictions of development Fishers force Freevill Freud functions of humor funny gallows humor genre Gothic fiction Gothic novel Heathcliff Herman Melville heroine Horner horror hostile human humor and fear humor criticism humor research ideas images insists Ishmael joke Lady laugh laughter Ligeia Linton literary humor Major Molineux maturation Melville Melville's Moby-Dick moral move Mushabac mystery narrative narrator norms Northanger Abbey novel pain pattern Pierre Pierre's Pip's play Portia potential problem solving psychological responses to incongruity revealed ridicule Robin Rothbart's says scene sense of humor shared humor Shylock sit-coms Stephen stimulus study of humor tale theory things tion University Press values Vathek Volpone wife writers