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Literary Criticism Semiotics & Theory

On the Comic and Laughter

by (author) Vladimir Propp

edited and translated by Jean-Patrick Debbeche & Paul J. Perron

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Nov 2009
Category
Semiotics & Theory, Russian & Former Soviet Union, Humor
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802099266
    Publish Date
    Nov 2009
    List Price
    $62.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442697201
    Publish Date
    Nov 2009
    List Price
    $51.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442697812
    Publish Date
    Dec 2009
    List Price
    $54

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Description

An extensive investigation of the forms and functions of the comic, this lively and engaging English critical edition will be welcomed by those interested in laughter, comedy, folklore, Russian literature, and specific authors such as Gogol, Pushkin, Chekhov, Rabelais, Molière, and Shakespeare. The direct, humorous, and provocative style of this work, which tackles the subject of humour with a vast array of vivid examples encountered on every page, will certainly appeal to the contemporary reader.

Vladimir Propp takes various forms of laughter in literature and real life and addresses questions such as the comic of similarity, the comic of difference, parody, duping, incongruity, lying, ritual laughter, and carnival laughter. The author of the widely acclaimed Morphology of the Folktale has written an original, comprehensive, and exciting study on how humour works, and on everything you wanted to know about the genre, in a clear, approachable, and insightful manner.

About the authors

The late Vladimir Propp (1895-1970) was a literary critic and folklore specialist.

Vladimir Propp's profile page

Jean-Patrick Debbèche has a PhD in Semiotics and French Literature and is a researcher at the University of Toronto.

Jean-Patrick Debbeche's profile page

Paul Perron is former Chair of the Department of French Studies at the University of Toronto and Principal emeritus of University College.

Paul J. Perron's profile page