Slothrop
Tight but Polite
Anyone know any useful starting points on the theory of humour - specifically what functions it fulfills in society / culture / literature, rather than why a given thing is funny.
Alison's come up against some stuff in the line of work where puritans writing about colonial wars suddenly go into exaggerated slapstick or farce to break the tension and maybe divert attention away from the elephant in the room ie the fact that in the name of standing up for christian civilization against savages they're going around ruthlessly massacring women and children.
But she's got no idea what's already out there regarding the use of humour as a literary device, and doesn't want to reinvent the wheel too much... any suggestion as to what she should be looking at?
Thanks!
Alison's come up against some stuff in the line of work where puritans writing about colonial wars suddenly go into exaggerated slapstick or farce to break the tension and maybe divert attention away from the elephant in the room ie the fact that in the name of standing up for christian civilization against savages they're going around ruthlessly massacring women and children.
But she's got no idea what's already out there regarding the use of humour as a literary device, and doesn't want to reinvent the wheel too much... any suggestion as to what she should be looking at?
Thanks!