Humour in Old English Literature deploys modern theories of humour to explore the style and content of surviving writing from early medieval England. The book analyses Old English riddles, wisdom literature, runic writing, the deployment of rhymes, and humour in heroic poetry, hagiography, and romance.
Drawing on a fine-tuned understanding of literary technique, the book presents a revisionist view of Old English literature, partly by reclaiming often-neglected texts and partly by uncovering ironies and embarrassments within well-established works, including Beowulf. Most surprisingly, Jonathan Wilcox engages the large body of didactic literature, pinpointing humour in two anonymous homilies along with extensive use in saints' lives. Each chapter ends by revealing a different audience that would have shared in the laughter.
Wilcox suggests that the humour of Old English literature has been scantily covered in past scholarship because modern readers expect a dour and serious corpus. Humour in Old English Literature aims to break that cycle by highlighting works and moments that are as entertaining now as they were then.
| ISBN: | 9781487545307 |
| Publication date: | 20th October 2023 |
| Author: | Jonathan Wilcox |
| Publisher: | University of Toronto Press |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 358 pages |
| Genres: |
Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval European history: medieval period, middle ages Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers |
Humour in Old English Literature deploys modern theories of humour to explore the style and content of surviving writing from early medieval England. The book analyses Old English riddles, wisdom literature, runic writing, the deployment of rhymes, and humour in heroic poetry, hagiography, and romance.
Drawing on a fine-tuned understanding of literary technique, the book presents a revisionist view of Old English literature, partly by reclaiming often-neglected texts and partly by uncovering ironies and embarrassments within well-established works, including Beowulf. Most surprisingly, Jonathan Wilcox engages the large body of didactic literature, pinpointing humour in two anonymous homilies along with extensive use in saints' lives. Each chapter ends by revealing a different audience that would have shared in the laughter.
Wilcox suggests that the humour of Old English literature has been scantily covered in past scholarship because modern readers expect a dour and serious corpus. Humour in Old English Literature aims to break that cycle by highlighting works and moments that are as entertaining now as they were then.
Humour in Old English Literature features in the following genres: Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval, European history: medieval period, middle ages, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers
Humour in Old English Literature is available in Hardback
Humour in Old English Literature was written by Jonathan Wilcox and published by University of Toronto Press
Humour in Old English Literature has 358 pages
£55.80