Since the classical antiquity, there has been no lack of reflections on the nature of laughter and humour, whose definition has always been problematic and full of nuances. Only by the end of the 17th century its modern meaning begins to appear in European dictionaries: a specific frame of mind in which intelligence, readiness, and communicative ability coexist to identify and express the comic or curious side of things. Nevertheless, humour, communicated in all sorts of ways, is a common thread across the history of literature. The aim of the workshop is to investigate the use of humour and the mechanisms of laugher in early modern age (15th and 16th century) through the analysis of texts. “Humour” hides in countless expedients, which will be included under this common heading: from scorn to derision, from wit to joke, from the inclusion of comic elements in the narration to the use of funny adages in the speech. The workshop will study the playful language in different works of Italian and European authors, the presence of witticism and parody in their texts, and the use of figures of speech and double meanings. How does the laugh get realized? How did the authors insert ironic elements in their works and characters? What are the functions of laughter? Is there any change in the laughter mechanisms across the 15th and the 16th century? By answering these and other questions, the workshop will shed light on how authors dealt with such a complex, yet fundamental feature of humanity.

PROGRAMMA

La partecipazione è possibile in presenza o tramite collegamento digitale (WebEx). Si prega di registrarsi via mail (italzen@zedat.fu-berlin.de) per ricevere i dati d'accesso.