Humour

Terry Eagleton

May 2019 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Roger Clark

About this audiobook

A compelling guide to the fundamental place of humor and comedy within Western culture-by one of its greatest exponents. Written by an acknowledged master of comedy, this study reflects on the nature of humor and the functions it serves. Why do we laugh? What are we to make of the sheer variety of laughter, from braying and cackling to sniggering and chortling? Is humor subversive, or can it defuse dissent? Can we define wit? Packed with illuminating ideas and a good many excellent jokes, the book critically examines various well-known theories of humor, including the idea that it springs from incongruity and the view that it reflects a mildly sadistic form of superiority to others. Drawing on a wide range of literary and philosophical sources, Terry Eagleton moves from Aristotle and Aquinas to Hobbes, Freud, and Bakhtin, looking in particular at the psychoanalytical mechanisms underlying humor and its social and political evolution over the centuries.

Ratings and reviews

Boring and pointless

About the author

Terry Eagleton is Distinguished Visiting Professor of English Literature at the University of Lancaster and the author of more than fifty books in the fields of literary theory, postmodernism, politics, ideology, and religion. He lives in Northern Ireland.

Roger Clark is a professional actor and voice-over artist who lives in New York City. He has performed in over forty-five countries.