Tricksters and Pranksters

Tricksters and Pranksters PDF Author: Alison Williams
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004488790
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
This volume represents a contribution to comparative scholarship in Medieval and Renaissance studies in its investigation of the ingenious diversity of roguish practices found in Medieval and Renaissance literature and its recognition of the coherent normative function of tales of tricksters and pranksters. The wide variety of works analysed, from those forming part of the established canon of texts on undergraduate degree schemes to lesser-known works, makes the volume of interest to students and researchers alike. The roguish behaviour of women, priests, foxes and outlaws and the knavery of Eulenspiegel and Panurge are used to illustrate how rituals of inversion and humiliation typical of the medieval carnival are reflected in literary accounts of trickery, and to question whether the restorative function attributed to carnival celebration is equally to be found in the intra-textual and extra-textual outcomes of trickery. This analysis is supported by studies into the trickster in mythology, sociological investigations into the role of disorder, Bakhtinian theories of carnival and the carnivalesque, and theories of black humour.

Tricksters and Pranksters

Tricksters and Pranksters PDF Author: Alison Williams
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004488790
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
This volume represents a contribution to comparative scholarship in Medieval and Renaissance studies in its investigation of the ingenious diversity of roguish practices found in Medieval and Renaissance literature and its recognition of the coherent normative function of tales of tricksters and pranksters. The wide variety of works analysed, from those forming part of the established canon of texts on undergraduate degree schemes to lesser-known works, makes the volume of interest to students and researchers alike. The roguish behaviour of women, priests, foxes and outlaws and the knavery of Eulenspiegel and Panurge are used to illustrate how rituals of inversion and humiliation typical of the medieval carnival are reflected in literary accounts of trickery, and to question whether the restorative function attributed to carnival celebration is equally to be found in the intra-textual and extra-textual outcomes of trickery. This analysis is supported by studies into the trickster in mythology, sociological investigations into the role of disorder, Bakhtinian theories of carnival and the carnivalesque, and theories of black humour.

Tricksters Then Pranksters Today

Tricksters Then Pranksters Today PDF Author: Rebecca Bishop
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : College students' writings, American
Languages : en
Pages : 33

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Book Description
Bishop examines the fascination of the human race with being clever, witty, sly, cunning and tricky as it applies to cultural identities; often thus illustrated in the form of practical jokes. Through the exploration of practical jokes of various people, cultures and generations, Bishop seeks to shed light into the humanistic qualities and enjoyment of practical jokes while entertaining the reader.

Pranksters

Pranksters PDF Author: Kembrew McLeod
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814796303
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
From Benjamin Franklin's newspaper hoax that faked the death of his rival to Abbie Hoffman’s attempt to levitate the Pentagon, pranksters, hoaxers, and con artists have caused confusion, disorder, and laughter in Western society for centuries. Profiling the most notorious mischief makers from the 1600s to the present day, Pranksters explores how “pranks” are part of a long tradition of speaking truth to power and social critique. Invoking such historical and contemporary figures as P.T. Barnum, Jonathan Swift, WITCH, The Yes Men, and Stephen Colbert, Kembrew McLeod shows how staged spectacles that balance the serious and humorous can spark important public conversations. In some instances, tricksters have incited social change (and unfortunate prank blowback) by manipulating various forms of media, from newspapers to YouTube. For example, in the 1960s, self-proclaimed “professional hoaxer” Alan Abel lampooned America’s hypocritical sexual mores by using conservative rhetoric to fool the news media into covering a satirical organization that advocated clothing naked animals. In the 1990s, Sub Pop Records then-receptionist Megan Jasper satirized the commodification of alternative music culture by pranking the New York Times into reporting on her fake lexicon of “grunge speak.” Throughout this book, McLeod shows how pranks interrupt the daily flow of approved information and news, using humor to underscore larger, pointed truths. Written in an accessible, story-driven style, Pranksters reveals how mischief makers have left their shocking, entertaining, and educational mark on modern political and social life.

Tricksters and Pranksters in Medieval and Renaissance French and German Literature

Tricksters and Pranksters in Medieval and Renaissance French and German Literature PDF Author: Alison Jane Williams
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


The Trickster Figure in American Literature

The Trickster Figure in American Literature PDF Author: Winifred Morgan
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137344725
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
This book analyzes and offers fresh insights into the trickster tradition including African American, American Indian, Euro-American, Asian American, and Latino/a stories, Morgan examines the oral roots of each racial/ethnic group to reveal how each group's history, frustrations, and aspirations have molded the tradition in contemporary literature.

Magic and Magicians in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Time

Magic and Magicians in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Time PDF Author: Albrecht Classen
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110556529
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 742

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Book Description
There are no clear demarcation lines between magic, astrology, necromancy, medicine, and even sciences in the pre-modern world. Under the umbrella term 'magic,' the contributors to this volume examine a wide range of texts, both literary and religious, both medical and philosophical, in which the topic is discussed from many different perspectives. The fundamental concerns address issue such as how people perceived magic, whether they accepted it and utilized it for their own purposes, and what impact magic might have had on the mental structures of that time. While some papers examine the specific appearance of magicians in literary texts, others analyze the practical application of magic in medical contexts. In addition, this volume includes studies that deal with the rise of the witch craze in the late fifteenth century and then also investigate whether the Weberian notion of disenchantment pertaining to the modern world can be maintained. Magic is, oddly but significantly, still around us and exerts its influence. Focusing on magic in the medieval world thus helps us to shed light on human culture at large.

Clowns and Tricksters

Clowns and Tricksters PDF Author: Kimberly A. Christen
Publisher: ABC-CLIO
ISBN:
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
This reference explores an imagined world, where creatures much like humans strive and connive and behave and misbehave. Describing these jokers and troublemakers by popular name, appearance, and origins, about 200 cross-referenced and indexed entries examine their relationships to their cultures and recount tales featuring them. Numerous bandw illustrations bring the ragtag assembly to life. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Cambridge Introduction to Comedy

The Cambridge Introduction to Comedy PDF Author: Eric Weitz
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316154289
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
'Laughter', says Eric Weitz, 'may be considered one of the most extravagant physical effects one person can have on another without touching them'. But how do we identify something which is meant to be comic, what defines something as 'comedy', and what does this mean for the way we enter the world of a comic text? Addressing these issues, and many more, this is a 'how to' guide to reading comedy from the pages of a dramatic text, with relevance to anything from novels and newspaper columns to billboards and emails. The book enables you to enhance your grasp of the comic through familiarity with characteristic structures and patterns, referring to comedy in literature, film and television throughout. Perfect for drama and literature students, this Introduction explores a genre which affects the everyday lives of us all, and will therefore also capture the interest of anyone who loves to laugh.

German-speaking Exiles in Great Britain

German-speaking Exiles in Great Britain PDF Author: Ian Wallace
Publisher: Rodopi
ISBN: 9789042013735
Category : Austrians
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
Eleven essays, most in English and a handful in German, reflect the experience of German and Austrian refugees who landed in Great Britain during the Nazi era. Three are case studies of academics and professionals who built new careers in England; two focus on refugee children, one concentrating on the fate of those educated at leading German-Jewish institutions, and one on the reading habits of children across two cultures; and the remaining essays examine developments in the political and cultural spheres. The index lists names only, not subjects. c. Book News Inc.

Moving Subjects

Moving Subjects PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9401200246
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Procession, arguably the most ubiquitous and versatile public performance mode until the seventeenth century, has received little scholarly or theoretical attention. Yet, this form of social behaviour has been so thoroughly naturalised in our accounts of western European history that it merited little comment as a cultural performance choice over many centuries until recently, when a generation of cultural historians using explanatory models from anthropology called attention to the processional mode as a privileged vehicle for articulation in its society. Their analyses, however, tended to focus on the issue of whether processions produced social harmony or reinforced social distinctions, potentially leading to conflict. While such questions are not ignored in this collection of essays, its primary purpose is to reflect upon salient theatrical aspects of processions that may help us understand how in the performance of “moving subjects” they accomplished their often transformative cultural work.