Leiden University Student Repository

Rieuf, Alice (2017)

Le libertinage et le rire

Research master thesis | Literary Studies (research) (MA)

Humor is so present in XVIIIth century libertine literature that it could be considered an essential part of its reading experience. However very few critics have shown interest in this fundamental aspect of these texts, concentrating either on their serious or erotic content. This thesis aims to buck this trend and show the importance and value of humor in XVIIIth century libertine literature and how to better represent it in literary criticism. To this aim, the libertine texts are read against the backdrop of the main critical currents between the XVIIIth and the XXIst century, attempting to show which aspect of humor have been favored or ignored. A postmodern “ironic reading” of libertine literature is proposed as a way to offer a newer perspective on these works and show nuanced and more complex degrees of humor in the XVIIIth century texts. As a result, it is made clear that though seriousness has been a guiding principle for literary criticism so far, humor deserves a place in...Show moreHumor is so present in XVIIIth century libertine literature that it could be considered an essential part of its reading experience. However very few critics have shown interest in this fundamental aspect of these texts, concentrating either on their serious or erotic content. This thesis aims to buck this trend and show the importance and value of humor in XVIIIth century libertine literature and how to better represent it in literary criticism. To this aim, the libertine texts are read against the backdrop of the main critical currents between the XVIIIth and the XXIst century, attempting to show which aspect of humor have been favored or ignored. A postmodern “ironic reading” of libertine literature is proposed as a way to offer a newer perspective on these works and show nuanced and more complex degrees of humor in the XVIIIth century texts. As a result, it is made clear that though seriousness has been a guiding principle for literary criticism so far, humor deserves a place in the study of libertine literature, especially today as postmodern tools allow a refinement in the understanding of the humor in these texts.Show less

humor

libertine literature

history of criticism

irony

context.

Author

Rieuf, Alice

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

French literature

Supervisors

Houppermans, Sjef

ECTS Credits

25

Language

fr