Overview

Jesters and fools have existed as important and consistent figures in nearly all cultures. Sometimes referred to as clowns, they are typological characters who have conventional roles in the arts, often using nonsense to subvert existing order. But fools are also a part of social and religious history, and they frequently play key roles in the rituals that support and shape a society's system of beliefs. This reference book includes alphabetically arranged entries for approximately 60 fools and jesters from a wide range of cultures. Included are entries for performers from American popular culture, such as Woody Allen, Mae West, Charlie Chaplin, and the Marx Brothers; literary characters, such as Shakespeare's Falstaff, Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel, and Singer's Gimpel; and cultural and mythological figures, such as India's Birbal, the American circus clown, the Native American Coyote, Taishu Engeki of Japan, Hephaestus, Loki the Norse fool, schlimiels and schlimazels, and the drag queen. The entries, written by expert contributors, are critical as well as informative. Each begins with a biographical, artistic, religious, or historical background section, which places the subject within a larger cultural and historical context. A description and analysis follow. This section may include a discussion of the fool's appearance, gender role, ethical and moral roles, social function, and relationship to such themes as nature, time, and mortality. The entry then discusses the critical reception of the subject and concludes with an extensive bibliography of general works.

Full Product Details

Author:   Vicki K. Janik
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Imprint:   Greenwood Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 3.60cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.964kg
ISBN:  

9780313297854

ISBN 10:   0313297851
Pages:   576
Publication Date:   21 May 1998
Recommended Age:   From 7 to 17 years
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

"Preface Introduction Woody Allen: The Clown as Tragic Hero by Douglas Brode The Anthropology of Fools by C. Todd White Robert Armin by Edmund Miller Archy Armstrong by Dana E. Aspinall The Badin by Yvonne LeBlanc Lucille Ball by Bruce Henderson Jean Louis Barrault by Barry John Capella Beckett's Postmodern Clowns: Vladimir (Didi), Estragon (Gogo), Pozzo, and Lucky by Donald Perret Jack Benny by Janice Keller Birbal by Karen Treanor The Bishop of Fools by Simonette Cochis George Burns and Gracie Allen: The Jewish Vaudeville Tradition by Marcia B. Littenberg The Camp by C. Todd White Canio-Pagliacco and Petrouchka by William D. West Charlie Chaplin by Daniel Green The American Circus Clown by Del Ivan Janik Commedia ell'Arte by Angelica Forti-Lewis Native American Coyote Trickster Tales and Cycles by Ellen Rosenberg The Drag Queen by Carl Bryan Holmberg Sir John Falstaff by Alan Lutkus Feste by Neil Novelli W.C. Fields by Carl Bryan Holmberg Folly in ""In the Praise of Folly"" by Charles M. Kovich The Fop: ""Apes and Echoes of Men"": Gentlemanly Ideals and the Restoration by Moira E. Casey Gimpel by Alice R. Kaminsky Joseph Grimaldi by Nancy J.D. Hazelton Forrest Gump: Innocent Fool by James M. O'Brien Hamlet by Malcolm A. Nelson Hephaestus, Hermes, and Prometheus: Jesters to the Gods by Margery L. Brown The Heyoka of the Sioux by Elizabeth Hoffman Nelson Clowns of the Hopi by Elizabeth Hoffman Nelson Ben Jonson by Elizabeth Quay Sullivan Buster Keaton by Alan Lutkus William Kemp by James P. Bednarz Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy: Yin and Yang by Douglas Brode Lear's Fool by Alan Hager Loki, the Norse Fool by Carl Bryan Holmberg The Marx Brothers by Vicki K. Janik Merry Report by Vicki K. Janik Paul the Apostle by Mary A. Maleski Penasar of Bali: Sacred Clowns by Ron Jenkins Pierrot: Dramatic and Literary Mask by John D. Anderson Platus's Clowns by Aaron W. Godfrey Puck/Robin Goodfellow by Jonathan Gil Harris Punch and Judy by F. Scott Regan and Bradford Clark Francois Rabelais by William J. Kennedy Martha Raye by Bruce Henderson Rigoletto by Peter N. Chetta Schlemiels and Schlimazels by Joel Shatzky The Sleary Circus by Anthony Giffone Socrates as Fool in Aristophanes and Plato by David Luljak Will Sommers by Andrew Vogel Ettin The Sottie, the Sots, and the Fols by Donald Perret South African Political Clowning: Laughter and Resistance to Apartheid by Ron Jenkins Country Squires and Bumpkins by Janet S. Wolf The Three Stooges by Henry Sikorski Taishu Engeki: Subverting the Patterns of Japanese Culture by Ron Jenkins The Tarot Fool by David Conford The Tarot Fool in English and American Novels by David Conford Touchstone by Alan Lutkus The Vice Figure in Middle English Morality Plays by David N. DeVries The Vice in Henry Medwell's 'Nature' by David N. DeVries Mae West by Marlene San Miguel Groner The Yankee by Jack Hrkach The Zanni by James Phillips Selected General Bibliography Index"

Reviews

By taking fools seriously and by recognizing their value in cultural criticism, the editor has performed a monumental service to the state of learning; fools point to the instability of language and the fallibility of reason, ' and they hold secrets of their societies. A must for all reader levels. -Choice This work is highly recommended for its extensive coverage and a scholarly, yet readable analysis of who or what makes us laugh--and why. -ARBA [T]his books should become a classic and is indispensible for humor shelves in any library. -International Journal of Humor YThis books should become a classic and is indispensible for humor shelves in any library. -International Journal of Humor ?[T]his books should become a classic and is indispensible for humor shelves in any library.?-International Journal of Humor ?This work is highly recommended for its extensive coverage and a scholarly, yet readable analysis of who or what makes us laugh--and why.?-ARBA ?By taking fools seriously and by recognizing their value in cultural criticism, the editor has performed a monumental service to the state of learning; fools point to the instability of language and the fallibility of reason, ' and they hold secrets of their societies. A must for all reader levels.?-Choice

?By taking fools seriously and by recognizing their value in cultural criticism, the editor has performed a monumental service to the state of learning; fools point to the instability of language and the fallibility of reason, ' and they hold secrets of their societies. A must for all reader levels.?-Choice

?[T]his books should become a classic and is indispensible for humor shelves in any library.?-International Journal of Humor ?By taking fools seriously and by recognizing their value in cultural criticism, the editor has performed a monumental service to the state of learning; fools point to the instability of language and the fallibility of reason, ' and they hold secrets of their societies. A must for all reader levels.?-Choice ?This work is highly recommended for its extensive coverage and a scholarly, yet readable analysis of who or what makes us laugh--and why.?-ARBA YThis books should become a classic and is indispensible for humor shelves in any library. -International Journal of Humor [T]his books should become a classic and is indispensible for humor shelves in any library. -International Journal of Humor This work is highly recommended for its extensive coverage and a scholarly, yet readable analysis of who or what makes us laugh--and why. -ARBA By taking fools seriously and by recognizing their value in cultural criticism, the editor has performed a monumental service to the state of learning; fools point to the instability of language and the fallibility of reason, ' and they hold secrets of their societies. A must for all reader levels. -Choice

Author Information

VICKI K. JANIK is Assistant Professor of English at the State University of New York at Farmingdale, where she teaches courses in Shakespeare, drama, comparative mythology, drama, and other topics.

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