Journal article
“Strange laughter”: Post-Gothic Questions of Laughter and the Human in Samuel Beckett's Work
- Abstract:
- The laughter of Samuel Beckett's characters is frequently strange and unsettling. Characters laugh unpredictably, and the reader or spectator does not feel prompted to join them; when we do laugh in response to the Beckettian text, we are often shocked by our own lack of propriety. I examine laughter theory and the laughter in Gothic texts to explore why Beckettian laughter so disconcerts us, and what the implications of this affective response are for our understanding of what constitutes the human, and of our own ostensibly human identities.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 1.2MB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.2979/jmodelite.40.4.01
Authors
- Publisher:
- Indiana University Press
- Journal:
- Journal of Modern Literature More from this journal
- Volume:
- 40
- Issue:
- 4
- Pages:
- 1-19
- Publication date:
- 2017-08-30
- Acceptance date:
- 2015-10-22
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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1529-1464
- ISSN:
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0022-281X
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
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pubs:829031
- UUID:
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uuid:3c7e9857-ef0b-4329-97ad-59d4cfd16469
- Local pid:
-
pubs:829031
- Source identifiers:
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829031
- Deposit date:
-
2018-03-12
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- The Trustees of Indiana University
- Copyright date:
- 2017
- Notes:
- Copyright © The Trustees of Indiana University
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