Laughter in Ancient Rome On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up
by Mary Beard
What made the Romans laugh? Was ancient Rome a carnival, filled with practical jokes and hearty chuckles? Or was it a carefully regulated culture in which the uncontrollable excess of laughter was a force to fearÑa world of wit, irony, and knowing smiles? How did Romans make sense of laughter? What role did it play in the world of the law courts, the imperial palace, or the spectacles of the arena?
Laughter in Ancient Rome explores one of the most intriguing, but also trickiest, of historical subjects. Drawing on a wide range of Roman writingÑfrom essays on rhetoric to a surviving Roman joke bookÑMary Beard tracks down the giggles, smirks, and guffaws of the ancient Romans themselves. From ancient Òmonkey businessÓ to the role of a chuckle in a culture of tyranny, she explores Roman humor from the hilarious, to the momentous, to the surprising.Ê But she also reflects on even bigger historical questions. What kind of history of laughter can we possibly tell? Can we ever really ÒgetÓ the RomansÕ jokes?
Laughter in Ancient Rome explores one of the most intriguing, but also trickiest, of historical subjects. Drawing on a wide range of Roman writingÑfrom essays on rhetoric to a surviving Roman joke bookÑMary Beard tracks down the giggles, smirks, and guffaws of the ancient Romans themselves. From ancient Òmonkey businessÓ to the role of a chuckle in a culture of tyranny, she explores Roman humor from the hilarious, to the momentous, to the surprising.Ê But she also reflects on even bigger historical questions. What kind of history of laughter can we possibly tell? Can we ever really ÒgetÓ the RomansÕ jokes?
HistoryAncientRomeHumorLiterary CriticismAncient & Classical
RELEASED2014
PUBLISHERUniv of California Press
LENGTH319
LANGUAGEEN
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Winifred Mary Beard was born on 1 January 1955 in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, the only child of architect Roy Whitlock Beard and junior school headmistress Joyce Emily Beard
Laughter in Ancient Rome On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up
by Mary Beard
What made the Romans laugh? Was ancient Rome a carnival, filled with practical jokes and hearty chuckles? Or was it a carefully regulated culture in which the uncontrollable excess of laughter was a force to fearÑa world of wit, irony, and knowing smiles? How did Romans make sense of laughter? What role did it play in the world of the law courts, the imperial palace, or the spectacles of the arena?
Laughter in Ancient Rome explores one of the most intriguing, but also trickiest, of historical subjects. Drawing on a wide range of Roman writingÑfrom essays on rhetoric to a surviving Roman joke bookÑMary Beard tracks down the giggles, smirks, and guffaws of the ancient Romans themselves. From ancient Òmonkey businessÓ to the role of a chuckle in a culture of tyranny, she explores Roman humor from the hilarious, to the momentous, to the surprising.Ê But she also reflects on even bigger historical questions. What kind of history of laughter can we possibly tell? Can we ever really ÒgetÓ the RomansÕ jokes?
Laughter in Ancient Rome explores one of the most intriguing, but also trickiest, of historical subjects. Drawing on a wide range of Roman writingÑfrom essays on rhetoric to a surviving Roman joke bookÑMary Beard tracks down the giggles, smirks, and guffaws of the ancient Romans themselves. From ancient Òmonkey businessÓ to the role of a chuckle in a culture of tyranny, she explores Roman humor from the hilarious, to the momentous, to the surprising.Ê But she also reflects on even bigger historical questions. What kind of history of laughter can we possibly tell? Can we ever really ÒgetÓ the RomansÕ jokes?
HistoryAncientRomeHumorLiterary CriticismAncient & ClassicalPolitical ScienceHistory & Theory
RELEASED2014
PUBLISHERUniv of California Press
LENGTH319
LANGUAGEEN
Winifred Mary Beard was born on 1 January 1955 in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, the only child of architect Roy Whitlock Beard and junior school headmistress Joyce Emily Beard
