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Jonson Versus Bakhtin
Carnival and the Grotesque
Series: - Textxet: Studies in Comparative Literature, Volume: 41
Author:
Ben Jonson has often been accused of needless erudition and of a morose refusal to join in the festive spirit. Further aggravation has come from the application of Bakhtinâs theory of carnival, especially in its posthumous form as a political allegory portraying the clash of high and low cultures. In an attempt to turn the tables on this tradition, Jonson Versus Bakhtin goes back to the sources, arguing that Jonsonâs theatre allows for an original interpretation of the grotesque as a formal culture of antithesis and opposition that includes carnival. A robust observer of popular myths of festive liberation by way of a uniquely compendious adaptation of his sources, Jonsonâs grotesque uncannily delves deep into the Renaissance theory of the coincidence of opposites as a way of envisaging virtue and other concepts of the mind, rather than serving up a pompous application of moral precepts or offering a political arena for ritual transgression. While richly based on an appropriate repertory of underlying sources, Jonson Versus Bakhtin steers away from any tiresome reference hunting mania, appealing to a broader audience interested in re-appraising Ben Jonsonâs genius for richly contrastive imagery, as well as re-considering the relevance of Bakhtinâs theory to Elizabethan and Jacobean drama and to the Renaissance culture of the grotesque.
"â¦a valuable addition to scholarship in the field of literary history. His bibliography is comprehensive and very helpful." - in: Renaissance Quarterly, 2005
"This study makes an interesting contribution to early modern English theatre studies and to the debate on Bakhtinian carnivalesque" - in: Modern Language Review, Vol. 100, No. 1 (2005)
"This study makes an interesting contribution to early modern English theatre studies and to the debate on Bakhtinian carnivalesque" - in: Modern Language Review, Vol. 100, No. 1 (2005)
Acknowledgments. 1. Carnival of Sorts. 2. Sejanus Plays Antics. 3. Catilineâs Spoiled Party. 4. A Silent Woman Is Hard to Find. 5. Fair Time for Pigs and Kings. 6. A Well-Timed Carnival. 7. Potted Gods and Poets. 8. The Islands of Mardigras. Epilogue. Bibliography. Index.