Lawrence and Comedy

by Edited by Paul Eggert , John Worthen

• ISBN13: 9780521118699
• ISBN10: 0521118697
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-08-20
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This collection of essays by distinguished scholars explores the range, scope and sheer verve of Lawrence's comic writing. Lawrence's novels, short stories, plays, letters and poems are full of comic moments that develop his critique of the modern failure of the mystic impulse. Lawrence used comedy to create an alternative cultural and social space, to distance himself from the dominant orthodoxy surrounding him. This book revises the popular image of Lawrence as a humorless writer and reveals his strategic use of a genuine comic talent.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Drama and mimicry in Lawrence

Mischief or merriment, amazement and amusement - and malice: Women in Love

Comedy and hysteria in Aaron's

D. H. Lawrence and his 'gentle reader': the furious comedy of

'Homunculus stirs': masculinity and the mock-heroic in Birds, Beasts and Flowers

Comedy and provisionality: Lawrence's address to his audience and material in his Australian novels

Lawrence's satiric style: language and voice in

Humour in the letters of D. H. Lawrence

Lawrence to Larkin: a changed perspective

Notes on contributors

Index

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