ABSTRACT

In this handy volume, Claire Colebrook offers an overview of the history and structure of irony, from Socrates to the present.
Students will welcome this clear, concise guide, which:
*traces the use of the concept through history, from Greek times to the Romantic period and on to the postmodern era
*looks closely at the work of Socrates and the more contemporary theorists Jacques Derrida and Gilles Deleuze
*explores the philosophical, literary and political dimensions of irony
*applies theories of irony to literary texts
Making even the most difficult debates accessible and clear, this is the ideal student introduction to the many theories of irony.

chapter |21 pages

1 The Concept of Irony

chapter |25 pages

2 The Philosophy of Irony

Plato and Socrates

chapter |25 pages

3 Romantic Irony

chapter |23 pages

4 Beyond Irony and Subjectivity

Byron and Swift

chapter |16 pages

5 Irony Out of Context

Derrida, Nietzsche and de Man

chapter |20 pages

6 Satire and the Limits of Irony

From Byron and Swift to Butler

chapter |22 pages

7 Humour and Irony

Deleuze and Guattari

chapter |24 pages

8 Postmodernism, Parody and Irony

Rorty, Hutcheon, Austen, Joyce and Carter