Braybrook, Jean (2018) The humour of Noel Du Fail in the 'Propos rustiques'. French Studies 72 (4), pp. 491-504. ISSN 0016-1128.
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Abstract
In this article, some modern theories of humour are applied to the Breton lawyer and writer of prose, Noël Du Fail, who produces in French linguistically rather difficult texts containing tales which he presents as being told about the countryside and its colourful, talkative inhabitants. In the Propos rustiques (1547), the first and most accessible of these works, he reveals himself as a self-conscious humourist. Although he does write (within a complex framework) about discord and fights, employing oppositional humour, he includes in the central chapter (7) a narration by the character Pasquier, three major elements of which (the evocation of a character called Thenot, a description of a child’s playthings, and a short poem praising the rustic life) can be seen as contributing to a mirroring or mise en abyme of Du Fail’s predominantly gentle comic art. Finally, underpinning the chapter and indeed his work as a whole are figurative expressions which reveal that, although he undoubtedly owes much in theme and language to Rabelais, Du Fail deploys many images and figures of speech that are not found in Rabelais and that may well reflect the influence of the region in which he is writing.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Additional Information: | This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The version of record is available online at the link above. |
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | French Renaissance prose, humour, proverbs |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication |
| Depositing User: | Jean Braybrook |
| Date Deposited: | 24 Jul 2018 09:41 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Aug 2023 12:44 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/23182 |
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