Style and Emotion in Comic Novels and Short Stories

This book builds on cognitive stylistics, humour studies and psychological approaches to literature and film to explore the emotional aspects of humorous narrative comprehension. It investigates how the linguistic features of comic novels and short stories (by, for example, Douglas Adams, Joseph Heller and Nick Hornby) can shape readers’ experience of comedy, considering the ways in which moods, characters and the plot is used to trigger blends of positive and negative emotion. The book offers an approach to such features of comedy as dark humour, cringe humour and comic suspense, emphasising the relationship between humorous language and mental states which are typically considered serious. Agnes Marszalek’s focus on the non-humorous side of experiencing comedy offers a key contribution to the study of humorous narratives. By investigating humour as part of a narrative world, this book moves towards addressing the complexity of the experience of humour in narrative texts, providing implications not only for the linguistics of humour, but also for those approaches to discourse comprehension which explore the affective side of engaging with texts.

Style and Emotion in Comic Novels and Short Stories expertly contributes to knowledge by shedding light on how language triggers readers’ reaction to humour in comic narratives. The systematic and versatile approach combined with the variety of examples makes this monograph accessible to students or anyone interested in the stylistics of humour., Marszalek’s study of the linguistics and experience of humour in literature is both enjoyable and richly explanatory. Drawing on our best current understanding of language and mind, this book sets out the narrative techniques by which a reader can become immersed in a fictional comic world. It will become essential reading for students and researchers of literary humour., This book examines the affective experience of reading humorous fiction, arguing that language and style are central to an account of how comic narratives provoke emotional responses in readers. It offers not only a systematic stylistic analysis of a range of comic texts but also detailed discussion of readers’ responses to narrative comedy. As a result, Style and Emotion in Comic Novels and Short Stories is a major contribution to our understanding of the role of language in the creation of humour. It will be essential reading for anyone working in this area., Highly recommended to scholars from a wide range of disciplines (linguistics, literary studies, semiotics, narratology, cultural studies, media studies, to name but a few) interested in the overlap and fuzziness between comedy and tragedy, humor and seriousness.

Agnes Marszalek teaches academic writing and research skills at Glasgow International College, UK.