MARC Record from Library of Congress

LEADER: 02744cam a2200385 i 4500
001 2013040999
003 DLC
005 20140805080110.0
008 131121s2014 cauaf b 001 0 eng
010 $a 2013040999
020 $a9780520277168 (hbk. : alk. paper)
020 $z9780520958203 (electronic)
040 $aDLC$beng$cDLC$erda$dDLC
042 $apcc
043 $ae------$aff-----$aaw-----
050 00 $aBF575.L3$bB38 2014
082 00 $a152.4/30937$223
084 $aHIS002000$aLIT004190$aPOL010000$2bisacsh
100 1 $aBeard, Mary,$d1955-
245 10 $aLaughter in ancient Rome :$bon joking, tickling, and cracking up /$cMary Beard.
264 1 $aBerkeley :$bUniversity of California Press,$c2014.
300 $ax, 319 pages, 4 unnumbered pages of plates :$billustrations ;$c24 cm.
336 $atext$2rdacontent
337 $aunmediated$2rdamedia
338 $avolume$2rdacarrier
490 0 $aSather classical lectures ;$vvolume seventy-one
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 277-300) and index.
505 0 $aIntroducing Roman laughter : Dio's "giggle" and Gnatho's two laughs -- Questions of laughter, ancient and modern -- The history of laughter -- Roman laughter in Latin and Greek -- The orator -- From emperor to jester -- Between human and animal, especially monkeys and asses -- The laughter lover.
520 $a"What made the Romans laugh? Was ancient Rome a carnival, filled with practical jokes and hearty chuckles? Or was it a carefully regulated culture in which the uncontrollable excess of laughter was a force to fear-a world of wit, irony, and knowing smiles? How did Romans make sense of laughter? What role did it play in the world of the law courts, the imperial palace, or the spectacles of the arena? Laughter in Ancient Rome explores one of the most intriguing, but also trickiest, of historical subjects. Drawing on a wide range of Roman writing-from essays on rhetoric to a surviving Roman joke book-Mary Beard tracks down the giggles, smirks, and guffaws of the ancient Romans themselves. From ancient 'monkey business' to the role of a chuckle in a culture of tyranny, she explores Roman humor from the hilarious, to the momentous, to the surprising. But she also reflects on even bigger historical questions. What kind of history of laughter can we possibly tell? Can we ever really 'get' the Romans' jokes?"--$cProvided by publisher.
650 0 $aLaughter$zRome$xHistory$yTo 1500.
650 0 $aLatin wit and humor$xHistory and criticism.
651 0 $aRome$xSocial life and customs.
650 7 $aHISTORY / Ancient / General.$2bisacsh
650 7 $aLITERARY CRITICISM / Ancient & Classical.$2bisacsh
650 7 $aPOLITICAL SCIENCE / History & Theory.$2bisacsh