Mark Twain

The Gift of Humor

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American, Biography & Memoir, Literary, Nonfiction, History, Americas
Cover of the book Mark Twain by Harold H. Kolb Jr., UPA
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Harold H. Kolb Jr. ISBN: 9780761864219
Publisher: UPA Publication: October 29, 2014
Imprint: UPA Language: English
Author: Harold H. Kolb Jr.
ISBN: 9780761864219
Publisher: UPA
Publication: October 29, 2014
Imprint: UPA
Language: English

Mark Twain is America’s—perhaps the world’s—best known humorous writer. Yet many commentators in his time and our own have thought of humor as merely an attractive surface feature rather than a crucial part of both the meaning and the structure of Twain’s writings. This book begins with a discussion of humor, and then demonstrates how Twain’s artistic strategies, his remarkable achievements, and even his philosophy were bound together in his conception of humor, and how this conception developed across a forty-five year career.

Kolb shows that Twain is a writer whose lifelong mode of perception is essentially humorous, a writer who sees the world in the sharp clash of contrast, whose native language is exaggeration, and whose vision unravels and reorganizes our perceptions. Humor, in all its mercurial complexity, is at the center of Mark Twain’s talent, his successes, and his limitations. It is as a humorist—amiably comic, sharply satiric, grimly ironic, simultaneously humorous and serious—that he is best understood.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Mark Twain is America’s—perhaps the world’s—best known humorous writer. Yet many commentators in his time and our own have thought of humor as merely an attractive surface feature rather than a crucial part of both the meaning and the structure of Twain’s writings. This book begins with a discussion of humor, and then demonstrates how Twain’s artistic strategies, his remarkable achievements, and even his philosophy were bound together in his conception of humor, and how this conception developed across a forty-five year career.

Kolb shows that Twain is a writer whose lifelong mode of perception is essentially humorous, a writer who sees the world in the sharp clash of contrast, whose native language is exaggeration, and whose vision unravels and reorganizes our perceptions. Humor, in all its mercurial complexity, is at the center of Mark Twain’s talent, his successes, and his limitations. It is as a humorist—amiably comic, sharply satiric, grimly ironic, simultaneously humorous and serious—that he is best understood.

More books from UPA

Cover of the book Curing the Philosopher's Disease by Harold H. Kolb Jr.
Cover of the book The Supraconscience of Humanity by Harold H. Kolb Jr.
Cover of the book Political Scandals by Harold H. Kolb Jr.
Cover of the book Traveling India in the Age of Gandhi by Harold H. Kolb Jr.
Cover of the book Beyond Duality and Polarization by Harold H. Kolb Jr.
Cover of the book A Crisis of Belief, Ethics, and Faith by Harold H. Kolb Jr.
Cover of the book Defending the Old Dominion by Harold H. Kolb Jr.
Cover of the book Forgotten Reformer by Harold H. Kolb Jr.
Cover of the book A Life in Balance by Harold H. Kolb Jr.
Cover of the book On Christendom's Far Shore by Harold H. Kolb Jr.
Cover of the book Intellectual Citizenship and the Problem of Incarnation by Harold H. Kolb Jr.
Cover of the book Counter-Terrorism by Harold H. Kolb Jr.
Cover of the book Get Goodness by Harold H. Kolb Jr.
Cover of the book The Illusion of Ignorance by Harold H. Kolb Jr.
Cover of the book The Logical Foundations of Social Theory by Harold H. Kolb Jr.
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy