Curses and laughter: The ethics of political invective in the comic poetry of high and late medieval Italy

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dc.contributor.authorApplauso, Nicolino
dc.date.accessioned2010-12-04T00:02:32Z
dc.date.available2010-12-04T00:02:32Z
dc.date.issued2010-06
dc.descriptionxiv, 479 p. : ill. (some col.) A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.en_US
dc.description.abstractMy dissertation examines the ethical engagement of political invective poetry in thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Italy. Modern criticism tends to treat medieval invective as a playfully subversive but marginal poetic game with minimal ethical weight. Instead, I aim to restore these poetic productions to their original context: the history, law, and custom of Tuscan cities. This contexts allows me to explore how humor and fury, in the denunciation of political enemies, interact to establish not a game but an ethics of invective. I treat ethics as both theoretical and practical, referring to Aristotle, Cicero, and Brunetto Latini, and define ethics as the pursuit of the common good in a defined community. Chapter I introduces the corpus, its historical and cultural background, its critical reception, and my approach. Chapter II discusses medieval invective in Tuscany and surveys the cultural practice of invective writing. Chapter III approaches invectives written by Rustico Filippi during the Guelph and Ghibelline wars. Chapter IV explores invectives by Cecco Angiolieri set in Siena, which polemicize with the Sienese government and citizenry. Chapter V examines invectives in Dante's Commedia (Inf. 19, Purg. 6, and Par. 27), focusing on his unexpected humor and his critique of the papacy, the empire, and Italian city governments. My conclusion examines the ethical function of slanderous wit in wartime invective. These poems balance verbal aggression with humor, claiming a role for laughter in creating dialogue within conflict. Far from a stylistic or ludic exercise, each invective shows the poet's activism and ethical engagement. This dissertation includes previously published material.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipCommittee in Charge: Regina Psaki, Chairperson, Romance Languages; Massimo Lollini, Member, Romance Languages; David Wacks, Member, Romance Languages; Steven Shankman, Outside Member, Englishen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1794/10874
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Oregonen_US
dc.relation.ispartofseriesUniversity of Oregon theses, Dept. of Romance Languages, Ph. D., 2010;
dc.subjectInvective and ethicsen_US
dc.subjectMedieval Italian literatureen_US
dc.subjectItalian comic poetryen_US
dc.subjectDante and humor, invectiveen_US
dc.subjectAngiolieri, Cecco, ca. 1258-ca. 1312en_US
dc.subjectRustico di Filippo, 13th cent.en_US
dc.subjectInvectiveen_US
dc.subjectComic poetryen_US
dc.subjectItalyen_US
dc.subjectMedieval literatureen_US
dc.subjectRomance literatureen_US
dc.subjectEthicsen_US
dc.subjectMedieval historyen_US
dc.subjectPolitical scienceen_US
dc.subjectItalian poetry -- To 1400 -- History and criticism
dc.titleCurses and laughter: The ethics of political invective in the comic poetry of high and late medieval Italyen_US
dc.title.alternativeEthics of political invective in the comic poetry of high and late medieval Italyen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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