From Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales to Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary, this is a comprehensive guide to comedy in the English literary canon. Beginning

An introductory guide to comedy in English literature that systematically applies comic theory to a wide range of texts from Chaucer to Bridget Jones's Diary.

In contrast to tragedy, comedy requires no Aristotelian definition to determine which productions belong within its category, as the evocation of laughter provi

The Comic Turn in Contemporary English Fiction explores the importance of comedy in contemporary literature and culture. In an era largely defined by a mood of

It appears that literary work possesses eternal temporal validity due to its autonomous aesthetic value, whereas criticism provides points of view having tempor