From Naivety to Absurdity: On Vladimír Borecký’s Theories of the Comic Cover Image

Od naivity k absurditě K úvahám Vladimíra Boreckého o komičnu
From Naivety to Absurdity: On Vladimír Borecký’s Theories of the Comic

Author(s): Miloš Ševčík
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature, Aesthetics, Czech Literature
Published by: Univerzita Karlova v Praze - Filozofická fakulta, Vydavatelství
Keywords: Vladimír Borecký; the comic; humour; irony; naivety; absurdity; James Sully; Louis Cazamian

Summary/Abstract: The study deals with the main features of Vladimír Borecký’s general theory of the comic. First, it introduces Borecký’s conception of the structuring features of the comic. It then examines the specificity of the main configurations of the comic that Borecký discusses, i.e. naivety, irony, humour, and absurdity. The study highlights Borecký’s conception of the position of these configurations in the ontogenetic development of the individual and in cultural development. The study also compares Borecký’s thoughts with the conceptions of other theorists of the comic. On the one hand, with James Sully’s genetic and pluralistic conception of laughter and the comic, and on the other hand, with Louis Cazamian’s conception of humour. In conclusion, the study shows that in both Borecký’s and Cazamian’s reflections one can trace a tendency to conceive of absurdity as the ultimate manifestation of the comic.

  • Issue Year: XXXIII/2023
  • Issue No: 67
  • Page Range: 13-25
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Czech