Reason in Madness: Ariosto’s Ambiguous Irony between Truth and Morality

IF 0.3 3区 历史学 0 MEDIEVAL & RENAISSANCE STUDIES
Elena Casanova
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Abstract

Abstract: Irony has always been a central focus of Ariosto scholarship: in particular, the interrelation between the endless flux of words and adventures that fill the Furioso , and the binary oppositions at the base of the poem has been considered a key ironic feature. Ariosto’s demiurgical distance is however not a sign of indifference: I argue that, while Ariosto’s irony transmits an estrangement from the traditional chivalric values, the author’s trust in the affirmative power of language and in its didactic function lies at the root of the Furioso ’s moral irony. Irony is, in fact, a vehicle for Ariosto’s ethical stance, but also a warning against the hypocrisy of courtly norms. First, I analyze the moral function of the Furioso ’s ironic narrator and Ariosto’s intimate relation to his audience, which thrives on complexity, difference, and multiplicity. I then look at the role that contradictions and (mis)quotations play within the poem’s ironic structure. Finally, I investigate how the Satire might represent the outer threshold of Ariosto’s irony. In fact, if in the Furioso Ariosto’s escapism could take shape thanks to the fantastic element, the Satire ’s ironic movement is revealed under a new, “barer” guise that walks a thin line between irony and moral satire.
疯狂中的理性:亚里士多德在真理与道德之间的模棱两可的讽刺
摘要:反讽一直是阿里奥斯托研究的中心焦点,尤其是《狂怒》中不断变化的文字和冒险之间的相互关系,以及诗歌基础上的二元对立,被认为是讽刺的一个关键特征。然而,阿里奥斯托的超自然距离并不是冷漠的标志:我认为,虽然阿里奥斯托的反讽传达了一种与传统骑士价值观的隔阂,但作者对语言的肯定力量及其说教功能的信任是《狂怒者》道德反讽的根源。事实上,讽刺是阿里奥斯托道德立场的载体,也是对宫廷规范虚伪的警告。首先,我分析了《狂怒》中讽刺性叙述者的道德功能,以及阿里奥斯托与观众之间的亲密关系,这种关系在复杂性、差异性和多样性中蓬勃发展。然后我看看矛盾和(错误的)引语在诗歌的讽刺结构中所扮演的角色。最后,我将探讨《讽刺》如何代表阿里奥斯托反讽的外部门槛。事实上,如果在狂热者阿里奥斯托的逃避主义中,由于幻想元素得以形成,那么《讽刺》的讽刺运动在一种新的“赤裸裸”的伪装下显露出来,这种伪装游走在反讽和道德讽刺之间。
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来源期刊
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期刊介绍: Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies publishes articles by graduate students and recent PhDs in any field of medieval and Renaissance studies. The journal maintains a tradition of gathering work from across disciplines, with a special interest in articles that have an interdisciplinary or cross-cultural scope.
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