Il comico è un prestigiatore. Condizionamenti cognitivi ed effetti umoristici in Laurence Sterne e David Foster Wallace

Authors

  • Roberto Cucurachi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13133/2239-1983/19184

Abstract

 

 The essay aims to examine comedy and its mechanisms through the lenses of Benjamin’s medium theory, considering the cognitive elements involved in the perception of a narrative text and the impact of the structural features of the different devices in the reader’s expectations. If, in fact, the underlying mechanism of comedy relies on a system of expectation both deriving from the real world and from intertextual knowledge, the typographical and publishing habits are a solid base for humorous use. On this theoretical principle it’s possible to study the specific solutions deployed in Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy and in the works of D. F. Wallace, demonstrating the relationship between the dominance of narrative space inside and around the text and the cognitive response of the reader.

Published

2025-06-25

How to Cite

Cucurachi, R. (2025). Il comico è un prestigiatore. Condizionamenti cognitivi ed effetti umoristici in Laurence Sterne e David Foster Wallace. Status Quaestionis, (28). https://doi.org/10.13133/2239-1983/19184