Methodos (Feb 2023)
Le lexique de γελᾶν dans le Banquet de Lucien : un marqueur réflexif du projet comique ?
Abstract
I focus on the manifold instances of words derived from the verb γελᾶν in Lucian’s Symposium in order to question their reflexive value concerning the comic purpose of the text. In the first section, I study the overrepresentation of this lexical family in order to show that laughter is thematized, so that we may assume that it is an indicator of reflexivity concerning the author’s comic project. However, the lexical field of laughter is problematized, therefore requiring further analysis. In the second section, I focus on instances where the narrator distances himself from laughter, which is attributed to the other guests only. He prefers to observe and condemn the rakish philosophers in silence, because such a laughter is inappropriate in the context of a symposium. Finally, in the third section, I tackle some occurrences where the narrator indulges in laughter, when related to speeches: the comparison with the prologue shows that the narrator encourages the readers to laugh not about the events, but about their being literary elaborated.Lucian, symposium, laughter, comic, reflexivity
