In this engaging study, a follow up to his earlier Looking at Lovemaking John R. Clarke asks what the Romans found funny, and why. As the title would suggest, he focuses on the evidence to be found in Roman art and material culture, including graffitti, although literary sources of course provide a framework for the study. He draws heavily on the theories of Mikhail Bakhtin, finding that much of Roman humour relies on the overturning of the existing social order, and breaking of taboos, be they social, religious or sexual.
- ISBN10 0520237331
- ISBN13 9780520237339
- Publish Date 17 November 2007 (first published 1 January 2007)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 3 October 2016
- Publish Country US
- Imprint University of California Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 336
- Language English