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Laughter in Ancient Rome
- Author
- Mary Beard
- Narrator
- Jennifer M. Dixon
- Publisher
- Tantor Media, Inc
- Publish Date
- 14 May 2024
- Run Time
- 11 hours 7 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Rating
- 5.0 (1 review)
What to expect
Laughter in Ancient Rome explores one of the most intriguing, but also trickiest, of historical subjects. Drawing on a wide range of Roman writing—from essays on rhetoric to a surviving Roman joke book—Mary Beard tracks down the giggles, smirks, and guffaws of the ancient Romans themselves. From ancient "monkey business" to the role of a chuckle in a culture of tyranny, she explores Roman humor from the hilarious, to the momentous, to the surprising. But she also reflects on even bigger historical questions. What kind of history of laughter can we possibly tell? Can we ever really "get" the Romans' jokes?
User Reviews
Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
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5.0 5.0
A fascinating insight not only into joking in Rome, but the study of laughter historically and the purpose of laughter.
There's a lot to unpack in terms of how one begins to understand the function of laughter. Is it the same as now? Did status exist? Did jokes exist? What contexts would you hear comedy in? Was Roman laughter distinct from Greek laughter? Has Roman laughter persisted to this day?
Utterly intriguing, well reasoned and well arguedjbarn 2026-06-24
Details
- Author
- Mary Beard
- Narrator
- Jennifer M. Dixon
- Duration
- 11 hours 7 minutes
- Release Date
- 14 May 2024
- ISBN
- 9798855532968
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Tantor Media, Inc
- Genre
- Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval
- Rating
- 5.0(1 review)
- Narration
- 5.0(1 review)
Synopsis
What made the Romans laugh? Was ancient Rome a carnival, filled with practical jokes and hearty chuckles? Or was it a carefully regulated culture in which the uncontrollable excess of laughter was a force to fear—a world of wit, irony, and knowing smiles? How did Romans make sense of laughter? What role did it play in the world of the law courts, the imperial palace, or the spectacles of the arena?Laughter in Ancient Rome explores one of the most intriguing, but also trickiest, of historical subjects. Drawing on a wide range of Roman writing—from essays on rhetoric to a surviving Roman joke book—Mary Beard tracks down the giggles, smirks, and guffaws of the ancient Romans themselves. From ancient "monkey business" to the role of a chuckle in a culture of tyranny, she explores Roman humor from the hilarious, to the momentous, to the surprising. But she also reflects on even bigger historical questions. What kind of history of laughter can we possibly tell? Can we ever really "get" the Romans' jokes?
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