Since the classical antiquity, there has been no lack of reflections on the nature of laughter and humour, whose definition has always been problematic and full of nuances. Only by the end of the 17th century its modern meaning begins to appear in European dictionaries: a specific frame of mind in which intelligence, readiness, and communicative ability coexist to identify and express the comic or curious side of things. Nevertheless, humour, communicated in all sorts of ways, is a common thread across the history of literature. The aim of the workshop is to investigate the use of humour and the mechanisms of laugher in early modern age (15th and 16th century) through the analysis of texts. “Humour” hides in countless expedients, which will be included under this common heading: from scorn to derision, from wit to joke, from the inclusion of comic elements in the narration to the use of funny adages in the speech. The workshop will study the playful language in different works of Italian and European authors, the presence of witticism and parody in their texts, and the use of figures of speech and double meanings. How does the laugh get realized? How did the authors insert ironic elements in their works and characters? What are the functions of laughter? Is there any change in the laughter mechanisms across the 15th and the 16th century? By answering these and other questions, the workshop will shed light on how authors dealt with such a complex, yet fundamental feature of humanity.

*PROGRAMME
Thursday, 04.05.2023 *
14:00 – 16:00
Prof Tiziano Zanato (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia)
Declinazioni dell’umorismo nei Detti piacevoli di Angelo Poliziano

Dr Giulia Zava (Freie Universität Berlin)
Parodia e distorsione umoristica nella produzione boiardesca

Dr Matteo Bosisio (Università degli Studi di Milano)
Ridere con e su la corte: umorismo nella Milano del Moro

16:00 – 16:30 Pausa

16:30 – 18:30
Prof Giuseppe Crimi (Università Roma Tre)
L’ultimo Berni
Dr Selene Maria Vatteroni (Scuola Superiore Meridionale)
Strategie linguistiche del riso nei poeti burleschi del primo Cinquecento
Prof Paolo Procaccioli (Università degli Studi della Tuscia)
Il registro comico nella tastiera dei poligrafi

*Friday, 05.05.2023 *
9:00 – 11:00
Prof Elisa Curti (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia)
La “ridicolosa corteccia” Motti e comicità nella novella rinascimentale
Prof Chiara Lastraioli (CESR – Université de Tours)
Del riso e del “pubblico ludibrio” nella libellistica cinquecentesca
Dr. Erica Ciccarella (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3)
Di cosa ridono le donne? Scrittura femminile e linguaggio comico nel Cinquecento italiano

11:00 – 11:30 Pausa

11:30 – 13:00
Prof Matteo Residori (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3)
“Non ci può materia / ( ) mancar oggi da ridere”: riflessioni sul riso nella Lena (1528) di Ludovico Ariosto
Dr Francesco Lucioli (Sapienza Università di Roma)
“Lettor, qui giace il furioso Orlando” Ricezione umoristica del Furioso

Contributions in Italian. Partecipation is possible in presence or via WebEx. Please register via mail (italzen@zedat.fu-berlin.de) for login details.

You will find all important data on the conference on our website, as well as the flyer with the conference programme. Please contact us for any further questions.