The dangers of wit : re-examining of C.S. Lewis's study of a word

Vol.35,No.1(2009)

Klára Bicanová

Stable URL (handle):
http://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/105133

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Abstract
In his Study in Words, C. S. Lewis identifies three senses of wit – old sense, wit-ingenium sense and the "dangerous" sense. The article looks at the last of the three senses as it manifested itself in the Restoration dramatic practice and theory, identifying wit as one of the key notions of literature of the period. Both in Restoration comedy and the establishing dramatic criticism the term represents a receptacle for matters of language, decorum, and aesthetics respectively. In many of the Restoration comedies, wit's social and dialogical propensities allow for expressing earnest concerns of the contemporary society. In the sphere of dramatic criticism on the other hand, wit as a term of early modern aesthetics is being reformulated in tentative definitions several times during the period to become firmly rooted in the cultural vocabulary of the Augustan period.

Keywords:
English wit and humour; English Restoration drama; Restoration comedy; John Dryden; C. S. Lewis; English language - etymology

Pages:
87–102
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