Irony and Humor in French Literature Delphine

Irony and Humor in French Literature

Delphine Perret's analysis of irony and humor is apparently well-founded and well-supported by famous literature. Due to obvious differences in the French and English notions of irony, Perret explored irony by returning to its roots. Starting "at square one" with definitions of "irony" from notable dictionaries, Perret then traces irony through historical eras and developments with the aid of such great thinkers as Socrates and Aristotle. Her exhaustive analysis results in clearly defined types of irony/humor, basic elements of the phenomenon and dimensions that are or should be present in that form of writing. The intelligence of Perret's examination is illustrated in two famous French plays of the 19th and 20th Century: "Ubu Roi" and "The Bald Soprano." Though written by different playwrights in different centuries, both plays fully support Perret's analysis and findings regarding irony/humor.

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a. Perret's Applicable Points

Delphine Perret's "Irony" (Perret), which analyzes irony and humor, reaches conclusions about irony's elements and dimensions that are apparently well-founded and well-supported by famous plays. Perret's work explores several historical manifestations of irony, depending on the historical period in which they are found. Perret stresses the key identifiers of the French concept of irony, stating that it focuses on a "verbal situation" in which the speaker uses an urbane and acidic stance toward the subject, creating an intelligent, mocking and somewhat malicious circumstance (Perret 33). Noting the difference between popular French notions of irony and popular English notions of irony, Perret then explores several dictionary-based and historically-based "definitions" of irony.

First, Perret speaks of irony as "a mode of signification by means of contraries" (Perret 33). Here, meaning is to be implied by "inversion" or understanding the antithesis of the literal meaning of the words. An example of this type of irony is a compliment that both the speaker and the hearer understand to be an insult. Secondly, Perret speaks of irony as "dissimilation" or the contrast between what is expected and what actually happens (Perret 33-4). A corollary of this is the use of humor in which the speaker/doer obviously means the opposite of what he says or does (Perret 34). Third, Perret speaks of irony as a mode of interrogation (from the Greek eirein, "to interrogate") (Perret 37), involving the ironist's "feigning of ignorance in an argument" (Perret 34), such as in the argumentative style of Socrates. This is from the Greek eiron, "to speak." Here, the ironist, who is really naive or pretending to be naive, is juxtaposed by a braggart and/or creator of difficulty, resulting in the braggart/creator of difficulty being revealed as the truly naive and/or stupid one (Perret 35). This was later explained by Aristotle as "excess by default" which reveals the ironist and the subject to be exactly the opposite of what they appear. This type of irony requires a "complicity" between the ironist and the audience. Perret then draws similarities between this type of irony and the irony of French authors and audiences of the 17th Century, who had shared language, culture and values and therefore would all "get" the irony of whatever was said or written, at the expense of the naif -- the foolish target within the group or enemy target outside the group (Perret 38). In 18th Century Europe, this type of irony developed into a romantic irony, a veiled and seemingly courteous form in which the speaker/subject plays all the parts and realizes that in himself there is a bizarre world obscured by his own arrogance. This type of irony resulted in an internal voice of truthfulness and sincerity that one had to serve and direct at the world (Perret 39-40). In 19th Century irony, this concept changed so that the mockery was directed at the self, extinguishing or acknowledging the speaker's lack of reason and individuality, and the ironist becomes the great, external realit (y)(ies) of fate, destiny, Life (Perret 40). By the 20th Century, the ironist has "lost the battle" and, knowing that he lacks individuality and reason, realizes he is defined by babble occurring outside him, within him and by him. Perret explains this type of irony as "self-parody in order to demonstrate the enormous farce of a civilization that has disclosed its impotence, truly" (Perret 40).

Perret also notes that as irony has changed throughout the centuries, it has not always changed in the same ways. Within literature, irony can be based on language as an act ("the speech act theory") (Perret 40). This theory would speech/act irony into three parts: the locutionary, which is the meaning of the speech/act; the illocutionary, which is the conventional meaning of the speech/act; the perlocutionary, which is the effect/consequence of the speech/act (Perret 40-1). Within this construct, irony requires one or more of several possible dimensions: it can be contrastive negation, a kind of qualification that contradicts what the hearer might otherwise think; suspensive negation, in which the speaker suspends/negates the otherwise binding meaning of his actions; interrogation, such as the seemingly innocent Socratic method; the imperative, in which the speaker/actor imposes modification of the statuses of the speaker, the hearer and whatever is being said or done; perspective in which the hearer can imagine the speaker/actor and whatever is being said/done in real context to understand their roles and ethical values (Perret 41-5). In sum, Perret turns the concept of irony over and over to examine historical and contextual meanings and developments of irony. Samples of Perret's types and dimensions of irony are found in Alfred Jarry's "Ubu Roi" and Eugene Ionesco's "The Bald Soprano," neither of which is the least bit enjoyable.

b. Ubu Roi

"Ubu Roi" premiered in Paris on December 11, 1896 (Jarry and Lantier VI). As indicated by the play's translator, Lantier, "Ubu Roi" is a lesson drawn from Jarry's own life, which he deemed "a sort of humorous and ironic epic" (Jarry and Lantier, Ubu Roi ix). Jarry espoused reacting to the universe's cruelty and stupidity by making your own life "a poem of incoherence and absurdity" (Jarry and Lantier, Ubu Roi ix). This attitude carried over to Jarry's first play, "Ubu Roi," beginning with the word "Pshitt" (Jarry and Connelly, The Ubu Plays 21) or "Shittr" (Jarry and Lantier, Ubu Roi 7), depending on the translation. If for no other reason, the play was notable as the first time the word "Shit" was intentionally used onstage (Dittmar and Entin 5). Described as "the rise and fall of a greedy, dim-witted, and obese regicidal murderer" (Hrbek 247) and now considered a "scatological romp" (Sanders 97), the play was roundly booed and cheered by the premiere audience.

The plot of "Ubu Roi" is duly absurd. Briefly, in Act I, Pere Ubu is the anti-hero of Jarry's anti-play. He is a somewhat pear-shaped, homely, ambitious, lying, vulgar, violent individual. He plots with his wife and Captain Bordure to kill Venceslas, the King of Poland, so that Ubu can become Poland's King. Ubu murders all of Bordure's men by having them taste a shit-covered toilet brush at a feast. Then Ubu makes his wife, Captain Bordure and others to "swear to kill the king good and proper" (Jarry and Connelly, The Ubu Plays 29). In Act II, Ubu kills Venceslas while the Queen and her son, Bougrelas, escape. Bougrelas' dead relatives appear, give a sword to Bougrelas and command him to attain vengeance. Meanwhile, newly-crowned Ubu throws gold to his subjects, prompting them to trample each other, and offers a gold prize for the winner of a race. Then, Ubu invites everyone to an orgy at his palace. In Act III, Ubu and his wife contemplate what they will do as the King and Queen of Poland and because Captain Bordure is no longer useful, Ubu throws him in the dungeon. Bordure escapes to Russia and becomes an ally of Czar Alexis. As King, Ubu kills all the nobles, magistrates, financiers and other government officials so he can take over their property, freely alter the law and control all the government's finances. Ubu then says he will collect the taxes himself. Bordure writes to Ubu saying that Bordure, Czar Alexis and Bougelras are going to invade Poland and depose Ubu. Ubu weeps from fear but his wife convinces him to go to war, which he does with a cardboard horsehead hanging from his neck. In Act IV, Ubu's wife, Mere Ubu, looks through the Polish Kings' crypt for treasure, finds it with their bones and carries out some of it, saying that she will return the next day for the rest of the treasure; however, someone from the crypt shouts, "Never, Mere Ubu!" (Jarry and Lantier, Ubu Roi 95). Mere Ubu is frightened and runs away with some of the treasure. She then fights Bougrelas in Warsaw, which Bougrelas wins, though Mere Ubu escapes. King Ubu fights the Czar in the Ukraine and after a shifting battle, Ubu loses and escapes with some of his men to a cave in Lithuania. Ubu and two soldiers are attacked by a bear in the cave, Ubu climbs a rock and is safe, and when his solders ask for help, he prays the "Our Father." The soldiers manage to kill the bear, Ubu falls asleep and the two solders escape the cave. In Act V, Mere Ubu has managed to get to the cave after escaping Bougelras and finds Ubu sleeping. She pretends to be a supernatural being and tries to get Ubu to beg for forgiveness for his pilfering but Ubu instead gives a list of Mere Ubu's faults. He realizes that Mere Ubu is in the cave, throws the dead bear on top of her and out of fear that the bear might still be alive, King Ubu says the "Our Father" again. Mere Ubu laughs at him, so he jumps on her and tries to tear her to pieces. Meanwhile, Bougelras and his army enter the cave, find King Ubu and Mere Ubu, and beat them. However, King Ubu and Mere Ubu escape, get on a ship and sail the Baltic Sea while Ubu plots to be appointed finance minister of Paris in order to become King.

"Ubu Roi" substantially supports Perret's assertion that the French deem irony/humor to be a "verbal situation" in which the speaker uses an urbane and acidic stance toward the subject, creating an intelligent, mocking and somewhat malicious circumstance. Ubu represents the repugnant middle class and his ineffectual use of "The Our Father," for example, in response to pleas for help from his soldiers and again in his own fear of the possibly live bear manages to mock the middle class, religion, the middle class' use of religion and politically ambitious persons all at once. Rather than rendering real help or taking effective steps to ensure that the bear is dead, Ubu falls back on useless, mocking prayer. The play also exhibits Perret's first individual explanation of irony as "a mode of signification by means of contraries" in Mere Ubu's very first line. Responding to King Ubu's "Psshit!" For example, Mere Ubu states, "Oh! That's a nice way to talk!" (Jarry and Lantier, Ubu Roi 9). From the context and Mere Ubu's following line, "Pere Ubu, you are a bloody great oaf!" we know that her claim of "Psshit" being a nice way to talk is really the opposite of the meaning she wishes to convey -- that "Psshit" is a bad way to talk. The play also complies with Perret's idea of irony as "dissimilation" or the contrast between what is expected and what actually happens. When, for example, Mere Ubu finds King Ubu asleep and pretends to be a supernatural apparition in order to get King Ubu to beg for forgiveness, the audience may expect for that to happen but what actually happens is that Mere Ubu is assaulted with a list of her faults. Here, what is expected is not at all what actually happened. Perret's idea of irony as a mode of interrogation is also borne out in the play, for example, in the portion of Act I in which Mere Ubu goads King Ubu into killing the King of Poland and assuming the throne by asking seemingly foolish questions to increase his determination to kill the King: he states, "Oh no, though! I, a captain of dragons, slay the King of Poland! I'd rather die"; she asks, "Then are you going to stay as poor as a rat, Pere Ubu?"; he states, "Gadzookers, by my green candle, I prefer to be as poor as a skinny, honest rat than as rich as a vicious, fat cat" she replies, "And the cape? And the umbrella? And the great big cloak?" (Jarry and Lantier, Ubu Roi 13-14) By simple, seemingly naive/stupid questions, she assuredly goads King Ubu into killing the king. "Ubu Roi," premiering in the late 19th Century, also agrees with Perret's concept of 19th Century irony in which mockery is directed at the self, making the ironist the great, external realit (y)(ies) of fate, destiny and Life. Despite Ubu's greatest efforts, constant scheming and ready murder of people standing in his way, he is a laughable fool, defeated by fate, destiny and Life, deposed of the ill-gotten throne, barely escaping with his life and left to ineffectually scheme again.

Perret's dissection of speech/act irony is also shown in "Ubu Roi." For example, when Mere Ubu berates King Ubu with her very first words, "Oh! That's a nice way to talk!" (Jarry and Lantier, Ubu Roi 9), there is: the locutionary part, in that there is a real meaning of King Ubu speaking poorly; the illocutionary part, in which the sentence has an opposite, apparent meaning that he is talking nicely; the perlocutionary part, which has the effect/consequence of the audience realizing that King Ubu is a vulgar oaf. As Perret also stated, there are several dimensions of irony within literature, all of which are borne out in "Ubu Roi." There is contrastive negation, for example, in Mere Ubu's statement that King Ubu use of Psshit is a nice way to talk: the audience knows from King Ubu's use of "Psshitt" and from Mere Ubu's follow-up statement that he is a great oaf that she does not mean it was a nice way to talk; rather, it was a vulgar, oafish way to talk. Perret's suspensive negation is also present in "Ubu Roi," in King Ubu's first use of "The Lord's Prayer" when the soldiers beg for his help: while one might normally believe that a person praying "The Lord's Prayer" in response to pleas for help is trying to be kind and helpful, what we already know of the vulgar, murderous, grasping Ubu and of his prayer from the lone safety of the rock that we are not really supposed to expect him to help the soldiers being attacked by the bear. Perret's use of interrogation has already been shown in the simple question-answer dialogue in which Mere Ubu uses seemingly naive, stupid questions to goad King Ubu into murdering the King of Poland. There is also the "imperative" presented by the playwright himself by presenting alternate modes of expression in the play as a whole, giving differing meanings and statuses to the middle class, the government workers and royalty, for example. Perret's "perspective" is present in the audience observing this play and having the distance to imagine these characters in real context, allowing them to assess the roles and ethical values of King Ubu, Mere Ubu and the rest of the cast. Consequently, "Ubu Roi" completely bears out and supports Perret's in-depth analysis of irony in historical periods and contexts, as well as in the elements and dimensions of irony.

c. The Bald Soprano

"The Bald Soprano" was written by a first-time playwright who was struck by the absurdity of language as he was trying to learn English by repeating common phrases. In this play, Ionesco illustrated his belief in "pataphysiques," which holds that there are no scientific laws; rather every phenomenon is new and cannot be explained (Walker 153). The play premiered in Paris on May 11, 1950 (Ionesco and Allen 6) and became widely popular (Ashton 38). Briefly, in Act I, Mrs. Smith recites the foods that she and Mrs. Smith ate that day, along with other odd things. Then the made comes on stage and says some guests are there, so Mr. And Mrs. Smith go to change their clothes. In Act II, guests Mr. And Mrs. Martin try to remember each other, though they are married and live together. Mr. And Mrs. Smith come on stage, not having actually changed their clothes, and the Smiths and their guests tell nonsensical stories. Then the doorbell rings. In Act III, the Fire Chief comes on stage because he is there to put out a nonexistent fire. The Fire Chief then tells some nonsensical stories. The maid comes on stage and the fact that the Fire Chief and the maid were lovers is revealed. The maid begins to recite a poem and gets shoved off the stage. The Fire Chief mentions "the bald soprano," which makes everyone uneasy and Mrs. Smith says, "She always styles her hair the same way." The Fire Chief then leaves and the Smiths and the Martins begin yelling nonsensical things to each other, including "It's not that way! It's over here!" And even resorting to mere vowels and consonants (Milutinovic 342). The stage goes dark for a while and people on stage are yelling. Then the lights come up and Mr. And Mrs. Martin are saying the same lines that the Smiths were saying at the beginning of the play.

"The Bald Soprano" also illustrates Perret's explorations and findings about irony/humor. The play certainly focuses on the French concept of an urbane and acidic stance toward language and conversation, creating a mocking, intelligent and somewhat malicious circumstance. Using inane cliches and non-sequiturs throughout the play, "The Bald Soprano" reduces language to a cacophonous babble that mocks the supposed meaning of language. Though there are examples throughout the play, after the Fire Chief leaves in Act III and the Smiths and Martins begin screaming nonsensical words and phrases at each other, rising to a yelled chorus of "It's not that way! It's over here!" The audience is bombarded with an intelligent, mocking and somewhat malicious treatment of salad-language or nonsense-language, revealing the meaninglessness of language and conversation (Ionesco and Allen 42). "The Bald Soprano" also illustrates Perret's first example of irony/humor as "a mode of signification by means of contraries." For example, when Mr. And Mrs. Martin are first on the stage and speak to each other as though they are not acquainted, though from the circumstances it is clear that they are married and live together, the audience is to understand that their dialogue of "Perhaps then, madam, it was on the train that I saw you?" And "It is indeed possible; that is, not unlikely. It is plausible and, after all, why not! -- But I don't recall it, sir!" (Ionesco and Allen 15-16) is not to be taken at face value; in fact, the opposite -- that they are a married couple living together -- should be understood. Perret's second example of irony as "dissimilation" or contrast between what is expected and what actually happens is seen in "The Bald Soprano" when, for example, the Smiths go upstairs to change their clothes because company has arrived, yet return in the same clothes to greet their company (Ionesco and Allen 15; 20). Perret's "interrogation" mode of irony is also shown in the play. For example, when the Fire Chief arrives to put out a fire and Mr. Smith and Mrs. Martin question the Chief with naive, simple questions to prove a point: the Chief was at the door, ringing the doorbell and being admitted to the house to show that the when someone rings the doorbell, it is someone who wants to be allowed into the house (Ionesco and Allen 25-7). Through feigning of ignorance, and asking stupid questions, they prove their point and also make the Chief look ridiculous. "The Bald Soprano" is also an excellent illustration of Perret's characterization of 20th Century irony in which the ironist has "lost the battle," lacks individuality and reason, and realizes that he is defined by babble inside, outside and through him. There are entire sections of this play in which the characters utter or yell utter babble at length. For example, after the Fire Chief leaves in Act III, the Smiths and the Martins engage in an extended session of babble-yelling, such as "Silly gobblergobblers, silly gobblergobblers," and "Marietta, spot the pot" (Ionesco and Allen 41). Clearly, these are people who have given up on individuality, meaning and language: they simply yell nonsense. Based on Perret's description of 20th Century irony, if "The Bald Soprano" is not a sterling example of that phenomenon, one is hard-pressed to find even a good example. "The Bald Soprano" also illustrates Perret's three-part explanation of speech/act irony. For example, in the discussion between the Martins in which they seem to be strangers trying to "place" one another, there is: the locutionary, in which we realize the true meaning of their speech, in that they are married and live together; the illocutionary, which would be the conventional but inaccurate meaning of their speech, that they do not know each other; the perlocutionary, the effect/consequence of their dialogue, which is unsettling and a little disturbing, yet somewhat humorous. Perret's numerous dimensions of irony are also present in "The Bald Soprano." There is "contrastive negation" in the Martins' dialogue because the circumstances tell us that they are married and live together, directly contradicting their discussion as though they are strangers. There is also "suspensive negation" in which the Fire Chief arrives to fight a fire, yet there is no fire, and he stays to speak to the Smiths, the Martins and his lover, the Maid. There is "interrogation," as mentioned before, in the extensive, simplistic questions posed to the Fire Chief by Mr. Smith and Mrs. Martin about his arrival at the door and ringing the doorbell to prove their point. There is also and most certainly the "imperative" in that Ionesco has introduced an entire work -- this play -- that mocks language and meaning, reducing essentially all of it to babble. Language even becomes autonomous, having nothing to do with communication and reference (Milutinovic 343). In doing so, Ionesco changes the status of language and of humans themselves as communicators. Finally, there is perspective realized by the audience, which observes this cacophonous commentary on the absurdity of language and meaning. In sum, "The Bald Soprano" also strongly supports Perret's analysis of irony, its elements and its dimensions.

3. Conclusion

Delphine Perret's analysis of irony and humor is apparently well-founded and well-illustrated by famous plays. Perret exhaustively examines the phenomena of irony in history and find that irony has several manifestations, depending on its historical period. Noting the difference between popular French notions of irony and popular English notions of irony, Perret returns to "square one," using dictionaries to begin her research. First, Perret speaks of irony as "a mode of signification by means of contraries." Secondly, Perret speaks of irony as "dissimilation" or the contrast between what is expected and what actually happens. Third, Perret speaks of irony as a mode of interrogation, for example by Socrates. This type of irony requires a "complicity" between the ironist and the audience. French authors and audiences of 17th Century, who had shared language, culture and values and therefore would all "get" the irony of whatever was said or written, at the expense of the naif -- the foolish target within the group or enemy target outside the group. In 18th Century Europe, this type of irony developed into a romantic irony, resulting in an internal voice of truthfulness and sincerity that one had to serve and direct at the world. In 19th Century irony, this concept changed so that the mockery was directed at the self, extinguishing or acknowledging the speaker's lack of reason and individuality, and the ironist becomes the great, external realit (y)(ies) of fate, destiny, Life. By the 20th Century, the ironist has "lost the battle" and, knowing that he lacks individuality and reason, realizes he is defined by babble occurring outside him, within him and by him.