Tuesday, January 15, 2008

This portrait by Raphael is believed to represent Emilia Pia, the lady who plays such an important role in the Book of the Courtier. It is almost impossible for us to see her as her contemporaries might have; she appears in this picture to be rather grave and plainly dressed, not the highly spirited lady from Castiglione's work.

Today we are looking at a number of different topics, one of which is humor. As with the long section on speech for yesterday, skim this section, although there will be a few things I want you to pay attention to.

Questions:

• The long disquisition at the beginning on the reasons why old people bemoan the present and extol the past is interesting--what does Castiglione say is the reason? Do you agree? Is this a common phenomenon?
• Beginning on p. 83, Gaspar gets into a disagreement with Federico over the suitability of mixing with the lower orders. Let's try to discuss this matter in relation to class dynamics in today's world. What might be a parallel situation?
• On. pgs. 86-87, the participants discuss further the question of musical performance and its circumstances--who should perform, and how. How does this illustrate our discussion of a courtier as being continuously on display?
• On p. 91, we run into a direct discussion of the courtier's status in relation to the prince. Do you think it is possible to be a courtier without being an ignoble flatterer?
• Compare the description of the courtier in relation to the prince on pgs. 92-99 to Alberti's description of the behavior of the ideal wife in relation to her husband. What are the similarities, and what are the differences?
• How is it possible for a courtier to be careful about the way he dresses, and yet avoid becoming like a woman? Refer to the discussion on pgs. 100-103.
• Note in particular the comments of the chief misogynist of the crowd, Gaspar. Where does he appear, and what are the responses of others to his comments?
• The discussion of humor goes on in the same way the discussion of language went on in Book One. What do you notice about the examples of jokes that the speakers bring up--are any of them funny? Why or why not? What makes something funny in general? Are there limits to what can be joked about, and if so, do some of the jokes here go beyond those limits, in your opinion?
• Beginning on pg. 160, the speakers prepare for the topic of Book Three, which is the ideal court lady. Gaspar opens up the matter by insulting women, but also by making the complaint that some of the other men suggest reticence in making certain kinds of jokes against women, while being willing to make fun of men. Is the same true today--for example, is it fair game to insult white males, but in bad taste to tell jokes against women or people of color?

Laurel Carrington carringt@stolaf
Most recent update: January 14, 2008

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