Silhouettes de l'ironie

In his theoretical Poétique de l'ironie, Pierre Schoentjes defined irony as « an indirect and dissimulating means that plays on the gap between opposing senses. » In this new study, the author applies this concept to literary texts.
Schoentjes approaches nineteenth-century novelists rarely considered under the angle of irony. Likewise, he examines twentieth century authors for whom irony is practically synonymous with literariness, and does not neglect figures of essential irony, such as Cohen, Echenoz, Kourouma and Toussaint. The third section dwells on brighter moments for irony between 1880 and the end of World War I, from its relations with anarchy to its contributions to works from the Great War. The last section goes beyond literature, examining ethical considerations, the question of photography, and the place of irony in a society of consumption.
Schoentjes examines the place and future in literature of irony, a concept that goes well beyond the artistic domain and touches significantly at the very concept of social life.