Irony on occasion : from Schlegel and Kierkegaard to Derrida and de Man

What is it about irony--as an object of serious philosophical reflection and a literary technique of considerable elasticity--that makes it an occasion for endless critical debate? This book responds to this question by focusing on several key moments in German Romanticism and its afterlife in twentieth-century French thought and writing. It includes chapters on Friedrich Schlegel, Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Mann, Jean Paulhan, Maurice Blanchot, Jacques Derrida, and Paul de Man. A coda traces the way unresolved tensions inherited from Romanticism resurface in a novelist like J. M. Coetzee. But this book is neither a historical nor a thematic study of irony. To the degree that irony initiates a deflection of meaning, it also entails a divergence from historical and thematic models of understanding. The book therefore aims to respect irony's digressive force by allowing it to emerge from questions that sometimes have little or nothing to do with the ostensible topic of irony. For if irony is the possibility that whatever is being said does not coincide fully with whatever is being meant, then there is no guarantee that the most legitimate approach to the problem would proceed directly to those places where "irony" is named, described, or presumed to reside. Rather than providing a history of irony, then, this book examines particular occasions of ironic disruption. It thus offers an alternative model for conceiving of historical occurrences and their potential for acquiring meaning. "What is it about irony--as an object of serious philosophical reflection and a literary technique of considerable elasticity--that makes it an occasion for endless critical debate? This book responds to this question by focusing on several key moments in German Romanticism and its afterlife in twentieth-century French thought and writing. It includes chapters on Friedrich Schlegel, Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Mann, Jean Paulhan, Maurice Blanchot, Jacques Derrida, and Paul de Man. A coda traces the way unresolved tensions inherited from Romanticism resurface in a novelist like J.M. Coetzee. But this book is neither a historical nor a thematic study of irony. To the degree that irony initiates a deflection of meaning, it also entails a divergence from historical and thematic models of understanding. The book therefore aims to respect irony's digressive force by allowing it to emerge from questions that sometimes have little or nothing to do with the ostensible topic of irony. For if irony is the possibility that whatever is being said does not coincide fully with whatever is being meant, then there is no guarantee that the most legitimate approach to the problem would proceed directly to those places where "irony" is named, described, or presumed to reside. Rather than providing a history of irony, then, this book examines particular occasions of ironic disruption. It thus offers an alternative model for conceiving of historical occurrences and their potential for acquiring meaning."--Project Muse What is it about irony—as an object of serious philosophical reflection and a literary technique of considerable elasticity—that makes it an occasion for endless critical debate? This book responds to that question by focusing on several key moments in German romanticism and its afterlife in twentieth-century French thought and writing. It includes chapters on Friedrich Schlegel, Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Mann, Jean Paulhan, Maurice Blanchot, Jacques Derrida, and Paul de Man. A coda traces the way unresolved tensions inherited from romanticism resurface in a novelist like J. M. Coetzee. But this book is neither a historical nor a thematic study of irony. To the degree that irony initiates a deflection of meaning, it also entails a divergence from historical and thematic models of understanding. The book therefore aims to respect irony's interruptive force by allowing it to emerge from questions that sometimes have little or nothing to do with the ostensible topic of irony. For if irony is the possibility that whatever is being said does not coincide fully with whatever is being meant, then there is no guarantee that the most effective approach to the problem would proceed directly to those places where “irony” is named, described or presumed to reside. Rather than provide a history of irony, then, this book examines particular occasions of ironic disruption. It thus offers an alternative model for conceiving of historical occurrences and their potential for acquiring meaning Introduction : Irony On Occasion -- Romantic Irony -- Friedrich Schlegel And The Myth Of Irony -- Taking Kierkegaard Apart : On The Concept Of Irony -- Modernity Interrupted : Kierkegaard's Antigone -- Reading Kierkegaard : To Keep Intact The Secret -- Fear And Trembling : Who Is Able To Understand Abraham? -- Post-romantic Irony -- Signs Of The Times : Nietzsche, Deconstruction, And The Truth Of History -- Death In Venice : Irony, Detachment, And The Aesthetic State -- Terrible Flowers : Jean Paulhan And The Irony Of Rhetoric -- The Irony Of Tomorrow -- On Parole : Legacies Of Saussure, Blanchot, And Paulhan -- What Is Happening Today In Deconstruction -- Bewildering : Paul De Man, Poetry, Politics -- Coda : Dark Freedom In J. M. Coetzee's Disgrace. Kevin Newmark. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Content: Introduction: irony on occasion -- Romantic irony -- Friedrich Schlegel and the myth of irony -- Taking Kierkegaard apart: the concept of irony -- Modernity interrupted: Kierkegaard's Antigone -- Reading Kierkegaard: to keep intact the secret -- Fear and trembling: "Who is able to understand Abraham?" -- Postromantic irony -- Signs of the times: Nietzsche, deconstruction, and the truth of history -- Death in Venice: irony, detachment, and the aesthetic state -- Terrible flowers: Jean Paulhan and the irony of rhetoric -- The irony of tomorrow -- On parole: legacies of Saussure, Blanchot, and Paulhan -- "What is happening today in deconstruction" -- Bewildering: Paul de Man, poetry, politics -- Coda: dark freedom in J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace. Introduction: 13 Romantic Irony 25 Friedrich Schlegel and the Myth of Irony 27 Taking Kierkegaard Apart: The Concept of Irony 53 Modernity Interrupted: Kierkegaard’s Antigone 78 Reading Kierkegaard: To Keep Intact the Secret 108 “Who Is Able to Understand Abraham?” 133 Postromantic Irony 159 Signs of the Times: Nietzsche, Deconstruction, and the Truth of History 161 Irony, Detachment, and the Aesthetic State 189 Terrible Flowers: Jean Paulhan and the Irony of Rhetoric 215 The Irony of Tomorrow 233 On Parole: Legacies of Saussure, Blanchot, and Paulhan 235 “What Is Happening Today in Deconstruction” 254 Bewildering: Paul de Man, Poetry, Politics 273 Coda: Dark Freedom in J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace 294 What is it about irony - as an object of serious philosophical reflection and a literary technique of considerable elasticity - that makes it an occasion for endless critical debate? This book responds to that question by focusing on several key moments in German romanticism and its afterlife in twentieth-century French thought and writing. Rather than provide a history of irony, it examines particular occasions of ironic disruption, thus offering an alternative model for conceiving of historical occurrences and their potential for acquiring meaning This book examines how the romantic and post-romantic concept of irony provides the means for an uneasy articulation between philosophical thought and literary language. It considers the role played by ironic disruptions in writings by Friedrich Schlegel, Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Mann, Jean Paulhan, Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man, and J.M. Coetzee. This book examines how the romantic and post-romantic concept of irony provides the means for an uneasy articulation between philosophical thought and literary language. It considers the role played by ironic disruptions in writings by Friedrich Schlegel, Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Mann, Jean Paulhan, Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man, and J.M. Coetzee.