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De la gracia en Calderón (II): lógica y comicidad

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    Statement of Responsibility:
    Ortega Máñez, María J.
    Main Author:
    Ortega Máñez, María J.

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    Format:
    Journal article
    Language:
    Spanish; Castilian
    Form / Genre:
    text (article)
    Published:
    2022
    In:
    Hipogrifo: Revista de Literatura y Cultura del Siglo de Oro ISSN 2328-1308 Vol. 10, Nº. 1, 2022, pags. 699-715
    Subjects:
    Annotation:

    This study, second of a series, goes one step further on the characterizaton of the specific comic effect of Calderón's comedies of intrigue through the concept of gracia. This time I focus on logic and comic concerns. Classical criticism has underlined Calderón's mastery of syllogism but has mostly demonstrated it in his tragedies and autos sacramentales. However, in his comic plays, Calderón vividly handles theses, antitheses, dilemmas, paradoxes in a baroque game in which the comic effect often consists in demonstrating the evidence of a judgment opposed to the premises that were accepted as true. Calderonian comedy's characters constantly reason, while declaring themselves perplexed, confused, overwhelmed by the events. Sometimes their deductions are right, sometimes they are wrong; sometimes, still, reasoning is required to the spectator to follow the plot and enjoy the comedy. Therefore, I analyze here what Gracián called agudeza en el dicho; namely: the logical structure of misunderstandings, jokes and other humorous resources in Calderón's comedies. In sum, which logical mechanisms does Calderón mainly use in his comic plays? Is a syllogism able to make fun? Is gracia in logic or in the lack of it?


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