
The Body of Language
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Giorgio Agamben(Author)
Seagull Books London Ltd (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 22. December 2025
Book
Hardback
100 pages
978-1-80309-476-2 (ISBN)
Description
An erudite exploration of transgressive language from the Renaissance by one of Europe's greatest living philosophers.
This book explores how early modern authors broke linguistic boundaries, creating new words and languages that challenged traditional grammar and lexicon, providing historical insight into today's debates on the politics of language. Through a scholarly analysis by Giorgio Agamben, the text delves into the boundary-shifting language of the Renaissance, exemplified by giants like Pantagruel and Gargantua, whose outsized bodies mirror the vastness of their speech. The macaronic language invented by Teofilo Folengo, blending Latin and vernacular, embodies a linguistic rebellion that transforms language into a tangible, unruly force. Featuring illustrations from the Songes drolatiques de Pantagruel and Folengo's Baldo, this volume offers a vivid portrayal of language as a physical, dynamic entity that defies grammatical norms.
This book explores how early modern authors broke linguistic boundaries, creating new words and languages that challenged traditional grammar and lexicon, providing historical insight into today's debates on the politics of language. Through a scholarly analysis by Giorgio Agamben, the text delves into the boundary-shifting language of the Renaissance, exemplified by giants like Pantagruel and Gargantua, whose outsized bodies mirror the vastness of their speech. The macaronic language invented by Teofilo Folengo, blending Latin and vernacular, embodies a linguistic rebellion that transforms language into a tangible, unruly force. Featuring illustrations from the Songes drolatiques de Pantagruel and Folengo's Baldo, this volume offers a vivid portrayal of language as a physical, dynamic entity that defies grammatical norms.
Reviews / Votes
"An erudite exploration of transgressive language from the Renaissance by one of Europe's greatest living philosophers, providing historical insight into today's debates on the politics of language. . . . This book explores how early modern authors broke linguistic boundaries, creating new words and languages that challenged traditional grammar and lexicon." * GlobalEurope 2025 Literary Translation Picks *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Greenford
United Kingdom
Target group
Adult education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
33 halftones
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 159 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
262 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80309-476-2 (9781803094762)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Giorgio Agamben is one of Italy's foremost contemporary thinkers. Several of his recent works are included on Seagull Books' Italian List, including, most recently, What I Saw, Heard, Learned . . . . Kevin Attell teaches at Cornell University and is the author of Giorgio Agamben: Beyond the Threshold of Deconstruction.
Content
1. The Body of Language
2. The Body of Philosophy
3. Stultitia loquitur
4. Self-Parody
5. Bibliography
2. The Body of Philosophy
3. Stultitia loquitur
4. Self-Parody
5. Bibliography