Dramaturgical Tricks in the Clementine Literature

Abstract

The Clementine novel (written in the 4th century CE and set in the 1st century CE) incorporates a palette of comic features. Using the “Taxonomy of ” and the “Script Theory” developed by Attardo and Raskin within the framework of the General Theory of Verbal Humour, this essay examines some of these comic features, focussing on the so called “meta-textual comic” –  i.e., the comic effect that uses a manipulation of the plot’s structure  to elicit laughter from the reader.