DownloadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2024

The Body of Language

esperruquancluzelubelouzerirelu

Giorgio Agamben author Kevin Attell translator

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Seagull Books London Ltd

Publishing:5th Jun '25

£19.99

This title is due to be published on 5th June, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

The Body of Language cover

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. 

ISBN: 9781803094762

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 454g

100 pages