국문학 연구에 있어 희극성의 ‘개념’과 ‘범주’ 설정을 위한 예비적 시론

Abstract

The ultimate goal of this study is to define the principle of comedy and to deepen the debate by describing the lineage of Korean comic novels and by considering aspects of their development. The concept of ‘comic’is derived from the word ‘comedy’ which is a sub-genre of drama,contrasting concepts of tragedy. On the other hand, the definition of terms and concepts should be general and flexible in order to obtain agreement among its users in the level of compliance and universal validity. I would like to define ‘the comic’ in this paper as comic qualities which ‘cause laughter to the subject.’ I do not define the comic as the subjective and objective at the level of micro-layers but as ‘the interaction of subjects and object’ at the level of comprehension. According to this view, the comic can be redefined as “properties and qualities that cause the subject laughter in the interaction between subject and object.” As a subcategory of ‘the comic’, the concepts of satire and humor, irony, and their mutual relationships between the concepts are as follows. In the relation of subject(X) and object(Y), the structure of satire is defined as that in which ‘X criticizes Y’, and the humorous as that in which ‘X reconcilies with Y.’ In contrast, irony is defined as tension and the reflective sense of distance. Based on the relationship between subject and object, satire and humor are in the opposing position, and the concept of irony can be grasped as the flexible, intermediate form that flows between the two extremes. And paradox, cynicism, wit, ridicule, sarcasm, etc. can be understood as the sub-concept dependent on three basic categories and concrete ways to be mobilized when three individual forms are realized through actual literary texts.