The Body of Language: esperruquancluzelubelouzerirelu
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. 

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The Body of Language: esperruquancluzelubelouzerirelu
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. 

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The Body of Language: esperruquancluzelubelouzerirelu

The Body of Language: esperruquancluzelubelouzerirelu

The Body of Language: esperruquancluzelubelouzerirelu

The Body of Language: esperruquancluzelubelouzerirelu

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Overview

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. 


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781803094762
Publisher: Seagull Books
Publication date: 09/04/2025
Series: The Italian List
Pages: 100
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Giorgio Agamben is a philosopher and writer whose works have been translated and studied worldwide. The Italian List series includes several of Agamben’s recent works.


Kevin Attell teaches at Cornell University and is the author of Giorgio Agamben: Beyond the Threshold of Deconstruction.

Table of Contents

1. The Body of Language
2. The Body of Philosophy
3. Stultitia loquitur
4. Self-Parody
5. Bibliography
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