Sterne's Whimsical Theatres of Language: Orality, Gesture, Literacy (Studies in Early Modern English Literature)

This study addresses the intricate links between oral culture and literate culture in the 18th century. Tadie traces how perceptions and representations of language move from a dominance of the spoken word to a dominance of the written word; and this is echoed in the order of the five chapters on conversation, gesture, theatre, fiction and print. Tadie offers a reading of Sterne's works, arguing that the use of language lies at the centre of Sterne's art; he approaches this historical dimension of the texts in the context of 18th-century theories of language. He brings into focus the heterogeneity of Sterne's texts; and he demonstrates how Sterne's awareness for the variations of language links up with his interest in the form of the book, and with the use of all the potentialities of print.