Abstract:This essay juxtaposes vicious pranks in François Rabelais’s Pantagruel (1532) and William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (1601) in order to describe a form of comic violence that functions as a knowledge claim about its target. In each case, the event of injury conveys an eager insistence on the truth of some taken-for-granted assertion about the injured party. I discuss the role of comic atmosphere in encouraging such performative incuriosity, and I describe those strategies by which cruel pranksters enlist the participation of readers and spectators. Ultimately, I show that Shakespeare parts ways with Rabelais by undermining epistemological security, the desire for which helps motivate both the prank and whatever affirmation it elicits from witnesses.

中文翻译：

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恶作剧：拉贝雷和莎士比亚的喜剧与残酷

摘要：本文将弗朗索瓦·拉贝莱（FrançoisRabelais）的《潘塔格鲁尔（Pantagruel）》（1532）和威廉·莎士比亚（William Shakespeare）的《十二夜》（1601）并入恶作剧，以描述一种漫画暴力形式，将其作为对目标的一种知识主张。在每种情况下，伤害事件都表达了对某些关于受害方的理所当然的主张的渴望。我讨论了喜剧气氛在鼓励这种表演性好奇心方面的作用，并描述了残酷恶作剧者吸引读者和观众参与的策略。最终，我表明莎士比亚通过破坏认识论上的安全性与拉贝雷斯分道扬for，对此的渴望有助于激起恶作剧和证人的任何肯定。