Will Williams is lecturer at Baylor University

Williams's volume is much more than a monograph about Kierkegaard’s understanding of the comic; it is a springboard to the exploration of the importance of the comic in theology and the life of faith. Williams cogently argues that in Kierkegaard’s pages the comic is exceedingly earnest business. Theologians have often have obscured Kierkegaard’s use of the comic by focusing on his overtly religious earnestness, while deconstructionists have ignored his earnestness by concentrating on his playful and seemingly indeterminate literary tropes. But, as Williams shows, far from being opposites, earnestness and the comic require one another. Kierkegaard uses the comic to expose unrecognized contradictions between worldly, ethical, and Christian norms, and to sensitize readers to the incommensurability of inner aspirations and outward performance. By doing so, the comic weans us away from worldliness and edges us close to humility and repentance. We must thank Williams for reminding us that learning to laugh wisely is crucial to our religious formation.

• IntroductionPart I. Kierkegaard’s Conception of the ComicChapter 1. Kierkegaard’s Conception of the Comic Set ForthChapter 2. Kierkegaard’s Conception of the Comic Illustrated in Other WorksPart II. Kierkegaard’s Comic LegacyChapter 3. Irony and Deconstructionist Readings of KierkegaardChapter 4. Theology and Kierkegaard’s Conception of the ComicConclusionBibliography

Will Williams is lecturer at Baylor University

Williams's volume is much more than a monograph about Kierkegaard’s understanding of the comic; it is a springboard to the exploration of the importance of the comic in theology and the life of faith. Williams cogently argues that in Kierkegaard’s pages the comic is exceedingly earnest business. Theologians have often have obscured Kierkegaard’s use of the comic by focusing on his overtly religious earnestness, while deconstructionists have ignored his earnestness by concentrating on his playful and seemingly indeterminate literary tropes. But, as Williams shows, far from being opposites, earnestness and the comic require one another. Kierkegaard uses the comic to expose unrecognized contradictions between worldly, ethical, and Christian norms, and to sensitize readers to the incommensurability of inner aspirations and outward performance. By doing so, the comic weans us away from worldliness and edges us close to humility and repentance. We must thank Williams for reminding us that learning to laugh wisely is crucial to our religious formation.

• IntroductionPart I. Kierkegaard’s Conception of the ComicChapter 1. Kierkegaard’s Conception of the Comic Set ForthChapter 2. Kierkegaard’s Conception of the Comic Illustrated in Other WorksPart II. Kierkegaard’s Comic LegacyChapter 3. Irony and Deconstructionist Readings of KierkegaardChapter 4. Theology and Kierkegaard’s Conception of the ComicConclusionBibliography

Will Williams is lecturer at Baylor University

Williams's volume is much more than a monograph about Kierkegaard’s understanding of the comic; it is a springboard to the exploration of the importance of the comic in theology and the life of faith. Williams cogently argues that in Kierkegaard’s pages the comic is exceedingly earnest business. Theologians have often have obscured Kierkegaard’s use of the comic by focusing on his overtly religious earnestness, while deconstructionists have ignored his earnestness by concentrating on his playful and seemingly indeterminate literary tropes. But, as Williams shows, far from being opposites, earnestness and the comic require one another. Kierkegaard uses the comic to expose unrecognized contradictions between worldly, ethical, and Christian norms, and to sensitize readers to the incommensurability of inner aspirations and outward performance. By doing so, the comic weans us away from worldliness and edges us close to humility and repentance. We must thank Williams for reminding us that learning to laugh wisely is crucial to our religious formation.

• IntroductionPart I. Kierkegaard’s Conception of the ComicChapter 1. Kierkegaard’s Conception of the Comic Set ForthChapter 2. Kierkegaard’s Conception of the Comic Illustrated in Other WorksPart II. Kierkegaard’s Comic LegacyChapter 3. Irony and Deconstructionist Readings of KierkegaardChapter 4. Theology and Kierkegaard’s Conception of the ComicConclusionBibliography