Satire, Comedy and Tragedy

Sterne’s “Handles” to Tristram Shandy

This book provides a closereading of the satiric, comic, and tragic plot structures of TristramShandy and then traces the themes that inform Laurence Sterne’s greatest novel to his letters, sermons, and other writings. The book also argues for a writing-to-learn approach to teaching Sterne’s recurring themes.

The first four chapters of the book provide a close reading of the satiric, comic, and tragic action of Laurence Sterne’s novel in the context of criticism from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Chapter 5 provides a summary of Chapters 1–4, focusing on Sterne’s purpose in revising satiric plot structures and in blurring the lines between fiction and autobiography. Chapters 6–8 then examine Sterne’s themes from TristramShandythat inform his letters, sermons, and other fiction; Chapter 9 discusses the international reception of TristramShandy and argues for using writing-to-learn strategies to teach Sterne’s greatest novel to undergraduate and graduate students.