Rhetoric at play

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François Rabelais shares the Renaissance fascination for satirical eulogy. He chooses paradox for its unlimited, flexible form and incorporates elements of farce, fantasy, rhetorical technique, and popular culture within its elastic structure. Taking Marcel Tetel's distinction between satirical eulogy of lyrical and burlesque nature as a point of departure, the study identifies the essential elements of both types of paradox as they appear in the Tiers and Quart Livres. A final chapter reevaluates Rabelais' participation in the «querelle des amyes» on the basis of his paradoxical parodies of Charles Fontaine's Contr'Amye de Court.