The Praise of Folly (Magill Book Reviews)

At a glance:

The opening is lighthearted as Folly catalogs the boons which she bestows on humans: It is she who allows the human race to procreate, since nobody can be solemn about sex; further, she provides solace for husbands deceived by their wives, since they are usually so foolish that they do not even recognize their wives’ adulteries. The tone changes in chapter 31, however, as she lists her other beneficiaries: grotesque old men and women who try to deceive others into believing them still young. From this section on, the tone shifts back and forth between banter and serious--often biting--satire.

About three-fourths of the way through the work, Erasmus turns his satire on theologians and monks whose religious views serve to divide rather than unite Christians. This section of THE PRAISE OF FOLLY was especially controversial when it was published. Finally, the work dwells on the virtues of Christianity, which, according to Folly, look like madness to the world: Even Christ, she says, was a divine fool to sacrifice himself for humanity. As the work draws to a close, Folly remarks that she has been carried away in her speech and ends with the hope that the audience, followers of Folly, will applaud, live, and drink.

This satire had special meaning for a Renaissance audience, especially in its criticisms of specific religious sects and practices, but it appeals to modern readers in its satire of universal human foibles and its scathing indictment of war.

Bibliography:

Halkin, Léon-E. Erasmus: A Critical Biography. Translated by John Tonkin. New York: Blackwell, 1993. Analyzes many different levels of meaning in The Praise of Folly and describes Erasmus’ contrast between worldly wisdom and Christian folly. Contains an excellent biographical guide for research on Erasmus.

Kaiser, Walter. Praisers of Folly: Erasmus, Rabelais, and Shakespeare. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1963. Examines The Praise of Folly within the Renaissance tradition of the mock encomium. Also contains solid comments on representations of folly by William Shakespeare and François Rabelais.

Phillips, Margaret Mann. Erasmus and the Northern Renaissance. Rev. ed. Woodbridge, England: Boydell and Brewer, 1981. Clear introduction to the life and career of Erasmus by an Erasmus scholar. Contains an excellent analysis of the religious dimension of The Praise of Folly.

Screech, Michael A. Ecstasy and the Praise of Folly. London: Duckworth, 1980. Contains a very clearly presented explanation of religious ecstasy and the paradoxically positive concept of Christian folly. Describes the profound influence of St. Paul on Erasmus’ understanding of Christian folly.

Williams, Kathleen, ed. Twentieth-Century Interpretations of “The Praise of Folly.” Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1969. Contains an annotated bibliography of important English-language studies and several essays by major Erasmus scholars who explore various aspects of the paradoxical nature of The Praise of Folly.