Combines a literary-critical approach with insights gained from the sociology of knowledge.
Preface; List of abbreviations;1. Introduction: the problem of irony in Mark; 2. The social functions of irony; 3. The literary functions of narrative; 4. Text and subtext: toward a rhetoric of irony; 5. Irony in the Gospel of Mark; 6. By way of summary; Notes; Bibligraphy; Index.