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"Tragedies"
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Shakespeare's tragedies : a very short introduction
Tragedy, including grief, pain, and suffering, is a common theme in Shakespeare's plays, often leading to the death of at least one character, if not several. Yet such themes can also be found in Shakespearian plays which are classed as comedies, or histories. What is it which makes a Shakespearian tragedy, and what dramatic themes and conventions did the bard draw upon when writing them? In this Very Short Introduction Stanley Wells considers what is meant by the word 'tragedy', and discusses nine of Shakespeare's iconic tragic plays. He explores how the early definitions and theoretical discussions of the concept of tragedy in Shakespeare's time would have influenced these plays, along with the literary influence of Seneca. Wells also considers Shakespeare's uses of the word 'tragedy' itself, analysing whether he had any overall concept of the genre in relation to the drama, and looking at the ways in which the theatrical conventions of his time shaped his plays, such as the use of boy players in women's roles and the physical structures of the playhouses. Offering a critical analysis of each of the nine plays in turn, Wells concludes by discussing why tragedy is regarded as fit subject for entertainment, and what it is about tragic plays that audiences find so enjoyable.
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Feminine Veneration Over Patriarchal Domination: Reading Ecology in The Winter's Tale
Early in act two of William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, Mamillius, the young son of Leontes, states, “A sad tale’s best for winter.”1 Although it is often grouped with Shakespeare’s comedies, many scholars categorize The Winter’s Tale as one of the playwright’s late romances. A critical reading of the play quickly proves the young prince’s point and connects the brutal realities of winter to Leontes’s court in Sicilia. The play is a “generically confused”2 hodgepodge, beginning in a form resembling high Greek tragedy, and concluding with an ending almost too miraculous and happy to be attributed to the mind that poeticized Tarquin’s rape of Lucrece, and dramatized the baking of young Goths into pies in Titus Andronicus. Stephen Orgel notes that as early as 1672, “. . . Dryden, looking back at the drama of the last age, singled out The Winter’s Tale, along with Measure for Measure and Love’s Labour’s Lost, for particular criticism,” while also drawing attention to criticism from virtually every era that called the play, “ridiculous,” and even, “beyond all dramatic credibility.”3 While these criticisms are valid in many ways, an analysis of The Winter’s Tale through an ecofeminist lens proves to be incredibly fruitful. Distinct parallels can be drawn between the structure of the text and the cyclical realities of Nature. The play can be read as offering explicit criticism of man’s domination of his environment and an encouragement to substitute the domination, demonstrated primarily by Leontes, with veneration, primarily illustrated by Hermione and Perdita.
Journal Article
Shakespeare's world: the tragedies : a historical exploration of literature
\"This analysis of primary documents allows readers to understand Shakespeare's tragedies within the context of historical issues of Renaissance England\"-- Provided by publisher.
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Books Received
The Undivided Self: Aristotle and the 'Mind Body' Problem. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019. New York: Penguin Random House, 2021. New York: Penguin Random House, 2021. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021.
Journal Article
Plant of a strange vine : \oratio corrupta\ and the poetics of Senecan tragedy / Robert John Sklenâaér
Using the 'Oedipus' as a test case, this book proposes that Seneca's tragedies exemplify Seneca's own theory of literary decadence as expressed in his 114th letter to Lucilius. Seneca is thus revealed to be both theorist and practitioner of what has conventionally been regarded as \"Neronian decadence\".
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The dramaturgy of Senecan tragedy
\"The 1st-century Roman tragedies of Seneca, like all ancient drama, do not contain the sort of external stage directions that we are accustomed to today; nevertheless, a careful reading of the plays reveals such stage business as entrances, exits, setting, sound effects, emotions of the characters, etc. The Dramaturgy of Senecan Tragedy teases out these dramaturgical elements in Seneca's work and uses them both to aid in the interpretation of the plays and to show the playwright's artistry. Thomas D. Kohn provides a detailed overview of the corpus, laying the groundwork for appreciating Seneca's techniques in the individual dramas. Each of the chapters explores an individual tragedy in detail, discussing the dramatis personae and examining how the roles would be distributed among a limited number of actors, as well as the identity of the Chorus. The Dramaturgy of Senecan Tragedy makes a compelling argument for Seneca as an artist and a dramaturg in the true sense of the word: \"a maker of drama.\" While other scholars have applied this type of performance criticism to individual tragedies or scenes, this is the first comprehensive study of all the plays in 25 years, and the first ever to consider not just stagecraft, but also metatheatrical issues such as the significant distribution of roles among a limited number of actors, as well as emotional states of the characters. Scholars of classics and theater, as well as those looking to stage the plays, will find much of interest in this study\"-- Provided by publisher.
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City and Fate: The Narrative Function of Baltimore’s Visual Presence in The Wire
David Simons, one of the creators of HBO’s TV show “The Wire,” defines his successful series as a Greek tragedy. One of the constitutive elements of this literary genre is the fatalistic vision of human existence. The life of the individual is determined by forces that completely escape his/her control. This article analyzes the role of the urban space in the fatalistic version of the individual existence in “The Wire.” The images of Baltimore allow us to explore real human ecology. The visual presence of the city is powerful throughout the five seasons. Culture is, from an anthropological perspective, the environment a world-open being creates in order to thrive. The images of the city describe with accuracy an actual culture that produces extremes of misery and luxury. Baltimore exists beyond the fiction. The visual relevance of the city provides a chunk of reality that contributes to build a credible narration. Space becomes a narrative agent that frames and determines the individual existence.
Journal Article