Tragedy and the Tragic
Greek Theatre and Beyond
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:2nd Jul '98
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
The Greeks invented tragedy; and from the age of the Greeks to the present day, tragedy has been seen to be a uniquely powerful and affecting form of art. But what makes it what it is? This challenging volume of thirty new essays has an exceptional range - from Aeschylus to Sean O'Casey, from Aristotle to Rene Girard - but also a consistent focus on the ultimate question: how best to define or understand Greek tragedy in particular and tragedy in general. The contributors, who include many of the world's foremost names in the field of Greek drama, debate the question. They reassess particular Greek plays, from Oresteia to Antigone and Oedipus to Ion; they re-examine Greek tragedy in its cultural and political context; and they relate the tragedy of the Greeks to the serious drama and theoretical perspectives of the modern world, with Shakepeare at the forefront of several essays. The book is accessible to readers with no Greek and will be essential reading for anyone interested in tragedy, especially students and specialists in classics, drama, and English literature.
Its twenty-nine essays are of high quality ... the readers of this demanding and highly rewarding book will close it with a heightened sense of the rich complexity of our notion of "the tragic" and new insights that will, in Michael Silk's words, "help move the process of definition and understanding forward". * Times Literary Supplement *
Thanks to careful editing and cross-referencing, as well as a comprehensive bibliography, it possesses more coherence than many conference proceedings and offers the reader a broad survey of contemporary thinking ... about Greek tragedy and 'the tragic'. * Theatre Research International, vol.22, no.1 *
Michael Silk has edited the proceedings into a coherent volume that preserves much of the vitality of the original occasion ... succeeds admirably. * New England Classical Journal *
Silk deserves commendation for editing this volume which will certainly further an understanding of tragedy from European perspectives. It will especially appeal to general readers and specialists in Classical studies and English Literature. * Religious Studies Review *
ISBN: 9780198152590
Dimensions: 217mm x 139mm x 31mm
Weight: 679g
576 pages