Paul Hammond
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199572601
- eISBN:
- 9780191702099
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199572601.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Drama
This book reads tragedy as a genre in which the protagonist is estranged from the world around him, and, displaced in time, space, and language, comes to inhabit a milieu which is no longer shared by ...
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This book reads tragedy as a genre in which the protagonist is estranged from the world around him, and, displaced in time, space, and language, comes to inhabit a milieu which is no longer shared by other characters. This alienation from others also entails a decomposition of the integrity of the individual, which is often seen in tragedy's uncertainty about the protagonists' autonomy: do they act, or do the gods act through them? Where are the boundaries of the self, and the boundaries of the human? After an introductory essay exploring the theatrical and linguistic means by which the protagonist is made to inhabit a strange and singular world, the book devotes essays to plays from classical, renaissance, and neo-classical literature by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Seneca, William Shakespeare, and Jean Racine. Close attention is paid to the linguistic strangeness of the texts which is often smoothed over by editors and translators, as it is through the weirdness of tragic language that the deep estrangement of the characters is shown. Accordingly, the Greek, Latin, and French texts are quoted in the originals, with translations added, and attention is paid to textual cruces which illustrate the linguistic and conceptual difficulties of these plays.Less
This book reads tragedy as a genre in which the protagonist is estranged from the world around him, and, displaced in time, space, and language, comes to inhabit a milieu which is no longer shared by other characters. This alienation from others also entails a decomposition of the integrity of the individual, which is often seen in tragedy's uncertainty about the protagonists' autonomy: do they act, or do the gods act through them? Where are the boundaries of the self, and the boundaries of the human? After an introductory essay exploring the theatrical and linguistic means by which the protagonist is made to inhabit a strange and singular world, the book devotes essays to plays from classical, renaissance, and neo-classical literature by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Seneca, William Shakespeare, and Jean Racine. Close attention is paid to the linguistic strangeness of the texts which is often smoothed over by editors and translators, as it is through the weirdness of tragic language that the deep estrangement of the characters is shown. Accordingly, the Greek, Latin, and French texts are quoted in the originals, with translations added, and attention is paid to textual cruces which illustrate the linguistic and conceptual difficulties of these plays.
Mary Vincent
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198206132
- eISBN:
- 9780191676987
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206132.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, History of Religion
From 1931 to 1936 Church and Republic in Spain were engaged in what was effectively a dialogue of the deaf. For many protagonists, Catholic Spain and republican Spain were mutually exclusive. Despite ...
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From 1931 to 1936 Church and Republic in Spain were engaged in what was effectively a dialogue of the deaf. For many protagonists, Catholic Spain and republican Spain were mutually exclusive. Despite the determined efforts of some key individuals, as well as some small parties, by July 1936 neither side was prepared to accommodate the other. In Salamanca, this erosion of the political centre was, to a large extent, the result of the impact of the Second Republic on people's daily lives. It is one of the central tragedies of the Republic that its leaders in Madrid were unable to understand how their legislation affected the devotional lives of ordinary Catholics. A chronic underprovision of schools, hospitals, and asylums combined with a total lack of any social security system to ensure that few palliatives an even fewer remedies were available for the poor.Less
From 1931 to 1936 Church and Republic in Spain were engaged in what was effectively a dialogue of the deaf. For many protagonists, Catholic Spain and republican Spain were mutually exclusive. Despite the determined efforts of some key individuals, as well as some small parties, by July 1936 neither side was prepared to accommodate the other. In Salamanca, this erosion of the political centre was, to a large extent, the result of the impact of the Second Republic on people's daily lives. It is one of the central tragedies of the Republic that its leaders in Madrid were unable to understand how their legislation affected the devotional lives of ordinary Catholics. A chronic underprovision of schools, hospitals, and asylums combined with a total lack of any social security system to ensure that few palliatives an even fewer remedies were available for the poor.
Glyn Davis
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637782
- eISBN:
- 9780748670864
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637782.003.0006
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Queer fans of Todd Haynes might have been searching for the director's usual politics. His career has hovered between melodramas focused on female protagonists and those centred on men. Despite the ...
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Queer fans of Todd Haynes might have been searching for the director's usual politics. His career has hovered between melodramas focused on female protagonists and those centred on men. Despite the best efforts of the gay/queer directors who sent a flurry of melodramas into cinemas in the first years of the twenty-first century, attempting to revive the genre, it remains mostly elusive on the big screen. His film undertakes seriously a large number of substantial questions — about authorship, about the persistence or loss of melodrama as a genre, about the queerness of particular narrative devices, and so on. Far from Heaven is genuinely unique and idiosyncratic. It is perhaps this uniqueness that most clearly marks Far from Heaven as a truly independent film.Less
Queer fans of Todd Haynes might have been searching for the director's usual politics. His career has hovered between melodramas focused on female protagonists and those centred on men. Despite the best efforts of the gay/queer directors who sent a flurry of melodramas into cinemas in the first years of the twenty-first century, attempting to revive the genre, it remains mostly elusive on the big screen. His film undertakes seriously a large number of substantial questions — about authorship, about the persistence or loss of melodrama as a genre, about the queerness of particular narrative devices, and so on. Far from Heaven is genuinely unique and idiosyncratic. It is perhaps this uniqueness that most clearly marks Far from Heaven as a truly independent film.
Anthony King
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199576982
- eISBN:
- 9780191702235
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199576982.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
This chapter focuses on Britain’s traditional constitution. Caius Martius, the protagonist of Coriolanus, refused to agree to the Roman plebeians’ increasingly vociferous political demands. There ...
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This chapter focuses on Britain’s traditional constitution. Caius Martius, the protagonist of Coriolanus, refused to agree to the Roman plebeians’ increasingly vociferous political demands. There were two points pointed out by Martius, first is that Rome is to continue to have a single governing body and that the existing rulers of Rome are to continue to rule; and second is that the common people of Rome, while not seeking to become the government, are to be allowed nevertheless to bring their influence to bear directly upon the government.Less
This chapter focuses on Britain’s traditional constitution. Caius Martius, the protagonist of Coriolanus, refused to agree to the Roman plebeians’ increasingly vociferous political demands. There were two points pointed out by Martius, first is that Rome is to continue to have a single governing body and that the existing rulers of Rome are to continue to rule; and second is that the common people of Rome, while not seeking to become the government, are to be allowed nevertheless to bring their influence to bear directly upon the government.
Yiannis Gabriel
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198290957
- eISBN:
- 9780191684845
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198290957.003.0004
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies
This chapter discusses the classification of stories through the examples of an epic, a tragic, and a comic story. It also proposes a typology of organizational stories that is helpful for the ...
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This chapter discusses the classification of stories through the examples of an epic, a tragic, and a comic story. It also proposes a typology of organizational stories that is helpful for the analysis of such stories, accepting that folklorists of literary critics may opt for different typologies. Epic stories usually deal with achievements, contests, and trials and almost always have a happy ending. Comic stories are identifiable by generating laughter, amusement, and levity. Tragic stories, on the other hand, generate pity and sorrow. Each type of story builds a rather different type of relationship between narrator and audience. The narrator of an epic story invites the audience to marvel at the hero's achievements, the narrator of the comic story invites the audience to laugh, and the narrator of the tragic story invites the audience to feel compassion and awe at the protagonist's sufferings. Thus, each story type represents a distinct poetic mode or way of infusing meaning into events.Less
This chapter discusses the classification of stories through the examples of an epic, a tragic, and a comic story. It also proposes a typology of organizational stories that is helpful for the analysis of such stories, accepting that folklorists of literary critics may opt for different typologies. Epic stories usually deal with achievements, contests, and trials and almost always have a happy ending. Comic stories are identifiable by generating laughter, amusement, and levity. Tragic stories, on the other hand, generate pity and sorrow. Each type of story builds a rather different type of relationship between narrator and audience. The narrator of an epic story invites the audience to marvel at the hero's achievements, the narrator of the comic story invites the audience to laugh, and the narrator of the tragic story invites the audience to feel compassion and awe at the protagonist's sufferings. Thus, each story type represents a distinct poetic mode or way of infusing meaning into events.
Michael Hawcroft
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198151852
- eISBN:
- 9780191672866
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198151852.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, Drama, European Literature
Jean Racine saw that oratory as a dramatic resource need not be restricted to formal juridical and political proceedings. While traditional rhetoric books catered principally for such formal ...
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Jean Racine saw that oratory as a dramatic resource need not be restricted to formal juridical and political proceedings. While traditional rhetoric books catered principally for such formal situations, a rhetorician like Bernard Lamy, writing in French, could state explicitly that persuasion was an art of value to all people in their daily lives. A theatre essentially of words is made gripping by the extension of persuasive action beyond the normal situations of formal oratory. For much of the time, the spectators of a 17th-century tragedy witness scenes of conflict between protagonists. In most of these scenes the characters do not adopt the role of formal orator; they are not ambassadors or barristers. Yet they nearly always behave like orators. This chapter examines examples of such behaviour to see whether scenes of informal oratory can be analysed in the same way as scenes of formal oratory, what variety of treatment is accorded to these scenes, and whether Racine treats them differently from his contemporaries. Elegy and verbal action in Bérénice are also discussed.Less
Jean Racine saw that oratory as a dramatic resource need not be restricted to formal juridical and political proceedings. While traditional rhetoric books catered principally for such formal situations, a rhetorician like Bernard Lamy, writing in French, could state explicitly that persuasion was an art of value to all people in their daily lives. A theatre essentially of words is made gripping by the extension of persuasive action beyond the normal situations of formal oratory. For much of the time, the spectators of a 17th-century tragedy witness scenes of conflict between protagonists. In most of these scenes the characters do not adopt the role of formal orator; they are not ambassadors or barristers. Yet they nearly always behave like orators. This chapter examines examples of such behaviour to see whether scenes of informal oratory can be analysed in the same way as scenes of formal oratory, what variety of treatment is accorded to these scenes, and whether Racine treats them differently from his contemporaries. Elegy and verbal action in Bérénice are also discussed.
Michael Hawcroft
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198151852
- eISBN:
- 9780191672866
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198151852.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, Drama, European Literature
The depiction of characters in conflict with one another is a potent source of theatricality. However, it is not always the case that characters are in conflict with their interlocutors. Sometimes ...
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The depiction of characters in conflict with one another is a potent source of theatricality. However, it is not always the case that characters are in conflict with their interlocutors. Sometimes they are very much in agreement. This chapter focuses on the most obvious occurrences of apparent agreement between characters, namely, discussions between protagonists and the much maligned confidants. It suggests that some common views of the role of confidants in Jean Racine's tragedy require modification in the light of a rhetorical analysis of their encounters with their principal partners. It argues that Racine's use of persuasive interaction in these encounters contributes to their theatrical impact and also allows these scenes to be seen as instances of informal oratory, even though the oratory may be of a different tenor from that of protagonists who are in disagreement.Less
The depiction of characters in conflict with one another is a potent source of theatricality. However, it is not always the case that characters are in conflict with their interlocutors. Sometimes they are very much in agreement. This chapter focuses on the most obvious occurrences of apparent agreement between characters, namely, discussions between protagonists and the much maligned confidants. It suggests that some common views of the role of confidants in Jean Racine's tragedy require modification in the light of a rhetorical analysis of their encounters with their principal partners. It argues that Racine's use of persuasive interaction in these encounters contributes to their theatrical impact and also allows these scenes to be seen as instances of informal oratory, even though the oratory may be of a different tenor from that of protagonists who are in disagreement.
Michael Hawcroft
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198151852
- eISBN:
- 9780191672866
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198151852.003.0008
- Subject:
- Literature, Drama, European Literature
The importance to Jean Racine's dramatic technique of showing characters engaged in acts of persuasion has long been recognized by modern critics. Speeches are interesting in the theatre if ...
More
The importance to Jean Racine's dramatic technique of showing characters engaged in acts of persuasion has long been recognized by modern critics. Speeches are interesting in the theatre if characters are arguing with each other for and against different courses of action. The notion of persuasion can readily be applied to scenes of confrontation between protagonists whether they adopt the role of formal orators or not. But the same notion is useful in demonstrating the theatricality of discourse in scenes involving confidants, in monologues, and in narrations. The method deployed in this book raises two major problems: the first relates to the assessment of the impact of scenes of persuasion on a theatre audience; the second, to the amount of text in any given play which lends itself to analysis in terms of verbal action, inventio, and dispositio. Spectators can be gripped by scenes of persuasion; they can also be moved by them to feel pity and fear. Rhetorical analysis illuminates the tragic effect; it also permits a truly theatrical exploration of Racinian discourse.Less
The importance to Jean Racine's dramatic technique of showing characters engaged in acts of persuasion has long been recognized by modern critics. Speeches are interesting in the theatre if characters are arguing with each other for and against different courses of action. The notion of persuasion can readily be applied to scenes of confrontation between protagonists whether they adopt the role of formal orators or not. But the same notion is useful in demonstrating the theatricality of discourse in scenes involving confidants, in monologues, and in narrations. The method deployed in this book raises two major problems: the first relates to the assessment of the impact of scenes of persuasion on a theatre audience; the second, to the amount of text in any given play which lends itself to analysis in terms of verbal action, inventio, and dispositio. Spectators can be gripped by scenes of persuasion; they can also be moved by them to feel pity and fear. Rhetorical analysis illuminates the tragic effect; it also permits a truly theatrical exploration of Racinian discourse.
Susan Jones
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198184485
- eISBN:
- 9780191674273
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198184485.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature, 20th-century Literature and Modernism
This chapter explores the female influence during his early years in Poland, and illuminates the role played by female protagonists in Conrad's fiction by considering them in the context of the ...
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This chapter explores the female influence during his early years in Poland, and illuminates the role played by female protagonists in Conrad's fiction by considering them in the context of the status and image of women in Polish romantic literature and culture. Conrad's relationship to his mother, Ewa Korzeniowska, along with the evidence of his early experiences and reading, shows that his childhood recollections, both personal and literary, offered a fundamental source for his later presentation of women in Polish fiction.Less
This chapter explores the female influence during his early years in Poland, and illuminates the role played by female protagonists in Conrad's fiction by considering them in the context of the status and image of women in Polish romantic literature and culture. Conrad's relationship to his mother, Ewa Korzeniowska, along with the evidence of his early experiences and reading, shows that his childhood recollections, both personal and literary, offered a fundamental source for his later presentation of women in Polish fiction.
Susan Jones
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198184485
- eISBN:
- 9780191674273
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198184485.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature, 20th-century Literature and Modernism
This chapter introduces the novel Chance as the current central focus of this book. Serialised in the New York Herald Sunday Magazine in 1912, and aimed at the women readers of the paper, the novel ...
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This chapter introduces the novel Chance as the current central focus of this book. Serialised in the New York Herald Sunday Magazine in 1912, and aimed at the women readers of the paper, the novel represented a turning point in Conrad's career, his first economically successful venture in reaching a wider audience and addressing the themes of gender and romance that would occupy later fiction. Conrad's creation of a central female protagonist has often been heralded as the moment when his artistic powers began to diminish. The novel has also received negative responses from those critics who see it as an unsuccessful attempt to emulate Henry James. This chapter demonstrates that Chance was a new direction in Conrad's fiction, one in which he engages in a theoretical debate with ‘The Master’ on the relationship of vision and epistemology in the presentation of women in romance.Less
This chapter introduces the novel Chance as the current central focus of this book. Serialised in the New York Herald Sunday Magazine in 1912, and aimed at the women readers of the paper, the novel represented a turning point in Conrad's career, his first economically successful venture in reaching a wider audience and addressing the themes of gender and romance that would occupy later fiction. Conrad's creation of a central female protagonist has often been heralded as the moment when his artistic powers began to diminish. The novel has also received negative responses from those critics who see it as an unsuccessful attempt to emulate Henry James. This chapter demonstrates that Chance was a new direction in Conrad's fiction, one in which he engages in a theoretical debate with ‘The Master’ on the relationship of vision and epistemology in the presentation of women in romance.
