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This comparative literary study re-evaluates the reciprocal relationship between tragic drama and current approaches to guilt and extenuation. Focussing on Racine but ranging widely, it sheds original light on tragic archetypes (Phaedra, Oedipus, Clytemnestra, Medea and others) through the lenses of performance theory and modern attitudes towards blame.
Tragic drama and legal systems both aim to evaluate the merits of excuses provided on behalf of perpetrators of catastrophic acts. Edward Forman wittily and provocatively explores modern judicial concepts â diminished responsibility, provocation, trauma, ignorance, scapegoating â through the responses of characters in tragedy. Attention is paid to the way in which classical plays (ancient Greek and seventeenth-century French) have been re-interpreted in performance in the light of modern perceptions of human responsibility and helplessness.
Tragic drama and legal systems both aim to evaluate the merits of excuses provided on behalf of perpetrators of catastrophic acts. Edward Forman wittily and provocatively explores modern judicial concepts â diminished responsibility, provocation, trauma, ignorance, scapegoating â through the responses of characters in tragedy. Attention is paid to the way in which classical plays (ancient Greek and seventeenth-century French) have been re-interpreted in performance in the light of modern perceptions of human responsibility and helplessness.
Edward Forman, D.Phil. (Oxford, 1978), has specialized on French theatre of all periods throughout his research and teaching career at Bristol University. His wide-ranging publications include a Historical Dictionary of French Theatre.
Preface
Introduction
â1âApproaches to Guilt in Tragedy and Life
â2âPerformance
â3âWords
â4âPhèdre
1 Helplessness
â1âFatalism in Racine
â2âAgamemnon
â3âThe Seventeenth Century
â4âDivine Authority
â5âGenetic Determinism
â6âThe Sense of the Inevitable
2 Flaws, Errors and Excuses: Theories of Hamartia
â1âAristotle
â2âFlaw versus Error
â3âRenaissance and Pre-Classical
â4âRacine
â5âHamartia Re-Assessed
3 Ignorance
â1âTheories
â2âOedipus at Thebes and at Colonus
â3âDeianeira
â4âHercules, Agave and Others
â5âCredulity â Macbeth and Others
â6âPhèdre
â7âOedipus Revisited
4 Diminished Responsibility: Medea and the Crime passionnel
â1âEuripides
â2âEarly-Modern and Modern Medeas
â3âCorneille
5 Provocation: The Defence of Clytemnestra
â1âRacine
â2âTwentieth-Century France: Giraudoux and Sartre
â3âMarguerite Yourcenar
â4âJean Anouilh
â5âJean-Jacques Varoujean, Jean-Pierre Giraudoux
6 Saul, King of Israel, as Tragic Hero in French Drama
â1âJean de la Taille
â2âPierre du Ryer
â3âAugustin Nadal
â4âVoltaire
â5âAlphonse de Lamartine
â6âAndré Gide
7 Scapegoats: Passing the Buck to Snakes, Partners, Parents and Others
â1âParents
â2âTeachers, Advisors, Counsellors
â3âSpouses and Other Partners
â4âDevils and Demons
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
â1âApproaches to Guilt in Tragedy and Life
â2âPerformance
â3âWords
â4âPhèdre
1 Helplessness
â1âFatalism in Racine
â2âAgamemnon
â3âThe Seventeenth Century
â4âDivine Authority
â5âGenetic Determinism
â6âThe Sense of the Inevitable
2 Flaws, Errors and Excuses: Theories of Hamartia
â1âAristotle
â2âFlaw versus Error
â3âRenaissance and Pre-Classical
â4âRacine
â5âHamartia Re-Assessed
3 Ignorance
â1âTheories
â2âOedipus at Thebes and at Colonus
â3âDeianeira
â4âHercules, Agave and Others
â5âCredulity â Macbeth and Others
â6âPhèdre
â7âOedipus Revisited
4 Diminished Responsibility: Medea and the Crime passionnel
â1âEuripides
â2âEarly-Modern and Modern Medeas
â3âCorneille
5 Provocation: The Defence of Clytemnestra
â1âRacine
â2âTwentieth-Century France: Giraudoux and Sartre
â3âMarguerite Yourcenar
â4âJean Anouilh
â5âJean-Jacques Varoujean, Jean-Pierre Giraudoux
6 Saul, King of Israel, as Tragic Hero in French Drama
â1âJean de la Taille
â2âPierre du Ryer
â3âAugustin Nadal
â4âVoltaire
â5âAlphonse de Lamartine
â6âAndré Gide
7 Scapegoats: Passing the Buck to Snakes, Partners, Parents and Others
â1âParents
â2âTeachers, Advisors, Counsellors
â3âSpouses and Other Partners
â4âDevils and Demons
Bibliography
Index
University libraries, students and researchers in French and comparative literature, drama/theatre studies, classics and reception theory, and philosophy. A broader general readership with a sophisticated interest in artistic and ethical issues.