Passions in Play: Thyestes and the Dynamics of Senecan Drama - Brossura

Schiesaro, Alessandro

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0521037654 ISBN 13: 9780521037655

Casa editrice: Cambridge University Press, 2008

Riassunto

This monograph is devoted to the most important of Seneca's tragedies, Thyestes, which has had a notable influence on Western drama from Shakespeare to Antonin Artaud. Thyestes emerges as the mastertext of 'Silver' Latin poetry, and as an original reflection on the nature of theatre comparable to Euripides' Bacchae. The book analyses the complex structure of the play, its main themes, the relationship between Seneca's vibrant style and his obsession with dark issues of revenge and regression. Substantial discussion of other plays - especially Trojan Women, Oedipus and Medea - permits a comprehensive re-evaluation of Seneca's poetics and its pivotal role in post-Virgilian literature. Topics explored include the relationship between Seneca's plays and his theory of the emotions, the connection between poetic inspiration and the Underworld, and Seneca's treatment of time, which, in a perspective informed by psychoanalysis, is seen as a central preoccupation of Senecan tragedy.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

'... this book will be essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in imperial Latin literature.' The Times Literary Supplement

'Schiesaro has been one of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking of the scholars engaged in retrieving Seneca's reputation from the short-sighted disdain of those who dismissed his work as suitable only for recitation.' George W. M. Harrison, University of Crete

'Schiesaro eschews jargon whenever possible, preferring to lead the reader to his conclusions by the force of his arguments and the elegance of his language ...' Bryn Mawr Classical Review

'... it is hard not to be impressed by the dazzling touches, the sudden insights, that enhance the provocative and generally persuasive argument of this important volume.' Hermathena

'A fine work indeed.' Journal of Roman Studies

'... the first sustained literary analysis of the Thyestes, which many consider to be Seneca's best tragedy. ... careful indexes and an extensive bibliography.' Religious Studies Review

Descrizione del libro:

This book subjects the most accomplished of Seneca's tragedies to a sustained critical analysis and argues for its central importance in post-Classical aesthetics. It also discusses several other of his plays, thereby offering a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the main themes and stylistic features of his tragedies.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Cambridge University Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0521037654
• ISBN 13: 9780521037655
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero edizione: 1
• Numero di pagine: 300