Tragedy: A Very Short Introduction

Tragedy: A Very Short Introduction PDF

Author: Adrian Poole

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2005-08-11

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 0192802356

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What has tragedy been made to mean by dramatists, story-tellers, critics, philosophers, politicians, and journalists? This work shows the relevance of tragedy to the modern world, and extends beyond drama and literature into visual art and everyday experience.

Tragedy

Tragedy PDF

Author: Adrian Poole

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Published: 1987

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13:

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How and why does tragedy matter? This book approaches this question through a close reading of Greek tragedies that is designed both for readers with Greek and those with none. It explores Greek plays alongside three of Shakespeare's tragedies: "Macbeth", "Hamlet" and "King Lear".

Shakespeare's Tragedies

Shakespeare's Tragedies PDF

Author: Stanley Wells

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 0198785291

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Shakespeare's tragedies contain an astonishing variety of suffering, from suicides and murders to dismemberments and grief. Stanley Wells considers how the bard's tragic plays drew on the literary and theatrical conventions of his time. Discussing the individual plays, he also explores why tragedy is regarded as a fit subject for entertainment.

Preface: Why Shakespeare? ;Shakespeare and Stratford-upon-Avon ;Theatre in Shakespeare's time ;Shakespeare in London ;Plays of the 1590s ;Shakespeare and comic form ;Return to tragedy ;The classical plays ;Tragi-comedy ;Epilogue ;Chronology: Shakespeare's works ;Further reading ;Index

Preface: Why Shakespeare? ;Shakespeare and Stratford-upon-Avon ;Theatre in Shakespeare's time ;Shakespeare in London ;Plays of the 1590s ;Shakespeare and comic form ;Return to tragedy ;The classical plays ;Tragi-comedy ;Epilogue ;Chronology: Shakespeare's works ;Further reading ;Index PDF

Author: Stanley Wells

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 145

ISBN-13: 0198718624

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Looking at his early life and education, this title explores Shakespeare's social and intellectual background and the literary traditions on which he drew. Examining the theatres and theatrical profession of the time, it also considers how Shakespeare experienced this world, both as an actor and as a writer. Examining Shakespeare's narrative poems, sonnets, and all of his plays, this VSI outlines their sources, style, and originality over the course of Shakespeare's career, to consider the fundamental impact his work has had for subsequent generations.

Tragedy: A Very Short Introduction

Tragedy: A Very Short Introduction PDF

Author: Adrian Poole

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2005-08-11

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 0191577626

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What do we mean by 'tragedy' in present-day usage? When we turn on the news, does a report of the latest atrocity have any connection with the masterpieces of Sophocles, Shakespeare and Racine? What has tragedy been made to mean by dramatists, story-tellers, critics, philosophers, politicians and journalists over the last two and a half millennia? Why do we still read, re-write, and stage these old plays? This book argues for the continuities between 'then' and 'now'. Addressing questions about belief, blame, mourning, revenge, pain, witnessing, timing and ending, Adrian Poole demonstrates the age-old significance of our attempts to make sense of terrible suffering. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

American History

American History PDF

Author: Paul S. Boyer

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2012-08-09

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13: 019538914X

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This volume in Oxford's A Very Short Introduction series offers a concise, readable narrative of the vast span of American history, from the earliest human migrations to the early twenty-first century when the United States loomed as a global power and comprised a complex multi-cultural society of more than 300 million people. The narrative is organized around major interpretive themes, with facts and dates introduced as needed to illustrate these themes. The emphasis throughout is on clarity and accessibility to the interested non-specialist.

Shakespeare's Tragedies: A Very Short Introduction

Shakespeare's Tragedies: A Very Short Introduction PDF

Author: Stanley Wells

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017-04-13

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 0191088072

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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. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Modern Drama

Modern Drama PDF

Author: Kirsten Shepherd-Barr

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 0199658773

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This book tells the story of modern drama through its seminal, groundbreaking plays and performances, and the artistic diversity that these represent. Exploring the new note of artistic hostility between dramatists and their audience, Shepherd-Barr draws on a range of theories and performances to reveal what makes modern drama 'modern'.

Tragedy, the Greeks, and Us

Tragedy, the Greeks, and Us PDF

Author: Simon Critchley

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2019-04-16

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 1524747955

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From the moderator of The New York Times philosophy blog "The Stone," a book that argues that if we want to understand ourselves we have to go back to theater, to the stage of our lives Tragedy presents a world of conflict and troubling emotion, a world where private and public lives collide and collapse. A world where morality is ambiguous and the powerful humiliate and destroy the powerless. A world where justice always seems to be on both sides of a conflict and sugarcoated words serve as cover for clandestine operations of violence. A world rather like our own. The ancient Greeks hold a mirror up to us, in which we see all the desolation and delusion of our lives but also the terrifying beauty and intensity of existence. This is not a time for consolation prizes and the fatuous banalities of the self-help industry and pop philosophy. Tragedy allows us to glimpse, in its harsh and unforgiving glare, the burning core of our aliveness. If we give ourselves the chance to look at tragedy, we might see further and more clearly.