Tragedy

Tragedy is one of the oldest and most resilient forms of narrative. Considering texts from ancient Greece to the present day, this comprehensive introduction shows how tragedy has been re-imagined and redefined throughout Western cultural history. Tragedy offers a concise history of tragedy tracing its evolution through key plays, prose, poetry and philosophical dimensions. John Drakakis examines a wealth of popular plays, including works from the ancient Greeks, Shakespeare, Bertolt Brecht, Sarah Kane and Tom Stoppard. He also considers the rewriting and appropriating of ancient drama though a wide range of authors, such as Chaucer, George Eliot, Ted Hughes and Colm Tóibín. Drakakis also demystifies complex philosophical interpretations of tragedy, including those of Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Benjamin. This accessible resource is an invaluable guide for anyone studying tragedy in literature or theatre studies.

Dedication Acknowledgements Chapter 1. Introduction Myth and tragedy Tragedy, myth and ritual Tragedy and pleasure Chapter 2. Histories, archaeologies and genealogies Aristotle’s Poetics Fate, fortune and providence Chapter 3. Ontology and dramaturgy Radical tragedy Tragedy after the Renaissance Chapter 4. The philosophy of tragedy The sublime Schiller on tragedy Hegel on tragedy Bradley on Hegel Nietzsche on tragedy Beyond Nietzsche Chapter 5. From action to character Freud, Oedipus and Hamlet Tragedy and the linguistic turn Chapter 6. Tragedy: gender, politics and aesthetics Tragedy and violence Aesthetics Chapter 7. Rethinking the tradition Dismantling tragedy Brecht against Aristotle Saint Joan of the Stockyards. Mother Courage and Gallileo Chapter 8. Tragedy, the post-modern and the post-human Anti-humanism and post-humanism Samuel Beckett: Waiting for Godot Sarah Kane: Phaedra’s Love (1996) Twenty-first century tragedy: Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt Chapter 9. Conclusion Glossary Bibliography Index

John Drakakis is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Stirling. His publications include Shakespeare’s Resources (2022), Alternative Shakespeares, Second Edition (2002), and Tragedy (co-edited with Naomi Conn Liebler 1998).