Dramatic action in Greek tragedy and Noh : reading with and beyond Aristotle / Mae J. Smethurst.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smethurst, Mae J., 1935-2019.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Greek drama (Tragedy)--History and criticism.

Greek drama (Tragedy).

Nō plays--History and criticism.

Nō plays.

Aristotle.

Physical Description:

x, 115 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham : Lexington Books, 2013.

Summary:

Dramatic Action in Greek Tragedy and Noh explores the ramifications of understanding the similarities and differences between the tragedies of Euripides and Sophocles and realistic Japanese noh. Mae J. Smethurst reveals a similar symbiosis between plot and performance in both dramatic forms, using the lens of Aristotle and his two favored Greek tragedies to examine noh. Smethurst uncovers an Aristotelian plot structure in realistic noh and the relationship between the crucial points in the plot and its performance; on the Greek side, looking at the tragedies through the lens of noh, she reveals a relationship between the structure of the tragedies and their performance-that is, the involvement of the third actor at the climactic moments of the plot. This observation helps to account for Aristotle's view that tragedy be limited to three actors. The provocative analysis and comparative perspective offered in this book will be valuable to scholars, teachers, and students of noh and Greek tragedy, theater in general, and Aristotle's Poetics. Book jacket.

Contents:

Toward a comparative study of the action in Greek tragedy and Noh

Aristotle on tragedy: a reading of Iphigenia in Tauris and Oedipus the king

The tragic action of realistic Noh: reading Noh with and beyond Aristotle

Climactic moments: the third person in realistic Noh

Climactic moments: the third actor in Greek tragedy

Coda: plot, performance, and creative distances

Appendix: passages from realistic Noh.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780739172421

0739172425

OCLC:

818985678