The captive woman's lament in Greek tragedy / Casey Due.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dué, Casey, 1974-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Greek drama (Tragedy)--History and criticism.

Greek drama (Tragedy).

Laments--Greece--History and criticism.

Laments.

Women and literature--Greece.

Women and literature.

Prisoners of war in literature.

Women prisoners in literature.

Slavery in literature.

Revenge in literature.

Women in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (200 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, c2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The laments of captive women found in extant Athenian tragedy constitute a fundamentally subversive aspect of Greek drama. In performances supported by and intended for the male citizens of Athens, the songs of the captive women at the Dionysia gave a voice to classes who otherwise would have been marginalized and silenced in Athenian society: women, foreigners, and the enslaved. The Captive Woman's Lament in Greek Tragedy addresses the possible meanings ancient audiences might have attached to these songs. Casey Dué challenges long-held assumptions about the opposition between Greeks and barbarians in Greek thought by suggesting that, in viewing the plight of the captive women, Athenian audiences extended pity to those least like themselves. Dué asserts that tragic playwrights often used the lament to create an empathetic link that blurred the line between Greek and barbarian. After a brief overview of the role of lamentation in both modern and classical traditions, Dué focuses on the dramatic portrayal of women captured in the Trojan War, tracing their portrayal through time from the Homeric epics to Euripides' Athenian stage. The author shows how these laments evolved in their significance with the growth of the Athenian Empire. She concludes that while the Athenian polis may have created a merciless empire outside the theater, inside the theater they found themselves confronted by the essential similarities between themselves and those they sought to conquer.

Contents:

Men's songs and women's songs

Identifying with the enemy : love, loss, and longing in The Persians of Aeschylus

Athenians and Trojans

The captive woman's lament and her revenge in Euripides' Hecuba

A river shouting with tears : Euripides' Trojan women

The captive woman in the house : Euripides' Andromache.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 169-183) and index.

ISBN:

0-292-79611-0

OCLC:

69174545