DOCSLIB.ORG

French Civil-War Tragedy (1550–1643) by Brian

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
French Civil-War Tragedy (1550–1643) by Brian Breaking Dramatic Illusion and Extending the Dramatic World: French Civil-War Tragedy (1550–1643) By Brian Moots Submitted to the graduate degree program in French and Italian and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ________________________________ Chairperson Bruce Hayes ________________________________ Paul Scott ________________________________ Caroline Jewers ________________________________ Diane Fourny ________________________________ Geraldo de Sousa Date Defended: May 7, 2014 ii The Dissertation Committee for Brian Moots certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Breaking Dramatic Illusion and Extending the Dramatic World: French Civil-War Tragedy (1550–1643) ________________________________ Chairperson Bruce Hayes Date approved: June 9, 2014 iii Abstract This research project combines history, cultural studies, and performance theories to explore the threats posed by tragedy during the civil and religious crisis in France. French plays challenge civil and religious authority and justify revolt by the literal and figurative reenactment of sedition. In the sub-genre of civil-war tragedy, David rebels against the anointed king Saul, Caesar contends against Pompey, Roman senators slay the victorious Caesar, and Antigone disobeys her uncle and king, Creon. Adopting these famous examples of revolt enables playwrights to break the dramatic illusion of the play, creating crucial parallels with contemporary France. Historical examples give concrete support for the propaganda clothed by the tragedy, while staging revolt elicits violence from spectators because it dangerously encourages them to think independently, to investigate through reading and interpretation, and to lose control in riots and other acts of violence. The first chapter will identify threats in theater by exploring elements of tragedy, in the sub-genre of civil-war tragedies, where the author is most visible (in liminary material, prologues, and opening monologues) all of which break the play’s stage illusion, forming a dangerous complicity between audience and author. In the next chapter, an analysis of the chorus suggests its role produces an effect similar to the paratext; the chorus interrupts the on-stage action and establishes historical precedence for the propaganda in the tragedy. These playwrights expanded and emphasized the role of the chorus, a stronger reliance on this role not reflected in most Ancient Greek or Roman tragedies, sources the French playwrights imitated. The third chapter explores the compelling roles of leading women to gain crucial insights into family, gender roles, and the threat perceived to social order by these female tragic heroes. The final chapter will examine the dialogue between loyalty and revolt in the sub-genre of civil-war iv tragedy, a dialogue that is connected intimately to contemporary events and to the author’s political or religious confession. I hope this inquiry will provide new perspective for the French civil and religious wars, including the Saint Bartholomew Day massacres, and deepen our understanding of the often-overlooked genre of sixteenth-century tragedy. v Acknowledgments I would like to thank Bruce Hayes for his mentorship, patience, and encouragement. I am grateful to Paul Scott for his insightful comments and ideas. I thank the Department of French and Italian of the University of Kansas for funding to conduct archival research in London and Paris. Thank you Angela Moots. vi Table of Contents Introduction....................................................................................................................................1 Sixteenth-Century Theater……………...…………………………………………………2 Historical Context…………………………………………………………………………6 Sub-Genre of Civil-War Tragedies………………………………………………………..8 Dissertation Structure and Overview…………………………………………………….13 Previous Scholarship……………………………………………………………………..28 Outline of Civil-War Tragedies………………………………………………………….31 Chapter 1: Interaction with the Audience: Breaking Dramatic Illusion................................32 The Perceived Threat of Theater........................................................................................33 Interaction between Author and Public: Exemplum...........................................................38 Ambiguity of Exemplum....................................................................................................42 Exemplum and Historical Analogy....................................................................................51 Interaction between Author and Audience: Elocutio.........................................................59 Interaction with Audience: The Shift toward Pathos.........................................................63 Interaction between Author and Audience: Prologues and Monologues...........................69 Chapter 2: The Chorus and Stage-Illusion................................................................................82 The Choral Interlude: Interrupting Stage-Illusion.............................................................83 Interaction with the Audience............................................................................................90 Interpretive Voice and Allusiveness..................................................................................92 Music, Song, and Psalms...................................................................................................99 Protestant Biblical Tragedies...........................................................................................103 vii Framing Debate...............................................................................................................119 Chapter 3: Female Protagonists: More Effective Tragic Heroes for Civil-War Tragedies……………………………………………………………………………………….127 The Widow in Tragedy....................................................................................................128 Woman on Top................................................................................................................135 The Supernatural..............................................................................................................139 To Be a Tragic Hero........................................................................................................141 Women Inspire Men........................................................................................................146 Chapter 4: A Dialogue of Resistance........................................................................................159 Ambiguous Visions of Triumph......................................................................................162 Tyranny............................................................................................................................177 Right to Revolt: Iconoclasm............................................................................................182 Pollution and Iconoclasm.................................................................................................188 The Law...........................................................................................................................193 Duty to Revolt..................................................................................................................197 King’s Two Bodies and Lèse-majesté..............................................................................201 Changing Perceptions......................................................................................................208 Conclusion: Rebirth of Civil-War Tragedy in France (1636–43)..........................................211 Bibliography...............................................................................................................................232 1 Breaking Dramatic Illusion and Extending the Dramatic World: French Civil-War Tragedy (1550–1643) Theater intrigues scholars because it gives an invaluable window into history, culture, and literature. Nevertheless, sixteenth-century French tragedy remains a neglected, yet crucial terrain of contending power relations. Scholars overlook these tragedies because critical editions are rare, because primary texts are distant and difficult to view, and because previous scholarship has labeled them as inferior works of art. However, this dissertation validates the genre as essential to penetrating the complex and problematic relationship between social conflict and art during the civil and religious wars in sixteenth-century France. A sub-genre of civil-war tragedies highlights this social conflict, making the clashes staged in these tragedies a cultural artifact that reveals relationships between groups of people, history, and performance. This research project combines history, cultural studies, and performance theories to explore the threats posed by tragedy during the civil and religious crisis in France. French plays challenge civil and religious authority and justify revolt by the literal and figurative reenactment of sedition. In the sub-genre of civil-war tragedy, David rebels against the anointed king Saul, Caesar contends against Pompey, Roman senators slay the victorious Caesar, and Antigone disobeys her uncle and king, Creon. Adopting these famous examples of revolt enables playwrights to break the dramatic illusion of the play, creating crucial parallels with contemporary France. Historical
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Credit Market and Economic Growth
    European Research Studies, Volume XVIII, Issue 3, 2015 Special Issue on “The Role of Clustering in Provision of Economic Growth” pp.103- 114 Historical Evolution of Economic Category “State Financial Reserves” Margarita Irizepova1 Abstract: The article views the issues of financial theory, related to historical development of scientific category “state financial reserves”. Using the principles of scientific research – unity of the logical and the historical, periodization and succession – the author determines stages of evolutional development of the studied category. As a result of the research, the author concludes that history of evolution of economic category “state financial reserves” is rooted in Ancient Rome, and nowadays this notion has not lost its actuality. This shows high effectiveness and universality of instrumentarium of state financial reserves and their applicability for various types of economic systems. Effective use of state financial reserves requires evaluation of long-term perspectives of influence of this tool on economic system and coordinates directions of the use of state financial reserves with priorities of state policy. Key Words: Historical Evolution, State Financial Reserves, Economic Category, Financial Theory JEL Classification : 1 Volgograd State University, Volgograd, Russia European Research Studies, Issue 3,2015 104 Special Issue on “The Role of Clustering in Provision of Economic Growth” M. Irizepova 1. Introduction Under the conditions of instability and crisis in the global economy, national governments strive for search and use of various means of preservation of stability of their national economic systems. One of the most popular tools for this is formation of state financial reserves in the period of economic growth, when there is excess of assets of state budget, which could be put into reserve without any damage to realization of planned state programs and under the condition of fulfillment of all state social responsibilities.
    [Show full text]
  • An Anthropology of Gender and Death in Corneille's Tragedies
    AN ANTHROPOLOGY OF GENDER AND DEATH IN CORNEILLE’S TRAGEDIES by MICHELLE LESLIE BROWN (Under the Direction of Francis Assaf) ABSTRACT This study presents an analysis of the relationship between gender and death in Corneille’s tragedies. He uses death to show spectators gender-specific types of behavior to either imitate or reject according to the patriarchal code of ethics. A character who does not conform to his or her gender role as dictated by seventeenth-century society will ultimately be killed, be forced to commit suicide or cause the death of others. Likewise, when murderous tyrants refrain from killing, they are transformed into legitimate rulers. Corneille’s representation of the dominance of masculine values does not vary greatly from that of his contemporaries or his predecessors. However, unlike the other dramatists, he portrays women in much stronger roles than they usually do and generally places much more emphasis on the impact of politics on the decisions that his heroes and heroines must make. He is also innovative in his use of conflict between politics, love, family obligations, personal desires, and even loyalty to Christian duty. Characters must decide how they are to prioritize these values, and their choices should reflect their conformity to their gender role and, for men, their political position, and for females, their marital status. While men and women should both prioritize Christian duty above all else, since only men were in control of politics and the defense of the state, they should value civic duty before filial duty, and both of these before love. Since women have no legal right to political power, they are expected to value domestic interests above political ones.
    [Show full text]
  • Short Stories
    Elements and Characteristics of Short Stories Short stories tend to be less complex than novels. Usually, a short story will focus on only one incident, has a single plot, a single setting, a limited number of characters, and covers a short period of time. In longer forms of fiction, stories tend to contain certain core elements of dramatic structure: exposition (the introduction of setting, situation and main characters); complication (the event of the story that introduces the conflict); rising action, crisis (the decisive moment for the protagonist and their commitment to a course of action); climax (the point of highest interest in terms of the conflict and the point of the story with the most action); resolution (the point of the story when the conflict is resolved); and moral. Because of their short length, short stories may or may not follow this pattern. Some do not follow patterns at all. For example, modern short stories only occasionally have an exposition. More typical, though, is an abrupt beginning, with the story starting in the middle of the action. As with longer stories, plots of short stories also have a climax, crisis, or turning-point. However, the endings of many short stories are abrupt and open and may or may not have a moral or practical lesson. Of course, as with any art form, the exact characteristics of a short story will vary by author. Length Determining what exactly separates a short story from longer fictional formats is problematic. A classic definition of a short story is that one should be able to be read it in one sitting, a point most notably made in Edgar Allan Poe's essay "The Philosophy of Composition" (1846).
    [Show full text]
  • OHS Honors English Primer Is the Result of Over a Decade of Collabo- Ration Among the English Teachers of Oviedo High
    Honors English Primer Prepared exclusively for the students of Oviedo High School 2008 Edition About Your Primer The 2008 OHS Honors English Primer is the result of over a decade of collabo- ration among the English teachers of Oviedo High. We have worked together to ensure that the materials you will find here are relevant and helpful to your studies both here at Oviedo and later in life. Materials included in this publi- cation have been created specifically for you by the teachers at this school, and the information included is designed to continually build your expertise in communication skills, literary analysis, meaningful composition, and effective research. Your teachers throughout the next four years will refer you to these pages as a resource for reference, instruction, and guidance as you continue to grow as a student of English. Our Primer has four distinct sections that each focus on a different aspect of the skills you will be acquiring: Literature, Composition, Grammar, and Re- search. Some courses may rely more on one section than another, but each course will use the Primer to build off your previous knowledge and prepare you for what lies ahead. Keep this document with you—in class at all times, throughout your career as a high school student, and as you journey into high- er education. It is our sincere hope that you find the2008 OHS Honors English Primer a helpful resource as you continue to prepare yourself for your future. Best wishes for lasting success, The English teachers of Oviedo High School The 2008 edition of The OHS Honors English Primer was set in Myriad® Pro and Warnock® Pro using Adobe® In- Design® CS3.
    [Show full text]
  • Durham E-Theses
    Durham E-Theses Gender and power: Representations of dido in French tragedy, 1558-1673. Vedrenne, Laetitia How to cite: Vedrenne, Laetitia (2009) Gender and power: Representations of dido in French tragedy, 1558-1673., Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2037/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk GENDER AND POWER: REPRESENTATIONS OF DIDO IN FRENCH TRAGEDY, 1558-1673 Laetitia Vedrenne Volume 11 Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Pltilosopby (2009) The copyright of this thesis resu witb tbe author or the I!Q.iversity to which it was submitted. No qyotalion from it, or iaform:atioo derived from it may be publisbed without the prior written coo.scnt of the autbor Ot uoivenily. aod ..y Wonnatioo d<riY<d ftom it sllould be J<:tnowl<dged.
    [Show full text]
  • The Structure of Plays
    n the previous chapters, you explored activities preparing you to inter- I pret and develop a role from a playwright’s script. You used imagina- tion, concentration, observation, sensory recall, and movement to become aware of your personal resources. You used vocal exercises to prepare your voice for creative vocal expression. Improvisation and characterization activities provided opportunities for you to explore simple character portrayal and plot development. All of these activities were preparatory techniques for acting. Now you are ready to bring a character from the written page to the stage. The Structure of Plays LESSON OBJECTIVES ◆ Understand the dramatic structure of a play. 1 ◆ Recognize several types of plays. ◆ Understand how a play is organized. Much of an actor’s time is spent working from materials written by playwrights. You have probably read plays in your language arts classes. Thus, you probably already know that a play is a story written in dia- s a class, play a short logue form to be acted out by actors before a live audience as if it were A game of charades. Use the titles of plays and musicals or real life. the names of famous actors. Other forms of literature, such as short stories and novels, are writ- ten in prose form and are not intended to be acted out. Poetry also dif- fers from plays in that poetry is arranged in lines and verses and is not written to be performed. ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ These students are bringing literature to life in much the same way that Aristotle first described drama over 2,000 years ago.
    [Show full text]
  • Hector: Tragedy by Antoine De Montchrestien
    Scène Européenne Traductions Regards croisésintrouvables sur la Scène Européenne - Métathéâtre, théâtre dans le théâtre et folie Hector: Tragedy by Antoine de Montchrestien Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Richard Hillman Référence électronique Translation to Hector: Tragedy by Antoine de Montchrestien [En ligne], éd. par R. Hillman, 2019, mis en ligne le 15-03-2019, URL : https://sceneeuropeenne.univ-tours.fr/traductions/hector La collection TRADUCTIONS INTROUVABLES est publiée par le Centre d’études supérieures de la Renaissance, (Université de Tours, CNRS/UMR 7323) dirigé par Benoist Pierre Responsable scientifique Richard Hillman ISSN 1760-4745 Mentions légales Copyright © 2019 - CESR. Tous droits réservés. Les utilisateurs peuvent télécharger et imprimer, pour un usage strictement privé, cette unité documentaire. Reproduction soumise à autorisation. Contact : [email protected] Translation Richard Hillman CESR - Université de Tours HECTOR: TRAGEDY (c. 1601-1604) By Antoine de Montchrestien HECTOR: TRAGEDY RICHARD HILLMAN Note on the Translation The translation is based on the edition of Louis Petit de Julleville, which is still the only modern edition of the complete tragedies.1 As with my previous translations of French Renaissance tragedy, I employ hexame- ter couplets, which, however less at home in English than iambic pentameter, provide a more faithful impression of the original Alexandrines. That is the form consistently used by Montchrestien, except in certain choruses, which present variations in line-length and rhyme-scheme. These I have attempted to reproduce. I give the name “Andromache” its common English pronunciation (four syllables, with primary stress on the second), although Montchrestien’s verse, while employing the same spelling, which approximates the Greek, anticipates the three-syllable pronunciation mandated by the later spelling “Andromaque” (as in the tragedy of Racine [1667]).
    [Show full text]
  • Desiring Myth: History, Mythos and Art in the Work of Flaubert and Proust
    Desiring Myth: History, Mythos and Art in the Work of Flaubert and Proust By Rachel Anne Luckman A thesis submitted for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of French Studies College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham August 2009 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract Previous comparative and parallel ‘genetic criticisms’ of Flaubert and Proust have ignored the different historical underpinnings that circumscribe the act of writing. This work examines the logos of Flaubert and Proust’s work. I examine the historical specificity of A la recherche du temps perdu, in respect of the gender inflections and class-struggles of the Third French Republic. I also put forward a poetics of Flaubertian history relative to L’Education sentimentale. His historical sense and changes in historiographic methodologies all obliged Flaubert to think history differently. Flaubert problematises both history and psychology, as his characterisations repeatedly show an interrupted duality. This characterization is explicated using René Girard’s theories of psychology, action theory and mediation. Metonymic substitution perpetually prevents the satisfaction of desire and turns life into a series of failures.
    [Show full text]
  • Mimesis, Chinese Aesthetics, Post-Modern Theatre
    In Search of Another Eye: Mimesis, Chinese Aesthetics, Post-modern Theatre Won Jung Sohn Thesis submitted for the examination for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of London DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA AND THEATRE Royal Holloway, University of London 2011 1 Declaration of Authorship I, Won Jung Sohn, hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. 2 Abstract Although a new tradition of non-mimetic theatre has secured a place in Western theatre history, I find that existing critical vocabularies fail to embrace various theatrical forms of today. Alternative frames of discussion are sought after, and I propose that a culturally distinct one will open up possibilities of perceiving contemporary performances in different ways. In this thesis I turn to the aesthetics of Chinese painting. The Western concept of mimesis in theatre is seen as being strictly related to the verbal aspects of the drama rather than the performed spectacle. Turning to paintings as a lens through which to look at theatre enables one to focus on the extra-textual aspects of performance. At the same time, looking at painting directs one to the issue of ways of seeing, which is fundamental to theatre. Looking at Chinese paintings will disclose the unique Chinese ways of seeing that affected their artistic creation and reception, as well as what different concepts of representation prevailed. In this thesis I trace the mimetic foundations of Western theatre by investigating the writings of Plato and Aristotle as well as looking at Classical Greek painting, its modern reflections and counteractions.
    [Show full text]
  • The EARLIER RENAISSANCE
    3/s CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924082459706 ^cxiotig of lEuropean literature EDITED BY PROFESSOR SAINTSBURY THE EAELIEE EENAISSANCE PERIODS OF EUROPEAN LITERATURE. Edited by Professor SAINTSBURY. A COMPLETE AND CONTINUOUS HISTORY OF TUB SUBJECT. In 12 Crown 8vo Volumes. "The criticism which alone can much help us for the future is a criticism which regards Europe as being, for inteUectital and spiritual purposes, one great confederation, bound to a joint action and working to a common result.'* —Matthew Arnold. I. The DARK AGES Professor W. P. Ker. II. The FLOURISHING OF ROMANCE AND THE RISE OP ALLEGORY . The Editor. [Heady. III. The FOURTEENTH CENTURY F. J. Snell. [Beady. IV. The TRANSITION PERIOD G. Gregory Smith. [Ready. V. The EARLIER RENAISSANCE . The Editor. [Beady. VI. The LATER RENAISSANCE David Hannay. [Ready. VII. The FIRST HALF OF 17th CENTURY . Professor H. J. C. Grierson. VIII. The AUGUSTAN AGES Oliver Elton. [Ready. IX. The MID-BIGHTBENTH CENTURY J. H. Millar. [Shortly. X. The ROMANTIC REVOLT Professor C. E. Vauqhan. XI. The ROMANTIC TRIUMPH T. S. Omokd. [Ready. XII. The LATER NINETEENTH CENTURY The Editor. CHARLES SORIBNER'S SONS, New York. THE EARLIER RENAISSANCE BY GEOEGE SAINTSBURY, M.A. PROFESSOR OF RHETORIC AND ENGLISH LITERATURE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH NEW YORK CHAELES SCEIBNEE'S SONS 153-157 FIFTH AVENUE V ' •'/ 1901 ^s,*^ ,^ ^^(ttlo\ 731 ^AS:'- ^^\ PEE FACE.
    [Show full text]
  • F This Unit Is on Dramatic St
    Introduction 2.4 Let Us Sum Up 3.5 Exercise 3.6 Suggt:stcd Ileadings 7 Glossary of Literary Ter~rls ~fthis unit is on dramatic structure which includes plot, character and appeal and "lies near to the deeper consciousnes~c?f the nation in which it takes its rise" (Nicoll). It is capable of addressing widely and 3i vcrsely to people of different epochs anc cultures. Before we move to the terrns related to st~~~itul.elet us be clear as to what structure is and what texture is: This we shall take up here. A literary text reminds us of a building. The foundation, pillars, beams, walls. roof, etc. are the structure of a building 4ut the finish with paints, colour-combination, accessories, wood - work, flooring, etc. is the texture of the building. In any literary work the structure comprises the story? the characters, action and the dialogues whereas the texture is highlighted through images, symbols, metaphors, settings, audio-visual aids, etc. Thus the dramatist presents life on the stage, S/he deals with a much larger question of human experience and concern. One must grasp this wider meaning of the play. This is implicit in the action and characterization, the dramatic theme and the dialogues which reveal the soul of the play. 19 Plot If we tell a story through a play we are constructing a simple account of what happens. Plot is a more inclusive term: it is a fully developed version of the story. It takes account of the nature of the characters, the way in which events are related to each other and their dramatic effect.
    [Show full text]
  • 2013-2014 Newsletter
    WILLIAMS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN THE HISTORY OF ART OFFERED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CLARK ART INSTITUTE WILLIAMS GRAD ART THE CLARK 2013–2014 NEWSLETTER LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR Marc Gotlieb Dear Alumni, Art Department in the field of African Art, and who will be teaching in the graduate program this spring. Greetings from Williamstown. I hope you enjoy our redesigned alumni newsletter, the last and The newsletter includes a special conversation with most significant phase of a visual identity project Michael Ann Holly, Starr Director of Research that includes the launch of a new website and Emeritus at the Clark, and this year’s Robert other communications pieces designed to capture Sterling Clark Visiting Professor. Many thanks to some of the freshness and contemporaneity of the program and its Ashley Lazevnick MA ’12 and Oliver Wunsch setting. By now many of you have had the opportunity to visit the MA ’11 for taking this on! And many thanks, too, new Clark and its spectacular new wing, including renovated galleries to our post-doctoral fellow, Kristen Oehlrich, for and a reflecting pool looking out over Stone Hill. But there is more to putting this splendid newsletter together. Most of come—the Manton Building, which houses the Graduate Program and all, thanks to our alumni for contributing updates the library, will reopen to the public this summer, with a new spacious to the newsletter! reading room, a new works on paper study center and gallery, and facil- With all best wishes, ities that will bring the entire complex fresh new life. If you do visit, please stop by and say hello—Karen, George, Kristen and I would be Marc delighted to see you.
    [Show full text]