| Birth Marks: The Tragedy of Primogeniture in Pierre Corneille, Thomas Corneille, and Jean Racine Contributor(s): Goodkin, Richard E. (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0812235509 ISBN-13: 9780812235500 Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press OUR PRICE: $71.20 Product Type: Hardcover Published: July 2000 Annotation: Birth Marks reexamines the body of French classical tragedy from the perspective of recent theories about the sibling bond and, in particular, birth order. Through a study of the evolution of inheritance issues in seventeen tragedies written over the course of half a century by the Corneille brothers, Pierre and Tomas, and by Jean Racine, the book questions the pervasive assumption that classical tragedy, a form written for the aristocracy, is informed exclusively by an aristocratic thic. Instead, a fresh reading of both canonical and noncanonical texts demonstrates that even the most formal body of literature produced by French classical writers expresses a conflict between a declining aristocratic hierarchy based on inherited privilege and a rising capitalistic ethic that favors competition and enterprise. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Drama - Drama | European - General - Literary Criticism | European - French |
| Dewey: 842.051 |
| LCCN: 00023390 |
| Series: New Cultural Studies |
| Physical Information: 0.81" H x 6" W x 9" (1.29 lbs) 304 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - French - Cultural Region - Western Europe |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Through a study of the evolution of inheritance issues in seventeen tragedies written over the course of half a century the Corneille brothers, Pierre and Thomas, and by Jean Racine, Richard E. Goodkin questions the pervasive assumption that classical tragedy, a form written for the aristocracy, is informed exclusively by an aristocratic ethic. Instead, a fresh reading of both canonical and noncanonical texts demonstrates that even the most formal body of literature produced by French classical writers expresses a conflict between a declining aristocratic hierarchy based on inherited privilege and a rising capitalistic ethic that favors competition and enterprise. |