Description
Book SynopsisExplores the tension in European drama between allegory and neoclassicism from the sixteenth through the nineteenth century. This work reveals the allegorical survivals in the works of major figures such as Shakespeare, Calderon, Racine, Vondel, Metastasio, Goethe, and Wagner and reads tragedy, comedy, masque, opera, and school drama.
Trade Review"An ambitious survey of a great deal of culture, attempting links and connections on a grand scale." * David Bevington, University of Chicago *
"A learned, fascinating book." *
Choice *
"The richness of many of Brown's readings and her remarkable scholarly range fuel her argument and ultimately provide a compelling picture of allegory's afterimages, which appear and recede across the history of Western drama from the sixteenth century." *
Modern Philology *
"Her approach yields much that is valuable, especially in connection with Shakespeare, Calderon, and the German authors. . . . a healthy reminder of the daunting complexity of the Western tradition of drama." *
Comparative Literature Review *
Table of ContentsPreface
1. Introduction
2. Claude's Allegories and Literary Neoclassicism
3. Secular Tragedy: Neoclassicism in the Sixteenth Century
4. Allegory and Passion: Latin Dramatic Forms in the Seventeenth Century
5. The Allegorical Idioms of the Illusionist Stage: Spectacle in the Seventeenth Century
6. Opera and Dance: The Revival of Greek Tragedy
7. The Greek Revival: German Classicism and the Recovery of Spoken Drama
8. Wagner and the Death of Gesamtkunstwerk
Coda: "This insubstantial pageant"
Notes
Works Cited
Index
