After Dionysus
Subtitle: a theory of the tragic
By: William Storm.
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Ithaca, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 186
Subjects: Tragic, The.; Tragedy.; Characters and characteristics in literature.; Self in literature.; Order (Philosophy) in literature.
Description: William Storm reinterprets the concept of the tragic as both a fundamental human condition and an aesthetic process in dramatic art. He proposes an original theoretical relation between a generative and consistent tragic ground and complex characterization patterns. For Storm, it is the dismemberment of character, not the death, that is the signature mark of tragic drama.

Basing his theory in the sparagmos, the dismembering rite associated with Dionysus, Storm identifies a rending tendency that transcends the ancient Greek setting and can be recognized transhistorically. The dramatic character in any era who suffers the tragic fate must do so in the manner of the ancient god of theater: the depicted self is torn apart, figuratively if not literally, psychologically if not physically.
Notes: Includes index.