The early modern Medea
Subtitle: Medea in English literature, 1558-1688
By: Katherine Heavey, Lecturer in Early Modern Literature,  University of Glasgow, UK
Series: Early Modern Literature in History
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 273
ISBN-13: 9781137466341
Copyright date: 2015
Subjects: In literature; English literature; History and criticism; LITERARY CRITICISM / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh
Description: "The classical witch and infanticide Medea was a figure of potent interest to early modern English authors, and she was adapted or alluded to by a wealth of major and lesser-known writers in the period, including Shakespeare, Jonson, Spenser, James Shirley, and Robert Greene. Medea's story was a significant one for early modern translators, but the bloody revenge she takes on her faithless husband Jason also fascinated authors of tragedy, political writing, and even comedy. This is the first book-length study of early modern English approaches to Medea, in the period 1558-1688. Encompassing poetry, prose and drama, and translation, tragedy, comedy and political writing, this book explores how early modern authors were at once fascinated and repelled by Medea's terrible power, and how they sought to represent but also negotiate her ruthless cruelty, to caution and entertain their readers and audiences"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-263) and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note:; title: Acknowledgements Introduction1. Medieval Medea 2. Translating Medea 3. Tragic Medea 4. Comic Medea 5. Political Medea Conclusion Bibliography Index.