Word as action
Subtitle: Racine, rhetoric, and theatrical language
By: Michael Hawcroft.
Series: Oxford modern languages and literature monographs
Publisher: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press
Published: 1992
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 275
Subjects: Racine, Jean, 1639-1699 -- Technique; French language -- Early modern, 1500-1700 -- Rhetoric; Tragedy
Description: "France's greatest tragedian, Jean Racine, is often admired for his poetic and tragic qualities. This book, on the other hand, explores the theatrical qualities of Racine's language and takes as its analytical tool two neglected parts of rhetoric, inventio and dispositio. How does Racine write exciting dialogue? He makes the persuasive interaction of characters a key feature of his dramatic technique and Word as Action shows how he deploys persuasion in well-defined contexts: trials, embassies, and councils; informal oratory as protagonists try to manipulate each other and their confidants in order to make their own views and wishes prevail; self-persuasion in monologues; and narrations, often used by characters with persuasive intent. The book draws illuminating and provocative comparisons with other playwrights and offers a closer and better documented description of the specific nature of Racine's theatrical language than has previously been available in any one study."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [255]-267) and indexes.