Wild Justice
Subtitle: A Study of Euripides' Hecuba (BCP Paperback)
Edition: New Ed edition
Publisher: Duckworth Publishers
Published: March 19, 2002
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 296
ISBN-13: 9781853995965
Subjects: Plays & playwrights; Plays / Drama; Ancient (Classical) Greek; Ancient and Classical; Ancient, Classical & Medieval; Literary Criticism & Collections / Ancient & Classical
Description: "'Revenge is a kind of wild justice ... ' (Francis Bacon). Euripides' "Hecuba" is dominated by the vengeance which Hecuba takes on the faithless Polymestor, and explores in a complex and profound manner the potential for revenge as a subject for tragedy. The sacrifice of Polyxena is in counterpoint to the revenge action; the whole is set in the chaotic aftermath of the fall of Troy. The combination of plots creates one of Euripides' most effective dramas, full of pathos, suspense and excitement. This study of the play in English argues that it has been greatly undervalued by critics who have failed to appreciate the power of its rhetoric, the subtlety of its characterisation, and the beauty of its choral odes."--Bloomsbury Publishing

Revenge is a kind of wild justice..' (Francis Bacon). Euripides' "Hecuba" is dominated by the vengeance which Hecuba takes on the faithless Polymestor, and explores in a complex and profound manner the potential for revenge as a subject for tragedy. The sacrifice of Polyxena is in counterpoint to the revenge action; the whole is set in the chaotic aftermath of the fall of Troy. The combination of plots creates one of Euripides' most effective dramas, full of pathos, suspense and excitement. This study of the play in English argues that it has been greatly undervalued by critics who have failed to appreciate the power of its rhetoric, the subtlety of its characterisation, and the beauty of its choral odes