Early modern tragedy and the cinema of violence

This is a highly original study that considers parallel issues in genres set four hundred years apart-revenge tragedies of the early seventeenth century and violent cinema of the last thirty years. It offers a series of provacative and original explorations of death and revenge, and gender and state politics. What happens when we connect The White Devil with Basic Instinct ? The Changeling or Titus Andronicus with Straw Dogs ? Doctor Faustus with Se7en ? Taxi Driver or Robocop with The Spanish Tragedy ? Appealing to both literature and film students and scholars, the book also reconsiders the high/popular culture divide and reflects on the enduring significance of the revenge motif in Western culture. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 List of Illustrations......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 9 Introduction: Worlds Apart......Page 10 Part I: Justice and Revenge......Page 28 1 Introduction: ‘Don’t get mad, get even’......Page 30 2 Revenge in its social contexts: early modern tragedy......Page 37 3 Revenge in its social contexts: late-twentieth-century cinema......Page 48 4 ‘When the bad bleed, then is the tragedy good’: politics, morality and revenge......Page 57 5 ‘Taint not thy mind’: the morality of revenge......Page 74 Part II: Gender and Violence......Page 98 6 Women dipped in blood: gender, violence and controlin early modern tragedy......Page 100 7 A thin red line: gender, violence and contemporary cinema......Page 115 8 Sex and violence: The Changeling (1622) and Straw Dogs (1971)......Page 131 9 White devils and basic instincts......Page 156 Part III: Death and the Damaged Body......Page 174 10 Introduction: vile bodies......Page 176 11 Spectacles of death......Page 187 12 Punishment and redemption......Page 207 Conclusion: Gendered Revenge......Page 222 List of Play and Film Texts......Page 231 Notes and References......Page 236 Bibliography......Page 256 Index......Page 266 Early Modern Tragedy and the Cinema of Violence is a highly original study that considers two genres set four hundred years apart - revenge tragedies of the early seventeenth-century and violent cinema of the last thirty years. What happens when we connect The White Devil with Basic Instinct? The Changeling or Titus Andronicus with Straw Dogs? Doctor Faustus with Se7en? Taxi Driver or Robocop with The Spanish Tragedy? The book offers a series of provocative and insightful explorations of key issues, including revenge and justice, gender and violence, and death and the damaged body. Simkin's work will appeal to those interested in contemporary film and to those interested in tragedies of Shakespeare's era. However its unique approach also invites the reader to explore texts from both genres and to read them in parallel. Written in an engaging and accessible style, the book also reflects on the division between high culture and popular culture, and the enduring significance of the revenge motif in Western culture over the past four hundred years, particularly in the post-9/11 context This study considers parallel issues in revenge tragedies of the early seventeenth-century and violent cinema of the last thirty years. It offers a series of provocative explorations of death, revenge and justice, and gender and violence. What happens when we connect The White Devil with Basic Instinct ? The Changeling or Titus Andronicus with Straw Dogs ? Doctor Faustus with Se7en ? Taxi Driver with The Spanish Tragedy ? Appealing to those with an interest in either drama or film, written in an engaging style, the book also reconsiders the high /popular culture divide, and reflects on the enduring significance of the revenge motif in Western culture over the past four hundred years, particularly in the post 9/11 context. "Early Modern Tragedy and the Cinema of Violence is a highly original study that considers two genres set four hundred years apart - revenge tragedies of the early seventeenth century and violent cinema of the last thirty years. What happens when we connect The White Devil with Basic Instinct, The Changeling or Titus Andronicus with Straw Dogs, Doctor Faustus with Se7en, Taxi Driver or Robocop with The Spanish Tragedy?"--Jacket