Ideas and Forms of Tragedy from Aristotle to the Middle Ages (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature, Series Number 18)

Tragedy Has Been Understood In A Variety Of Conflicting Ways Over The Centuries, And The Term Has Been Applied To A Wide Range Of Literary Works. In This Book, H. A. Kelly Explores The Various Meanings Given To Tragedy, From Aristotle's Most Basic Notion (any Serious Story, Even With A Happy Ending), Via Roman Ideas And Practices, To The Middle Ages, When Averroes Considered Tragedy To Be The Praise Of Virtue, But Albert The Great Thought Of It As The Recitation Of The Foul Deeds Of Degenerate Men. Professor Kelly Demonstrates The Importance Of Finding Out What Writers Like Horace, Ovid, Dante, And Chaucer Meant By The Term, And How They Used It As A Tool Of Interpretation And Composition. Referring To A Wealth Of Texts, He Shows That Many Modern Analyses Of Ancient And Medieval Concepts And Works Are Oversimplified And Often Result In Serious Misinterpretations. The Book Ends With Surveys Of Works Designated As Tragedies In England, France, Italy, And Spain.--book Jacket. 1. Greek And Roman Poetics. (1). Aristotle On The Tragic In General. (2). The Roman Tradition -- 2. Modes And Subjects Of Roman Tragedy. (1). Ways Of Performing Tragedy. (2). Tragedies Read, Tragedies Lived. (3). Rash Generalizations Of Tragic Themes -- 3. Early Medieval Clues And Conjectures. (1). Isidore Of Seville. (2). Remigius And Remigians. (3). Non-remigians, Senecans, Horatians, And Later Isidorians. (4). Papias The Protolexicographer -- 4. The Twelfth-century Scene. (1). William Of Conches And The Commentaries On Boethius. (2). Metaphorical Tragedy. (3). Tragic Style And New Tragedies. (4). Continuing Tradition: The Lexicographers -- 5. The High Middle Ages: Discoveries And Oblivions. (1). Aristotle: A Lost Opportunity. (2). Nicholas Trevet On Boethius And Seneca. (3). Seneca At Padua. (4). Dante And His Commentators. (5). Boethius In French -- 6. Final Variations. (1). England: Chaucer And The Future. (2). Laments In France. (3). Italian Latinists. (4). Theory And Practice In Spain. Henry Ansgar Kelly. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 223-243) And Index. 'Tragedy' has been understood in a great variety of conflicting ways over the centuries, and the term has been applied to a wide range of literary works. In this book, H. A. Kelly explores the various meanings given to tragedy, from Aristotle, via Roman ideas and practices, to the middle ages. In any modern discussion of tragedy, Aristotle almost always has some role to play, whether on center stage or whispering from the wings.