Narrative, Intertext, and Space in Euripides' Phoenissae

By Anna A. Lamari

Euripides' Phoenissae bears one of the richest tragic plots: multiple narrative levels are interwoven by means of various anachronies, focalizers offer different and often challenging points of view, while a complex mythical matrix is deftly employed as the backdrop against which the exploration of the mechanics of tragic narrative takes place. After providing a critical perspective on the ongoing scholarly dialogue regarding narratology and drama, this book uses the former as a working tool for the study and interpretation of the latter. The Phoenissae is approached as a coherent narrative unit and issues like the use of myth, narrators, intertext, time and space are discussed in detail. It is within these contexts that the play is seen as a Theban mythical ‛thesaurus' both exploring previous mythical ramifications and making new additions. The result is rewarding: Euripides constructs a handbook of the Theban saga that was informative for those mythically untrained, fascinating for those theatrically demanding, but also dexterously open upon each one's reception.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3110245922
• ISBN13: 9783110245929
• Release Date: September 2010
• Publisher: de Gruyter
• Length: 259 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 22 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary