Wild Justice - Paperback

by Judith Mossman (Author)

'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.

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'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 of 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, the first book-length 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 characterization, and the beauty of its choral odes. The book also examines and seeks to explain the powerful influence of Hecuba in the Renaissance, and compares the play with English revenge tragedy of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The thesis from which the book developed won the Hellenic Foundation Sixth Annual Award for the best doctoral thesis in ancient Greek literature and philosophy in the UK in 1992; and a penultimate draft won the Conington Prize for 1993.