The Tragedy of Regicide in Interregnum and Restoration Histories of the English Civil Wars
This article explores the generic proximity between history and drama in the Interregnum and Restoration histories of the English civil wars. It first looks at the way historians – whether on the king’s or on the Parliament’s side – appropriated the ingredients of tragedy in order to structure their...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Institut du Monde Anglophone
2011-09-01
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| Series: | Etudes Epistémè |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/430 |
| _version_ | 1818649322445602816 |
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| author | Claire Gheeraert-Graffeuille |
| author_facet | Claire Gheeraert-Graffeuille |
| author_sort | Claire Gheeraert-Graffeuille |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article explores the generic proximity between history and drama in the Interregnum and Restoration histories of the English civil wars. It first looks at the way historians – whether on the king’s or on the Parliament’s side – appropriated the ingredients of tragedy in order to structure their narratives of the regicide and characterize their protagonists. Then, it examines the ambivalent use of theatrical emotion in royalist histories. To be sure, stirring up the passions of the readers was an effective way of persuading them of the justness of the royalist cause, but at the same time this use of pathos stood in contradiction with historical impartiality. It would be unfair, however, to consider such a theatrical presentation of history merely as an instrument of political propaganda; on the contrary, historical narratives could serve a truly tragic vision of history, conferring complexity on an act often related in a Manichean way in the 1650s and at the Restoration. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T01:32:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a5df1f8e489d49278ebc2d0efb50db05 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1634-0450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T01:32:29Z |
| publishDate | 2011-09-01 |
| publisher | Institut du Monde Anglophone |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Etudes Epistémè |
| spelling | doaj.art-a5df1f8e489d49278ebc2d0efb50db052022-12-21T22:08:32ZengInstitut du Monde AnglophoneEtudes Epistémè1634-04502011-09-012010.4000/episteme.430The Tragedy of Regicide in Interregnum and Restoration Histories of the English Civil WarsClaire Gheeraert-GraffeuilleThis article explores the generic proximity between history and drama in the Interregnum and Restoration histories of the English civil wars. It first looks at the way historians – whether on the king’s or on the Parliament’s side – appropriated the ingredients of tragedy in order to structure their narratives of the regicide and characterize their protagonists. Then, it examines the ambivalent use of theatrical emotion in royalist histories. To be sure, stirring up the passions of the readers was an effective way of persuading them of the justness of the royalist cause, but at the same time this use of pathos stood in contradiction with historical impartiality. It would be unfair, however, to consider such a theatrical presentation of history merely as an instrument of political propaganda; on the contrary, historical narratives could serve a truly tragic vision of history, conferring complexity on an act often related in a Manichean way in the 1650s and at the Restoration.http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/430 |
| spellingShingle | Claire Gheeraert-Graffeuille The Tragedy of Regicide in Interregnum and Restoration Histories of the English Civil Wars Etudes Epistémè |
| title | The Tragedy of Regicide in Interregnum and Restoration Histories of the English Civil Wars |
| title_full | The Tragedy of Regicide in Interregnum and Restoration Histories of the English Civil Wars |
| title_fullStr | The Tragedy of Regicide in Interregnum and Restoration Histories of the English Civil Wars |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Tragedy of Regicide in Interregnum and Restoration Histories of the English Civil Wars |
| title_short | The Tragedy of Regicide in Interregnum and Restoration Histories of the English Civil Wars |
| title_sort | tragedy of regicide in interregnum and restoration histories of the english civil wars |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/430 |
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