An American Tragedy: Memory and History in Eugene O'Neill's A Touch of the Poet and Mourning Becomes Electra
No matter how personal Eugene O'Neill's writing usually is, his plays also tend to express a general tragic feeling. Mourning Becomes Electra and A Touch of the Poet encapsulate this tension between the private and the public spheres. As he borrows from Greek tragedy and abides by some wid...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès
2010-07-01
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| Series: | Miranda: Revue Pluridisciplinaire du Monde Anglophone |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/miranda/1381 |
| _version_ | 1818582128728735744 |
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| author | Aurélie Sanchez |
| author_facet | Aurélie Sanchez |
| author_sort | Aurélie Sanchez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | No matter how personal Eugene O'Neill's writing usually is, his plays also tend to express a general tragic feeling. Mourning Becomes Electra and A Touch of the Poet encapsulate this tension between the private and the public spheres. As he borrows from Greek tragedy and abides by some widespread generic rules, the playwright also tries to create a distinctively American form of tragedy. The tragic mode no longer relies on a heroic fall, hubris and godly revenge, but rather on a cathartic celebration of loss. By blending personal and national history, O'Neill stages the failure of the American Dream and presents America as a stillborn nation of lost ideals. However, this feeling of loss becomes the material for the expression of genuine poetic despair on stage. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T07:44:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-afaf0921e0c444749ac227dcd08b42f3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2108-6559 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T07:44:28Z |
| publishDate | 2010-07-01 |
| publisher | Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Miranda: Revue Pluridisciplinaire du Monde Anglophone |
| spelling | doaj.art-afaf0921e0c444749ac227dcd08b42f32022-12-21T22:39:01ZengUniversité Toulouse - Jean JaurèsMiranda: Revue Pluridisciplinaire du Monde Anglophone2108-65592010-07-01210.4000/miranda.1381An American Tragedy: Memory and History in Eugene O'Neill's A Touch of the Poet and Mourning Becomes ElectraAurélie SanchezNo matter how personal Eugene O'Neill's writing usually is, his plays also tend to express a general tragic feeling. Mourning Becomes Electra and A Touch of the Poet encapsulate this tension between the private and the public spheres. As he borrows from Greek tragedy and abides by some widespread generic rules, the playwright also tries to create a distinctively American form of tragedy. The tragic mode no longer relies on a heroic fall, hubris and godly revenge, but rather on a cathartic celebration of loss. By blending personal and national history, O'Neill stages the failure of the American Dream and presents America as a stillborn nation of lost ideals. However, this feeling of loss becomes the material for the expression of genuine poetic despair on stage.http://journals.openedition.org/miranda/1381tragedyAmerican historyfamilyAmerican dream |
| spellingShingle | Aurélie Sanchez An American Tragedy: Memory and History in Eugene O'Neill's A Touch of the Poet and Mourning Becomes Electra Miranda: Revue Pluridisciplinaire du Monde Anglophone tragedy American history family American dream |
| title | An American Tragedy: Memory and History in Eugene O'Neill's A Touch of the Poet and Mourning Becomes Electra |
| title_full | An American Tragedy: Memory and History in Eugene O'Neill's A Touch of the Poet and Mourning Becomes Electra |
| title_fullStr | An American Tragedy: Memory and History in Eugene O'Neill's A Touch of the Poet and Mourning Becomes Electra |
| title_full_unstemmed | An American Tragedy: Memory and History in Eugene O'Neill's A Touch of the Poet and Mourning Becomes Electra |
| title_short | An American Tragedy: Memory and History in Eugene O'Neill's A Touch of the Poet and Mourning Becomes Electra |
| title_sort | american tragedy memory and history in eugene o neill s a touch of the poet and mourning becomes electra |
| topic | tragedy American history family American dream |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/miranda/1381 |
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