Tragedy and Nation in the Age of Napoleon

Häftad, Engelska, 2020

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Napoleon’s biographers often note his fondness for theatre, but as we approach the bicentenary of the Emperor’s death, little remains known about the nature of theatre at the time. This is particularly the case for tragedy, the genre in which France considered itself to surpass its neighbours.Based on extensive archival research, this first sustained study of tragedy under Napoleon examines how a variety of agents used tragedy and its rewriting of history to make an impact on French politics, culture and society, and to help reconstruct the French nation after the Revolution. This volume covers not just Napoleon’s efforts, but also those of other individuals in government, the theatrical world, and the wider population. Similarly, it uncovers a public demand for tragedy, be it the return of Corneille, Racine, and Voltaire to the Comédie-Française, or new hits like Les Templiers (1805) and Hector (1809).This research also sheds new light on Napoleonic propaganda and censorship, exposing their incoherencies and illustrating how audiences reacted to these processes. In short, Tragedy and Nation in the Age of Napoleon argues that Napoleonic tragedy was not simply tired and derivative; it engaged its audiences, by chomping at the poetic bit, allowing for a retrial of the Revolution, and offering a vision of the new French nation.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2020-05-11
Mått156 x 234 x undefined mm
Vikt680 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
SerieOxford University Studies in the Enlightenment
Antal sidor400
FörlagLiverpool University Press
ISBN9781789621051

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List of illustrations and tablesAcknowledgementsList of abbreviationsNote on the textIntroductionReconstructing the nationTracing tragedyResearch aims and structureI. The reimposition of the tragic canon: introductionChapter 1: The tragic inheritanceThe eighteenth centuryThe RevolutionChapter 2: Rewriting the pastAttempts at adaptationInstitutional rewritingsTracing tragedy in performanceThe legacy of the afterlivesChapter 3: Heroic conquerorsCensorshipPropagandaII. New Napoleonic tragedies: introductionTragédieChapter 4: Composition, performance, reception: pulling back the curtain on censorship and propagandaTo the Comédie-FrançaiseThe bureaucratic censorship systemBack at the theatreIn printChapter 5: The ambiguity of antiquityAncient Greece: Pyrrhus, 1807, Polyxène, 1804, and Hector, 1809Ancient Rome: Vitellie, 1809, Tibère, Bélisaire, Scipion, ou l’Africain and Camille, ou le Capitole sauvéChapter 6: Heroes of the EastCyrus, 1804Ninus II, 1813Artaxerce, 1808Omasis, ou Joseph en Egypte, 1806Chapter 7: Fear of the foreignStaging foreign history: Mahomet II, 1811, Pierre le Grand, 1804, and Don Pèdre, ou le Roi et le laboureur, 1802Foreign threats: Jeanne Gray, Marie Stuart, L’Orphelin polonois, Gênes sauvée and WallsteinChapter 8: Meddling in the Middle AgesThe Middle Ages on the stage: Brunehaut, 1810, and Les Templiers, 1805Unperformed medieval tragédies nationales: Charlemagne, Clovis, Baudouin empereur, La Dèmence de Charles VI, La Régence de Charles VII and Arthur de BretagneChapter 9: Testing tragédies nationalesLes Etats de Blois, 1810 and 1814La Mort de Henri IV, 1806Tippo-Saëb, 1813ConclusionAppendix 1Appendix 2Appendix 3BibliographyIndex

'The strengths of Siviter's book are numerous. The study is unambiguously comprehensive. She leaves no stone unturned in a quest to show how "a variety of agents" used "tragedy and its rewriting of history" to ultimately make "an impact on French politics, culture and society in an attempt to reconstruct the French nation." [...] Siviter's book is a masterful achievement of erudition, a fine collection of close readings of tragedies, and a detailed reassessment of Napoleon’s cultural politics.'Logan J. Connors, H-France Review