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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherPrinceton University Press
ISBN-100691073759
ISBN-139780691073750
eBay Product ID (ePID)1162578
Product Key Features
Number of Pages352 Pages
Publication NameAncient Quarrel between Poetry and Philosophy
LanguageEnglish
Publication Year1990
SubjectDrama, History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical, Poetry, Semiotics & Theory, Ancient & Classical
TypeTextbook
AuthorThomas Gould
Subject AreaLiterary Criticism, Drama, Philosophy
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Weight25 Oz
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceCollege Audience
LCCN90-038557
Dewey Edition20
TitleLeadingThe
Dewey Decimal882
SynopsisAffecting audiences with depictions of suffering and injustice is a key function of tragedy, and yet it has long been viewed by philosophers as a dubious enterprise. In this book Thomas Gould uses both historical and theoretical approaches to explore tragedy and its power to gratify readers and audiences. He takes as his starting point Plato's moral and psychological objections to tragedy, and the conflict he recognized between "poetry"--the exploitation of our yearning to see ourselves as victims--and "philosophy"--the insistence that all good people are happy. Plato's objections to tragedy are shown to be an essential feature of Socratic rationalism and to constitute a formidable challenge even today. Gould makes a case for the rightness and psychological necessity of violence and suffering in literature, art, and religion, but he distinguishes between depictions of violence that elicit sympathy only for the victims and those that cause us to sympathize entirely with the perpetrators. It is chiefly the former, Gould argues, that fuel our responses not only to true tragedy but also to religious myths and critical displays of political rage. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
LC Classification NumberPA3131.G56 1991
