Passing Judgement: The Politics and Poetics of Sovereignty in French Tragedy from Hardy to Racine
The royal judge was an archetypal character in French tragedy during the 17th century. This figure impersonated the king by asserting his judicial authority and bringing order to an otherwise chaotic world.

In Passing Judgement, Hélène Bilis examines how an overlooked character-type—the royal judge—remained a constant of the tragic genre throughout the 17th century, although the specifics of his role and position fluctuated as playwrights experimented with changing models of sovereignty onstage. Her readings analyze how this royal decision-maker stood at the intersection of political and theatrical debates, and evolved through a process of trial and error in which certain portrayals of kingship were deemed obsolete and were discarded, while others were promoted as culturally allowable and resonant. In tracing the royal judge’s persistent presence and transformation, Bilis argues that we can better grasp the weighty political stakes of theatrical representations under the ancien régime.

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Passing Judgement: The Politics and Poetics of Sovereignty in French Tragedy from Hardy to Racine
The royal judge was an archetypal character in French tragedy during the 17th century. This figure impersonated the king by asserting his judicial authority and bringing order to an otherwise chaotic world.

In Passing Judgement, Hélène Bilis examines how an overlooked character-type—the royal judge—remained a constant of the tragic genre throughout the 17th century, although the specifics of his role and position fluctuated as playwrights experimented with changing models of sovereignty onstage. Her readings analyze how this royal decision-maker stood at the intersection of political and theatrical debates, and evolved through a process of trial and error in which certain portrayals of kingship were deemed obsolete and were discarded, while others were promoted as culturally allowable and resonant. In tracing the royal judge’s persistent presence and transformation, Bilis argues that we can better grasp the weighty political stakes of theatrical representations under the ancien régime.

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Passing Judgement: The Politics and Poetics of Sovereignty in French Tragedy from Hardy to Racine

Passing Judgement: The Politics and Poetics of Sovereignty in French Tragedy from Hardy to Racine

by Helene E. Bilis
Passing Judgement: The Politics and Poetics of Sovereignty in French Tragedy from Hardy to Racine
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Passing Judgement: The Politics and Poetics of Sovereignty in French Tragedy from Hardy to Racine

Passing Judgement: The Politics and Poetics of Sovereignty in French Tragedy from Hardy to Racine

by Helene E. Bilis

Overview

The royal judge was an archetypal character in French tragedy during the 17th century. This figure impersonated the king by asserting his judicial authority and bringing order to an otherwise chaotic world.

In Passing Judgement, Hélène Bilis examines how an overlooked character-type—the royal judge—remained a constant of the tragic genre throughout the 17th century, although the specifics of his role and position fluctuated as playwrights experimented with changing models of sovereignty onstage. Her readings analyze how this royal decision-maker stood at the intersection of political and theatrical debates, and evolved through a process of trial and error in which certain portrayals of kingship were deemed obsolete and were discarded, while others were promoted as culturally allowable and resonant. In tracing the royal judge’s persistent presence and transformation, Bilis argues that we can better grasp the weighty political stakes of theatrical representations under the ancien régime.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781487500269
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Publication date: 10/06/2016
Pages: 272
Product dimensions: 6.37(w) x 9.27(h) x 0.91(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Hélène E. Bilis is an assistant professor in the Department of French at Wellesley College.

Table of Contents

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1: The Critique of Le Cid: Richelieu, Royal Judgement, and the Rules

CHAPTER 2: Failed Judgements, Thwarted Justice: Alexandre Hardy’s Scédase ou l’hôspitalité violée

CHAPTER 3: The Ceremony Unravels: Tragedy’s Comedic Turn

CHAPTER 4: Learning From Experience: On Corneille and Coherence

CHAPTER 5: Corneille’s Cinna and Rotrou’s Crisante: A Search for the Emperor’s Judgement

CHAPTER 6: Racine and Royal Fathers of Injustice—Mithridate and Phèdre

CONCLUSION

Note

Bibliography

Index

What People are Saying About This

Hélène Visentin

“In Passing Judgement, Hélène Bilis proposes a new study on the evolution of French tragedy. She eloquently shows how the tragic genre is permeable to various aesthetics and does not necessarily bind to a set of rigid rules.”

Hélène Visentin

“In Passing Judgement, Hélène Bilis proposes a new study on the evolution of French tragedy. She eloquently shows how the tragic genre is permeable to various aesthetics and does not necessarily bind to a set of rigid rules.”

Harriet Stone

“Bilis writes with admirable clarity as she traces a fine line of research and thinking about dramatic history and court culture during this period. She makes a valuable contribution to seventeenth-century French studies and to theatre history.”

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Literature
Literary Criticism
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17th-century literature->Criticism->General
Literature
Literary Criticism
General & Miscellaneous Literary Criticism
Modern Literature
17th-century literature->Criticism->General

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