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Mithridate (play)
''Mithridate'' is a tragedy in five acts (with respectively 5, 6, 6, 7, and 5 scenes) in French alexandrine, alexandrine verse by Jean Racine. Background and history First performed on January 13, 1673 at the Hôtel de Bourgogne (theatre), Hotel de Bourgogne, Mithridates follows ''Bajazet (play), Bajazet'' and precedes ''Iphigénie'' in Racine's work. The subject is drawn from ancient history. Mithridates VI Eupator reigned over the kingdom of Kingdom of Pontus, Pontus, around the Black Sea. Famous for having gradually accustomed to poisons through Mithridate, mithridatization, he long resisted the Romans. He finally killed himself after being betrayed by his own son. Racine shows several episodes of the life of Mithridates in one day and, as usual, gives great importance to the amorous intrigues. However, the epic is still more prevalent than in other tragedies. In terms of style, the piece is distinguished by a large number of long speeches and monologues. Mithridates was the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsis, or a "pain hatawakens pleasure", for the audience. While many cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, the term ''tragedy'' often refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of Western civilization. That tradition has been multiple and discontinuous, yet the term has often been used to invoke a powerful effect of cultural identity and historical continuity—"the Greeks and the Elizabethans, in one cultural form; Hellenes and Christians, in a common activity," as Raymond Williams puts it. From its origins in the theatre of ancient Greece 2500 years ago, from which there survives only a fra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
