Yes, cool as in downright chilly perhaps! For myself, I've been trying to explore, as very much a literary ignoramus, the possible contrast between revenge and vengeance, by placing the Arthurian cast in the 'Queen of Hearts' trilogy back into their pre-Christian cultural matrix, and by having as a theme the tension between the children of professional classes and those of the nobility in the stand-alone novel 'St. Kirsten', also due out this year. Revenge in Christianized culture appears motivated by ressentiment, if one takes the Nietzschean line, which is a base intent, but the savage honour of folk-paganism might take on some kind of 'will to power' alone. Not a great choice, of course ,between just the two of them.
Particularly enjoyed this one, Bryan. Brought be back to the autumn of 1990, when I was in Cynthia Lewis's seminar on Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy. All of the plays you've mentioned were on the syllabus. One of my papers for that thesis focused on how to stage The Revenger's Tragedy as a comedy. Great fun.
Glad you enjoyed the issue! Yes … Cynthia Lewis. What a force of nature. When I was still planning on majoring in English, I took her British Literature survey - I still dip in and out of the Norton anthology. I’ve also had the odd occasion to contact her over the years for recommendations re specific versions of books. She’s always been very helpful. Can’t believe she’s retired …
Made me wonder if I myself have ever written one of those, and indeed, the entire trilogy 'Queen of Hearts' - appearing this year - ticks many of the boxes. Guinevere both avenges her contemporary existence and takes revenge upon those past. It is 'auto-revenge' tragedy in this sense. Her loyal companions take revenge upon arguably the two most tired tropaic scenes in Western Literature, Camelot and Calvary, by going back in time and radically rewriting them. Her younger sister takes revenge against Gwen's lover's abusive mother, and their own somewhat abusive mother then takes revenge upon herself by recklessly placing herself in the line of fire, thus getting herself killed. On and on. The nested transhistorical vengeance certainly gives the reader the distinct impression the heroines are hardly always noble, but I have waylaid at least the too-Shakespearean sensibility surrounding that motif by resetting the Arthurian characters back to their (proper) pre-Christian selves, given it was 60 years between Camlann and the first mission into England.
Good for you for also noting surely the most lurid of Beatles' songs, still to me a scandal today. But I guess in 1965 threatening revenge 'porn' against women was no big deal. Shame on the pre-Yoko Lennon. 'Man I was mean, but I'm changing my scene...' - may we all say as much.
It certainly sounds like you've embraced revenge tragedy. It's a great sub-genre, I think, and one that needs a bit more exploration. And, yes, the Beatles track is awful - great music with horrible lyrics. A song of its time, most definitely, but I have to agree that pre-Yoko Lennon was in many ways a dick. Which might be one reason why post-Yoko Lennon was never as 'cool' as he was before .... At least, an interesting thought.
Those words of Shylock's always give me chills, Bryan. And I'll certainly be checking out that 'How it was made' video a little later. Another great trip on The Bus - thank you! 🙂
Yes - they are chilling. Hope you enjoy the video, too - I would LOVE to own one of her pieces. But I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon! Glad you enjoyed the trip!
Yes, cool as in downright chilly perhaps! For myself, I've been trying to explore, as very much a literary ignoramus, the possible contrast between revenge and vengeance, by placing the Arthurian cast in the 'Queen of Hearts' trilogy back into their pre-Christian cultural matrix, and by having as a theme the tension between the children of professional classes and those of the nobility in the stand-alone novel 'St. Kirsten', also due out this year. Revenge in Christianized culture appears motivated by ressentiment, if one takes the Nietzschean line, which is a base intent, but the savage honour of folk-paganism might take on some kind of 'will to power' alone. Not a great choice, of course ,between just the two of them.
Particularly enjoyed this one, Bryan. Brought be back to the autumn of 1990, when I was in Cynthia Lewis's seminar on Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy. All of the plays you've mentioned were on the syllabus. One of my papers for that thesis focused on how to stage The Revenger's Tragedy as a comedy. Great fun.
Glad you enjoyed the issue! Yes … Cynthia Lewis. What a force of nature. When I was still planning on majoring in English, I took her British Literature survey - I still dip in and out of the Norton anthology. I’ve also had the odd occasion to contact her over the years for recommendations re specific versions of books. She’s always been very helpful. Can’t believe she’s retired …
Made me wonder if I myself have ever written one of those, and indeed, the entire trilogy 'Queen of Hearts' - appearing this year - ticks many of the boxes. Guinevere both avenges her contemporary existence and takes revenge upon those past. It is 'auto-revenge' tragedy in this sense. Her loyal companions take revenge upon arguably the two most tired tropaic scenes in Western Literature, Camelot and Calvary, by going back in time and radically rewriting them. Her younger sister takes revenge against Gwen's lover's abusive mother, and their own somewhat abusive mother then takes revenge upon herself by recklessly placing herself in the line of fire, thus getting herself killed. On and on. The nested transhistorical vengeance certainly gives the reader the distinct impression the heroines are hardly always noble, but I have waylaid at least the too-Shakespearean sensibility surrounding that motif by resetting the Arthurian characters back to their (proper) pre-Christian selves, given it was 60 years between Camlann and the first mission into England.
Good for you for also noting surely the most lurid of Beatles' songs, still to me a scandal today. But I guess in 1965 threatening revenge 'porn' against women was no big deal. Shame on the pre-Yoko Lennon. 'Man I was mean, but I'm changing my scene...' - may we all say as much.
It certainly sounds like you've embraced revenge tragedy. It's a great sub-genre, I think, and one that needs a bit more exploration. And, yes, the Beatles track is awful - great music with horrible lyrics. A song of its time, most definitely, but I have to agree that pre-Yoko Lennon was in many ways a dick. Which might be one reason why post-Yoko Lennon was never as 'cool' as he was before .... At least, an interesting thought.
Those words of Shylock's always give me chills, Bryan. And I'll certainly be checking out that 'How it was made' video a little later. Another great trip on The Bus - thank you! 🙂
Yes - they are chilling. Hope you enjoy the video, too - I would LOVE to own one of her pieces. But I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon! Glad you enjoyed the trip!