Eugene O''neill''s Philosophy of Difficult Theatre - Pity, Fear, and Forgiveness

Through a close re-examination of Eugene O'Neill's oeuvre, from minor plays to his Pulitzer-winning works, this study proposes that O'Neill's vision of tragedy privileges a particular emotional response over a more "rational" one among his audience members. In addition to offering a new paradigm through which to interpret O'Neill's work, this book argues that O'Neill's theory of tragedy is a robust account of the value of difficult theatre as a whole, with more explanatory scope and power than its cognitivist counterparts. This paradigm reshapes our understanding of live theatrical tragedy's impact and significance for our lives. The book enters the discussion of tragic value by way of the plays of Eugene O'Neill, and through this study, Killian makes the case that O'Neill has refused to allow Plato to define the terms of tragedy's merit, as the cognitivists have. He argues that O'Neill's theory of tragedy is non-cognitive and locates the value of a play in its ability to trigger certain emotional responses from the audience. This would be of great interest to students and scholars of performance studies, literature and philosophy.

List of contents

Introduction
Chapter 1-Puzzle
Chapter 2-Paradigm
Chapter 3-Passions
Chapter 4-Pity
Chapter 5-Fear
Chapter 6-Forgiveness
Chapter 7-Paradox
Chapter 8-Finis
Selected Bibliography
Index

About the author

Jeremy Killian is a Lecturer in the HTC Honors College and Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Coastal Carolina University, USA.

Summary

Through a close re-examination of Eugene O’Neill’s oeuvre, from minor plays to his Pulitzer-winning works, this study proposes that O’Neill’s vision of tragedy privileges a particular emotional response over a more "rational" one among his audience members.

Product details

• Authors: Jeremy Killian, Killian Jeremy
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 03.03.2022
• EAN: 9780367519117
• ISBN: 978-0-367-51911-7
• No. of pages: 176
• Series: Routledge Advances in Theatre & Performance Studies
• Subjects: Education and learning > Schoolbooks, general education schools; Humanities, art, music > Art > Theatre, ballet; LITERARY CRITICISM / Drama, Philosophy, PHILOSOPHY / Aesthetics, PERFORMING ARTS / Theater / General, JUVENILE NONFICTION / Literary Criticism & Collections, ART / Performance, Theatre Studies, Philosophy: aesthetics, Literature: history & criticism, Writing & editing guides, Performance Art, Writing and editing guides, Literary studies: plays & playwrights, Literature: history and criticism, LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Writing / General, Literary studies: plays and playwrights, Educational: literature in languages other than English