Revenge Tragedy: Aeschylus to Armageddon [Paperback]

John Kerrigan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 23, 1998

Revenge has long been a central theme in Western culture. From Homer to Nietzsche, from St. Paul to Sylvia Plath, major writers have been fascinated by its emotional intensity and by the questions it raises about the nature of justice, violence, sexuality, and death. John Kerrigan employs both wide-ranging historical analysis and subtle attention to individual texts to explore the culture of vengeance in several languages and genres. Thus, he shows how evolving attitudes to retribution have shaped and reconstituted tragedy in the West and elucidates the remarkable capacity of this ancient theme to generate innovative works of art. Although this book is a literary study, it makes use of anthropology, social theory, and moral philosophy. As a result, it will be of interest to students in a variety of disciplines, as well as to the general reader.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Ranges with enormous zest and learning between the ancient world and contemporary popular culture."--Studies in English Literature

About the Author

John Kerrigan is at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (April 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198184514
• ISBN-13: 978-0198184515
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,136,730 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An eclectic look at the literary depiction of revenge., October 23, 1998

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This review is from: Revenge Tragedy: Aeschylus to Armageddon (Hardcover)

In the space of just under 400 pages, Kerrigan manages to cover the theme of revenge through centuries of literary works. The range of his references is, as critic Frank Kermode said, "dazzling," but this does not distract one from pondering his various points about revenge tragedy. Above all, the book is heuristic: it stimulates one to think about what revenge has meant throughout literary history and what it means today.