Abstract

Chapters on the nature and beginnings of tragedy introduce a survey of Greek, Elizabethan, Neo-Classical, and Modern tragedy. The theoretical portions attempt to remedy Aristotle's "rather strange neglect of the philosophical and religious implications of tragedy," or "the tragic sense of life." Rather than a fresh theory of tragedy, the book presents a critical synthesis of the leading theories of cultural anthropology and psychology; of the work of the modern critics of archetypal forms and ideas ; and the "heroic humanism" of critics like Cedric Whitman. The central sections have the vivid sweep of Muller's The Uses of the Past and give much of its indispensable background material.--R. B. S.