Author : Katherine T. Brueck
Publisher : SUNY Press
ISBN 13 : 9780791422816
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (228 download)
Book Synopsis The Redemption of Tragedy by : Katherine T. Brueck
Download or read book The Redemption of Tragedy written by Katherine T. Brueck and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1995-01-01 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Simone Weil's supernaturalist interpretations of tragedy challenge not only the philosophical skepticism but also the religious rationalism characteristic of the modern age. This book boldly points out a supernaturalist alternative to contemporary, post-structuralist literary theory. This study of classical tragic drama offers a sacralizing impetus to secular discussions of literature. The book's Platonic premises and its grounding in the transcendental outlook of the religious traditions furnish a sacred illumination. Religious mystery and the cross of Christ both overshadow and deepen philosophical approaches to literary criticism, including theories of tragedy. Simone Weil's conception of tragic art, rooted in a mystical Christian metaphysics, offers original insight into the nature of tragedy. In contradiction of the prevailing secular outlook, Weil regards classical tragedy as a sacred art form. Tragic masterpieces evoke not the chaotic or irrational, as modernist interpreters hold, but rather a good which is absolute