Visions And Faces Of The Tragic

Despite the pervasive early Christian repudiation of pagan theatrical art, especially prior to Constantine, this monograph demonstrates the increasing attention of late-ancient Christian authors to the genre of tragedy as a basis to explore the complexities of human finitude, suffering, and mortality in relation to the wisdom, justice, and providence of God. The book argues that various Christian writers, particularly in the post-Constantinian era, were keenly devoted to the mimesis, or imaginative re-presentation, of the tragic dimension of creaturely existence more than with simply mimicking the poetics of the classical Greek and Roman tragedians. It analyses a whole array of hermeneutical, literary, and rhetorical manifestations of " in early Christian writing, which, capitalizing on the elements of tragedy already perceptible in biblical revelation, aspired to deepen and edify Christian engagement with multiform evil and with the extreme vicissitudes of historical existence. Early Christian tragical mimetics included not only interpreting (and often amplifying) the Bible's own tragedies for contemporary audiences, but also developing models of the Christian self as a tragic self, revamping the Christian moral conscience as a tragical conscience, and cultivating a distinctively Christian tragical pathos. The study culminates in an extended consideration of the theological intelligence and accountability of " and tragical mimesis in early Christian literary culture, and the unique role of the theological virtue of hope in its repertoire of tragical emotions.

Despite the pervasive early Christian repudiation of pagan theatrical art, especially prior to Constantine, this monograph demonstrates the increasing attention of late-ancient Christian authors to the genre of tragedy as a basis to explore the complexities of human finitude, suffering, and mortality in relation to the wisdom, justice, and providence of God. The book argues that various Christian writers, particularly in the post-Constantinian era, were keenly devoted to the mimesis, or imaginative re-presentation, of the tragic dimension of creaturely existence more than with simply mimicking the poetics of the classical Greek and Roman tragedians. It analyses a whole array of hermeneutical, literary, and rhetorical manifestations of "tragical mimesis" in early Christian writing, which, capitalizing on the elements of tragedy already perceptible in biblical revelation, aspired to deepen and edify Christian engagement with multiform evil and with the extreme vicissitudes of historical existence. Early Christian tragical mimetics included not only interpreting (and often amplifying) the Bible's own tragedies for contemporary audiences, but also developing models of the Christian self as a tragic self, revamping the Christian moral conscience as a tragical conscience, and cultivating a distinctively Christian tragical pathos. The study culminates in an extended consideration of the theological intelligence and accountability of "tragical vision" and tragical mimesis in early Christian literary culture, and the unique role of the theological virtue of hope in its repertoire of tragical emotions.

Offering an alternative to classic Christian theodicies (justification of God's goodness and omnipotence in view of the existence of evil), Wendy Farley interprets the problem of evil and suffering within a tragic context, advocating compassion to describe the power of God in the struggle against evil.

From the time of Plato's proposed expulsion of the poets, tragedy has repeatedly proposed a challenge to philosophical and theological certainties. This is apparent already in early Christianity amongst leading figures during the patristic age. But this raises the question: Why was the theme of tragedy still accepted and deployed throughout the history of Christianity nevertheless? Is this merely an accident or is there something more substantial at play? Can Christian theology take the tragic seriously? Must Christianity ultimately deny the tragic to be coherent, or might it be able to sustain its negativity? Some like George Steiner, David Bentley Hart, and John Milbank have doubts about such a coherency, but others think differently. This book aims to examine this debate, laying out the lines of disagreement and continuing tensions. Through a critical examination of the work of Donald MacKinnon and the eminent Christian thinker Rowan Williams, the book aims to show that there is a path for reconciling the claims of Christian orthodoxy and the experience of tragedy, one that is able to maintain a metaphysical foundation for both real transcendence and unfolding historicity, without denying either.

Despite the pervasive early Christian repudiation of pagan theatrical art, especially prior to Constantine, this monograph demonstrates the increasing attention of late-ancient Christian authors to the genre of tragedy as a basis to explore the complexities of human finitude, suffering, and mortality in relation to the wisdom, justice, and providence of God. The book argues that various Christian writers, particularly in the post-Constantinian era, were keenly devoted to the mimesis, or imaginative re-presentation, of the tragic dimension of creaturely existence more than with simply mimicking the poetics of the classical Greek and Roman tragedians. It analyses a whole array of hermeneutical, literary, and rhetorical manifestations of “tragical mimesis” in early Christian writing, which, capitalizing on the elements of tragedy already perceptible in biblical revelation, aspired to deepen and edify Christian engagement with multiform evil and with the extreme vicissitudes of historical existence. Early Christian tragical mimetics included not only interpreting (and often amplifying) the Bible's own tragedies for contemporary audiences, but also developing models of the Christian self as a tragic self, revamping the Christian moral conscience as a tragical conscience, and cultivating a distinctively Christian tragical pathos. The study culminates in an extended consideration of the theological intelligence and accountability of “tragical vision” and tragical mimesis in early Christian literary culture, and the unique role of the theological virtue of hope in its repertoire of tragical emotions.

In this discerning study of the relationship of the tragic vision to the Hebrew, W. Lee Humphreys suggests various ways in which Israel confronted the power of the tragic vision at certain points in its tradition. Humphreys demonstrates how Òtragedy,Ó the literary genre, and Òthe tragic visionÓ maintain a delicate but vital balance between fate and law. In conclusion, he contends that the tragic vision finds fullest expression at points of radical dislocation in human history. At these times, the essential questions of existence are reopened, rehearsed, and relived as the tragic vision questions all previous answers and dogmatic claims to the meaning of life.

“Dr Rıza Öztürk’s new book, The Origin of Hardy’s Tragic Vision, is a lucid explanation of the most important aspect of novelist Thomas Hardy’s worldview – the destruction of self. Dr Öztürk gets to the core of Hardy’s ‘tragic vision’ – evident in the novelist’s interpretation of the dramatic interplay between character and circumstance. To what degree either element of character or circumstance weighs in the tragic equation is the subject of discourse in Öztürk’s book, a significant acquisition for students and scholars of Hardy, Victorian literature and culture, or the history of the English novel. This study of Hardy tackles the novelist’s formulation of tragedy as an individual’s ‘natural aim or desire’ – and attempts to answer the important question concerning who or what is responsible for such appetite. The Origin of Hardy’s Tragic Vision can serve as a handbook in the study of tragedy, from the ancient Greek notions to manifestations in late nineteenth century novelists (with reference to modern novelists and dramatists, such as D. H. Lawrence and Henrik Ibsen). Öztürk’s analysis, from the impulse of character in The Mayor of Casterbridge, through the envelope of circumstance in Tess of the D’Urbervilles, culminates comprehensively in his discussion of the depletion of life in Jude the Obscure. As a novelist familiar with the ideas of Schopenhauer and Darwin, Hardy’s tragic vision encompasses a brutally stark statement about the reality of life itself, and this assessment is captured brilliantly in Rıza Öztürk’s important book. Regarding tragedy from the technical elements to the thematic, to its special attention in terms of feminism and illustrations of the absurd in Jude the Obscure, there is no question that The Origin of Hardy’s Tragic Vision fills the need for newer interpretations of a vital figure in English literature who straddles both the Victorian and modern eras.” – Gregory F. Tague, PhD, Professor of English, St. Francis College, New York; author of Character and Consciousness (2005) and Ethos and Behavior (2008); editor of the ASEBL Journal