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Mar. 8th, 2008 05:30 pmThe last Jacobean tragedy booklogging post! You all weep, I am sure.
The two last plays we read for class were both by John Ford: 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (and yes, I was reading the edition with the jaunty neon pink cover) and The Broken Heart. 'Tis Pity She's a Whore is a tragedy in the true wacky Jacobean style, despite being technically post-Jacobean in time period - histrionic Italians, wacky brother-sister incest, raging jealous husbands, surpries pregnancy, and a conclusion that ( spoiler-cut, for anyone out there who might care )
The Broken Heart, by comparison, is a very dignified and sedate sort of tragedy. It takes place in Sparta, so everyone suffers very bravely and resolves to have death before dishonor etc., and nobody would ever dream of flying into a rage and poisoning anyone's tennis racket or cutting out their heart. Basically, the main conflict involves a pair of betrothed lovers who are separated because the girl's brother breaks their father's promise that she could marry Mr. True Love, and instead lets a much richer man force himself on her and marry her. The brother feels very guilty about this afterwards and continually apologizes repeatedly to everyone, but ( spoilers are tragic and dignified! )
The two last plays we read for class were both by John Ford: 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (and yes, I was reading the edition with the jaunty neon pink cover) and The Broken Heart. 'Tis Pity She's a Whore is a tragedy in the true wacky Jacobean style, despite being technically post-Jacobean in time period - histrionic Italians, wacky brother-sister incest, raging jealous husbands, surpries pregnancy, and a conclusion that ( spoiler-cut, for anyone out there who might care )
The Broken Heart, by comparison, is a very dignified and sedate sort of tragedy. It takes place in Sparta, so everyone suffers very bravely and resolves to have death before dishonor etc., and nobody would ever dream of flying into a rage and poisoning anyone's tennis racket or cutting out their heart. Basically, the main conflict involves a pair of betrothed lovers who are separated because the girl's brother breaks their father's promise that she could marry Mr. True Love, and instead lets a much richer man force himself on her and marry her. The brother feels very guilty about this afterwards and continually apologizes repeatedly to everyone, but ( spoilers are tragic and dignified! )
