Limit search to available items
Book Cover
E-book
Author Shipton, Matthew, author

Title The politics of youth in Greek tragedy : gangs of Athens / Matthew Shipton
Published London : Bloomsbury Academic, 2018
©2018

Copies

Description 1 online resource (vi, 202 pages)
Contents Youth in tragedy's literary forebears and contemporaries -- Intergenerational conflict in the Aeschylean Prometheus -- The politics of age and integration in Sophocles' Antigone -- The cult of the young warrior in Euripides' Heraclidae -- Youth and limitations on personal authority in Sophocles' Philoctetes -- Friendship and generational loyalty in Euripides' Orestes -- Euripides' Bacchae and Iphigenia in Aulis: a gap in the generations and political failure
Summary This bold new set of interpretations of tragedy offers innovative analyses of the dynamic between politics and youth in the ancient world. By exploring how tragedy responded to the fluctuating attitudes to young people at a highly turbulent time in the history of Athens, Shipton sheds new light on ancient attitudes to youth. Focusing on famous plays, such as Sophocles' Antigone and Euripides' Bacchae, alongside lesser known tragedies such as Euripides' Heraclidae and Orestes, Shipton uncovers compelling evidence to show that the complex and often paradoxical views we hold about youth today can also be found in the ancient society of classical Athens. Shipton argues that the prominence of young people in tragedy throughout the fifth century reflects the persistent uncertainty as to what their role in society should be. As the success of Athens rose and then fell, young characters were repeatedly used by tragic playwrights as a way to explore political tensions and social upheaval in the city. Throughout his text, Shipton reflects on how negative conceptualisations of youth, often expressed via the socially constructed 'gang' are formed as a way in which paradoxical views on youth can be contained
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Euripides -- Criticism and interpretation
Sophocles -- Criticism and interpretation
Aeschylus -- Criticism and interpretation
SUBJECT Aeschylus fast
Euripides fast
Sophocles fast
Subject Greek drama (Tragedy) -- History and criticism
Youth in literature.
Politics in literature.
Classical texts.
Violence in society.
Literary studies: classical, early & medieval.
DRAMA -- Ancient, Classical & Medieval.
Greek drama (Tragedy)
Politics in literature
Youth in literature
Genre/Form Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781474295086
1474295088