"The Body and the Senses in Greek Tragedy investigates how embodied knowledge and experience shape the language and performance of Greek tragic plays. Working at the intersection of embodiment theories, theater, and performance studies, this book brings together theatrical and literary criticism through close readings of select dramatic scripts: the Oresteia and the Persians by Aeschylus, the Ajax and the Philoctetes by Sophocles, and the Medea and the Trojan Women by Euripides. The Body and the Senses in Greek Tragedy argues that the human sensorium can function as a useful theoretical device, through which we can gain a holistic understanding of the theatrical experience, namely what happens between the events on the stage and the spectator's mind and body. Focusing on the close relationship between physical movement, sensory experience, language, and affect, this study examines how intercorporeal processes unfold on the stage and within the theater space, encouraging the audience to actively participate in the construction of emotional and intellectual meaning. The Body and the Senses in Greek Tragedy argues that a corporeal hermeneutics of tragic narratives can reveal the inextricable link between the lived body and questions of ethics, aesthetics, and other dimensions of cognitive and affective experience, inside as well as outside the theater"-- Provided by publisher.
The Body and the Senses in Greek Tragedy is the first book to approach the corporeality of Greek drama in terms of its capacity to involve audiences in the construction of meaning, not only on an affective but also on an intellectual level. Afroditi Angelopoulou argues that the inner workings of theatre, and the reasons behind its effectiveness, can be located in the lived, sentient body as the root of human thought, experience, and awareness.
Drawing on theories of embodiment, theatre, and performance studies, this study shows that investigating the playwrights' sustained and varied use of elements of corporeality is essential for uncovering the meaning of tragic narratives, whether experienced in live performance or as a text. Through close readings of select plays, Angelopoulou explores the intricate connections between sensory experience, language, physical movement, and affect, focusing on the way inter-corporeal processes unfold on the stage and within the theatre space. She demonstrates how thinking with and through the body can ultimately encourage the spectator, as well as the reader, to participate in the act of sense-making. Each chapter traces distinct somatic themes, indicating how these contribute to a play's aesthetics, ethics, and narrative arc.
By employing the human sensorium as a hermeneutic device, The Body and the Senses in Greek Tragedy offers a compelling methodology for studying language, subjective experience, and performance reception in Greek drama.
The Body and the Senses in Greek Tragedy is the first book to approach the corporeality of Greek drama in terms of its capacity to involve audiences in the construction of meaning, not only on an affective but also on an intellectual level.
