THE PUBLIC MIRROR by Larry F. Norman ( 9780226591520 ) - Books & Audio Books at Pickabook.co.uk

Item Details

Title:

THE PUBLIC MIRROR
MOLIERE AND THE SOCIAL COMMERCE OF DEPICTION

By:

Larry F. Norman

Format:

Paperback

List price:

£28.00

Our price:

£25.20

Discount:

10% off

You save:

£2.80

ISBN 10:

0226591522

ISBN 13:

9780226591520

Availability:

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Stock:

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Publisher:

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS

Pub. date:

3 December, 1999

Edition:

2nd ed.

Pages:

216

Description:

Pairing close readings of Moliere's comedies with accounts of French social history and aesthetics, this book aims to show how Moliere perceived satire as a "public mirror" provoking dynamic exchange and conflict with audience members obsessed with their own images.

Synopsis:

Though much beloved and widely produced, Moliere's satirical comedies pose a problem for those reading or staging his works today: how can a genre associated with biting caricature and castigation deliver engaging theatre? Instead of simply dismissing social satire as a foundation for Moliere's theatre, Larry F. Norman takes seriously Moliere's claim that his satires are first and foremost effective theatre. Pairing close readings of Moliere's comedies with accounts of French social history and aesthetics, Norman shows how Moliere perceived satire as a "public mirror" provoking dynamic exchange and conflict with audience members obsessed with their own images. Drawing on these tensions, Moliere portrays characters satirizing one another on stage, with their reactions providing dramatic conflict and propelling comic dialogue. By laying bare his society's system of imagining itself, Moliere's satires both enthralled and enraged his original audience and provide us with a crucial key to the classical culture of representation.

Publication:

Imprint:

University of Chicago Press

Returns:

Returnable

Some other items by this author:

BOOK IN THE AGE OF THEATER, 1550-1750 (PB)

CLASSICISMS (PB)

THE PUBLIC MIRROR (HB)

THE SHOCK OF THE ANCIENT (HB)

THE THEATRICAL BAROQUE (PB)