Here - Academics - College of the Holy Cross

More documents

Recommendations

Info

moment of mercifulness toward Agrippina by Racine: “Make no mistake, Burrus: unjust as she is, she is my mother. I will ignore her caprices” (74). Yet despite this, Agrippina’s ambition is still more central to the plot of Britannicus than either the infamous emperor Nero or the title character. Tacitus’ depiction of Nero and Agrippina in the specific episode of Britannicus’ death further colors Racine’s use of these figures. Tacitus’ Annals concentrate on the faults of Nero and his murderous intent against Britannicus without the knowledge of his mother, Agrippina. Agrippina is no longer the central character in Tacitus’ narrative by the time of Britannicus’ death. However, just as in Racine’s Britannicus, the would-be heir’s death is a turning point in the relationship between Nero and his mother in a very bad way for Agrippina. Tacitus conveys that “in Agrippina’s case, such panic, such mental shock flashed out, despite her attempt to suppress them in her look, that it was agreed that she had been as unaware [of the assassination] as Octavia, Britannicus’ sister. She had begun to understand that her last source of aid had been seized away and that there was now a precedent for parricide” (13.16.4). Racine confirms this assessment in his aforementioned description of Agrippina’s impending death at the end of Britannicus. 156
However, the important difference from Tacitus is that Agrippina remains the central figure of even the coming tragedy of her own death. Tacitus’ tragedy is really the story of Rome trapped under despotic tyrants like Nero. An educated French theatre-goer would look for the similarities and subtle differences in Racine’s tale from that of Tacitus. Others might not be quite as cognizant of these things, but they would still be entertained by the story and alerted to the moral message that comes out of it. Racine continued to appeal to this knowledge of ancient Roman history in Bérénice, another of his tragedies. Bérénice Bérénice explores the idea of devotion to one’s duty over love, certainly recognizable for the French aristocracy, through an ancient Roman tale about the emperor Titus. The historical Titus lived in the first century A.D. and supposedly fell in love with a foreign queen, Berenice, after he suppressed a revolt in Judaea. Racine’s play skips all of the background details to focus on one subject, Titus’ announcement to Berenice of his decision. As soon as the play opens, this decision has already been made: “I’m going to leave her for ever. For a long time my heart has known what it must do. . . if in the end I have chosen my 157
Page 1:
PARNASSUS _________________________
Page 4 and 5:
Cover art by Allessandra Arduini iv
Page 6 and 7:
By Debbie Chu, 2012 ● Folklore an
Page 8 and 9:
Editor-in-Chief viii
Page 10 and 11:
S.O.V. Michael Dunbar, 2015 _______
Page 12 and 13:
A View of Law in Ancient Babylon: A
Page 14 and 15:
the rule of law. The indecipherable
Page 16 and 17:
exemplify the complex nature of Bab
Page 18 and 19:
Bibliography Baikley, Nels M., and
Page 20 and 21:
Plato’s Legacy: Whether the Repub
Page 22 and 23:
as it not only comes after the Repu
Page 24 and 25:
The first is that these dialogues a
Page 26 and 27:
presented in “one session of a fe
Page 28 and 29:
have labored to see if there is som
Page 30 and 31:
theory. In this new metaphysical do
Page 32 and 33:
conclusion on the questions raised,
Page 34 and 35:
Socratics as well as contemporaries
Page 36 and 37:
at hand. In the case at hand the tw
Page 38:
Bibliography Brann, Eva. The Music
Page 41 and 42:
Euripides’s Bacchae in Aeneid Boo
Page 43 and 44:
Pentheus into going out alone to sp
Page 45 and 46:
with the “traditionally Dionysiac
Page 47 and 48:
covered spears” (pampineas… has
Page 49 and 50:
the queen herself, after all, is th
Page 51 and 52:
city like a “follower of Bacchus
Page 53 and 54:
appear and call on him. Juno does n
Page 55 and 56:
As a result, Allecto’s involvemen
Page 57 and 58:
Aeneid: Vergil himself called the s
Page 59 and 60:
Transference of Rage from Juno to A
Page 61 and 62:
to pillage her most cherished city,
Page 63 and 64:
fury. He is “exiled by fate” (f
Page 65 and 66:
Aeneas takes an active role in the
Page 67 and 68:
cannot tolerate the idea of the two
Page 69 and 70:
establish a city in Latium. Nothing
Page 71 and 72:
attlefield, fighting on behalf of T
Page 73 and 74:
of Aeneas’ final question, eripia
Page 75 and 76:
perflant…ruunt creberque procelli
Page 77 and 78:
Bibliography Feeney, D.C. “The Re
Page 79 and 80:
Folklore and Superstition in Petron
Page 81 and 82:
crossing over the threshold, “one
Page 83 and 84:
evident to even the most imprudent
Page 85 and 86:
particular laughs “to the point o
Page 87 and 88:
crowded city of Rome. Furthermore,
Page 89 and 90:
concludes that “others can see wh
Page 91 and 92:
she punishes him with either a spel
Page 93 and 94:
fire, water was poured under the ta
Page 96 and 97:
Bibliography Leverett, R.P. Lexicon
Page 98 and 99:
The Complexities of Surviving Under
Page 100 and 101:
connotations of the word in a parti
Page 102 and 103:
denoting Republican values, it beco
Page 104 and 105:
etween the different uses of virtus
Page 106 and 107:
great states, ignorance of what is
Page 108 and 109:
Likewise, Tacitus uses the word vir
Page 110 and 111:
Tacitus does not use the word virtu
Page 112 and 113:
(Pater illi Iulius Graecinus senato
Page 114 and 115: ultimately of more help to the stat
Page 116 and 117: of Rome, and even in Rome itself, i
Page 118 and 119: Continued reflection on Tacitus’s
Page 120 and 121: Disordering Freedom: The Relation b
Page 122 and 123: decline of eloquence, but also of f
Page 124 and 125: (37.6), by the lack of which both e
Page 126 and 127: freedom of speech because, it seems
Page 128 and 129: e moderating his point. His recent
Page 130 and 131: y pairs, with ensuing comparison of
Page 132 and 133: mentioned disloyalty and to become
Page 134 and 135: whatever “new things” (Ann. I.5
Page 136 and 137: Bibliography Daitz, Stephen. “Tac
Page 138 and 139: constructed by previous writers and
Page 140 and 141: the coast of Sicily. Silius makes i
Page 142 and 143: whereas Silius achieves a similar e
Page 144 and 145: oth poets whom Rome naturally subsu
Page 146 and 147: Greece and Rome on the French Stage
Page 148 and 149: establishes a human’s moral fault
Page 150 and 151: from the protagonist’s flaws. Suc
Page 152 and 153: The will of the divine and personal
Page 154 and 155: Andromaque Racine’s Andromaque, p
Page 156 and 157: Christian audience than with an anc
Page 158 and 159: Racine’s, is the relationship bet
Page 160 and 161: comes from St. Augustine. 12 All of
Page 162 and 163: leave, what furious looks he gave m
Page 166 and 167: duty, I want you to know that, to d
Page 168 and 169: against both their inclinations”
Page 170 and 171: of the most important influences on
Page 172 and 173: Suetonius. Life of Titus. Translate
Page 174 and 175: Submissions for Next Year’s Journ
show all

Here - Academics - College of the Holy Cross

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?