Marriage to Death: The Conflation of Wedding and Funeral Rituals in Greek Tragedy

Rehm, Rush

ISBN 10: 0691033692 / ISBN 13: 9780691033693

Published by Princeton U.P., 1994, 1994

About this Item

8vo, cloth, dust jacket, xviii, 246pp., ills. Good/Good: clean and sound book with an old dampstain to the top front corner; bright and whole jacket, but a dampstain to the upper front corner.

Seller Inventory # ATLRRMtDCWF

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Marriage to Death: The Conflation of Wedding and Funeral Rituals in Greek Tragedy
• Publisher: Princeton U.P., 1994
• Publication Date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691033692
• ISBN 13: 9780691033693
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Theatre

About this title

Synopsis

The link between weddings and death--as found in dramas ranging from Romeo and Juliet to Lorca's Blood Wedding--plays a central role in the action of many Greek tragedies. Female characters such as Kassandra, Antigone, and Helen enact and refer to significant parts of wedding and funeral rites, but often in a twisted fashion. Over time the pressure of dramatic events causes the distinctions between weddings and funerals to disappear. In this book, Rush Rehm considers how and why the conflation of the two ceremonies comes to theatrical life in the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripedes. By focusing on the dramatization of important rituals conducted by women in ancient Athenian society, Rehm offers a new perspective on Greek tragedy and the challenges it posed for its audience.

About the Author

Rush Rehm is Assistant Professor of Drama and Classics at Stanford University and a free-lance theater director. He is the author of Greek Tragic Theatre (Routledge) and Aeschylus' Oresteia: A Theatre Version (Hawthorn).