The Tragedy of Liberty: Civic Concern & Disillusionment in James Thomson's Tragic Dramas (Studia Anglistica Upsaliensia, 119) - Softcover

Eriksson, Ake; Leandoer, Katarina

9789155452537: The Tragedy of Liberty: Civic Concern & Disillusionment in James Thomson's Tragic Dramas (Studia Anglistica Upsaliensia, 119)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9155452531 ISBN 13: 9789155452537

Publisher: Uppsala Universitet

Early eighteenth-century serious drama often addresses the significance of liberty. This study focuses on the theme of civic and individual liberty in the little known tragedies of James Thomson, Sophonisba, Agamemnon and Tancred and Sigismunda, all of which problematise the condition of liberty under the influence of ideology. Situating the plays in the political, ideological and philosophical debates of the day, this study, like previous research in the field, recognises Thomson's connection with the political opposition to the Whig ministry. However, the plays are examined from a historical perspective as a response to tenets that, although similar to those embraced by the political opposition, were actually part of government Whig and Tory ideologies, as well as of contemporary thought about the individual as a social being.

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