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A review by thombeckett
Tragedy, the Greeks, and Us by Simon Critchley
4.0
Critchley mentions in this epilogue that despite not being a classicist, he has an interest in ancient Greek theatre. This book is primarily a work of a philosopher, however. It looks at theatre ("the spectacle of politics looking at itself") from the perspective of Plato and Aristotle, but with multiple other views thrown in.
Plato chooses to reject theatre from his Republic, but Aristotle's Poetics goes into some detail on what theatre is, what effect it's supposed to have and its value.
Critchley takes all of these various perspectives and creates a work that skirts the ground between a full academic work and pop philosophy. It's entirely accessible, regardless of your knowledge of classics or philosophy, but Critchley doesn't shy away from pulling in views from Hegel or Nietzsche.
Each chapter explores an element of Greek theatre and each is challenging and provoking. It's probably not a great introduction to classics or Greek theatre but it's a great read.
Plato chooses to reject theatre from his Republic, but Aristotle's Poetics goes into some detail on what theatre is, what effect it's supposed to have and its value.
Critchley takes all of these various perspectives and creates a work that skirts the ground between a full academic work and pop philosophy. It's entirely accessible, regardless of your knowledge of classics or philosophy, but Critchley doesn't shy away from pulling in views from Hegel or Nietzsche.
Each chapter explores an element of Greek theatre and each is challenging and provoking. It's probably not a great introduction to classics or Greek theatre but it's a great read.