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- Title
Talfourd's ancient greeks in the theatre of reform.
- Authors
Hall, Edith
- Abstract
This article discusses two romantic tragedies set in ancient Greece, which were performed on the professional stage in London in the 1830s. They are the works of Thomas Noon Talfourd, a radical member of Parliament. "Ion" (Covent Garden Theatre 1836) was based on Euripides' tragedy of the same name; "The Athenian Captive" (Haymarket Theatre 1838) assumes many features from several Greek tragedies. The plays are contextualized within the social, political, and intellectual milieu of the decade of the Great Reform Act (1832), the abolition of slavery, and the accession of Queen Victoria. It is argued that they represent rare uses of ancient Greece for radical political purposes in the nineteenth-century British Theatre. Particularly significant are Talfourd's choice of starring actor (the republican William Charles Macready), the impact of Talfourd's own nonconformist Christianity on his presentation of struggles for liberty in ancient Greece, and the influences upon his work of Shelley and Bulwer.
- Subjects
ATHENIAN Captive, The (Play); ION (Play); ENGLISH drama (Tragedy) -- History &; criticism; TALFOURD, Thomas Noon, Sir, 1795-1854; 19TH century English drama; GREEK tragedy; POLITICAL change; DRAMA criticism
- Publication
International Journal of the Classical Tradition, 1997, Vol 3, Issue 3, p283
- ISSN
1073-0508
- Publication type
Literary Criticism
- DOI
10.1007/BF02686392