Tragedy and Dramatic Theatre

by Hans-Thies Lehmann, Henry Erik Butler (Translator)

This comprehensive, authoritative account of tragedy is the culmination of Hans-Thies Lehmann’s groundbreaking contributions to theatre and performance scholarship. It is a major milestone in our understanding of this core foundation of the dramatic arts. From the philosophical roots and theories of tragedy, through its inextricable relationship with drama, to its impact upon post-dramatic forms, this is the definitive work in its field. Lehmann plots a course through the history of dramatic thought, taking in Aristotle, Plato, Seneca, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Lacan, Shakespeare, Schiller, Holderlin, Wagner, Maeterlinck, Yeats, Brecht, Kantor, Heiner Müller and Sarah Kane.

Genres: Theatre

466 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2013

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is undeniably important for any scholar of tragedy. It is an enormous scholarly edifice, and has very sensible things to say about tragedy in the contemporary theatre. But it is also flawed. The author spends hundreds of pages summarising critical theory, and accordingly never develops his own clear terminology in which to express his ideas. He simply excludes discussion of tragic fiction or cinema. He argues that previous books on tragedy have not paid enough attention to staging or performance, and then proceeds to spend about 10 of his 450 pages talking about staging and performance.

That said, Lehmann's overall theory of tragedy is interesting, because he gives a new view of its evolution. His distinction between "predramatic," "dramatic" and "postdramatic" theatre is powerful. His notion that Aeschylus and Sophocles are "predramatic" helps him to interpret their plays insightfully, and I agree with him that his interpretation of them is superior to Hegel's. His notion that tragedy is essentially about "transgression" is also powerful. This is in all essentials the theory of Nietzsche, but of course Nietzsche was not in a position to apply his ideas to twentieth-century theatre, as Lehman does.

If this book were 200 pages long, and included more analysis of the language and staging of his examples, it would have been a 5/5. As it stands, Lehmann's study will have to be an inspiration for the next great book on tragedy, rather than the book itself.