Breaking Dramatic Illusion and Extending the Dramatic World: French Civil-War Tragedy (1550-1643)

Abstract

This research project combines history, cultural studies, and performance theories to explore the threats posed by tragedy during the civil and religious crisis in France. French plays challenge civil and religious authority and justify revolt by the literal and figurative reenactment of sedition. In the sub-genre of civil-war tragedy, David rebels against the anointed king Saul, Caesar contends against Pompey, Roman senators slay the victorious Caesar, and Antigone disobeys her uncle and king, Creon. Adopting these famous examples of revolt enables playwrights to break the dramatic illusion of the play, creating crucial parallels with contemporary France. Historical examples give concrete support for the propaganda clothed by the tragedy, while staging revolt elicits violence from spectators because it dangerously encourages them to think independently, to investigate through reading and interpretation, and to lose control in riots and other acts of violence. The first chapter will identify threats in theater by exploring elements of tragedy, in the sub-genre of civil-war tragedies, where the author is most visible (in liminary material, prologues, and opening monologues) all of which break the play's stage illusion, forming a dangerous complicity between audience and author. In the next chapter, an analysis of the chorus suggests its role produces an effect similar to the paratext; the chorus interrupts the on-stage action and establishes historical precedence for the propaganda in the tragedy. These playwrights expanded and emphasized the role of the chorus, a stronger reliance on this role not reflected in most Ancient Greek or Roman tragedies, sources the French playwrights imitated. The third chapter explores the compelling roles of leading women to gain crucial insights into family, gender roles, and the threat perceived to social order by these female tragic heroes. The final chapter will examine the dialogue between loyalty and revolt in the sub-genre of civil-war tragedy, a dialogue that is connected intimately to contemporary events and to the author's political or religious confession. I hope this inquiry will provide new perspective for the French civil and religious wars, including the Saint Bartholomew Day massacres, and deepen our understanding of the often-overlooked genre of sixteenth-century tragedy.