Victor Hugo and the Romantic Drama / / Albert W. Halsall.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Toronto Press eBook-Package Archive 1933-1999
• VerfasserIn: Halsall, Albert W.,
• Place / Publishing House: Toronto : : University of Toronto Press, , [2016]; ©1998
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Language: English
• Series: University of Toronto Romance Series
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (256 p.)

Esteemed in France as the leading writer of Romantic dramas, Victor Hugo created a body of work that revolutionized the dramatic canon of his time. In this book, Albert W. Halsall presents the first complete treatment in English of Hugo's plays.This valuable synthesis offers a history, plot summary, and detailed analysis of all the dramas, from Cromwel and Torquemada to the juvenilia and the epic melodrama Les Burgraves. Particular attention is given to Hugo's practical experiments in staging his own plays, which he nearly always directed himself in the 1830s. Also documented are the receptions accorded to Hugo's dramas, from the battle that greeted Hernani in 1830 to Richard Eyre's 1996 production of Le Roi s'amuse at London's Royal National Theatre, which pointed to the sexual high jinks among the royals of the period.By showing how Hugo's practice is situated in the history of the French theatre and the neo-classical genres of comedy and tragedy, Halsall produces a clear, generic definition of the Romantic drama. His study is a thoroughly researched and comprehensive analysis of Hugo's dramatic works.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction -- A Note on Sources and Abbreviations -- 1. Youth and Dramatic Juvenilia -- 2. Theatre in France 1800-1830 -- 3. Hugo's Aesthetic Revolt (1), 1820 - 1827: Inez de Castro, Amy Robsart, Cromwell, and Its Preface -- 4. Aesthetic Revolt (2), 1828 - 1831: Hernani and Marion de Lorme -- 5. The Worst... and the Best of Times, 1832: Le Roi s’amuse and Lucréce Borgia -- 6. Hugo's Campagin against Social Injustice, 1833-1835: Marie Tudor and Angela, tyran de Padoue -- 7. Social Justice as Erotic Aspiration; 'An Earthworm in Love with a Star': Ruy Bias -- 8. Hugo Abandons the Romantic Drama: La Esmeralda, Les Jumeaux, and Les Burgraves -- 9. Hugo's Theatre after 1843: Le Théâtre en liberté; Return to the Romantic Drama: Mille Francs de récompense and Torquemada -- 10. Conclusion: The Romantic Drama after Victor Hugo -- Chronology of Hugo's Life and Writings -- Notes -- Works Consulted -- Index