Features of the Classical Greek Tragedy in the Play “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia” by E. Albee
Smetanina Natalia Alexandrovna
Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin
Submitted: 08.08.2022
Abstract. The article is devoted to studying the features of the classical ancient Greek tragedy in the play “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia” by Edward Albee, which received the prestigious Tony Award. Despite the outrageous plot and purely avant-garde stylistic devices, the play has a number of characteristics typical of a classic tragedy. The aim of the study is to find and characterize the features of the ancient Greek tragedy in the play “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia” by the American playwright E. Albee. The article focuses on the connection between the poetics of the dramaturg and the principles of Aristotle’s tragedy composition. Attention is also drawn to the development of the theme of loneliness and rejection by society, which is the leitmotif of playwright’s creative work. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the approach to the study of the play “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia” precisely from the point of view of its connection with classical ancient Greek dramaturgy; themes of sacrifice and kinship, which are fundamental in the ancient Greek tragedy. As a result, the play “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia” reveals the features that connect the play with the classical ancient Greek tragedy, the influence of Aristotle’s “Poetics” on the play by the representative of the American theatre of the absurd E. Albee; and shows how the themes of sacrifice and kinship develop in the play by the American playwright.
Key words and phrases: Э. Олби, пьеса «Коза, или Кто такая Сильвия», трагедия, театр, Аристотель, E. Albee, the play “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia”, tragedy, theatre, Aristotle
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