2010年4月13日 星期二

Athalie/ Tar·tuffe/Cinna

1981年遠景的諾貝爾文學獎 紀德卷為窄門 (揚澤) 偽幣製造者(孟祥森)
後者有三人名 孟祥森只查得一人
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French Literature Companion:

Athalie



French Literature Companion

Racine's last tragedy (1691), composed like Esther for performance at Saint-Cyr. It is a five-act play, magnificently written, with choruses between the acts. Based on accounts in the books of Kings and Chronicles, it tells of the overthrow of the usurper Athaliah by forces loyal to the house of David and the boy king Joas (a rare stage appearance by a child in 17th-c. theatre). The rising is managed by the inflexible high priest Joad, but the influence of Jehovah is felt throughout the play. It can be read either as the tragedy of the queen, the latest stage in the unending feud of two warring camps, or as a triumphal hymn to the true God, whose purposes are fulfilled by the crowning of Joas, the precursor of Christ. The play has also been interpreted as referring to contemporary events, in particular the English Revolution of 1688. It was greatly admired in the 18th and 19th c., even by those who, like Voltaire, did not approve of its religious message.



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tar·tuffe tar·tufe (tär-tʊf', -tūf') pronunciation
also
n.
A hypocrite, especially one who affects religious piety.

[After the protagonist of Tartuffe, a play by Molière.]

tartuffery tar·tuf'fe·ry n.

(tahr-TOOF) pronunciation

noun
A hypocrite who feigns virtue, especially in religious matters.

Etymology
After the main character in Tartuffe, a play by Molière, pen name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673). As if to prove themselves, the religious authorities in Paris had the play banned soon after it was introduced

Usage
"Tony Blair is like Harold Wilson, an empty vessel whose strength derives from his emptiness. (Religion is so often a substitute for depth.) Because he is a Tartuffe who does not really believe in anything, he is brilliant at seizing advantage; when he can't manipulate events, he surfs over them." — A.N. Wilson; Further Trials of Teflon Tony; The Evening Standard (London, UK); May 19, 2003.


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French Literature Companion:

Cinna


Tragedy by Pierre Corneille, first performed 1641. Inspired by his love for Émilie, whose father has been killed by the Roman emperor Augustus (Auguste), Cinna leads a plot against Auguste's life, and persists in it even when he and his fellow conspirator Maxime have been consulted by the blood-weary emperor, who wants to abdicate. The conspiracy is betrayed by Maxime, who is vainly in love with Émilie. Helped by the advice of his wife, Livie, Auguste conquers the impulse to have the conspirators executed. His clemency wins the hearts of Cinna, Maxime, and even the irreducible Émilie, and the play ends on a note of moral and political apotheosis.

[Peter France]

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