De la Ifigenia en Áulide de Eurípides a la Ifigenia in Aulide de Manuel Lassala
- Format:
- Dissertation
- Year:
- 2016
- University:
- Universitat de València
- University URL:
- Thesis type:
- Doctoral Dissertation
- Place published:
- Valencia
- Language:
- Abstract:
In this thesis De la Ifigenia en Áulide de Eurípides a la Ifigenia in Aulide de Manuel Lassala (‘From Euripide’s Iphigenia at Aulis to Manuel Lassala’s Ifigenia in Aulide’) a comparative and developmental analysis of the myth of Iphigenia will be studied focussing on Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis to Manuel Lassala Sangermán’s Ifigenia in Aulide. Sangermán, originally from Valencia, was a Jesuit and dramatist who developed his work in Bolonia, Italy. This work is based upon two main sources; the aforementioned Euripides’ Iphigenia and the classic 18th century French tragedy: Racine’s Iphigenia.
The original idea for this thesis was derived from the desire to shed light upon Lassala’s Iphigenia. Lassala’s tragedy has never been studied, or indeed republished, since its original publication in Bologna in 1779. Furthermore, no academic research literature on the work exists. By conducting an in-depth analysis of the work and the context in which it was written, this thesis will comment on and explore the causes and reasons for the evolution of the Iphigenia myth from Classical Greece to Italian Settecento, taking into account society and literary tastes during the period. Thus this thesis is an interdisciplinary study with its starting point in Classical Philology and it then expands to include other fields such as: Comparative Literature and Humanism. In this way, it is a reception work: its basis is a neoclassical tragedy, and using Euripides as a reference, it seeks to further study the context in which the author was writing. Besides the study on Iphigenia this work will provide two appendices: one of which is Lassala’s Iphigenia edition, and the second an analysis of Lassala’s other neoclassical work. The thesis is divided in two main content sections. The first of them is devoted to Lassala’s context, biography and work. Therefore, the thesis begins with a study of the Jesuit world, focusing on the key points of influence on Lassala’s work: Jesuit education, Jesuit theatre, and the theological dichotomy of Jansenism versus Molinism. After dealing with the religious background; Lassala’s persona, biography and academic formation are then discussed. It should also be noted that before talking about his work, discussion is given to the classical Settecento Poetic by whom he was influenced. The second content section is devoted to Iphigenia: the myth evolution and the analysis of Lassala’s tragedy compared to its sources. To begin this section of the work, an introduction to the myth concerning the literary works previous to Euripides is provided, and then the focus is centered upon Euripidean Iphigenia in Aulis. After this, the myth in the 17th century is examined, with emphasis being placed on Erasmus’ translation of Euripides’ Iphigenia. The thesis then continues with a thorough discussion of Lassala’s secondary main source: Racine’s Iphigenie. The theoretical finishes with the study of the first Spanish recreations of the myth. The last part is dedicated to the study of Lassla’s Iphigenia where, after a general introduction, the previous studies are put into practise and the most relevant passages to the myth evolution are studied with Christian characteristics, character portrayal and predestination being used to guide the analysis. Regarding the two appendices, by including a my own edition of Lassala’s Iphigenia in Aulis, it is the intention of this thesis to showcase Lassala’s work as a whole and to increase awareness of the tragedy, not only focussing on the pieces selected for analysis. In view of this, the second appendix presents a wider view of Manuel Lassala as a neoclassical tragedian. It is worth bearing in mind that in general, Lassala’s religious plays are better known than his tragedies.
- Number of Pages:
- 412