Terence’s Eunuchus

Suetonius (Vita Terenti 3) asserts that Eunuchus was Terence’s most commercially successful play. While we cannot confirm this claim, Eunuchus (as all Terence’s plays) enjoyed continuous readership after performances of it ceased in antiquity, was often cited by ancient writers and grammarians, and received a commentary in the 4th century ce. While Eunuchus is not without its critics—some have found fault with its dramatic structure and the ethics of its finale, to say nothing of its unique (in New Comedy) foregrounding of violent rape—it has generated enormous interest in both medieval and modern cultures, including numerous commentaries and translations. Eunuch’s unusual deception-plot, that is, the impulsive Chaerea’s costuming as a eunuch to sexually overpower Pamphila, no doubt accounts for much of the attention the play has attracted. For scholars of gender and sexuality, Eunuch invites interrogation of Roman attitudes toward sexual violence, norms of masculinity, and constructions of gender, as well as of the sexually ambiguous figure of the eunuch in this dramatic and cultural context. Eunuch’s prologue has also captivated scholars of Roman comedy and literary history more generally, as it so clearly articulates recurring concerns of Terence’s characteristically metadramatic prologues: Terence’s adaptation of both his Greek and Latin sources, including charges of “contamination” and “plagiarism,” and the broader challenges of finding novelty within circumscribed comic tradition (for Terence’s “anxiety of influence” see esp. Eun. 35–43). Some scholarship has been conducted on linguistic differentiation among Eunuch’s characters, and it is hoped that burgeoning sociolinguistic work on Plautine Latin will continue to be extended to Terence. Recent criticism has largely focused on aspects of Eunuch’s performance, both on the micro-level of costumes, stage movements, and musicality, and more broadly on the play’s pervasive metatheatricality.

Dramatic Premise and Human Purpose

Carl Jung's therapy is based on the dramatic structure of dreams, and current neurobiology and semantics confirms that drama—as defined by Plato—is the electromagnetic (EM) pattern of human reality. Therefore, fractal universal structure may be perceived in everything—“as above, so below”—and First Cause morality and intention can be correlated with contextual human purpose. Dramatic premise is a common denominator that integrates all of the dramatic components (plot, character, exposition, and lysis). First Cause Intention trickles down to personal harmony of purpose, but FC morality has always been problematic for humans. What part does evil play in the drama of human-cultural morality? Due to the significant difference of scale, human “contextuality” must be factored into the equation for moral behavior. Today's artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms for media technology can be used to foster authentic FC “coherent entrainment” according to Carl Jung's ratio between archetypes of the unconscious and their relatively conscious projections as archetypal representations (AR).

Walking with Vigilance: Middleton's Edge in The Triumphs of Truth

Scholars have frequently regarded Thomas Middleton's mayoral shows as exemplary for their moral dramatic structure. More recently, Tracey Hill has remarked upon their critical edge. Taking Middleton’s first show, The Triumphs of Truth (1613), as its primary focus and drawing upon selections from his other civic writings, this article examines the ways that Middleton's attention to the peripatetic nature of these events establishes a moral and critical reflection that is uniquely captured in the printed books he and other pageant writers saw through to publication. While arguing that this aspect of Middleton’s shows represents his unique contribution to the genre, the essay also explores the influences of Munday and Dekker, whose shows precede Middleton’s. Middleton does not entirely reinvent the genre but instead reminds the mayor and reader to walk with vigilance during both the live and imagined event.

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky between Moritz Heinrich Romberg and Armand Trousseau.

Fyodor M. Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) was a famous Russian writer born 200 years ago, important for the psychological depth and dramatic structure of his novels. Epilepsy was important in his life and creative process. Moritz H. Romberg (1795-1873) and Armand Trousseau (1801-1867) were two well-known physicians at the time who dedicated themselves to neurology. Its notoriety extended beyond the medical-scientific area, as exemplified by Dostoievski's letter. Although the occurrence of the meeting was controversial,3,4 its intention denotes their prestige. Romberg, known as the father of clinical neurology. Fyodor M. Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) foi um famoso escritor russo nascido há 200 anos, importante pela profundidade psicológica e estrutura dramática dos seus romances. A epilepsia foi importante na sua vida e no seu processo criativo. Moritz H. Romberg (1795-1873) e Armand Trousseau (1801-1867) eram dois médicos conhecidos na altura que se dedicavam à neurologia. A sua notoriedade estendeu-se para além da área médico-científica, como exemplificado pela carta de Dostoievski. Embora a ocorrência do encontro tenha sido controversa,3,4 a sua intenção denota o seu prestígio. Romberg, conhecido como o pai da neurologia clínica

‘Newly unfrozen senses and imagination’

When Shelley arrived in Italy in spring 1818, his first sustained literary endeavour was a translation of Plato’s Symposium. The translation is a brilliant achievement: it testifies to Shelley’s genius as a translator (Euripides, Homer, Goethe, Calderón). Shelley’s decision to translate was motivated by a desire to demonstrate for Mary (who could not read Greek) the true character of Athenian culture, with its emphasis on homosexuality. The Platonic ideas are also of significance in the context of Shelley’s experience of English society in the period leading up to his departure for Italy. His overt and published radicalism, sexual libertarianism, and atheism had cost him custody of his children, and the need to mute his views is demonstrated in his recognition that the Symposium translation could not legally be published in England. Its dramatic structure also points to new dimensions in the mature Italian work which immediately followed the translation.

Review of Understanding Consciousness by Max Velmans

Understanding Consciousness can almost be said to have a plot/narrative, or a dramatic structure similar to the ‘three-act structure’ model used by numerous screenwriters. In Part I—the Setup—Velmans surveys “mind-body theories and their problems”, in part II—the Confrontation—he reconstructs “a new analysis: how to marry science with experience”, and in part III—the Resolution—he shares with us “a new synthesis: reflexive monism” (v-vi). Velmans starts off in the first chapter with perhaps one of the most basic, nevertheless hard, questions in the field of consciousness studies: “what is consciousness?”

Theme orientation and the inevitable outcome of structural flaws: Investigating the results of the dominance of theme over action in Farhadi’s The Salesman

In this article, we discuss the importance of unity in the feature film script and the mechanism of its development based on the two elements of dramatic action and theme. We investigate the consequences of prioritizing theme over the action on the foundation of the dramatic structure of the screenplay, considering one of the most famous Iranian films, Asghar Farhadi’s The Salesman (2016), the winner of the best screenplay at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. In any form of drama, the chain of actions leads to a specific theme, and the theme in turn directs this chain. Therefore, to create an organic structure, the balanced development of action and theme is essential. Manipulating this balance in favour of highlighting the theme, and understanding the chain of actions based on the theme weakens the logical relationship of the actions as well as the dramatic structure, ultimately turning some actions into redundancies that can be eliminated. The study shows that in The Salesman’s screenplay, through prioritizing the theme over the action and disrupting the natural process of perceiving the theme from the chain of actions, a structure is created in which the presence of some actions are only justified by referring to the theme. Therefore, a number of events/scenes in the screenplay can be omitted without interfering with the unity of the narrative and the formation and expression of the theme. As a result, prioritizing the theme over the action in the foundation of the script inevitably leads to a flawed structure.

Divi pirmās personas stāstījumi Osvalda Zebra romānā „Māra”

The aim of the study is to define how and to what effect the first-person narrative form is used in Oswald Zebris’s novel “Māra” (2019) and how the other elements of the narrative support it. The analysis of the novel employs both semiotic and narratological ideas, paying in-depth attention to those elements of the novel’s structure that can help the reader understand the growth path and power of the heroine Māra, a 16-year-old young woman entangled in external and internal conflict. As the novel is predominantly written from the title character’s point of view, as she is the first-person narrator in 12 of the 16 chapters of the novel, the article reveals the principle of chapter arrangement, the meaning of the second first-person narrator (in four novel chapters) and the main points of the dramatic structure of the story. Although in interviews after the publication of the novel, the author Zebris has emphasised that he has written the novel about a brave girl who at her 16 years is ready to make the decisions necessary for her personal growth, her open, candid, and emotionally narrated narrative creates inner resistance in readers, especially the heroine’s peers, and therefore makes it difficult to observe and appreciate her courage and the positive metamorphosis in the dense narrative of the heroine’s feelings, impressions, memories, imaginary scenes, various impulses and comments on the action. It can be explained by the form of narration that requires the reader to identify with the narrator; however, it is cumbersome if the narrator’s motives, details, and emotions, expressed openly and honestly, are unacceptable, incomprehensible, or somehow exaggerated.

A Problematic Book

This chapter discusses seven reasons why the Bible is problematic—in other words, more complicated than it appears at first glance. One is that the Bible is not a single book. As such, one cannot expect to read through the Bible, cover to cover, and encounter a neat dramatic structure defining a single story. Another reason is that there is more than one Bible, since what constitutes the whole of the Bible depends on the process of canonization. From there, the chapter argues that the Bible is problematic because the texts themselves were composed, and collected, over a long period of time. The Bible has a lot of different authors and editors, most of whom are anonymous. Even the latest texts come from a very long time ago. The Bible was written in languages that are utterly unfamiliar to most readers today. Finally, the chapter raises its final point: that most of the Bible's readers today “believe in” it.