Seth and A.R., I respectfully disagree. If anyone had bothered to read Thucydides, we could have countered the neo-con insistence that Thucydides explained why we had to go to war. Thucydides' history foretold how disastrous Iraq would be, and it did so in excruciating, modernistic detail.
Sep. 15 2008 10:59 AM
Score: 0/0
eva
I think there's a value above catharsis (not to underplay catharsis) but to expand everyone's consciousness about how eternal these issues of abandonment of soldiers are - and in making that connection, we can better address that. About Doerries' point, the war Sophoclees (and Socrates) and all those men fought in was one of the most tragic, disastrous, hubristic, empire-ending wars ever.
Sep. 15 2008 10:57 AM
Score: 0/0
A.R.
from Manhattan
I agree with #3. Enough of this already.
Sep. 15 2008 10:54 AM
Score: 0/0
Ron Mwangaguhunga
from NYC
Betrayal plays a great deal in Philoctetes. Do the veterans flinch or even discuss a sense of betrayal after the plays?
Sep. 15 2008 10:53 AM
Score: 0/0
Ron Mwangaguhunga
from NYC
How about "Catharsis." Aristotle regarded Sophocles as the master of Tragedy because of the catarsis of his plays -- esp. Oedipus Tyrannus. Is the emotional healing of catharsis what the authors are after with the veterans?
Sep. 15 2008 10:53 AM
Score: 0/0
seth
from Long Island
This should be a Leonard Lopate segment not a Brian Lehrer segment.
With the presidential election around the corner, Brian should be devoting one third to one half of his program to discussion of the presidential and congressional races.
Sep. 15 2008 10:51 AM
Score: 0/0
Ron Mwangaguhunga
from NYC
Philoctetes is also about a terrible combat wound and the loneliness of abandonment. Have David and Bryan gotten any feedback from wounded veterans on that intense play?
Sep. 15 2008 10:50 AM
Score: 0/0
eva
Are they associated with Robert Shays? "Achilles In Vietnam" was one of the few books that made sense (if any) of the aftermath of that war. Sophocles - more of the "literature of crisis." How apt for our time. "Any arrows I may have left lying around, I cannot leave for another man to find." Or better yet, Euripides: "Unhappy Greeks, barbarians to each other."
Sep. 15 2008 09:50 AM
Score: 0/0
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Comments [8]
Seth and A.R.,
I respectfully disagree. If anyone had bothered to read Thucydides, we could have countered the neo-con insistence that Thucydides explained why we had to go to war. Thucydides' history foretold how disastrous Iraq would be, and it did so in excruciating, modernistic detail.
I think there's a value above catharsis (not to underplay catharsis) but to expand everyone's consciousness about how eternal these issues of abandonment of soldiers are - and in making that connection, we can better address that.
About Doerries' point, the war Sophoclees (and Socrates) and all those men fought in was one of the most tragic, disastrous, hubristic, empire-ending wars ever.
I agree with #3.
Enough of this already.
Betrayal plays a great deal in Philoctetes. Do the veterans flinch or even discuss a sense of betrayal after the plays?
How about "Catharsis." Aristotle regarded Sophocles as the master of Tragedy because of the catarsis of his plays -- esp. Oedipus Tyrannus. Is the emotional healing of catharsis what the authors are after with the veterans?
This should be a Leonard Lopate segment not a Brian Lehrer segment.
With the presidential election around the corner, Brian should be devoting one third to one half of his program to discussion of the presidential and congressional races.
Philoctetes is also about a terrible combat wound and the loneliness of abandonment. Have David and Bryan gotten any feedback from wounded veterans on that intense play?
Are they associated with Robert Shays? "Achilles In Vietnam" was one of the few books that made sense (if any) of the aftermath of that war.
Sophocles - more of the "literature of crisis." How apt for our time.
"Any arrows I may have left lying around,
I cannot leave for another man to find."
Or better yet, Euripides: "Unhappy Greeks, barbarians to each other."
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.