"I have greatly enjoyed reading this study not only because of its
eminently readable style but above all because of its well
presented and important argument. Making excellent use of existing
scholarship on the tragic messenger, James Barrett manages to
increase considerably our understanding of the place and function
of this well-known, but often underrated figure. Thus, the relation
between tragic and epic narrative, which so far had been described
largely in terms of the shared use of unaugmented verb forms, is
explored on a much larger and significant scale. Barrett also works
out well the tensions between the messenger's human focalization
and epic ambitions. The different roles of the messenger are
effectively brought into relation with the thematic interests of
different plays. This is a study which has much to bring to both
student and specialist."--Irene J.F. de Jong, author of "A
Narratological Commentary on the Odyssey
"An agile and resourceful study of tragic messenger figures and
their speeches. James Barrett explores this fascinating subject
with the help of narrative theory and a sophisticated approach to
genre and rhetoric. His attentive readings of a range of
plays--from "Persians to "Rhesos--convincingly back up his claim
that messengers raise fundamental questions about knowledge and
authority. This is a learned book, written with engaging zest and a
fine feeling for the complex workings of dramatic narrative."--Pat
Easterling, editor of "The Cambridge Companion to Greek Tragedy
"The messenger speech "(angelia) is among the most familiar
conventions of the Greek stage, occurring in 26 of the 32 extant
tragedies. James Barrett interrogates the figure of themessenger
and questions the transparency of the messenger's report. Eschewing
approaches that focus more narrowly on the dramatic function or
narratological workings of messenger speeches, Barrett focuses on
their epistemic status--and with powerful results. He locates the
literary origins of the messenger in the epic narrator of the Iliad
and Odyssey and identifies an inner tension within the messenger's
claims to privileged status. [His] examination of the messenger
works through a set of skillful readings of key texts."--Thomas
Falkner, author of "The Poetics of Old Age in Greek Epic, Lyric,
and Tragedy
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