The concept of grace in Shakespeare's "Macbeth" and Racine's "Athalie"

The design of both Macbeth and Athalie asserts the triumph of the spiritual over the temporal in the sense that both plays demonstrate the way in which the recipients of grace become the means through which divine providence chooses to work. At the opposite end of the scale of grace we find the self...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ferreira-Ross, J. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 1985
In: Koers
Year: 1985, Volume: 50, Issue: 3, Pages: 183-204
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:The design of both Macbeth and Athalie asserts the triumph of the spiritual over the temporal in the sense that both plays demonstrate the way in which the recipients of grace become the means through which divine providence chooses to work. At the opposite end of the scale of grace we find the self-seekers. Like Shakespeare, Racine does not focus on the cause, but on the nature of a corrupt will. In each case the protagonist is shown to possess an overreaching desire for self-aggrandizement and a determination towards the acting out and enforcement of their personal will. Both plays end with a coup de theatre, a kind of dramatic 'trick' which symbolizes the illusory nature of the protagonists' power-seeking.
ISSN:2304-8557
Contains:Enthalten in: Koers
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.4102/koers.v50i3.1048