Antonin Artaud (1896-1948) was one of the 20th century's most important theoreticians of the drama. He developed the theory of the Theater of Cruelty, which has influenced playwrights from Beckett to ...
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When Antonin Artaud died of cancer in 1948 at the age of fifty-one, he was a marginal figure in the French artistic world. A minor motion-picture actor and founder of two short-lived avant-garde theat...
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In the following essay, Magarian highlights themes of moral indeterminacy and self-knowledge in The Cenci.
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Shelley's play The Cenci (1819) has, at its heart, a journey into the centre of t...
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In the following essay, Behrendt explores the political theme and moral crisis depicted in Shelley's verse drama The Cenci.
History and myth converge in Shelley's deeply political tra...
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In the following excerpt, originally published in 1820, the critic condemns The Cenci, describing the play as “the production of a fiend, and calculated for the entertainment of devils in hell....
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In the following essay, Wilson alleges that The Cenci is not a tragedy, despite Shelley's claim in the Preface.
The supposed moral disintegration of Beatrice after she is violated by her fat...
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In the following essay, Twitchell studies Shelley's use of the vampire myth in the imagery of The Cenci.
The Cenci is certainly one of the most philosophically intricate works Shelley ever w...
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In the following essay, Schell evaluates Shelley's suggestion that reason is inadequate compared to imagination in The Cenci.
Shelley believed drama to have a greater potential for influenci...
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In the following essay, Harrington-Lueker compares The Cenci and Macbeth and contends that Shelley borrowed Shakespearean themes to heighten audience understanding of his play.
As the Preface to Th...
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In the following essay, Hall analyzes the relationship between The Cenci and Prometheus Unbound, specifically focusing on themes of imagination and social reality in the works.
The Cenci was writte...
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In the following essay, Groseclose discusses how parent-child incest functions as a metaphor for tyranny in The Cenci.
Mary Shelley admired her husband's 1819 play, The Cenci, because it was...
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In the following essay, Sperry considers the moral dilemma inherent in Beatrice's decision to seek violent revenge.
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Politics begins in the family, as Shelley well knew and as the title of ...
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In the following essay, Lockridge addresses Shelley's belief in non-violent resistance to cruelty and oppression.
Questions of moral psychology, freedom, and justice are explored by Shelley ...
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In the following essay, Weinberg assesses the role of religion as it relates to the characters and themes in The Cenci.
In writing The Cenci, Shelley was scrupulous in his attention to historical d...
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In the following essay, Davy explores elements of Gothic darkness and mystery in The Cenci.
Most of the body of criticism devoted to Shelley's The Cenci approaches it as tragedy, and, moreov...
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In the following excerpt, originally published in 1820, Hunt lauds Shelley's use of imagination, details his characterization, and compares the author to classical dramatists.
‘The hi...
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In the following essay, Ferriss interprets The Cenci as Shelley's comment on the French Revolution and its aftermath.
Following his visit to Versailles in September 1816, Shelley proclaimed ...
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In the following essay, Blood comments on The Cenci's critical reception and considers theoretical interpretations of the play.
To judge from the work of Shelley's recent critics, The...
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In the following essay, Strand and Zimmerman concentrate on the moral problem associated with Beatrice's role as a heroine.
“… in spite of all that has been said to the contrar...
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In the following essay, Cheeke asserts that Shelley's play is “deeply insecure about its theater, its audience, its style and its language.”
Shelley's composition of The...
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In the following essay, Harrison contrasts Shelley's opinions on romantic drama espoused in his Preface to The Cenci with those implicit in the play itself.
Two problems have historically pr...
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In the following essay, originally published in 1886, Forman and Forman delineate elements of horror and poetry in The Cenci, labeling Shelley the “chief tragic poet since Shakespeare.”
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In the following essay, Cameron and Frenz summarize the critical response to various performances of The Cenci across Europe and the United States, highlighting the complications involved in staging t...
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In the following essay, Rees investigates the role of Orsino as a minor character and emblem for evil in Shelley's play.
Shelley's treatment of his minor characters in The Cenciȁ...
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In the following essay, Smith explores Shelley's alteration of his source material to emphasize moral and ethical concerns in The Cenci.
Sometime during the late summer or early fall of 1819...
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In the following essay, Adams defends Shelley against charges that The Cenci is structurally defective and argues that understanding Orsino's role in the first two acts is vital to an appreciat...
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In the following essay, Turner examines the veracity of Shelley's source material for The Cenci and contends that Shelley would have found little interest in Beatrice as a tragic heroine had he...
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In the following essay, White explains that Shelley's changes to his source material downplay themes of tyrannical power and rebellion in favor of notions of retribution and atonement.
A sig...
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Antonin Artaud
Antonin (Marie Joseph) Artaud
Critical Essay by Barry Magarian
