A woman scorn'd : responses to the Dido myth
The story of Dido and Aeneas and their tragic love has been one of the most compelling and durable of the great classical myths. The story has led artists, writers, and musicians throughout the centuries to appropriate -- and misappropriate -- its elements for both artistic and political ends.In this book, ten distinguished contributors from the fields of fine art, history, English Literature, classics, and music examine the myth itself and the way in which it has been reinterpreted over the centuries. The volume opens with considerations of the theatrical aspects of Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid, the character of Dido, and the appearances of Mercury; subsequent essays discuss interpretations of the image of the queen in art, in a play by Marlowe, in operas by Cavalli and Purcell, and in seventeenth-century English satire. Ranging from an evaluation of paintings of Dido by Rembrandt, Turner, and Rubens (reproduced in black-and-white photographs) to an analysis of Dido as a conspiracy theorist plotting her own downfall, this collection is essential to all who have encountered Dido and her legacy in the arts.
Art
xiii, 290 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, music, 1 portrait ; 22 cm
9780571176991, 0571176992
60138178
I. Dido Dies Again. 1. Dido Dies Again / Roger Savage
II. Interpretations: Dido in the Ancient World. 1. Dido on the Tragic Stage: An Invitation to the Theatre of Carthage / Mark Pobjoy. 2. Domesticating Dido: History and Historicity / James Davidson. 3. Inconstant Dido / A. D. Nuttall. 4. Leaving Dido: The Appearance(s) of Mercury and the Motivations of Aeneas / Denis Feeney
III. Reinterpretations: Dido on the Stage (and Elsewhere). 1. 'Ut Poesis Pictura'?: Dido and the Artists / Jennifer Montagu. 2. The Queen on Stage: Marlowe's Dido, Queen of Carthage and the Representation of Elizabeth I / Diane Purkiss. 3. 'O Castita Bugiarda': Cavalli's Didone and the Question of Chastity / Wendy Beth Heller. 4. 'Great Minds Against Themselves Conspire': Purcell's Dido as a Conspiracy Theorist / Michael Burden. 5. Book IV in Plain Brown Wrappers: Translations and Travesties of Dido / Andrew Pinnock