Love, honour, and duty in James Thomson's Tancred and Sigismunda (1745)

Jung, S 2004, 'Love, honour, and duty in James Thomson's Tancred and Sigismunda (1745)' , The Modern Language Review, 99 (4) , pp. 889-901.

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Abstract

James Thomson's Tancred and Sigismunda juxtaposes notions of heroic drama with the mid-eighteenth-century sentimentalism of individuality and self-determination. The tragedy centres on the conflict between Siffredi, the late King's adviser, and Tancred, the heir to the throne, who are guided by differing notions of love, honour, and duty. The catastrophe unfolds as Tancred defends his choice of a lover, and it culminates in the death of Sigismunda, Siffredi's daughter, who is torn between filial duty and her love for Tancred. This article aims to contextualize the divergent public and private notions of love, honour, and duty against the background of an emerging bourgeois sense of individuality, on the one hand, and attempts at preserving outdated modes of aristocratic domination on the other.

Item Type: Article
Themes: Subjects / Themes > P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General)
Memory, Text and Place
Schools: Schools > School of Humanities, Languages & Social Sciences
Journal or Publication Title: The Modern Language Review
Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association
Refereed: Yes
ISSN: 00267937
Depositing User: H Kenna
Date Deposited: 26 Jan 2009 13:59
Last Modified: 27 Aug 2021 22:06
URI: https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/1326

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