On literary representations of an emotion whose central significance for the history of tragedy and the tragic play has scarcely been explored: hatred. Hatred does not belong to the realm of fluid, dialogical speech, but aims at silencing, denigrating and destroying its object. Despite, or perhaps precisely because of, this borderline situation with the realm of physical violence, hate-filled speech acquires a particular dynamism and intensity, especially in drama. From a comparative perspective, the contributions in this volume examine the significance of hatred, enmity and contempt for the history of tragedy and the tragic play. They raise questions of media history regarding the staging of emotions, as well as connections to historical experiences of violence and war, and reveal the poetological, rhetorical, aesthetic and political significance of an emotion that is still neglected by research. Focusing on the 17th and 18th centuries, the volume examines a constellation in which the emotion of hatred—long-lasting in nature and aimed at the annihilation of its object—proves particularly productive.

This book is included in DOAB.