Tragédie et politique sous le Consulat et l’Empire : distance tragique et problématisation du présent

Abstract

When critics analyze French tragedy of the Consulate and the Empire eras, they often recall the role played by the theater as a way to influence the public opinion: plays became a vector of propaganda, to celebrate Napoleon's power, and an instrument used to disseminate the political, ethical and social models of the new France after the Revolution. The purpose of this article is to redefine this interpretation: because of poetic rules and the expectations of the audience, tragedy criticizes and problematizes reality, sublimating its ideological conflicts. If the tragedies are necessarily inspired by the events of the time in which they are written, they do not relate to them in a referential way. On the contrary, they question the present times and bring out their radical aporias.