Multiple Implications Of Beatrice’s Patricide Tragedy In The Cenci

Percy Bysshe Shelly is considered one of the best English poets in history,and Shelley’s poetry has received widespread attention in academic field.Shelley’s dramatic works are rare,but they have its literary values.The five-act drama The Cenci is regarded as the greatest drama of 18th century,but it has received relatively little attention.There are a large number of related studies abroad,mainly in individual fields such as version and feminism,concentrate on Shelly’s thoughts and political views,and the research on domestic systems is particularly lacking.In fact,the patricide in The Cenci has important academic and practical significance:The patricide have ethical and political significance.The patricide is a rebellion against patriarchy and a pursuit of absolute freedom,and a complete denial and subversion of the old order.This thesis aims to systematically analyze and interpret The Cenci,explore its patricide theme,and analyze the patricide plot in the novel,focus on the tragedy and summarize the ethical connotation of it.The irreconcilability of conflict and the dilemma of the tragic subject explore the great tragic implications of the patricide theme.On the basis of the interpretation of the tragedy of the drama,it reveals the unique artistic creation thought embodied in the theme of the patricide.At the same time,this thesis adopts ethical criticism as the theoretical framework,and references the ethics,politics and economy in the period of European industrial revolution,through the careful reading of the text and the investigation of the ethical context of the text,the ethical tragedy of Beatrice will be analyzed from the the perspective of"ethical identity",which will explore the ethical anxiety that prevailed in British social reform period in the early 19th century and the political and economic reasons behind it.This thesis consists of five chapters.The first chapter is a briefly introduction about Shelley’s life and The Cenci,reviews on the research of Shelley and its works at home and abroad,and explain the main structure and content of this paper.The second chapter analyzes Beatrice’s patricide performance in the drama,including her patricide desire and patricide behavior,thus clarifying that the patricide theme in Shelley’s works is related to the British society in 19th century.It reveals the significance of the patricide theme.The third chapter discusses the ethical significance of the patricide theme,and analyzes the influence and impact of the patricide behavior on the Italian patriarchal society from the family ethics,calling for the family responsibility of the father.At the same time,it reveals the tragic meaning contained in the theme of patricide,focusing on the irreconcilable father-son conflicts in Cenci family,as well as the tragic ending and dilemma of Beatrice,showing the strong tragic power of the work,pointing out that Shelley is revealing and reflecting genius expressiveness in the complexity,contradiction and profoundness of human soul.The fourth chapter discusses the political implications of the patricide of Beatrice.The patricide is the core paradox in drama,it is a inevitable choice and a pernicious mistakes.This core paradox reflects the problem of national anxiety in British society in early 19th century.The opposition between Beatrice and Count Cenci is a embodiment of the confrontation between old and new political order,the patricide represents the complete subversion of the old order.This subversion is reflected in the violent revolution of society,it is inevitability but full of controversy.The last chapter summarizes the previous sections and points out that the patricide tragedy reveals the individual and social contradictions that human beings can never get rid of.Beatrice is not a patricide symbol,but a subversion symbol.The tragedy of Beatrice is a warning for social change in the era of emerging capitalism.