u/jouissance-de-vivre

every time for the past like 15 years, whenever i've felt increasingly suicidal, i've: put on my makeup. styled my hair. picked out a gorgeous outfit. worn my high heels. and i look at myself in the mirror, and say to myself: you're too cute to die.

and it fucking works. it's always worked.

ain't it sad? idk. i mean, i'm still alive. so that's something, i guess. maybe it's just a symptomatic coping mechanism of our post post post modern society. it's such an outdated cliché being a sadgirl, i know. but what am i to do.

i don't think i'm an especially good or gifted person. i am cute though. if the rule that you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule? i mean, as i said, i am still alive after all.

so even if it is trashy, it's somewhat useful, i suppose. i guess that pretty much sums it up. idk man

Does anyone have a recommendation or favorite translation of the Poetics? I'm looking for an English translation, but also Ancient Greek editions - ideally, if there is one that contains both, with commentary.

I'm writing a thesis where the central theme is catharsis, and up until now I've used a Norwegian translation as it's my first language.

I have studied some Ancient Greek, so I'm really interested in looking into how both the original and an English translation compares to the Norwegian one. I'd greatly appreciate it if anyone could point me in the right direction.

To preface, I'm specifically talking about theoretical psychoanalysis and not clinical as I'm currently writing a comparative literature thesis. I'm looking for psychoanalytical theories that discuss the concept of catharsis; mainly in the Greek Tragedy, but it could be in a broader sense too. So far I'm looking into the PhD of Judy Gammelgård, but I'd greatly appreciate it if any of you have any further recommendations.

I'm also very curious about sadomasochism; I'm currently reading Deleuze's Masochism: Coldness and Cruelty, which I find hugely fascinating. A point in my thesis is that catharsis can be viewed as a sadomasochistic climax in which one can approach the Real through the careful cultic construction of the Symbolic (in my case, the Greek Tragedy). If anyone could point me in the right direction concerning relevant theories/analysts, I'd be very grateful.

Apart from Seminar VII, does Lacan go in depth on the Greek Tragedy in any of his other seminars?

I'm also looking for good secondary sources on Lacan's theories of the Greek Tragedy, so if anyone has any recommendations to share, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Please remove post if it's not allowed, and I apologize in advance for my English - it's not my first language.

I'm currently writing a thesis based on a psychoanalytic reading of Greek tragedies. My major is in comparative literature and my minor is classics; mostly Ancient Greek and a bit of Latin. I am however concerned with being unintentionally anachronistic, so one of my Ancient Greek professors have offered to be my 2nd supervisor - the 1st being a professor in comparative literature. I'm currently reading The Psychoanalytic Theory of Greek Tragedy by C. Fred Alford, and I've already discussed some points that Alford makes with my Ancient Greek professor. Among other things, he correctly pointed out that Alford might be confusing ψυχή and σκιά; Alford states that ψυχή means 'shadow' in Homeric terms. Alford also states the following:

"The ancient Greek thus had difficulty establishing symbolic connections between life and death or securely holding the memories of loved ones."

I am inclined to agree with this view in some aspect, for example the notion of miasma and that death/the dead unburied body was considered miasma. But I also disagree, based on - among other things - the funeral games for Patroclus in the Iliad, and the wonderful grave stelae that I've seen in the National Museum in Athens. In some stelae, a bird is a part of the motif - and another professor of mine in Ancient Greek told me that the bird can be viewed as a sort of messenger or playmate for the dead, because due to their ability to fly, they can traverse the borders of the living and the dead.

Thus, I'm wondering if any of you have read the book, or have any knowledge of Alford in general - and have any criticisms, critiques and/or insights? In the introduction, he states that he wants to investigate the Greek tragedies psychoanalytically, but based on their own/their poets' terms - i.e. their cultural and historical contemporary context. However, I am already a bit sceptical and I'd be very grateful if anyone has any inputs regarding how well Alford manages to do this.