Modernist Interiorization in Medea by T. Sturge Moore

Résumé fourni par la source

Background. This article examines Medea (1920), the dramatic poem by T. Sturge Moore, through the analytical framework of modern receptions of classical myth (Chevrel, 2006). Rather than treating Moore's text as a straightforward rewriting of Euripides' tragedy, the study approaches it as part of a broader modernist engagement with antiquity, in which myth is reinterpreted in response to changing aesthetic, philosophical, and cultural conditions. Methods. Drawing on reception theory, modernist poetics, and gender studies, the article argues that Moore's Medea represents a psychological and symbolic reconfiguration of the ancient myth rather than a direct adaptation of Euripides' tragedy (del Árbol Fernández, & Vázquez Marruecos, 2002). The analysis situates Moore's work within the intellectual climate of early twentieth-century modernism, emphasizing its investment in interiority, ethical ambiguity, and highly symbolic language. Particular attention is paid to the transformation of dramatic structure and characterization, as well as to the shifting representation of responsibility. Results. Unlike classical tragedy, which foregrounds external action, public confrontation, and divine intervention, Moore's play internalizes conflict and presents violence as the outcome of unresolved psychological struggle and moral isolation. The study highlights the significance of the post-infanticide structure of the play, the sustained lyrical tone of the dialogue, and the complex portrayal of Medea as both grieving mother and self-conscious moral agent. This reinterpretation displaces spectacle in favor of introspection. Conclusions. The analysis demonstrates that Moore's Medea transforms myth into a modern meditation on responsibility, loss, subjectivity, and ethical self-awareness, reflecting the broader cultural and moral concerns of the post–First World War period.

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