03.04: The Crying of Lot 49

In which we continue our analysis of The Crying of Lot 49…with our analysis of The Courier’s Tragedy.

The Courier’s Tragedy is a Pynchon-invented play within the novel modeled on the revenge tragedies of seventeenth century England. It’s wildly violent and hugely entertaining…but what’s the point? How might it work within the novel? And what of Oepida’s encounter with the play’s director? We might just have some answers for you; then again, we might just have more questions.

Shownotes:

Liam mentions: On Endings: American Postmodern Fiction and the Cold War, Daniel Grausem

Bo reads from: Charnes, Linda. “revenge tragedy.” The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance. : Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford Reference. 2005. Date Accessed 2 May. 2015