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Chapter 4 - Blindness as Second Sight

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 November 2023

Marchella Ward
Marchella Ward
Affiliation:
The Open University, Milton Keynes
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Summary

In Chapter Four we look at what is perhaps the most frequent metaphorical use of blindness: to stand for insight, second sight, or prophecy. The chapter situates this within what is known in disability studies as the ‘supercrip trope’, and looks in particular at the theatre’s special interest in Tiresias as key to the perpetuation of this trope. The plays of Maurice Maeterlinck, William Butler Yeats, John Millington Synge, Brian Friel, Samuel Beckett and John Milton are discussed in this chapter, among others. Finally, the chapter compares the theatre’s (and theatrical spectators’ special implication in this trope with more liberatory ways of figuring blindness in speculative fiction (drawing on the work of Sami Schalk).

Keywords

prophecysuperpowersblindness gainknowledgesupercripSami SchalkEli ClareTiresiasdramatic illusionspectatorship
Type
Chapter
Information
Blindness and Spectatorship in Ancient and Modern Theatres
Towards New Ways of Looking and Looking Back
 , pp. 133 - 170
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Blindness as Second Sight
  • Marchella Ward, The Open University, Milton Keynes
  • Book: Blindness and Spectatorship in Ancient and Modern Theatres
  • Online publication: 30 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009372732.005
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  • Blindness as Second Sight
  • Marchella Ward, The Open University, Milton Keynes
  • Book: Blindness and Spectatorship in Ancient and Modern Theatres
  • Online publication: 30 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009372732.005
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Blindness as Second Sight
  • Marchella Ward, The Open University, Milton Keynes
  • Book: Blindness and Spectatorship in Ancient and Modern Theatres
  • Online publication: 30 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009372732.005
Available formats
×