SavedAdd your journal

Journals / Litera / 2026 / Cilt: 33 Sayı: 1

Orpheus and Eurydice Revisited: Grief and Grieving in Zinnie Harris’ Meet Me at Dawn

Tuğba Aygan(ATATÜRK ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0002-0514-8472
Journal
Litera
Pages
53–69
Publication Date
2023-07-04
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Drawing on Freud’s model of bereavement and the KüblerRoss grief cycle, this paper reflects on the embodiment of grief and grieving in the aftermath of a loss as manifested in Meet Me at Dawn arguing that it provides an exegesis of the validity of this particular model.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:First immortalised by Virgil in his fourth Georgic (ca. 39-30 BC), the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice has captured the imaginations of artists for centuries.
📊
Key Findings & Data:Among others, British playwright Zinnie Harris, in her 2017 play Meet Me at Dawn, draws her inspiration from this legendary love story.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:Drawing on Freud’s model of bereavement and the KüblerRoss grief cycle, this paper reflects on the embodiment of grief and grieving in the aftermath of a loss as manifested in Meet Me at Dawn arguing that it provides an exegesis of the validity of this particular model.
🔬Design:Modeling & Simulation
📍Scope:2017 Verileri
⚙️Variables:Meet Me at Dawn · Orpheus and Eurydice · bereavement

Abstract

First immortalised by Virgil in his fourth Georgic (ca. 39-30 BC), the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice has captured the imaginations of artists for centuries. Conditioned by the age in which they were produced, many songs, plays, poems, and operas have been composed to honour this tragic love story. Among others, British playwright Zinnie Harris, in her 2017 play Meet Me at Dawn, draws her inspiration from this legendary love story. Defying the gender politics of the myth and the time, Harris reframes the characters in a more modern context and constructs both Orpheus and Eurydice as women. Whilst questioning what one would do if they were given another chance to be reunited with a beloved one who died suddenly, the play further explores the themes of bereavement, grief, and grieving by using the mythological love story as an allegorical scaffold. Drawing on Freud’s model of bereavement and the KüblerRoss grief cycle, this paper reflects on the embodiment of grief and grieving in the aftermath of a loss as manifested in Meet Me at Dawn arguing that it provides an exegesis of the validity of this particular model.

🔖

Cite This Article

Aygan, T. (2023). Orpheus and Eurydice Revisited: Grief and Grieving in Zinnie Harris’ Meet Me at Dawn. Litera, Cilt: 33 Sayı: 1, 53–69. https://doi.org/10.26650/LITERA2022-1198703

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (19)

  1. Becker, E. (1997). The denial of death. New York: The Free Press. google scholar
  2. Bowra, C. M. (1952). Orpheus and Eurydice. The Classical Quarterly, 2(3/4), 113-126. google scholar
  3. Byock, I. (2013). Foreword. In On death and dying (pp. xi-xv). New York: Scribner. google scholar
  4. Freud, S. (1953). Mourning and melancholia. In Ernest Jones (Ed.) Collected papers Vol. IV (pp. 152-170). London: Hogarth Press. google scholar
  5. Freud, S. (1957). Thoughts for the times on war and death (Trans. J. Strachey). In On the history of psycho-analytic movement, papers on metapsychology and other works XIV (1914-1916) (pp. 275-301). London: Hogarth Press. google scholar
  6. Friedman, J. B. (1970). Orpheus in the Middle Ages. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. google scholar
  7. Harris, Z. (2017). Meet me at dawn. London: Faber&Faber. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9780571347339.00000003 google scholar
  8. Karadağ, Ö. (2022). Rewriting women and trauma: Zinnie Harris’s This Restless House. Tiyatro Eleştirmenliği ve Dramaturji Bölümü Dergisi, 34, 19-3. google scholar
  9. Kessler, D. (2000). Finding meaning: The sixth stage of grief. New York: Scribner. google scholar
  10. Kübler-Ross, E. (1969). On death and dying. New York: Macmillan. google scholar
  11. Kübler-Ross, E. & Kessler, D. (2005). On grief and grieving: Finding the meaning of grief through the five stages of loss. New York: Scribner. google scholar
  12. Segal, C. (1972). Ovid’s Orpheus and Augustan ideology. Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 103, 473-494. google scholar
  13. Segal, C. (1989). Orpheus: The myth of the poet. Baltimore: JHUP. google scholar
  14. Shriver, M. (2014). Foreword. In On grief and grieving (pp. xi-xvi). New York: Scribner. google scholar
  15. Stroebe, M. & Schut, H. (1999). The dual process model of coping with bereavement: Rationale and description. Death Studies, 23(3), 197-224. google scholar
  16. Swain, M. (15, Oct. 2019). Guest blog: Playwright Zinnie Harris on Meet me at dawn. Broadway World. Retrieved from https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Guest-Blog-Playwright-Zinnie-Harris-On-MEET-ME-AT-DAWN-20191015 google scholar
  17. Thomas, D. (2003). Dylan Thomas selected poems 1934-1952. New York: New Directions. google scholar
  18. Virgil. The Georgics. Retrieved from https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999. 02.0058%3Abook%3D4%3Acard%3D494 google scholar
  19. Worden, J. W. (2009). Grief counselling and grief therapy: A handbook for the mental health practitioner. New York: Springer. google scholar