The The National Adaptation of Classicism: A Comparative Analysis of Albanian Tragedy and European Models

Abstract

This study examines the influence of classicism on Albanian dramaturgy, focusing on Etëhem Haxhiademi and Gjergj Fishta, two key playwrights who integrated classical principles within a national literary and theatrical context. While classicism emerged in 17th- and 18th-century Europe, its adaptation in Albanian tragedy followed a unique trajectory shaped by national concerns and socio-political transformations. The paper explores the structural, thematic, stylistic, and linguistic elements that define classical influence in Albanian drama, emphasizing Aristotle’s three unities—unity of time, place, and action—and their role in constructing a compact, morally instructive narrative. A key focus is placed on how tragic themes such as heroism, betrayal, and fate vs. free will are reinterpreted to reflect Albanian historical realities. Furthermore, the study examines dramatic discourse and rhetorical techniques, analyzing how linguistic choices, rhetorical figures, and metrical structures enhance emotional engagement. By integrating oral tradition, folkloric influences, and epic motifs, Albanian tragedy emerges as a hybrid form that bridges European aesthetics with local literary sensibilities. While drawing occasional parallels with European classical drama, the study primarily explores how classicism was adapted to Albanian dramaturgy, embedding national identity and collective memory within a classical framework. Characters often manifest archetypes deeply rooted in the communal psyche, reflecting not only personal fates but the collective struggles of a people. Language, too, plays a central role—blending high poetic diction with regional idioms to create a distinctive tragic register. In doing so, Albanian tragedy creates a unique space within European literature, one that is simultaneously rooted in tradition and responsive to historical rupture.