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Following are two one-act plays in the non-realistic tradition of modern theatre with a critical introduction about this tradition since Strindberg. It is first seen that non-realism is extremely difficult to define--theatrical performance always involves some non-realistic elements. It is found that generally those plays which emphasize some element of drama other than character (e.g. song or dance) may be termed non-realistic. The tradition is then traced through Strindberg, Yeats, Eliot, Ionesco, Sartre, Genet, and Beckett, The dissolution of character before other elements of the drama is observed in Strindberg’s Miss Julie.The poetic drama of Eliot, and more especially of Yeats, is shown to emphasize language (Aristotle’s category of diction), at the expense of normal character development and interaction. Huis Clos, Sartre's tour de force, illustrates the impossibility of a rigid classification of plays into the categories of realistic and non-realistic, for, though Sartre has created a purely hypothetical world, or hell, his characters behave and act upon one another in a thoroughly believable and consistently motivated manner. Ionesco's characters are shown to cancel their own existence by their absurd behavior in an insolite world where anything can happen. Again language, or the attack upon language (and through language-thought) is shown to be the primary element in this non-realistic theatre. Genet's characters are merely reflections of social roles. They behave, not as individuals, but as socio-economic types in a world of abstractions. Le Balcon, especially the first four scenes, is seen to rely more on stage activity (gesture and visual factors) than on character to convey dramatic action. The characters of Samuel Beckett are not whole characters; they are merely parts of characters. In both Waiting for Godot and Endgame one character is primarily emotional; the other intellectual. Only together can they form a whole character. Beckett's plays are concerned with revealing a state of being, not with portraying an event. In order to do this, they rely primarily on thought (conveyed through rhythmical diction) rather than character—the most necessary element in a strong plot. Happy Days follows the same lines as the two earlier plays, but here language itself has become the object of examination, as in the Ionesco plays. Finally, our conception of non-realistic drama having been clarified, and our acquaintance with its tradition renewed, we can see how the author's two plays, Where the Hell is She? and The Fabulous Fountain of Youth, function and how they fit into the non-realistic tradition of modern theatre. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

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Thomas W. Malone. / Bibliography: leaves 39-43.

Alexander H. Levis. / Cover title. "Invited paper to appear in the Proceedings of the 1989 IEEE International Conference on Control and Applications (ICCON '89), Jerusalem, Israel, April 1989." / Includes bibliographical references. / Supported by the Office of Naval Research. N00014-84-K-0519

In this essay, I explain what Nietzsche meant by saying "God is dead," and what he thought this Implied for the European morality of his day. The first section deals with the doctrine of eternal recurrence. The doctrine is outlined by means of the two main passages that Nietzsche devotes to the physical details in the books published by him. It is then indicated how seriously Nietzsche took eternal recurrence. I proceed by questioning the scientific soundness of the doctrine, but conclude the section by pointing out the significance that eternal recurrence would have had, had it been true. The most important consequence of the doctrine of eternal recurrence, to Nietzsche, is that it would have overthrown the Christian God, worldview, and morality. Section two proceeds to establish that for Nietzsche and us, even without the doctrine of eternal recurrence, the Christian God has died. I show that we still pride ourselves on being Christians, but I then go on to indicate that we lack the beliefs that would make us true Christians. The main conclusion established in this section is that science and rationalism have killed God. In the third section, I outline the significance of God's death by showing how, with the removal of God, the Christian morality and worldview are left without foundation. I then begin to point out the freedom which man has thereby received. I show that certain concepts and certain metaphysical views can no longer be employed without a severe shift in meaning. I conclude by observing that man does not need to be ashamed of himself anymore. God's death is examined further, in the fourth section, through the implications it has for the passions. It is shown that God's death serves first of all as a means to remove a number of stupidities relating to the nature of the passions. The stupidities of thinking the passions horrendous and of thinking that the only method to cope with the passions is extirpation are examined, and then dismissed. I finish by indicating that a mastering and conquering of the passions is a necessary prerequisite to become master in anything at all. The fifth and final section re-introduces the doctrine of eternal recurrence to show how it led Nietzsche to see the man seeking self-perfection as the best example of a means to deal with the pains and miseries of life. It is then shown how this ideal serves the same function for the person rejecting the eternal recurrence doctrine but not the view that God is dead. To see how one's life can be conceived as an aesthetically pleasing whole, an autobiographical note of Nietzsche and his remarks about Goethe are examined. Certain Nietzschean concepts are discussed in their relation to the man who seeks self-perfection, to show how this goal can be achieved. I conclude the section by indicating that one's life can be seen as forming an aesthetically pleasing whole by having a "dominant task" being brought to our awareness through our "organizing 'idea'." / Arts, Faculty of / Philosophy, Department of / Graduate

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Thèse--Stockholm, 2005. / Bibliogr. p. 181-195.