151 |
In-between Words: Late Modernist Style in the Novels of Henry Green, Ivy Compton-Burnett, Samuel Beckett, and Elizabeth BowenTarnopolsky, Damian 11 December 2013 (has links)
This dissertation seeks to identify, contextualize, and explain the achievement of late modernist novelists.
Late modernism represents a significant, under-examined chapter in the development of the twentieth-century novel. Unlike the majority of their peers in the decades after modernism’s height, novelists such as Henry Green, Ivy Compton-Burnett, and Elizabeth Bowen—and the best-known, Samuel Beckett—continue to innovate in prose rather than returning to realism. Unlike their predecessors, late modernists move towards doubt, eschewing the sometimes ultimately redemptive ethos of high modernism. They do so without the insistence of later postmodernists, however, or their playful mood. The result is something new, strange, and “in between.”
The aims of this study are to specify the nature of late modernist style, place it in its aesthetic and historical context, and explain its significance. Each chapter is a close reading of key works by one writer: each novelist uses different techniques to add to the late modernist aesthetic, but they all move in the same direction. The first chapter explores Henry Green’s work, analyzing the textual omissions and narrative construction that make his novels so evasive. In Compton-Burnett’s case, the focus is on how dialogue creates a constantly shifting moral world in which nothing can be taken for granted. The chapter on Beckett explores repetition, both as a microscopic stylistic tool and an organizing device that prevents the text from reaching conclusion. In examining Bowen, the centre is how her syntax circles continually around various kinds of “nothingness” and self-reflexively suggests ways to explore it.
This study arranges late modernist novelists in a new continuum alongside Samuel Beckett, with the result that Beckett seems less a unique genius, and the other late modernist writers seem less eccentric and more profoundly challenging. They all seek ways to go on writing when doing so seems impossible.
Late modernists bring something new to the novel. Through the smallest stylistic gestures, their works make and unmake themselves, refusing to allow the reader finality. They avoid the aesthetic and philosophical associations of either consolation or utter uncertainty; late modernists matter by refusing to matter in a familiar way.
|
152 |
In-between Words: Late Modernist Style in the Novels of Henry Green, Ivy Compton-Burnett, Samuel Beckett, and Elizabeth BowenTarnopolsky, Damian 11 December 2013 (has links)
This dissertation seeks to identify, contextualize, and explain the achievement of late modernist novelists.
Late modernism represents a significant, under-examined chapter in the development of the twentieth-century novel. Unlike the majority of their peers in the decades after modernism’s height, novelists such as Henry Green, Ivy Compton-Burnett, and Elizabeth Bowen—and the best-known, Samuel Beckett—continue to innovate in prose rather than returning to realism. Unlike their predecessors, late modernists move towards doubt, eschewing the sometimes ultimately redemptive ethos of high modernism. They do so without the insistence of later postmodernists, however, or their playful mood. The result is something new, strange, and “in between.”
The aims of this study are to specify the nature of late modernist style, place it in its aesthetic and historical context, and explain its significance. Each chapter is a close reading of key works by one writer: each novelist uses different techniques to add to the late modernist aesthetic, but they all move in the same direction. The first chapter explores Henry Green’s work, analyzing the textual omissions and narrative construction that make his novels so evasive. In Compton-Burnett’s case, the focus is on how dialogue creates a constantly shifting moral world in which nothing can be taken for granted. The chapter on Beckett explores repetition, both as a microscopic stylistic tool and an organizing device that prevents the text from reaching conclusion. In examining Bowen, the centre is how her syntax circles continually around various kinds of “nothingness” and self-reflexively suggests ways to explore it.
This study arranges late modernist novelists in a new continuum alongside Samuel Beckett, with the result that Beckett seems less a unique genius, and the other late modernist writers seem less eccentric and more profoundly challenging. They all seek ways to go on writing when doing so seems impossible.
Late modernists bring something new to the novel. Through the smallest stylistic gestures, their works make and unmake themselves, refusing to allow the reader finality. They avoid the aesthetic and philosophical associations of either consolation or utter uncertainty; late modernists matter by refusing to matter in a familiar way.
|
153 |
A reading of Samuel Beckett in the light of Hegel, Heidegger and SartreButler, Lance St John January 1980 (has links)
The thesis: "The easiest thing of all is to pass judgement on what has a solid substantial content; it is more difficult to grasp it and most of all difficult to do both together and produce the systematic exposition of it". (Hegel). Since at least 1960 there has been a considerable amount of critical attention paid to Beckett. Besides articles, reviews, chapters and paragraphs, by 1979 more, than sixty books had been published devoted exclusively to him. A lot of this critical work has been of the highest standard and certainly it is hard to imagine how a serious appreciation of Beckett could survive without it. But it is my opinion that at the heart of his writing there is an inescapable mass of involvement with the fundamental issues of existence that has yet to be dealt with adequately. In this thesis I intend to attack this central core of Beckett's work by associating it with the discipline which, by definition, operates in the same area - philosophy. This will provide a new "reading" of Beckett and at the same time show how far philosophical analogy can illuminate a writer.
|
154 |
Experiência interior na obra narrativa de Samuel Beckett: "O Calmante" e "textos para nada"Duro, Ana Paula Moreira 18 May 2017 (has links)
Submitted by Fabiano Vassallo (fabianovassallo2127@gmail.com) on 2017-05-15T17:39:08Z
No. of bitstreams: 2
license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5)
Dissertação Ana Paula experiência interior na obra narrativa de samuel beckett versao final 2.pdf: 1038395 bytes, checksum: 245a30783cab0781ca93b1d33e41e260 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Josimara Dias Brumatti (bcgdigital@ndc.uff.br) on 2017-05-18T13:07:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2
license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5)
Dissertação Ana Paula experiência interior na obra narrativa de samuel beckett versao final 2.pdf: 1038395 bytes, checksum: 245a30783cab0781ca93b1d33e41e260 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-18T13:07:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5)
Dissertação Ana Paula experiência interior na obra narrativa de samuel beckett versao final 2.pdf: 1038395 bytes, checksum: 245a30783cab0781ca93b1d33e41e260 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O objetivo desta dissertação é analisar os aspectos da experiência beckettiana que se
pode caracterizar como “interior” devido às suas implicações para a subjetividade,
partindo da noção de experiência interior apresentada por Georges Bataille em seu livro
homônimo de 1943. A discussão centra-se em torno da figura do sujeito beckettiano e a
da forma como ele se inscreve na linguagem na novela O Calmante e nos Textos para
nada. Este sujeito se apresenta como narrador-personagem de sua própria história e, ao
encenar seu processo de escrita, demonstra a insuficiência do código face à diversidade
do “eu” e do “mundo”. Através do desenvolvimento de seu caminho narrativo, que
questiona e desconfia constantemente da linguagem, ele realiza sua experiência
singular. Neste percurso abre-se a possibilidade de tensionamento dos limites da razão,
da moral, da lógica, do “eu” e da linguagem / The aim of this dissertation is to analyze the Beckettian experience that can be
characterized as “interior” because of its consequences for the subjectivity, starting from
the notion of inner experience developed by Georges Bataille in his book of 1943. The
discussion is centered around the figure of the subject that presents himself as the
narrator-character of his own story and, by dramatizing his process of writing,
demonstrates the insufficiency of the code regarding the diversity of the “I” and the
“world”. Through the development of his narrative, that constantly questions and doubts
the language, he realizes his singular experience. This process opens the possibility to
tension the limits of reason, moral, logic, of the “I” and the language
|
155 |
Comedy of the Impossible : The Power of Play in Post-war European Theatre / La Comédie de l’impossible : la force du jeu dans le théâtre européen de l’après-guerreStreet, Anna 05 December 2016 (has links)
En retraçant le développement des théories de la comédie dans la philosophie occidentale, cette thèse avance que des préjugés l’ont empêchée d’être reconnue comme un genre littéraire sérieux. Il est montré que la place donnée à la comédie comme genre mineur pendant plus de deux mille ans correspond à un modèle éthique qui affirme, en distinguant le réel de l'Idéal, une vision néo-platonicienne de l'existence. Partant de l’analyse d’un phénomène théâtral précis dans l’Europe de l’après-guerre et à travers de nombreux exemples choisis parmi des pièces de cinq dramaturges différents, cette thèse propose trois principaux critères de la comédie : le statut ontologique des personnages comiques, la relation paradoxale de la comédie au monde des apparences, et son aptitude à permettre l'impossible. Opérant ainsi un renversement total des systèmes de valeurs et remettant en question une vision binaire, la comédie brouille les clivages entre l’abstrait et le concret, le mécanique et l’organique, et au bout du compte entre la vie et la mort. Il est démontré comment ce renversement s’accomplit de manière linguistique, métaphorique ou encore dramaturgique. L’étude conclut que la comédie bouleverse l'ordre socio-symbolique qui repose sur la logique du possible. / By tracing the development of theories of comedy within Western philosophy, this thesis claims that anti-comic prejudices prevented comedy from being recognized as a serious genre. Comedy’s inferior status for over two thousand years is shown to correspond to an ethical model that distinguishes the real from the Ideal and affirms a Neo-Platonic vision of existence. Through numerous examples taken from a particular phenomenon of post-war European theatre comprising five different playwrights, this thesis proposes three primary characteristics of comedy: the ontological instability of comic characters, comedy’s paradoxical relation to the world of appearances, and comedy’s willingness to accommodate the impossible. By throwing binaries into question and promoting a complete reversal of dominant value systems, comedy blurs the lines of distinction between the abstract and the concrete, the mechanical and the organic and, ultimately, between life and death. Demonstrating how this reversal is accomplished linguistically, metaphorically, or dramaturgically, this study concludes that comedy subverts the socio-symbolic order that relies upon the logic of possibility.
|
156 |
Traces of Beckett : gestures of emptiness and impotence in the theater of Koltès, Kane, de la Parra and DurangPhilips, Jennifer Beth, 1976- 01 October 2012 (has links)
This dissertation examines Samuel Beckett's powerful legacy and influence on contemporary theater (on plays written and produced since 1980), and it defines this influence in both text and performance as gestures of emptiness and impotence. The plays selected for analysis here have been categorized at times as belonging to a tradition and legacy of the so-called "Theater of the Absurd," but, finding this category to be at once too restrictive and too loose, their relationship to the absurd is defined by their explicit use of and inspiration taken from Beckett's theater. Beckett's intentional and innovative use of emptiness and impotence, both spatially and textually, is decisively paradoxical: while emphasizing blank spaces and powerlessness, his plays find meaning in emptiness and unexpected control in what he called the "exploitation of impotence." In each of the plays analyzed in this dissertation, (Dans la solitude des champs de coton, Koltès; La secreta obscenidad de cada día, de la Parra; Blasted, Kane; and Laughing Wild, Durang), the explicit use of both emptiness and powerlessness are examined, and at the same time, I define what it is about each of these gestures that renders them particularly Beckettian as they relate to these works. In all of the plays examined here, gestures of emptiness and impotence become their opposites: significance and power. Four of Samuel Beckett's plays (Fragment de théâtre I, En attendant Godot, Fin de partie, and Happy Days) are compared and contrasted with the work of Koltès, de la Parra, Kane and Durang respectively. The parallels revealed, made both intentionally and unintentionally by their playwrights, demonstrate not only the certainty of Beckett's continued influence, but also reflect his persistent, widespread impact. What is shown, with broader implications for future study, is that Beckett's use of emptiness and impotence as theatrical, literary and artistic gestures have led to a new kind of hopefulness, and a new kind of artistic inspiration that is unique to our time. / text
|
157 |
A study of fools : Lear's fool in Shakespeare's King Lear and Vladimir and Estragon in Beckett's Waiting for GodotJesus, Leila Vieira de January 2012 (has links)
O foco dessa dissertação é analisar o papel, as características, e a presença dos bobos ao longo da história, focando em sua constante aparição no teatro. Os personagens principais da minha análise serão o Bobo, na peça Rei Lear de William Shakespeare, e Vladimir e Estragon, na peça Esperando Godot de Samuel Beckett. Na análise desses personagens, discuto semelhanças entre os autores, que já foram notadas por críticos como Martin Esslin, Jan Kott, e Northrop Frye, e mostro como os personagens de Beckett são similares aos bobos de Shakespeare. Bobos, no teatro, frequentemente agem como mediadores entre o palco e a plateia, guiando os espectadores e falando verdades. O Bobo de Lear diz verdades criticando seu mestre e o lembrando das decisões erradas que ele tomou; os personagens em Esperando Godot dizem verdades sobre a falta de sentido de nossas vidas e, mais importante, nos mostram essa falta de sentido no decorrer da peça. Em relação à linguagem, o uso dela pelos bobos é diferente do uso dos outros personagens porque eles a manipulam para criar desentendimentos e jogos de palavras. No teatro de Shakespeare, a principal razão para esse uso peculiar da linguagem é que os bobos querem mostrar sua sagacidade; no teatro de Beckett, eles usam uma linguagem sem sentido para mostrar que ela está quebrada e que tentativas de comunicação são inúteis. Através das ações e diálogos dos bobos de Beckett em Esperando Godot, podemos ver que a vida é absurda e que vivemos em um mundo cheio de incertezas. Apesar de personagens bobos geralmente serem vistos como superficiais e insignificantes, especialmente nas peças de Shakespeare, eles são extremamente importantes no teatro e têm uma maneira única de interagir com os outros personagens e com o público. / The focus of this thesis is to analyze the role, characteristics, and presence of fools throughout history, focusing on their recurrence in the theater. The characters I will focus on are Lear's Fool in William Shakespeare's King Lear, and Vladimir and Estragon in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, discussing similarities between the two authors, which have been mentioned by critics such as Martin Esslin, Jan Kott and Northrop Frye, and showing how Beckett's characters are similar to Shakespearean fools. Fools in the theater often act as mediators between the stage and the audience, guiding spectators and telling truths. Lear's Fool tells truths by criticizing his master and reminding him of the wrong decisions he has made; the characters in Waiting for Godot tell truths about the meaninglessness of life and, most importantly, show us this meaninglessness throughout the play. The use of language by fools is different from that of other characters because they manipulate it to create misunderstandings and word games. In Shakespeare's theater, the main reason for this peculiar use of language is that fools want to show their wit; in Beckett's theater, the characters use nonsensical language to show that language has broken down and that attempts at communication are pointless. Through the actions and dialogues of Beckett's fools in Waiting for Godot, we can see that life is absurd and that we live in a world full of uncertainties. In spite of the fact that fool characters are often seen as shallow and insignificant, especially in Shakespeare's theater, they are of extreme importance in the theater and have a unique manner of interacting with other characters and with the audience.
|
158 |
Solidões compartilhadas : entre a morte e o recomeço, no limite da literatura e do teatroNoy, Bia Isabel January 2015 (has links)
Dans cette recherche, à travers l'interdisciplinarité et l'ouverture qui vise un constant échange des savoirs, la Littérature Comparée et le Théâtre seront entrecroisés de manière à rompre les barrières qui pourraient les encadrer. L'un des buts de cette étude est justement celui de transgresser quelques idées et de mettre l'auteur, l'acteur et même le personnage, dans un même état présent, dans le ici-maintenant. Les trois sont en vie et dans un éternel processus de création. La ligne qui coud les savoirs théoriques de la Littérature Comparée avec ceux du Théâtre sera fondée sur trois auteurs et surtout sur trois oeuvres spécifiques : « Perto do Coração Selvagem » (1998) , de Clarice Lispector, « Moderato Cantabile » (2010), de Marguerite Duras et « Berceuse » (2011) de Samuel Beckett. Ayant l'intention de respecter la proposition d'un dialogue ouvert entre les savoirs, il n'y aura aucune distinction qui puisse classifier les récits, en tant que pièce de théâtre ou roman ; les mots composés par les écrivains seront assumés comme matériel textuel. Les oeuvres et ses trois figures féminines les plus importantes, étant elles Joana, Anne Desbaresdes et Femme, pousseront deux types d'analyses de texte : une analyse littéraire, dont l'écho retentit principalement des études de Roland Barthes et l'autre théâtrale, qui s’appuie dans les modèles proposés par Constantin Stanislavski. Les éléments qui seront dévoilés par les deux analyses, qui servent à rapprocher ou à distinguer les oeuvres, bien comme les dialogues établis entre elles, seront utilisés comme matériel pour l'élaboration de la principal hypothèse de cette recherche, qui défend l'idée selon laquelle les trois figures féminines seraient, en réalité, une même femme, dans différentes phases de la vie. Ainsi, à travers les auteurs, les acteurs, Joana, Anne Desbaresdes et Femme, cette étude suscite une composition des voix qui refusent à se fixer. / Nesta pesquisa, Literatura Comparada e Teatro, através da interdisciplinariedade e, consequentemente, da abertura dessas duas áreas que visa a uma constante troca de saberes, serão tramados de forma a romper com as barreias que poderiam enquadrá-los. Um dos objetivos do presente estudo é justamente o de transgredir algumas ideias e colocar autor, ator e, até mesmo, personagem em um mesmo estado presente, no aqui-agora. Os três estão vivos e em constante processo de criação. A linha para a costura dos saberes teóricos da Literatura Comparada com os do Teatro será fundamentada em três autores e sobretudo em três obras específicas: “Perto do Coração Selvagem” (1998), de Clarice Lispector, “Moderato Cantabile” (2010), de Marguerite Duras e “Berceuse” (2011), de Samuel Beckett. Com o intuito de respeitar a proposta de diálogo aberto entre os saberes, não haverá nenhuma distinção classificatória das narrativas, como peça de teatro ou romance; as palavras compostas pelos escritores serão assumidas como material textual. As obras e suas três figuras femininas mais importantes, sendo elas Joana, Anne Desbaresdes e Femme, estimularão dois tipos de análise do texto: uma análise literária, cujo eco repercute principalmente dos estudos de Roland Barthes e outra teatral, que se fundamenta nos moldes da análise ativa proposta por Constantin Stanislavski. Os elementos que serão revelados pelas duas análises, tenham eles o teor de aproximação ou de divergências entre as obras, bem como os diálogos estabelecidos entre elas, servirão como material para elaborar a principal hipótese desta pesquisa, que argumenta pela ideia de que as três figuras femininas seriam, de fato, uma mesma mulher, em fases diferentes de suas vidas. Assim, através dos autores, dos atores, de Joana, de Anne Desbaresdes e de Femme, este estudo evocará uma composição de vozes que se recusam a se fixar.
|
159 |
Solidões compartilhadas : entre a morte e o recomeço, no limite da literatura e do teatroNoy, Bia Isabel January 2015 (has links)
Dans cette recherche, à travers l'interdisciplinarité et l'ouverture qui vise un constant échange des savoirs, la Littérature Comparée et le Théâtre seront entrecroisés de manière à rompre les barrières qui pourraient les encadrer. L'un des buts de cette étude est justement celui de transgresser quelques idées et de mettre l'auteur, l'acteur et même le personnage, dans un même état présent, dans le ici-maintenant. Les trois sont en vie et dans un éternel processus de création. La ligne qui coud les savoirs théoriques de la Littérature Comparée avec ceux du Théâtre sera fondée sur trois auteurs et surtout sur trois oeuvres spécifiques : « Perto do Coração Selvagem » (1998) , de Clarice Lispector, « Moderato Cantabile » (2010), de Marguerite Duras et « Berceuse » (2011) de Samuel Beckett. Ayant l'intention de respecter la proposition d'un dialogue ouvert entre les savoirs, il n'y aura aucune distinction qui puisse classifier les récits, en tant que pièce de théâtre ou roman ; les mots composés par les écrivains seront assumés comme matériel textuel. Les oeuvres et ses trois figures féminines les plus importantes, étant elles Joana, Anne Desbaresdes et Femme, pousseront deux types d'analyses de texte : une analyse littéraire, dont l'écho retentit principalement des études de Roland Barthes et l'autre théâtrale, qui s’appuie dans les modèles proposés par Constantin Stanislavski. Les éléments qui seront dévoilés par les deux analyses, qui servent à rapprocher ou à distinguer les oeuvres, bien comme les dialogues établis entre elles, seront utilisés comme matériel pour l'élaboration de la principal hypothèse de cette recherche, qui défend l'idée selon laquelle les trois figures féminines seraient, en réalité, une même femme, dans différentes phases de la vie. Ainsi, à travers les auteurs, les acteurs, Joana, Anne Desbaresdes et Femme, cette étude suscite une composition des voix qui refusent à se fixer. / Nesta pesquisa, Literatura Comparada e Teatro, através da interdisciplinariedade e, consequentemente, da abertura dessas duas áreas que visa a uma constante troca de saberes, serão tramados de forma a romper com as barreias que poderiam enquadrá-los. Um dos objetivos do presente estudo é justamente o de transgredir algumas ideias e colocar autor, ator e, até mesmo, personagem em um mesmo estado presente, no aqui-agora. Os três estão vivos e em constante processo de criação. A linha para a costura dos saberes teóricos da Literatura Comparada com os do Teatro será fundamentada em três autores e sobretudo em três obras específicas: “Perto do Coração Selvagem” (1998), de Clarice Lispector, “Moderato Cantabile” (2010), de Marguerite Duras e “Berceuse” (2011), de Samuel Beckett. Com o intuito de respeitar a proposta de diálogo aberto entre os saberes, não haverá nenhuma distinção classificatória das narrativas, como peça de teatro ou romance; as palavras compostas pelos escritores serão assumidas como material textual. As obras e suas três figuras femininas mais importantes, sendo elas Joana, Anne Desbaresdes e Femme, estimularão dois tipos de análise do texto: uma análise literária, cujo eco repercute principalmente dos estudos de Roland Barthes e outra teatral, que se fundamenta nos moldes da análise ativa proposta por Constantin Stanislavski. Os elementos que serão revelados pelas duas análises, tenham eles o teor de aproximação ou de divergências entre as obras, bem como os diálogos estabelecidos entre elas, servirão como material para elaborar a principal hipótese desta pesquisa, que argumenta pela ideia de que as três figuras femininas seriam, de fato, uma mesma mulher, em fases diferentes de suas vidas. Assim, através dos autores, dos atores, de Joana, de Anne Desbaresdes e de Femme, este estudo evocará uma composição de vozes que se recusam a se fixar.
|
160 |
A study of fools : Lear's fool in Shakespeare's King Lear and Vladimir and Estragon in Beckett's Waiting for GodotJesus, Leila Vieira de January 2012 (has links)
O foco dessa dissertação é analisar o papel, as características, e a presença dos bobos ao longo da história, focando em sua constante aparição no teatro. Os personagens principais da minha análise serão o Bobo, na peça Rei Lear de William Shakespeare, e Vladimir e Estragon, na peça Esperando Godot de Samuel Beckett. Na análise desses personagens, discuto semelhanças entre os autores, que já foram notadas por críticos como Martin Esslin, Jan Kott, e Northrop Frye, e mostro como os personagens de Beckett são similares aos bobos de Shakespeare. Bobos, no teatro, frequentemente agem como mediadores entre o palco e a plateia, guiando os espectadores e falando verdades. O Bobo de Lear diz verdades criticando seu mestre e o lembrando das decisões erradas que ele tomou; os personagens em Esperando Godot dizem verdades sobre a falta de sentido de nossas vidas e, mais importante, nos mostram essa falta de sentido no decorrer da peça. Em relação à linguagem, o uso dela pelos bobos é diferente do uso dos outros personagens porque eles a manipulam para criar desentendimentos e jogos de palavras. No teatro de Shakespeare, a principal razão para esse uso peculiar da linguagem é que os bobos querem mostrar sua sagacidade; no teatro de Beckett, eles usam uma linguagem sem sentido para mostrar que ela está quebrada e que tentativas de comunicação são inúteis. Através das ações e diálogos dos bobos de Beckett em Esperando Godot, podemos ver que a vida é absurda e que vivemos em um mundo cheio de incertezas. Apesar de personagens bobos geralmente serem vistos como superficiais e insignificantes, especialmente nas peças de Shakespeare, eles são extremamente importantes no teatro e têm uma maneira única de interagir com os outros personagens e com o público. / The focus of this thesis is to analyze the role, characteristics, and presence of fools throughout history, focusing on their recurrence in the theater. The characters I will focus on are Lear's Fool in William Shakespeare's King Lear, and Vladimir and Estragon in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, discussing similarities between the two authors, which have been mentioned by critics such as Martin Esslin, Jan Kott and Northrop Frye, and showing how Beckett's characters are similar to Shakespearean fools. Fools in the theater often act as mediators between the stage and the audience, guiding spectators and telling truths. Lear's Fool tells truths by criticizing his master and reminding him of the wrong decisions he has made; the characters in Waiting for Godot tell truths about the meaninglessness of life and, most importantly, show us this meaninglessness throughout the play. The use of language by fools is different from that of other characters because they manipulate it to create misunderstandings and word games. In Shakespeare's theater, the main reason for this peculiar use of language is that fools want to show their wit; in Beckett's theater, the characters use nonsensical language to show that language has broken down and that attempts at communication are pointless. Through the actions and dialogues of Beckett's fools in Waiting for Godot, we can see that life is absurd and that we live in a world full of uncertainties. In spite of the fact that fool characters are often seen as shallow and insignificant, especially in Shakespeare's theater, they are of extreme importance in the theater and have a unique manner of interacting with other characters and with the audience.
|
Page generated in 0.3507 seconds