Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Volume 10
edited by
Herta Schmid
and
Aloysius Van Kesteren
1984
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Semiotics of drama and theatre.
(Linguistic & literary studies in Eastern Europe, ISSN 0165-7712; v. 10)
English, French, and German.
Bibliography: p. 511
1. Drama -- Addresses, essays, lectures. 2. Theater - Addresses, essays, lectures. 3.
Semiotics -- Addresses, essays, lectures. I. Schmid, Herta. II. Kesteren, Aloysius van.
III. Series: Linguistic & literary studies in Eastern Europe; Bd. 10.
PN1633.S45S47 1984 792'.0141 84-14518
ISBN 90-272-1513-8
Copyright 1984 - All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or
any other means, without written permission from the publisher.
LESLIE JACKSON: PROMENY
(From "Prague" series)
E L I Z A B E T H G I L L E T T E JACKSON
( e x h i b i t s under the name of Leslie Jackson)
EDUCATION:
TEACHING:
Creative A r t s Workshop, New H a v e n , Connecticut
D r a w i n g , p a i n t i n g , since 1960
Yale U n i v e r s i t y , New Haven
Seminar in drawing and its h i s t o r y , 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980
Castle Hill Center for the A r t s , T r u r o , Massachussetts
Drawing workshop, summers since 1977
EXHIBITS:
Provincetown, Massachussetts
Gallery 407, 1960
Paul Kessler G a l l e r y , 1965, 1979
New H a v e n , Connecticut
Ross-Talalay G a l l e r y , 1961, 1964
Ezra Stiles College ( Y a l e U n i v e r s i t y ) , 1962, 1965, 1967, 1969
S t a r l i g h t Music Festival, 1965
Trumbull College (Yale U n i v e r s i t y ) , 1979
Wellfleet, Massachussetts
Bragazzi G a l l e r y , 1966
Left Bank G a l l e r y , 1973, 1975, 1976
Washington, D . C .
Folger Shakespeare L i b r a r y , 1975
Rome, Italy
Galleria "La Pigna", 1980
Bergamo, I t a l y , Studio Gianfranco G u e r r a , 1980
P r i n t s , drawings and watercolors have been included in national
shows, such as those of the Society of American Graphic Artists,
L i b r a r y of Congress, American Watercolor Society.
Member of the Center for Independent S t u d y , New H a v e n .
C o n t e n t s
1. F U N D A M E N T A L S OF T H E A T R E RESEARCH
A n d r Helbo
Evidence et stratgies de l'analyse theatrale 93
Miroslav Prochazka
On the Nature of Dramatic T e x t 102
Carlos Tindemans
Coherence and Focability. A Contribution to the
Analysability of T h e a t r e Discourse 127
111. D E S C R I P T I V E T H E A T R E RESEARCH
Erika Fischer-Lichte
T h e Dramatic Dialogue - Oral or L i t e r a r y Communication? 137
Harai Golomb
Music as Theme and as S t r u c t u r a l Model in Chekhov's
T h r e e Sisters 174
Ernest Hess-Lttich
Die Strategie der Paradoxie. Z u r Logik der Konversation
im Dandyismus am Beispiel Oscar Wildes 197
6
Olle H i l d e b r a n d
T h e Theatrical T h e a t r e - Evreinov's Contribution to
Russian Modernism. An Analysis of T h e M e r r y Death 235
Steen Jansen
Le role de l'espace scnique dans la lecture du t e x t e
dramatique. Quelques observations sur un 'modle' du
g e n r e dramatique et sur les Sei personaggi in cerca
d'autore de Pirandello 254
P a t r i c e Pavis
On Brecht's Notion of Gestus 290
H e r t a Schmid
Die U m s t r u k t u r i e r u n g des theatralischen Zeichens in
echovs Einakter Predlozenie ( D e r H e i r a t s a n t r a g ) 305
Dina Sherzer
Frames and Metacommunication in Genet's T h e Balcony 368
Jin Veltrusky
Acting and Behaviour: A S t u d y in the Signans 393
Susan E. B a s s n e t t - M c G u i r e
Towards a T h e o r y of Women's T h e a t r e 445
Ed T a n a n d H e n r y Schoenmakers
'Good g u y bad g u y ' Effects in Political T h e a t r e 467
V. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Introduction
1975 appears to have been a very important year for the field of
drama and theatre research. It was our colleague and eminent guide,
Solomon Marcus, who called attention to this fact. In the Introduction
to his reader on the Formal Theory of Drama (1977:207) he stated:
"Very stimulating will [ . . . ] be the studies by Franco Ruffini (see de
tails in the very useful paper by Marco de Marinis-Patrizia Magli,
'Materiali bibliografici per una semiotica del teatro', Versus 11 (1975)
p.53-128), [...] and the very inspired books edited by Aloysius van
Kesteren and Herta Schmid (Moderne Dramentheorie [...] 1975) and
by Jos M. Diez Borque and Luciano Garcia Lorenzo (Semioliga del
teatro [ . . . ] 1975)". To these three titles (Marcus also mentions Steen
Jansen, by the way) a fourth can be added, which was also published
in 1975: Andr Helbo's Smiologie de la reprsentation. Helbo's French
reader was concerned with theatre in the broad sense: theatre prop
er, drama, television, 'bande dessine' and the like, whereas our
German reader mainly dealt with drama only. The Spanish reader was
a collection of papers on drama, theatre and film. Of special impor
tance to any field is the presentation of the state of affairs; hence
Marcus' appreciation of the bibliography by De Marinis and Magli.
Not only was proper attention paid to the object, theatre and drama,
(an attention by the way which was highly necessary regarding the
10
Then, the aspects of theatre and drama analysed were very different.
To mention some: the theatre c r i t i c , the semantics of sex in Greek
theatre, the configuration of a play, the state of affairs in the f i e l d ,
and so on. Finally, drama and theatre of all times and cultures, al
though restricted to the Western World (including Eastern Europe),
were taken as illustrative materials or as objects of description.
This tendency has been carried o n , as one can notice when one reads
the tables of content of recently published collections, and considers
the various proceedings of colloquia, symposia, and conferences that
have been held regularly (and in more and more rapid succession)
during the past seven years. Also a number of monographs and
introductions have been w r i t t e n recently that contribute to this too
quick development of our field of research (see the Bibliographical
section of the present r e a d e r ) .
2 . T h e present reader
From 1975 on hundreds and hundreds of new titles have been added
to the five hundred or so t h a t already existed (see De Marinis' and
Magli's b i b l i o g r a p h y , and the one in our Dramentheorie): too many.
It is not without reason that this reader has been presented under
the heading New perspectives. Surely, the tendency of the past ten
or fifteen years, the importance of which is too big to be denied, has
been continued in the new reader - and as such it is a continuation
of the collections from 1975 and after. The object is drama and thea
t r e , the aspects of this object dealt with are varied, the language is
English although contributions in French and German have been
included, the theatrical cultures range from Russia to England, from
'traditional' to fringe to feminist theatre. The methods of analysis are
the usual: linguistic, mathematic, s t r u c t u r a l , and semiotic of nature.
Nothing new at all it would seem. Two 'perspectives' not to be detect
ed in former readers however, are present in this one, and not by
chance.
3. Conclusion
The editors.
References
1. INTRODUCTION
1. Introduction
Well, I had not, and apparently no one else who was working in the
field at the time.
Ten years after date, the discipline still has no 'Fachsprache', and
most of its publications still have to be labelled as 'common nonsense'.
We simply cannot talk with one another about (aspects of) our dis
cipline, because we are still lacking in a common 'language'. The
terminology by which statements on the field's aspects are phrased
still is Babylonic of nature: we simply are not able to communicate
with each other properly. Basic terms and notions such as 'action',
'character', 'event', 'drama', etc. are not defined in a proper way;
they are drowned in ambiguity. Our field language is inadequate: its
phrases are not formally and structurally well formed, they do not
represent reality relevantly, they are neither interpretable nor ac
ceptable let alone controllable, criticizable or applicable (see Tinde-
mans 1980). Our language is lacking in a syntax, a semantics, as
well as a pragmatics. The state in which our discipline finds itself, is
the state in which Poetics was in 1923, the year Roman Ingarden
r i g h t l y raised this question (1970:385):
The answer is: we cannot study drama and theatre on the basis of
intuition, o r , to put it more gently (because intuition in itself is a
very nice and good human g i f t ) , on intuition alone. Intuition needs
knowledge as a complement. Knowledge of what?; the r i g h t question
on the r i g h t spot: knowledge of the most fundamental feature every
study or science needs: methodology.
4. Conclusion
1. Introduction
These shortcomings (to limit myself to only these ones) which are
reflected in a painful and obvious way in the results of research
carried out by fellow-theatre scholars (as well as in those of mine),
have led to the attempt of setting up a framework for research.
Underlying study will provide such a framework.
The starting point is the fact that Theatre Research is one of the so
called empirical sciences which have generally been divided into the
natural sciences and the humanities. Theatre Research belongs to the
latter group. It goes without saying that theatre is a phenomenon
which is not 'natural' but which is 'invented' by human beings, which
is made by man. I would like to cite a passage concerning the 'man-
madeness', the empirical nature of theatre from the publication of
26
On the basis of this statement no one can deny (not even those who
ascribe to man 'the natural inclination to playing and acting') that
Theatre Research is one of the empirical Human sciences. Just as it is
done within other empirical sciences, the theatre scholar learns (and
teaches) the empirical object 'theatre'. This learning process is reach
ed through observation, perception and experience: through em
piricism. However, not all observation, perception and experience is
scientific or scholarly by nature. Considered as such, this empiricism
will have to satisfy a number of conditions, or meet some require
ments. Beerling et al. state (1978:61; translation is mine):
I will start with the second step; the f i r s t one will be mentioned after
the last step for reasons of research policy.
As has been said, one step precedes the four mentioned above: a
frame of reference will have to be created within which these four
steps can be performed. This frame of reference is the basis of every
research program. This claim has been indicated by Carlos Tindemans
regarding Theatre Research. He states (1980:1-2):
work concept must answer or with the aid of which specific concepts
can be judged as to their acceptability and validity. This series of
desiderata is composed of two sections. The f i r s t section lists such
desiderata the concretization of which must be guaranteed by each
postulate (any hypothesis within a given framework) of the scientific
foundation of theatre study. Once this acceptable framework concept
is used for the valuation of the attempts of the scientific foundation
of theatre study as presently applied, then the non-concretization of
these desiderata acts as criticism. The second section comprises such
desiderata that only relate to the projected framework concept itself.
Although they are very important to the present study they have not
been worked out here nor assimilated in i t . Starting from these five
steps, a division into five subfields can be made. Theatre Research
then is composed of the following subfields (compare Lieb 1970):
1. Fundamentals of Theatre Research;
2. Theory of Theatre Research;
3. Theoretical Theatre Research (or Theory of theatre);
4. Descriptive Theatre Research (or Description of theatre);
5. Applied Theatre Research (or Application of theatre).
When these steps have been carried out, the procedure will start
again through the reformulation of the way Theatre Research will have
to be developed f u r t h e r .
Within this proposition each of the five subfields will be dealt with
roughly. They w i l l , however, be treated at length in my Handbook of
Theatre Research (1984-5; see also Van Kesteren 1981b).
Through his scientific education the researcher knows where and how
to look for scientifically relevant data. However, the looked for is not
always to be found instantaneously. After laborious and ingenious
scientific detective work the researcher may come to the conclusion
that the hypothesis by which his attention was guided, was not the
absolutely correct one. He may discover unexpected new data that do
not ' f i t ' within his original scheme. He is, however, only then able to
do this when he critically followed the procedures of previous re
search or predecessing researchers followed. Through t h i s , scientific
32
empirical study has been moved away from every day experience in
many directions. Whole scientific regions are hardly or not known to
or to be mapped by the lay man. The scientific nature lies in the
logically consistent structuring of this empiricism. The insight into its
systematic coherence can only be gained after thorough scientific
education and practical scientific experience. The nature of the em
pirical structure is an important methodological problem.
Beerling et al. raise at least two very important matters for discus
sion. The f i r s t one is the matter of the history of a discipline, here
the History of Theatre Research. The second matter concerns the
nature of the empirical structure of Theatre Research. Both are con
nected in such a way that I will treat them together.
As can be noticed, this stage will be met with when reading Beerling
et al. (1978), De Groot (1961), as well as the present study. Theatre
Research is a discipline that cannot a f f o r d , in its present state, to
omit the stage just rendered. It is even a stage it hardly reached.
Only some studies reflect this way of performing science (see for
instance, the so called empirical performance analysis by scholars
such as Schoenmakers, T a n , and Schalzky; see for a critique, Van
Kesteren and Van Stapele 1981c). In a footnote, Nidditch adds ( p . 5 ,
footnote 2) that there have been occasions when the structure of
scientific thought has been examined in combination with a study of
historical circumstances. He mentions among others, Crombie (1953),
Hanson (1959), and Hesse (1961). The present study is more or less
another example. Apart from that, I will come back to the aspect of
psychological and historical conditions Nidditch mentions as well as to
the aspect he mentioned regarding the difference between scientific
34
Now that the fulmination has taken place, I would like to pass on to a
more intersubjective treatment of the Hermeneutic Theatre Research. I
will base my division of the field upon Steinbeck (1970).
36
On the one hand the discipline is taken to be the study of the his
tory of the theatre. In this branch the reconstruction of the theatre
performance as it once took place is striven after. On the other hand
the drama as a literary text is studied (in general in a philological
way). This text is considered the basis - it is called 'the score' - of
the performance. A number of presuppositions are taken as a starting
point, presuppositions that are at least subjective but in any case
uncontrollable.
Although Lefevere has all the rights of the world at his side, I would
like to emphasize that this situation is typically one of transition, one
in which a discipline is reflected upon its nature, its past, and its
f u t u r e . The established policy - whatever it is - is rejected, but the
new one is not yet clear, let alone formulated. What can be detected
is that fellow disciplines are confronted with similar problems, that
fellow researchers have turned to other disciplines in search of ways
40
This strategy is not the best one; in fact it is a wrong one: the
bitter results can be traced in the present state and course of affairs
within Poetics and Discourse Studies where opportunists such as Teun
Van Dijk, Siegfried Schmidt, Jens Ihwe, Jonathan Culler, Paul Bouis-
sac, Umberto Eco, and their mediocre and blind epigones have been
poisoning generations of literary and discourse scholars, and, after
or through that, theatre scholars (see Van Zoest 1982, and Van
Kesteren and Van Stapele 1982).
new problem, with one or two results. In some situations the problem
proves amenable to explicitation, analysis, explication, and at least
partial solution within the bounds of one of the paradigms or models,
and in that case it is annexed as a legitimate branch of an established
field of study. In other situations the paradigms or models fail to
produce sufficient results, and researchers become aware that new
methods are needed to approach the problem.
In this second type of situation, the result is a tension between
researchers investigating the new problems and colleagues in their
former fields, and this tension can gradually lead to the establishment
of new channels of communication and the development of what has
been called a new disciplinary Utopia, that is, a new sense of a
shared interest in a common set of problems, approaches, and ob
jectives on the part of a new grouping of researchers. As W.O.
Hagstrom has indicated [1965:224], these two steps, the establishment
of communication channels and the development of a disciplinary
Utopia, 'make it possible for scientists to identify with the emerging
discipline and to claim legitimacy for their point of view when ap
pealing to university bodies or groups in the larger society'.
The same goes for Theatre Research, so the second situation Holmes
sketches with regard to Translation Studies (Holmes is one of the
instigators of the recent developments within that f i e l d , together with
Andr Lefevere, among others) applies here too.
better ones in which now and then articles are published in which the
modern tendencies are reflected, a central and analytically oriented
forum such as a Journal for Analytical Theatre Research is still
lacking although I myself have made attempts to establish such a
journal. Furthermore, during the Second International Congress for
Semiotic Studies at Vienna (1979) an international Newsletter has been
established, the general editor of which is Jean Alter from Pennsyl
vania University. Next, an International Association of Semiotics of
the Performing Arts (IASPA) has been established in 1980 by Andr
Helbo from Brussels who organised the f i r s t conference of the asso
ciation in 1981 (the proceedings of which (see Pegrs 27/28, 1981)
show very evidently the state of affairs within the 'Imitative' Theatre
Research - and therefore the failures of this association and the road
the field must certainly not t a k e ) . Then, a nonofficial but very
fruitful cooperation of Dutch, Belgian and German theatre scholars
has been started in 1980 as well by means of a series of meetings in
which one topic at the time is central and discussed thouroughly, the
instigators of which are Wil Hildebrand, Thomas Kuchenbuch and
Frans Bosboom from Utrecht. Other meetings, mainly French-oriented,
have been organized at Paris (1977, see Pegrs 13, 1978), at Mon
treal, Toronto, Urbino, Bologna, etc. during the past years. Further
more, a number of fine readers have been published, e . g . those by
Pez Borque y Garcia Lorenzo (1975), Helbo (1975), Serpieri (1978),
Hess-Lttich (1982), and the ones edited by Herta Schmid and me
(1975, and the presents one), and the mathematical oriented ones by
Solomon Marcus (1974, and 1977), who stated at the time (1977:207):
"Very stimulating will also be the studies by Franco Ruffini [1974a,
1974b], Steen Jansen . . . (1976), and the very inspired books edited
by Aloysius van Kesteren and Herta Schmid . . . (1975) and by Jos
Pfez Borque and Luciano Garca Lorenzo ... (1975)". Besides, a
number of mainly semiotics oriented journals offer the opportunity to
compile papers and articles concerning theatre research, such as
Poetics 10 (1974) and VI, 3/4 (1977), Sub-stance 18/19 (1977),
Versus 21 (1978), Poetics Today 2, 3 (1981). Moreover, a number of
43
This fact is the most important one of the three mentioned above. Our
field lacks any general consensus as to the scope and aims of it,, A
practice that prevents the solution of this problem is the following:
almost every theatre researcher has developed his views on the basis
of a particular method adopted from one field or the other, but he or
she is hardly able or willing to relate the method borrowed to the
ones others prefer and use. Moreover, most of our colleagues lack a
fundamental knowledge of matters concerning methodology and theory
of science. A very clear but disappointing example of this tendency
has been shown during the above mentioned f i r s t conference of the
IASPA. This conference appeared to be the very proof of the need of
the present study as well as of the theses I presented during the
conference itself. They are (see also Van Kesteren and Van Stapele
1981a) the following:
3.1. Introduction
However, things have not yet come to this stage. It is no use, there
fore, to adopt the in every respect useful suggestions and proposi
tions Lefevere makes (1978:18-27). I will come to this in the Hand
book mentioned.
The Viennese positivists did not go so far as to say that all meta
physical works deserved to be committed to the flames: they allowed,
somewhat perfunctorily, that such writing might have poetic merit or
even that it might express an exciting or interesting attitude to life.
Their point was that even so it did not state anything that was either
true or false and consequentely that it could contribute nothing to
the increase of knowledge. Metaphysical utterances were condemned
not for being emotive, which could hardly be considered as objection
able in itself, but for pretending to be cognitive, for masquerading
as something that they were not.
The same applies to Theatre Research. What has been done, and what
is done s t i l l , is to claim to be able to know theatre and to make
statements on the basis of this knowledge. As has been said by Peter
Van Stapele explicitly (Van Kesteren and Van Stapele 1981a): 'we do
not know what theatre is'. Theatre researchers will not have to strive
after f i x i n g the object 'theatre' any longer; they will have to examine,
criticise, falsify the statements about this object, no more no less. If
this is taken to be t r u e , then the statements within Theatre Research
(as within any empirical human science) will have to f u l f i l l a number
of criteria. Theatre Research, its language that is, will have to be
constructed of statements that are meaningful, i.e. either contingent,
synthetical and verifiable (falsifiable) through empiricism, or neces
sary and analytical (see our paraphrases from Nidditch 1968; see also
Rudner 1966). The difference between these two types of statements
49
Horatio replies:
There needs no ghost, my l o r d , come from the grave
To tell us t h i s .
Apart from t h i s , these nine aspects form more or less the program of
every analytic. From this tradition the members of the Vienna Circle
have been operating. From it I will make an attempt to construct an
Analytical Science of Theatre. I will not be totally faithful to this
program. But that does not alter the fact that the analytical point of
view is necessary in the stage our field is i n .
As a starting point I will take the division of the field into the five
subfields mentioned; resp. Fundamentals of, Theory of, Theoretical,
Descriptive, and Applied Theatre Research. The nine aspects of the
analytical practice can be connected with these subfields. As a matter
of fact the explicitation, the explanation and the ordering procedure
are part of the subfield of the Fundamentals of Theatre Research.
The view regarding the construction of a theatre-scientific language
(aspect 1) and the existence of interrelated entities (aspect 2) are
52
part of it (see Schmid 1975; Van Kesteren 1975a, and 1975c; Pfister
1977).
structure
|
| syntactics
|
form theatre function/effect
hyletics | pragmatics
|
content | meaning
sigmatics semantics
Diagram 1
This part of the theory will have to be complemented with and com
pleted by the dimensions of information, communication and interac
t i o n : by theatre taken as a process, r e s p . : the study of the theatre
in its aspects of information about theatre from a sender to a per-
ceiver; the study of theatre in its aspects of communication in which
55
information communication
sender theatre perceiver sender theatre perceiver
Diagram 2
This tendency is certainly not new within our field. In 1970 Ivo
Osolsob introduced the definition of dramatic art as 'communication
through communication about communication' (dramatick dflo jako
komunikace komunikac o komunikac), but hardly no one tried to
develop this proposition in a proper way and applied it seriously to
theatre (see Van Kesteren 1981a; also 1984-5, v o l . I I I ) .
4. Conclusion
References
Mihai Dinu
Our older belief that only by increasing the rigour of drama research
one may cut a secured way through the shivering sands of this large
t e r r i t o r y we are called to explore, gave us the courage to take the
risk of signing the most arid chapter of this reader.
We would like to think that we achieved our aim if the following pages
can convince the reader not only of the complexity of this so called
~simple~ problem in the study of drama but also of the importance of a
non-verbal component, seemingly so little like the one making the
object of our analysis.
68
1. Definitions
with the property that for any x P, there is at least a set of char
acters C* E F*, so that x E C*.
1. X r(X)
2. X Y r(X) r(Y)
3. r[r(X)] = r(X).
C f(C) = C *
C C*
1'. C f(C)
With t h e h e r e i n t r o d u c e d n o t a t i o n s , t h e t h e o r e m of B r a i n e r d and N e u -
feldt (1974) concerning closed configurations acquires the following
form:
Then:
m
f(C) = C * n C* = C
i=1
Then.
f(C1) ) =
Table 1 points out for each configuration C the closure f ( C ) and the
maximal dominant D ( C ) . One can see that besides the fifteen marked
configurations there are seven more effectively semi-marked con
figurations that are closed:
1. The countess 19
2. The marquis 18
3. Hortense 15
4-5. The knight
Lisette 12
6. Lepine 0
1. {c,m} 6
2. {c,l1} 5
3-4. {h,k}
{h,l1} 3.
5. {c,h} 6 (7-1)
6. {m,h} 5 (6-1)
7. {c,k} 3 (4-1)
8. {m,k} 2 (3-1)
9. [m,l 1 -2 (5-7)
10. (k,l1 -4 (3-7)
14. {h,l2} 1
15. {k,l2} 15
The most striking feature revealed by table 2 is that all the effective
ly semi-marked configurations are dominated (we will come to this
later). On the other hand it must be noted that the subfamily of
marked configurations belonging to this fragment of the play has an
unusual property: each product (intersection) of marked configura
tions is a marked configuration as well. We call this property stability
with regard to the intersection. The following theorems offer a
mathematical justification to that empirical remark. With sensibly
different formulations and proofs they are repeating two theorems of
Solomon Marcus (1973) which generalized some of our former results
(Dinu 1970).
75
f(C1) = C *
C1 C*
Theorem 3 . 2 . Let F* be a s t a b l e f a m i l y ( w i t h r e g a r d t o i n t e r s e c t i o n )
and let n be a n a t u r a l n u m b e r . If t h e c a r d i n a l n u m b e r of a n y m a r k e d
configuration is g r e a t e r than n, then at least t w o effectively semi-
marked configurations composed of at t h e most n elements are scenic
equivalent.
Proof: A c c o r d i n g t o T h e o r e m 3 . 1 . t h e maximal d o m i n a n t D ( C 1 ) of an
effectively semi-marked configuration C1 is non-empty. Let C 2 be a
s u b s e t of D ( C 1 ) t h e c a r d i n a l of w h i c h w o u l d be n. By assumption,
the configuration C 2 is e f f e c t i v e l y s e m i - m a r k e d and C1 C 2 . In t h e
same way one f i n d s an e f f e c t i v e l y semi-marked configuration C3 so
that C2 C3 and so o n . Finally, we o b t a i n a c h a i n of effectively
semi-marked configurations. C1 C2 C3 . . . Ck-1 .. C.
Ck+1 .... Taking into a c c o u n t t h a t t h e set of semi-marked
configurations is always finite, there are in this c h a i n at least t w o
indexes i and j ( l e t be i < j ) , so t h a t Ci = C j . On t h e o t h e r hand,
j # i + 1 , b e c a u s e , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e d e f i n i t i o n of d o m i n a t i o n , C. # Ci+l .
It follows t h a t Cj C. i+l a n d , in accordance w i t h t h e t r a n s i t i v e n e s s
+1 '
of domination, C. i + 1 C. hence C. ci+l- The seeking for
stable families of configurations is facilitated by the converse to
T h e o r e m 3 . 1 , namely T h e o r e m 3 . 3 .
1 - 2 . 3 1
3 - 4 . 2 4
5 . 1 6
6 . 1 5
7 - 1 1 . 1 2
1 2 - 1 5 . 8
1 6 - 1 9 . 6
20-26.
4
2 6 . 3
2 7 - 3 0 . 2
31. 1
79
The zero element of the group is the empty configuration. The recip
rocal of any element is the element itself. The general properties of
the groups of configurations are pointed out by:
80
Proof: Taking into account that x and y are not scenic equivalent
in F*, there must be at least one configuration A* ( F * - F 1 * ) for
wich
e i t h e r ( 4 . 1 )
or (4.2)
Noticing that:
82
we may draw the conclusion that the subclass K1 only accepts con
figurations of x and not of y , whereas K2 only accepts configurations
of y and never if x . Because K1 U K2 = K, it follows that the char
acters x and y are scenic complementary. Among the possible sub
groups of a group of scenic configurations, G = (F*, we shall
find the subgroup consisting of the totality of
marked configurations or an even cardinal number.
1. x , y C 1 * and x , y C2*
2. x , y C1* and x , y C 2 *
3. x , y C 1 * and x , y G C 2 *
4. x , y C1* and x , y e C 2 * .
(4.3)
The fact that G 2 does not coincide with G1 is the consequence of the
existence in F* of some uneven configurations. In the structure of
G1, apart from the fact that some sets are symmetric differences of
even configurations, common with G 2 , there are also sets resulting
from the sums of the kind uneven uneven = even. These are
forming the residue class of the group G1 with regard to its
subgroup G2. Let G 3 be the group generated by the set F 1 * = {
{c,m} , { h , k } , {l1,l2} } consisting of the 3 couples of characters
forming the pillars of the plot, and of the empty configuration.
{} {c,m,h} {c,m,h,l1} {}
{ c , l 1 } {c,l1,l2} {m,h,k,l1} {}
Table 2: Configurations (C) and maximal dominants ( D ( C ) ) ; the five first scenes
excluded
89
C 9 = { c , m , l 2 } : l 2 introduces m.
=
C10 { c , m } : c urges m to confess his love. As he is shy, m mumbles
and thinks he has been rejected.
C11 = {c,m,h}: h asks m what was his decision with regard to the
provisions of the w i l l , m answers by proposing to h.
=
C12 { c , m , h , k } : h informs about m's decision. To give away the
lack of sincerity of m's proposal both of them insist on hastening the
marriage.
=
C13 { c , m , h , k , l 1 } : h asks l1 to send l 2 for the notary.
=
C14 {c,m,h,k,l1,I2}: I 2 tries to postpone the task he was asked to
f u l f i l l . When he sees he cannot help he refuses to go to the notary.
91
References
D i n u , Mhai 1970
'Contributions a l'tude mathematique du t h a t r e ' , Revue r o u -
maine de mathmatiques pures et appliques 15, p . 4 .
Marcus, Solomon 1973
Mathematische Poetik ( B u c u r e s t i , F r a n k f u r t a . M . : Ed. Academiei,
Athenaum) (= 1970, Poetica matematica).
EVIDENCES ET STRATEGIES DE L'ANALYSE THEATRALE
Andr Helbo
1.
2.
Dans son ouvrage sur les discours et les sciences sociales, Greimas
opre une partition des discours scientifiques; celle-ci reprend "la
double dfinition, classique, de la v r i t , la premire l'identifiant
avec la cohrence interne, la seconde la fondant sur l'adquation du
langage a la ralit qu'il dcrit" (1976: 20).
3.
4.
l'objet de connaissance,
l'isotopie de lecture (interprtation),
le mta-discours qui fomente l'isotopie de lecture.
5.
1. Le paradoxe du sujet:
"Le discours thtral", crit Anne Ubersfeld (1978: 264), "est un
discours sans sujet." Affirmation premptoire assortie aussitt d'un
remord: "Discours sans sujet mais o s'investissent deux voix
dialoguant." Le repentir est d'importance car, affich ou dissimul, le
sujet demeure toujours prsent au thtre. Que l'on adopte, avec
Greimas, l'hypothse d'une approche narrative du thtre ou qu'on
accepte, suivant Lyotard, l'apprhension plus large du dispositif
nergtique li au spectacle, l'vacuation du sujet n'est jamais per
mise. En proie des migrations (actantielles ou modales) internes
au discours, le sujet d'nonciation survit aux mtarmorphoses; c'est
bien l l'essence du paradoxe thtral: par sa qute le sujet i n
dividuel (spectateur ou acteur) se condamne, travers un jeu de
dlgations, sa propre dilution dans le sujet collectif (public) qui le
perptue.
2 . Le paradoxe du r f r e n t :
Chacun s'accorde sur le caractre suirfrentiel du t h t r e . L'am
nagement du rfrent scnique relve de l'oxymore: la "ralit" du
spectacle, son vraisemblable supposent la convention; Landowski
prcise excellemment la procdure: "C'est une instance imaginaire
investie d'une existence smiotique, mais prive de ralit hors du
cadre spectaculaire qui lui donne naissance, qui cautionne la ralit
du spectacle".
3. Le paradoxe de l'illusion:
Ambivalence fondatrice de l'illusion t h t r a l e : la simulation, la mise en
jeu ne sont possibles que grce au spectateur instigateur du plaisir.
Perversit d'un regard qui accepte la duperie condition qu'il en soit
lui-mme victime. L'imposture se substitue ici l'illusion et rvle un
concert de motivations contradictoires.
4. Le paradoxe performatif:
La nature du paradoxe rfrentiel souligne la dimension illocutoire de
l'nonciation scnique; deux moments discursifs sont ici impliqus,
pour r e p r e n d r e Eco:
a ) l'assertion d'une convention mensongre,
b ) la pseudo-assertion par le personnage/spectateur l'intrieur du
monde possible ainsi dtermin.
L'illocutoire serait inscrit en somme dans le signe thtral mme;
chaque vnement porterait ainsi les marques de sa contradiction
discursive: la parole thtrale relverait de l'acte, mais acte pro
gramm et renvoi sans cesse reformul une relation autre et nour
ricire.
5. Le paradoxe du t e x t e et de la reprsentation:
La nature dictique du phnomne spectaculaire permet d'lucider la
contradiction texte-reprsentation. Tant il est vrai que les signes
thtraux se dsignent les uns les autres et qu'aucune suprmatie ne
permet de les hirachiser autrement que dans l'instant.
100
6.
Notes
Rfrences
Greimas, A . J . 1976
Smiotique et sciences sociales (Paris: Seuil).
Helbo, Andr 1983
Les mots et les gestes. Essai sur le thtre ( paratre).
Helbo, Andr et a l . 1979
Le phamp smiologique. Perspectives internationales. (Bruxelles:
Complexe).
Leenhardt, Jacques 1982
L'oprationalisation des procdures critiques de la littrature
in: Helbo, Histoire littraire et critique textuelle. (Montral:
Naaman).
Ubersfeld, Anne 1978
Lire le thtre (Paris: Ed. Sociales).
ON T H E N A T U R E OF D R A M A T I C TEXT
Miroslav Prochzka
1.1. Dramatic text has the strange fate of being claimed by two
fields of a r t and it is ascribed a variety of f u n c t i o n s , possibilities
and ways of existence according to the t y p e of arguments [and some
times also goodwill to solve problems not incidental to the field i t s e l f ] .
The duality of dramatic text is on the one hand conditioned by the
character of some historic phases of the t h e a t r e [in connection with
e.g. the emphasis on " t h e a t r i c a l i t y " , the search for specific theatrical
means of expression, the writing of scenarios for individual pro
ductions, with the e x t e n t of adaptation and modification of the t e x t
etc.]; on the other hand the nature and interpretation of dramatic
text is influenced by the development of verbal art [including the
development of mutual relations between l i t e r a t u r e and the t h e a t r e ] ,
by the approach to functions and by d i f f e r e n t accentuation of them;
it is also strongly influenced by the tradition of theoretical thought
about l i t e r a t u r e [above all genealogy based on a traditional approach
to the classification of l i t e r a r y g e n r e s ] . T h e problems of dramatic t e x t
are projected into various contexts: there are e.g. questions of
criteria of textual differentiation within the framework of broad cul
tural context, questions of examining the specific nature of e x p r e s
sive means of a given t e x t , problems of regrouping f u n c t i o n s , of the
specific nature of reception and interpretation etc.
103
that dramatic art is not reducible to text but he also shows how text
can participate in the conception of a performance [being a so called
"ideational directive", the language of the text influencing actors
manner of speech, deployment of plot, time, space and their connec
tions, the hierarchy of characters, factors of rhythm and style e t c . ] .
The foremost problems [at least from the point of view of literary
criticism] appear, however, where Zich tries to solve - in discussion
with arguments of literary criticism - the question of the literary
nature of dramatic t e x t .
2.2. Zich states that literary criticism claims not only the language
but also the plot and characters of drama as elements approximating it
to epic poetry. He tries to show differences in the construction and
conception of plot [and time]: but not on the relation of dramatic text
to the epic but on that of dramatic [theatrical] art to epic. This shift
is caused by dramatic t e x t being explicitly ascribed a dramatic func
t i o n . Zich's arguments against literary criticism are weakened in that
point by his failing to confront the plot and time structures of the
epic and drama in their literary forms. He does not ask whether a
new specific variation of plot and time continuity, showing the i n f l u
ences both of theatre and literature, may appear when drama is read.
The above mentioned shift is also proved by the categories of "real"
["objective"] and "imaginary" which Zich uses. The concentration on
the confrontation of the epic v s . dramatic [theatrical] art does not
allow Zich to admit a "functional shift" which was going to be funda
mental for Veltrusky later on.
3.1. Of course, Zich does not deal in his work with dramatic text
only, but he intends to describe what he calls "dramatic a r t " and
which is already a theatrical expression. Therefore he does not treat
the whole range of problems connected with t e x t . It was Jirf Veltrus
ky who devoted some of his works solely to dramatic t e x t , criticizing
Zich in some points. He deals with drama mainly in two of his works:
Dramatic Text as a Component of the Theatre, and Drama as Litera
t u r e ; evidently each of them concerns a different aspect of the prob
lem. I am going to touch on the former work only briefly as I want
to concentrate on the latter with regard to Zich's radical opinions on
literary problems.
"filled u p " , he shows the mutual relation between author's notes and
direct speech etc. The central problem is the relation of text and a
stage figure as two elementary semiotic systems of the total theatrical
sign ["the sign system of acting" and "the sign system of language
represented by drama"]. Veltrusky's article introduces quite a few
new ideas, but his radical thesis of "predetermination" gave rise to
some objections based not only on the experience of avant-garde. It
is interesting that Veltrusky's paper appeared not long after a period
of numerous attempts to search for a new theatrical expression and
attempts to define theatricality as a specific form of expression . In
this paper Veltrusky overestimated the value of author's notes and
underestimated the semantic possibilities of kinesic and paralinguistic
means, which especially in acting may go far beyond the "directives"
of t e x t ; the thesis concerning the "total meaning" of a particular
component is not a sufficient condition, as it is based on the corres
pondence of meanings and not signs and is too general with respect
to the importance of the sign aspect of the art of actors. Besides, a
theoretical paper should take into account the historically changeable,
uncertain and sometimes ambivalent nature of author's notes [if there
are any at a l l ] . When solving the problem of the relation of dramatic
text and performance, we must consider the mediating meaning of so
called director's script [provided it is not identical with the dramatic
text]. On the other hand it should be seen that Veltrusky showed
- especially when analyzing the direct speech - various aspects of
text [ e . g . in sound values of speech, some relations in text e t c . ] ,
which every theatrical interpretation must contain.
thesis doubtful - i.e. the statement that all plays are literary works.
In the following notes I am going to concentrate on some problems
which I consider important for the theory of dramatic text and which
in a way touch on Veltrusky's [and sometimes Zich's] solutions.
But even in cases where the notes do form a part of the dramatic
text, we can see a wide scale of them ranging from purely stage
directions to t r u l y poetic notes. In an extreme case the former type
may be close to a "director's script" and then the interaction between
the spheres of drama and theatre make their literary value doubtful.
The question of notes-names of characters where they appear in a
text without any f u r t h e r specification is debatable as well; besides,
we sometimes come across the names of characters as the names of
stage f i g u r e s , i.e. connected with their theatrical functions [and that
influences their semantic position in the t e x t ] .
3.5. A theory of dramatic text must take into account the relevancy
of "intersection" of two types of intention:
3.8. It should also be added that the kind and nature of "linguistic
means" changes according to the communicative possibilities of i n d i
vidual kinds and genres in connection with the demand for the reali
zation of the esthetic function. This can be seen in e . g . various
117
either to the historical point of view or the classifying criteria [if the
condition in 1 is k e p t ] .
Notes
References
Carlos Tindemans
1.
2.
3.
Signs are of any interest not because they eventually come into exis
tence but as indispensable tools of cognitive and communicative pro
cesses. Their basic property is, as we all know, relationship; signs
are instruments of mediation. Coherence, t h e n , is to be understood as
an action which one can and has to direct oneself. The theatre per
formance, the actor's semiotising process, becomes a constituent to
which one participates oneself; theatre does not occur to somebody,
somebody makes occur theatre himself.
W.A. Koch (1971, 1976) is one of the few authors who have elaborat
ed a consistent theory about semiosis as an actual process that: of
necessity is carried out in a concrete situation and consequently puts
all attention on the performance quality of the percipient. Koch's
starting point is to postulate that a given phenomenon (an object, an
event, human behaviour in general) becomes a text as soon as it
attracts attention, i.e. falls under the focus of a percipient. Text as
a working instrument consequently can only be mentioned if there
exists a situation that is composed of at least three elements: a per
cipient, his focus and a focalised something. Important is the fact
that the idea of 'focus' has been moved away from a strictly behav-
iouristic stimulus-response scheme; on the contrary, it must be
located within the concept of the comprehension process as a cyber
netic c i r c u i t , as a selfregulatory open system.
the focus is zero, the structure does not exist for the focalising sub
ject. As required by the eventual complexity of a text situation, the
intensity and depth of focus are adjusted and regulated; personal
virtuosity of focal attention admits a variability dependent on the
needs of immediate decoding of a t e x t . At the same time there is
something like automatic focal energy, i.e. focal energy that remains
constant and continuous. If this focal energy is distributed towards a
number of aspects, factors, units, then every isolated aspect (poten
tially an element of a chain process of subtexts) receives relatively
little attention. Concentration of energy means, t h e n , making use of
the possibilities to modulate the focus, i.e. bypassing the less relevant
elements and stressing the more distinctive ones. Whereas attempts at
segmentation usually tackle the external action, Koch wants to start
from internal action, the recipient's focal activity, i.a. the analist
does not describe what the recipient does but what the recipient
applies in attention energy to his own and other's actions, artefacts
and the like. Therefore the segmental decision depends on the
recipient's focus. This way focalising means basically selecting and
rejecting. Semiotising focality can promote everything to a text and
3
deny everything a textual function.
Notes
References
Almeder, R. 1980
The Philosophy of Charles S. Peirce ( O x f o r d ) .
Goffman, E. 1973
Frame Analysis (New Y o r k ) .
Koch, W.A. 1971
Varia Semiotica (Hildesheim).
Koch, W.A. ( e d . ) 1976
Textsemiotik und strukturelle Rezeptionstheorie (Hildesheim).
Kller, W. 1980
'Der Peircesche Denkansatz als Grundlage f r die Literaturse-
miotik', ( i n ) A. Eschbach und W. Rader ( H r s g . ) , Literatur-
semiotik I ( T b i n g e n ) , pp.39-63.
Minsky, M. 1975
'A Framework for Representing Knowledge', ( i n ) D. Metzing
( e d . ) , Frame Conceptions and Text Understanding ( B e r l i n , New
Y o r k ) , pp.1-25.
Schreurs, B. 1981
Discours et action dans I'oeuvre dramatique d ' A r t h u r Adamov (Ph.
D.Diss., Louvain).
V e l t r u s k y , J . 1964
'Man and Object in the Theatre', ( i n ) P.L. Garvin ( e d . ) , A
Prague School Reader on Esthetics, Literary S t r u c t u r e , and Style
(Washington), pp.83-91 (1940)
I I I . DESCRIPTIVE THEATRE RESEARCH
THE DRAMATIC DIALOGUE - ORAL OR LITERARY COMMUNICATION?
Erika Fischer-Lichte
1. Introduction
Since time immemorial, the dramatic dialogue has been a favourite sub
ject of investigation. Although the various theorists differ in their
opinion as to which category defines drama - action, dialogue, per
son - they all agree that the dialogue is one of the most important
constitutive elements of drama. Whereas Aristotle considers it to be
1
only the "leading part in the play" , Hegel defines "das eigentlich
Dramatische" as "das Aussprechen der Individuen in dem Kampf ihrer
Interessen und dem Zwiespalt ihrer Charaktere und Leidenschaften"
2
and appraises the dialogue as "die vollstandige dramatische Form" .
In accordance with this definition Wellek and Warren call the dialogue
3
the "ultimate form" of drama .
This paper is based upon the hypothesis that since the dialogue re
presents an essential dramatic category it is to be understood as a
special meaning-creating system. We are not going to investigate the
various meanings that may be constituted by dramatic dialogue nor to
classify them - as meanings referring to action, meanings referring to
a person, meanings referring to space etc. - but to categorize the
different modes and possibilities of the dramatic dialogue to produce
4
meaning, in general .
138
On the other hand the theatrical dramatic dialogue not only signifies a
situation of direct communication but simulates i t . Consequently, the
dramatic dialogue in the theatre is performed in linguistic as well as
in paralinguistic, mimical, gestic a n d / o r proxemic signs. T h e persons
speaking on stage use the same sign systems as are commonly used in
conversation. According to the two types of l i t e r a r y dramatic dialogue
this can be done, principally, in two totally d i f f e r e n t w a y s . In the
f i r s t case, a dialogue composed in l i t e r a r y language, is performed as
if it were an oral communication; in the second case, a dialogue w r i t
ten in a language simulating spoken language is realized as oral com
munication.
I. literary literary
II. literary oral
III. oral literary
IV. oral oral
140
This dialogue renounces almost completely all the methods typical and
characteristic for a conversation. On the contrary, it prefers methods
often used in poems: euphony, r h y t h m , rhyme, meter, special rela
tions between single words, syntactic structures, images, metaphors.
The thus constituted semantic network has to be analyzed to grasp
the meaning of the spoken t e x t . For the text represents - so to
speak - a reality of its own: a reality composed and created by lan
guage and language only without almost any references to the situa
tion - the approaching death of Tizian - to the special character or
constitution of one of the persons or to real things in real places
being assumed as actually on stage or being imagined as actually on
15
stage . The methods realized in this dialogue are poetic methods
16
- the linguistic signs thus turned into poetic signs create a meaning
by relating to one another and not by relating to any object assumed
as existing in the world beyond the borders of language.
- the near death of the master, the gathering of his disciples, the
villa of Tizian, its porch, the garden, its plants etc. - or between
the words and any emotions, personal traits of psychological condi
tions of the dramatis personae, but to find out all possible relations
between the sounds, words, syntagmata, constructions and sentences
17
in the text of the dialogue as a whole . Otherwise it will not be
possible to attribute any meaning to i t .
To our purpose only the text describing the behaviour of the drama
tis personae is of any interest. For we are not going to investigate
the way a drama as a whole is able to constitute meaning, but only
the possible modes the dramatic dialogue may realize.
T h e parasemantic f u n c t i o n s of t h e n o n v e r b a l s i g n s may be d e f i n e d as
the special relations the nonverbal signs establish to the possible
meanings of t h e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y realized l i n g u i s t i c s i g n s t h e y r e f e r t o .
Among these functions we have do d i s t i n g u i s h , above a l l , t h e func
tions of substitution, amplification, modification, neutralization, con-
tradiction40
151
A particular f o r m of m o d i f i c a t i o n is t h e n e u t r a l i z a t i o n : t h e n e u t r a l i z a
tion can be defined as a reduction of the meaning, the linguistic
signs constitute, to a high degree. Linguistic signs, expressing pity
o r compassion - 'I p i t y y o u so m u c h . Can I help you?' - s p o k e n in an
i n d i f f e r e n t t o n e of voice and w i t h all s i g n s of i n d i f f e r e n c e in face and
posture, do not lose t h e i r meaning e n t i r e l y b u t c h a n g e i t in s u c h a
way that the verbally uttered sympathy has t o be u n d e r s t o o d as a
merely conventional attitude and not as t h e expression of a deeply
felt emotion.
C o n c e r n i n g t h e p a r a p r a g m a t i c f u n c t i o n s of t h e n o n v e r b a l signs being
related to the linguistic signs, we have t o d i s t i n g u i s h t w o different
153
T h e n o n v e r b a l s i g n s i n d i c a t i n g t h e r e a c t i o n of t h e h e a r e r may c o n c e r n
the attention of the hearer, insofar as they signalize that he is
actually listening; his e v a l u a t i o n of t h e s p e a k e r ' s w o r d s , by nodding
or shaking the head, smiling,
frowning etc.; o r his comprehension,
46
by n o d d i n g , f r o w n i n g and the like
s o f a r as t h e t h e a t r i c a l d r a m a t i c d i a l o g u e i s , n e c e s s a r i l y , composed of
linguistic and nonverbal signs as p a r a l i n g u i s t i c , mimical, gestic and
proxemic signs, i t c r e a t e s meaning b y u s i n g all t h e s e k i n d s of s i g n s
48
and by c o m b i n i n g a n d r e l a t i n g them t o one a n o t h e r . T h u s , the
i n t e r a c t i o n between t h e d i f f e r e n t s i g n - s y s t e m s f u n c t i o n s as a m e a n i n g -
creating system on i t s o w n , w h i c h is t o be r e c o g n i z e d as f u n d a m e n t a l
as well as c o n s t i t u t i v e , with respect to the theatrical dramatic dia-
49
logue
1. In t h e t h i r d t y p e of d r a m a t i c d i a l o g u e , t h e o r a l / l i t e r a r y o n e , this
interaction is realized u n d e r t h e special c o n d i t i o n of a clear predom
inance of t h e l i n g u i s t i c s i g n s . T h a t means: language dominates a c t i n g .
Consequently, the linguistic signs will function as t h e leading sign
system.
Accordingly, t h e t h i r d t y p e is t o be i n v e s t i g a t e d in close r e l a t i o n t o
the first type of d r a m a t i c d i a l o g u e . For t h e s t a g i n g of t h e f i r s t in
v o l v e s t h e f o r m a t i o n of t h e t h i r d - at l e a s t , in most cases . So t h e
special problems of t h e t h i r d t y p e m a i n l y result from the peculiarity
of the f i r s t .
I f such a d r a m a t i c d i a l o g u e is p e r f o r m e d on s t a g e , t h e s e t w o aspects
a r e t o be c o n s i d e r e d s u f f i c i e n t l y . T h a t means: since t h e w o r d s spoken
by the dramatis personae function as t h e essential meaning-creating
system, they must be uttered in a way permitting their immediate
understanding.
linguistic signs are combined in a way which assures the reader that
they are to be taken ironically. Accordingly, the nonverbal signs are
supposed to bring to light the irony expressed by the linguistic signs
in a manner more complicated and, perhaps, not at once to be grasp
ed. Pointing to the contradiction between the literal meaning of the
words and their actual meaning, the nonverbal signs delineate the
special coherence of the spoken text and facilitate the process of
understanding.
On the other hand, the nonverbal signs can shape out the t u r n - t a k i n g
system more distinctly than, at least in some cases, the linguistic
signs may do. In particular, paralinguistic signs as intonation, mimic
al signs as casting down of the eyes, gestic signs as a slight bow of
158
t h e h e a d , a t e r m i n a t i n g g e s t u r e of t h e h a n d s o r a complete c h a n g e of
the posture, p r o x e m i c s i g n s as a step f o r w a r d and b a c k w a r d s respec
t i v e l y are able t o s i g n a l i z e t o t h e s p e c t a t o r t h a t t h e p e r s o n speaking
is going to finish and the next turn is a b o u t to t a k e place. Thus
structuring the progress of the dialogue, the nonverbal signs will
make clear i t s special o r g a n i z a t i o n as a w h o l e , and enable t h e spec
tator to constitute its meaning.
T h e t h i r d t y p e of d r a m a t i c d i a l o g u e creates meaning b y e s t a b l i s h i n g a
special i n t e r a c t i o n between t h e l i n g u i s t i c and t h e n o n v e r b a l signs. It
selects t h e n o n v e r b a l s i g n s in d e p e n d e n c e of t h e i r a b i l i t y t o e l u c i d a t e
the meaning of t h e l i n g u i s t i c signs. Accordingly, their parasyntactic
and parapragmatic functions dominate their parasemantic functions
and, among t h e parasemantic f u n c t i o n s , t h o s e p r e v a i l t h a t a r e able t o
illustrate, repeat or determine the meaning of t h e linguistic signs.
The nonverbal s i g n s are u s e d , p r i m a r i l y , in o r d e r t o d i r e c t t h e p r o
cess of the reception and interpretation of the linguistic signs and
thus support the spectator in his e f f o r t s t o c o n s t i t u t e t h e i r adequate
. 52
meaning
In all the other parts of the dialogue combining linguistic and non
verbal signs, the parasemantic functions of amplification, modification,
neutralization, and contradiction will prevail. Since the linguistic
signs are frequently elliptical and not very explicit, the nonverbal
signs have to define their meaning by giving additional informations.
Thus, the nonverbal signs amplify the meaning of the linguistic signs
by completing them. In this case, the nonverbal signs will frequently
be more informative than the linguistic signs, but their meaning can
only be understood adequately, if they are linked to the linguistic
signs they are meant to amplify.
Since the linguistic signs used in the fourth type of dramatic dialogue
are often incapable of constituting a precise, valid meaning, the non
verbal signs can modify them: whereas the words indicate a rudeness,
for instance, the nonverbal signs may lessen this impression or sig
nalize that it is rather an awkwardness. Similarly, they may, more
over, neutralize the meaning of the linguistic signs.
3. Conclusion
While not in the least claiming to be exhaustive, this paper has just
outlined the four fundamental modes in which the dramatic dialogue
may create meaning. The detailed analysis of these modes in partic
ular remains, for the time being, but a postulate. Once the methods
of discourse analysis are more refined, it will be able to apply them
to the analysis of dramatic dialogue . In this case, one has to take
into consideration that a dramatic dialogue is not described and
understood sufficiently if taken for a special kind of dicourse only,
but that it has to be regarded, f i r s t of a l l , as an aesthetic phaenom-
enon . That means: even if in a dramatic dialogue methods of
meaning-creating will be f o u n d , which are known as characteristic for
some type of discourse, the dramatic dialogue is not to be considered
163
Notes
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'Digressions: A Study in Conversational Coherence', PTL, pp.
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'Bewegungen mit codierter Bedeutung: Gestische Embleme', ( i n )
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Ekman, P. and W . V . Friesen 1969
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dorf).
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'Das Verhaltnis von Wort und T a t als gattungsbegrndender Fak-
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'Goethes 'Iphigenie' - Reflexion auf die Grundwidersprche der
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Probleme der Rezeption klassischer Werke - am Beispiel von Goe-
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Bedeutung - Probleme einer semiotischen Hermeneutik und Asthe-
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'Zum Problem der Bedeutung asthetischer Zeichen', Kodi kas/Code
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Fischer-Lichte, E. 1981a
'Zur Konstitution sthetischer Zeichen', ( i n ) H. Sturm and A.
Eschbach ( e d s . ) , Asthetik und Semiotik ( T b i n g e n ) .
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'The Theatrical Code', ( i n ) E.W.B. Hess-Lttich ( e d . ) , Multi
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Fischer-Lichte, E. 1983
Semiotik des Theaters, 3 vols. (Tbingen)
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'Literarischer Dialog und gesprochene Sprache', ( i n ) Festschrift
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'Von den Funktionen der Sprache im Theaterschauspiel'. i n : R.
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Untersuchungen zur Klassifikation gesprochener deutscher Stan-
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'Le signe au thtre. Introduction a la semiologie de l'art du
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Litterature et spectacle dans leur rapports esthtiques, thma-
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'Accents et tons', Miscellanea Phonetica 2, p p . 13-24.
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K. Hlker ( e d s . ) , Textprocessing. Textverarbeitung. Papers in
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212.
Osiski, Z. 1967
'Przekad tekstu literackiego na jezyk t e a t r u . Zarys problema-
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156.
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Pas Drama (Mnchen).
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Phonemics (Ann A r b o r ) .
172
Wegner, D. 1977
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Weinrich, H. 1961
'Phonologe der Sprechpause', Phonetica 7 , pp.4-18.
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'Echte und simulierte gesprochene S p r a c h e ' , ( i n ) H. Moser ( e d . ) ,
Gesprochene S p r a c h e , Jahrbuch 1972 ( D s s e l d o r f ) , p p . 129-143.
Zimmermann, H. 1965
Zu einer Typologie des spontanen Gesprachs ( B e r n ) .
MUSIC AS THEME AND AS STRUCTURAL MODEL IN
CHEKHOV'S THREE SISTERS
Harai Golomb
Thus, for instance, since Chekhov equally stresses both the exis-
tence-and-worth of the human potential and the inevitability of its
non-realization, he can be sharply and equally distinguished on the
diachronic axis from two groups of authors: (a) his predecessors
(and many contemporaries) in literature and drama, who share with
him only the high valuation of the human potential, and ( b ) his
successors (notably the 'absurd' playwrights and authors), who share
175
2.1.1. Introduction
her soul to a precious locked-up piano whose key has been lost.
Nevertheless both of these 'present absences' do belong to the theme
of music in the play and they are much more closely related to non-
musical themes and events ( e . g . , Masha's refusal to play is analogous
to her refusal to set her foot in the house ever again (Act I V ) , and
Irina's 'precious piano' is analogous to her 'white birds' and her own
Moscow) than to sounds that do not belong to the theme of music.
Even Andrey's violin-playing, which is acoustically present on stage,
is meaningfully analogous to some of his non-musical actions, and
- by contrast - to Masha's refraining from playing, while it has little
or no connection to many musical and non-musical sounds in the play.
Chekhov here very skilfully combines the two aspects of music: the
Prozorov-specific and the universally human. Being conditioned by
the specific family history does not deprive music of its universal
traits - a non-referential, nonverbally expressive and emotionally
loaded means of human communication. This is music's potential; but
it can be realized in different ways by different people with different
potentials for realizing its potentials. Against the background of
broad and narrow common denominators in relation to music - the one
shared by all mankind and the other shared by the Prozorovs - the
sharp differences between two individuals, Andrey and Masha, are
clearly marked. Both of them were taught to play by order of the
same father within the same educational framework; both have ex
perienced the death of the father and the downfall of the house, the
Moscow dream, etc. Their reactions, however, are diametrically op
posed: Andrey goes on playing (always backstage, always alone),
whereas Masha, who is reliably reported as having been an excellent
gifted pianist in the past, is said (in Act I I I ) to have 'forgotten' her
skill, having refrained from playing more or less since her father's
death (a simple inference from the time indications in Acts I and I I I ) .
age and expectations. The resulting conflict and guilt are subcon
scious for the greater part of the play; and playing the violin is his
refuge from his plight. T h u s , violin-playing serves as a device to
characterize Andrey in general. He escapes confrontation, tries to
smooth over t h i n g s , and secretly and passively rebels against what
ever his father stands for - by over-eating, by joining the town
council, by neglecting his studies, by marrying Natasha and ignoring
her infidelity, secretly taking futile revenge by gambling, but staying
on as a husband who pushes baby-carriages when so instructed. His
attitude to music reflects the same pattern: he clings to the least
demanding but the most emotionally viable and soothing part of child
hood and his father's education, while rejecting the demanding and
'oppressive' parts. To him, violin-playing is not a means of com
municating with other people, but a means of escaping the present
through one-way subconscious 'communication' with his own past.
Under these circumstances, music serves as an anti-communicative
means. This attitude of his reaches its peak in the fire scene (Act
I I I ) , when Andrey's violin signifies his inability to react even to such
an event as the f i r e .
him; etc. Her attitude to music, too, bears her unmistakable mark:
unlike A n d r e y , she senses t h a t music was meaningful only as long as
it was p a r t of a living hierarchy of values. When General Prozorov
died, and the entire educational and spiritual fabric of the family
disintegrated, she could not go on pretending that nothing had
changed; she could not engage in an activity which had lost its
meaning and raison d ' t r e ; but, typically, she did not make an issue
of it but simply stopped p l a y i n g . Just as knowing foreign languages
in the provincial town was, to h e r , "superfluous as a sixth finger"
(Act I), so was playing the piano without the atmosphere and the
environment that gave it meaning. Thus, Masha is a most genuine
representative of the new t y p e of conflict introduced by Chekhov into
the inventory of drama: the conflict between values that operate
neither through deeds nor even t h r o u g h w o r d s , but rather through
t h e i r v e r y existence and representation on stage. It is Masha's very
being, not anything specific t h a t she explicitly says, which is at con
flict with Natasha's and A n d r e y ' s beings.
10
2.1.3. T h e Lost Key to the Precious Piano
A n d r e y , who plays alone in his room, and to Masha, for whom playing
must be meaningful within a system of values, Tuzenbakh plays 'for
fun' and in order to express glibly the moment's passing sentiments.
Therefore, he plays only in public - as background music during
meals, dances, etc. In his unproblematic approach, his light touch,
his easy mastery of the instrument, he is contrasted not only with
the Prozorovs' emotionally loaded approach to music ( s e r v i n g , as it
were, as a kind of normal control-group), but also with his own i n
adequacies and failures in a much more crucial field - in love. Just as
he can easily make a piano respond to his touch, he cannot make
Irina reciprocate his love. Thus, music is exposed as a potentially
dubious means of communication: even with Tuzenbakh's facility music
is a dialogue with a responsive instrument, giving communicative
satisfaction mainly to the player himself in the absence of a t r u l y
understanding audience. Nowhere in Three Sisters does music reach
the degree of mutual communication attained by Masha and Vershinin
in their quasi-nonsensical 'Tram-tam-tam' dialogues (Act I I I ) .
her draw the analogy between herself and the piano as literal and
figurative objects that respond to Tuzenbakh's touch. Continuing the
line of such possibly subliminal thoughts, and prompted by Tuzen-
bakh lamenting her lack of love for him, Irina smoothly enters the
mood that makes an otherwise far-fetched comparison into an organic,
natural one.
In Chekhov, more than in most other dramatists, one must consider
equally carefully all three relevant factors in the act of communication
- the addresser, the addressee and the message - in order to under
stand any of them. One has to remember that it is Irina that is say
ing these words; that it is Tuzenbakh who is the only addressee and
the only one who hears the message (no one else is present and no
one else overhears); and that the message likens a soul awaiting its
own true lover to a piano awaiting its own true player. Addressed by
Irina to anyone but Tuzenbakh, the simile would be meaningless; and
it could not mean more if spoken to Tuzenbakh by anyone but Irina.
Only between these two, with their own history, and against the
background of the theme of music in Three Sisters, can the simile
sound as precise, sensitive and intimate as it should, despite the
cruelty inherent in its uncompromising exposure of t r u t h . Irina is, as
it were, saying to Tuzenbakh: y o u , whose charms no piano can resist,
stand helpless in f r o n t of this piano, that has all the great potential
that you ever prayed f o r . It is all there, awaiting the magic touch,
and you - elsewhere the expert player - do not have the right key
(in Russian, as in English - but not with full identity - the word
for "key" has purely musical denotations in addition to the one ex
plicitly employed here - an instrument for locking and unlocking).
"If music be the food of love, play o n ! " says the Duke in the beginn
ing of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Tuzenbakh could potentially play
on and o n , if Solyony did not kill even that potential; but whatever
different meanings and functions the theme of music acquires in the
12
play, it never serves as the food of love
Not all music is sound and not all sound is music in Three Sisters.
Just as Irina's 'precious piano' and Masha's refraining from playing
are 'music without sound', so the ringing of f i r e bells, Solyony's 'tsip
tsip' and the noises of Protopopov's approaching Troika are 'sound
without music'. Music is multifunctional, as we have seen, and often
works simultaneously as sound and as theme; as such it should be
187
One of the basic and obvious differences between the typical ways
that textures of music (in its western, tonal version) and language
(and, hence, of literature) can be organized is that verbal material
must be arranged in a successive, linear way if it is to be processed
by addressees in an intelligible manner, whereas in music two or more
melodic lines can be processed concurrently and intelligibly. Chekhov
is keenly aware of this difference between verbal and nonverbal ma
terials as components of the complex and heterogeneous medium of
drama (here music is a model for several nonverbal elements of
theatre, inscribed in the dramatic t e x t ) .
In this respect, once again, Chekhov can be sharply and equally dis
tinguished from his traditional (realistic and pre-realistic) predeces
sors and from his "absurd" successors. Unlike the former, he ex
plores new frontiers in the previously undiscovered country of
dramatic-theatrical simultaneity; unlike the latter, he refrains from
allowing simultaneity to pervade all the strata and components of the
dramatic whole, restricting it to nonverbal material only,
Far more complex are the confession-scenes in Act III (with Natasha's
speechless appearance and disappearance contrasting the sisters' own
polyphony on p.246), and, above a l l , the final tableau of the entire
play. Here diverse stimuli, whose very simultaneous heterogeneity is
specifically dramatic, are employed concurrently: verbal ones (the
sisters' craving and quest for meaning in Ol'ga's " I f Only We Knew"
simultaneously interwoven with Chebutykin's nihilistic nonsense re
f r a i n s ) ; auditory ones (the military band playing) and visual-gestural
ones (Andrey pushing the baby-pram and Kulygin, smiling cheerfully,
in the background). Each of these is heavily loaded semantically, and
all are projected at the audience after their respective meanings have
been established and circumscribed well in advance throughout the
play. In this last scene they interact and modify each other recip
rocally, producing the f i n a l , highly condensed and carefully balanced
complex of meanings with which the audience is supposed to depart
from the play and to bear in mind.
Notes
References
H r u s k o v s k i , Behjamin 1976
Segmentation and Motivation in the T e x t Continuum of L i t e r a r y Prose
( T h e First Episode of War and Peace). T e l - A v i v U n i v e r s i t y : T h e
Porter Institute for Poetics and Semiotics (PPS 5 ) .
Nilsson, N . A . 1967
'Intonation and Rhythm in Chekhov's Plays', i n : R . L . Jackson
( e d . ) , Chekhov: A Collection of Critical Essays (Englewood C l i f f s ,
N . J . : Prentice H a l l ) / p p . 1 6 1 - 1 7 4 .
Winner, T . G . 1977
'Syncretism in Chekhov's A r t : A S t u d y of Polystructured T e x t s ' ,
i n : P. Debreczeny and T . Eekman ( e d s . ) , Chekhov's A r t of Writ
i n g : A Collection of Critical Essays (Columbus, Ohio: Slavica),
pp.151-165.
DIE STRATEGIE DER PARADOXIE. ZUR LOGIK DER KONVERSATION
IM DANDYISMUS AM BEISPIEL OSCAR WILDES*
Eines der Beispiele ist einem Dialog in Prousts Les plaisirs et les
jours entnommen, in dem die Paradoxie aus dem Widerspruch zwischen
22
individuellem Gefhl und gesellschaftlichem Verhaltenskodex erwachst :
202
Als e r zu s p r e c h e n a n s e t z t e , e r r t e t e e r t i e f :
" M o n s i e u r L e g r a n d , i s t es b e s s e r , wenn mein O n k e l g l a u b t , da ich
w e i , da e r s t e r b e n m u , o d e r n i c h t ? "
" E r soll es n i c h t g l a u b e n , A l e x i s . "
" A b e r w e n n e r mit m i r d a r b e r s p r i c h t ? "
" E r w i r d mit I h n e n n i c h t d a r b e r s p r e c h e n . "
" E r w i r d mit m i r n i c h t d a r b e r s p r e c h e n ? " sagte A l e x i s b e r r a s c h t ,
d e n n das w a r die e i n z i g e M g l i c h k e i t , die e r n i c h t v o r a u s g e s e h e n h a t
t e : j e d e s m a l , wenn e r b e g a n n , s i c h den Besuch bei seinem O n k e l v o r
z u s t e l l e n , h r t e e r i h n mit d e r Milde eines P r i e s t e r s vom T o d e s p r e
chen.
" A b e r w e n n e r doch d a r b e r s p r i c h t ? "
" D a n n sagen S i e , da e r sich t u s c h t . "
" U n d w e n n ich w e i n e ? "
"Sie haben h e u t e schon z u v i e l g e w e i n t , Sie w e r d e n bei ihm n i c h t
weinen."
" I c h werde nicht w e i n e n ! " rief Alexis v e r z w e i f e l t , "aber dann w i r d er
d e n k e n , da ich keinen Kummer f h l e , da ich i h n n i c h t liebe . . .
mein k l e i n e r O n k e l ! "
U n d e r b r a c h in T r n e n a u s .
Die p r a g m a t i s c h e P a r a d o x i e f h r t u n s z u r r h e t o r i s c h e n P a r a d o x i e . Die
Rhetorik ist der zweite der oben angesprochenen Traditionsstrnge
des P a r a d o x o n s , dessen B e d e u t u n g f r die e i n s c h l g i g e D i s k u s s i o n in
m e h r e r e n D i s z i p l i n e n d e r d e r L o g i k keineswegs nachsteht.
No man needs to search for paradox in this world of ours. Let him
simply confine himself to the t r u t h , and he will find paradox growing
everywhere under his hands as rank of weeds.
Angesichts der Emphase, mit der uns die Paradoxie auf ihren Kontext
als Bedingung ihrer "Lsung" verweist, ist die in der Literaturwis
senschaft fast konsequente Abstraktion des Wildeschen Werkes von
seinem Entstehungszusammenhang berraschend. Gerade weil Wildes
Strategie der Paradoxie nicht geschichtlich singulr ist, sondern ihm
gemer Ausdruck jenes "relative s p i r i t " der "Yellow Nineties", den
er - durch Nietzsches Polyperspektivismus und Walter Paters epikure
ische Geschichtsauffassung bestens prpariert - mit seiner Generation
der Max Behrbohms und Ernest Dowsens teilte, t u t eine kurze Auf
hellung des Hintergrundes not. Und gerade weil sich die Komplexitt
der Zusammenhnge eilfertiger Rubrizierung nach dem Schema "Para
dox = Verfallssymptom" entzieht, erlaube ich mir in der folgenden
205
" T h e Victorian era comes to its end and the day of sancta simplicitas
33
is quite ended" . Max Behrboom pointiert die Skepsis gegenber
hergebrachten Lsungen, die auf Einheit und Glauben b a u t e n . Bislang
unerschtterlich scheinende Lehrmeinungen werden nicht mehr unbe
sehen bernommen, sondern von verschiedenen Seiten geprft und
modifiziert oder r e l a t i v i e r t oder t o r p e d i e r t . Wenn +q richtig ist, kann
auch -q richtig sein, Position und Negation werden zum 'Gegenposi-
tiven' verschmolzen. Die aufbrechende Kluft zwischen Naturwissen
schaften und sakralen Institutionen, zwischen sozialem Mistand und
ffentlicher Moral, f h r t bei vielen jngeren Autoren zu scharfem Ge
gensatz zur Viktorianischen Wertwelt. Omar Khayyms Rubiyat, im
selben Jahr wie Darwins Origin of the Species in der bersetzung von
Fitzgerald erschienen und zunchst kaum beachtet, t r i f f t j e t z t pltz
lich das sentiment der jungen Generation. Die Philosophie dieses " p e r
sischen Epikur" des 12. Jahrhunderts wird j e t z t ebenso populr wie
Paters Renaissance oder Ruskins Stones of Venice, die Wilde schon als
Student in Oxford in sich aufsog. Swinburne ist jetzt so en vogue
( u n d so u m s t r i t t e n ) wie Lord Byron ein halbes J a h r h u n d e r t vor hm.
Swinburnes und Rossettis outspokeness wirken auf das Viktorianische
Publikum, das an T h a c k e r y und Dickens gewhnt ist, ebenso provo
zierend wie das intellectual laughter George Merediths oder der r e b e l
lische Sarkasmus Thomas Hardys. John Ruskin und William Morris
weisen auf die 'Hlichkeit' der um sich greifenden Industrialisierung
35
hin . Samuel Butler und Matthew Arnold attackieren den respectable
36
Citizen als " p r e t e n t i o u s , ignorant and tasteless Philistine" . Die p u r i
tanischen Philistines sind suburbian und dclass; Spleen und Ennui
sind jetzt fashionable. Und so gemischt wird auch die Sprache:
Fremdwrter, mglichst kursiv gesetzt, sind Ausweis des haut ton ;
alles ist 'sweet' und 'intense' und ' u t t e r ' ; es ist die Zeit "of laughter
206
and cultivated intensity", der "sweet three volume novels" und " i n
tense books" vom Typ des Robert Elsmere der Mrs. Humphrey Ward;
es ist die Stunde der 'society', der 'upper ten' und der Damen von
Stand, die alle aussehen wie von Rossetti oder Burne-Jones gemalt.
The Victorians were clearly moving into the world of modern physics,
where all things would exist in a time-continuum and the fixed object
would become but a range of charged energies and continuous
events.40
52
are old enough t o know b e t t e r , they don'tknow a n y t h i n g at a l l " ,
53
"Fathers should neither be seen n o r h e a r d " ) und zur Adoration der
Jugend schlechthin umgedeutet ("Youth! Youth! There is absolutely
54
n o t h i n g in t h e w o r l d b u t y o u t h ! " ).
66
not emotional" . Eigenes Engagement ist freilich des Dandys Sache
nicht. In der Tat ist er, wie Lord Henry, "quite content with philo-
sophic contemplation" . Er sieht und pointiert den Mistand, indem
er als advocatus diaboli scheinbar f r ihn Partei nimmt, die K r i t i k auf
den Kopf und das Kritisierte damit zugleich auf die Fe stellt. Er
will die Gesellschaft nicht 'eigenhndig' bessern: die asthmatische
Tatkraft des Funktionrs ist ihm ein Greuel; in der schwitzenden
Stickigkeit einer Parteiversammlung wrde sein Sarkasmus wirkungslos
versickern, seine Brillianz htte nicht Spiegel noch Publikum. Die
"charming company of the well-bred" ist das Elixier, das seine Ironie
zum Funkeln, seine Satire zum Sprhen b r i n g t ; er b e r t r i f f t sie an
rhetorischer Routine und durchschaut sie bis auf den Grund ihrer
Mediokritt, 'hypocrisy' und Heuchelei.
Aus dieser intellektuellen Distanz gewinnt er Kraft zur Position zwi
schen den Sthlen; aus dem Erkenntnisekel zieht er die Legitimation
zur Attacke - moralisch noch in der Negation jeder Moral: "Modern
morality consists in accepting the standard of one's age. I consider
that for any man of culture to accept the standard of his age is a
68
form of the grossest immorality" . Die Immoralitt einer die Gegen
stze bertnchenden Gesellschaft freizulegen, ihre Honorigkeit als
Maske zu entlarven, ist das Ziel dandyesken Wortspiels - nicht aus
sozialkritischem oder gar revolutionrem Impetus, wohlgemerkt, son
dern aus intellektueller Konsequenz, in spielerischer Absicht, aus
gleichsam enttuschter Moralitt. Immer wieder wendet auch Wilde das
Schema an: Jemand wird im Gesprch zunchst, wie etwa Robert
Chiltern in The Ideal Husband, als ein Muster der Integritt und Mio
dell feinen Geistes und humaner Gesittung aufgebaut; und wie neben
bei tropfen Gerchte ber dunkle Machenschaften und vage Informa
tionen ber frhere Verfehlungen in die ziselierten Komplimente. Be
wunderter und Bewunderer sind gleichermaen dcouvriert.
Die Paradoxie entspringt dabei aus der Umkehrung von Idealitt und
Realitt, indem das Ungengen des einen am anderen gemessen als
das idealiter Gesetzmige definiert w i r d , ohne da dies eines Restes
214
86
W.H. Auden nannte The Importance of Being Earnest "a verbal ope-
92
ra" . Und ganz gewi dient die frivole Leichtigkeit der Dialogfh-
217
rung zunchst dem theatralischen Effekt, der den Erfolg der Social
Comedies Wildes auf des Bhne v e r b r g t . Gleichwohl enthllt etwa
- um ein so berhmtes wie brilliantes Beispiel herauszugreifen, das
inquisitorische Interview der Lady Bracknell, diesem Wildeschen Ge
genstck zur Lady Candour Sheridans und Karikatur des "old vic
t o r i a n " , viel von dem satirischen Blick des Dandy auf die etablierte
93
society und ihre class standards .
Wie Hellas, seine Muse und Mue, auf der Haussklaverei beruhte und
das Bild vom gehobenen, f r e i e n , nicht banausischen Menschen Un-
hast, adelige Gelassenheit voraussetzte, so konnten Oxfordgentlemen,
das Rote Haus des groen Morris und seine Keimscottpress, konnte
die ganze Pflege der schnen Dinge nur in einem reichen Land ent
stehen, will sagen in einem des heftigsten Gegensatzes zwischen einer
auf ihren Gtern lebenden Oberschicht und den Massen, die in den
Bros der City ihre Tage absitzen, in den Slums verkommen, unter
dem grauen Fabrik- und Nebelhimmel nie des Gefhls teilhaftig wer
den, ein Recht, Griechen zu sein, htten auch sie. [94]
Das viktorianische England war reich; aber der Reichtum war viel
krasser als heute auf bestimmte soziale Schichten beschrnkt. Nie z u
vor hatte es in so kurzer Zeit einen solchen industriellen und wissen
schaftlichen Fortschritt, eine so atemberaubende Wissensexplosion ge
geben - und dies weitgehend unabhngig von den traditionellen T r
gern klassischer Bildung und ererbten Besitzes. Die den Lehren der
218
Auch ihre nchste Frage nach der politischen Position Jacks erhlt
durch den Bezug auf die konkreten Bedingungen der Gladstone-ra
zustzlichen Reiz:
101
Just what Society should be" . Freilich: " I f there was less sympathy
in the world there would be less trouble in the w o r l d " . Lord Gorings
Vater kommt da nicht mit: "That is a paradox, sir, I hate para
doxes". Lord Goring: "So do I, father. Everybody one meets is a
paradox nowadays. It is a great bore. It makes society so ob-
102
vious" . -
"Der Dandysm ist ein Sonnenuntergang; gleich dem Gestirne, das zur
Rste geht, ist er erhaben, ohne Wrme und voll Melancholie",
103
schreibt Charles Baudelaire und charakterisiert den Dandy damit
genauer als die Lexika, die - uneins, ob sich das Wort von einem
englischen Volksreim "Jack-a-Dandy" aus dem Jahre 1659 herschreibe,
oder vielleicht griechischen Ursprungs sei und sich von der Koseform
des Vornamens Andreas ableiten lasse - im uerlichsten verharren
und sich damit bescheiden, auf die modische Eleganz seiner Erschei-
104
nung zu verweisen . Der oberflchlich-illiberale Spott ber die
Cortegiani oder Raffins, die Incroyables, Muscadins oder Beaux, die
Bucks, Exquisites oder Swells, die Stutzer, Dandies, Mods, Camps
und Popper als bloe Papageien jeweiliger Mode-Diktate wchst auf
dem Boden eines utilitaristisch-normativen Verstndnisses geistiger
Unabhngigkeit, das der seismographisch-przisen Reaktion des Dan
dyismus auf das "Oszillieren zwischen den Werten" in Zeiten des
bergangs oder des Untergangs kaum gerecht zu werden vermag.
"Nicht unmittelbar Ausdruck seiner Zeit, sondern gegen sie wach-
105
send" , steht der Dandy "seiner Rolle gem in der Opposition",
analysiert Albert Camus, "er bewahrt sich selbst nur in der Her-
..106
ausforderung"
In der festen berzeugung, da die Menschheit " sa dernire heure"
107
angekommen sei, wie Jules Amede Barbey d'Aurevilly befrchtete ,
der als einer der ersten am Beispiel George Bryan Brummels die enge
Verflochtenheit des Dandyismus mit Zeitgeist und - k r i t i k herausprpa-
221
riert hat, baut sich der Dandy aus sthetischem Formwillen und
stoischer Disziplin, aus melancholischem air froid und ironischem culte
de soi-mme, Barrikaden gegen die Depression. Im fin de sicle kon
zentriert sich diese Atmosphre von angewidertem Individualismus und
verzweifelter Expressivitt, die mit trotzigem Protest gegen Trivialitt
und Heuchelei mehr zu tun hat als mit Lust und Laune und tndeln
dem Sich-Selbst-Genugsein, eine Atmosphre, in der ber Verlaines
"Je suis l'Europe la fin de la dcadence" so bemerkenswerte Er
scheinungen angetreten sind wie Pater und Swinburne, Whistler und
Wagner, Huysmans, O'Shoughnessy, Gautier, Symons, Le Gallienne,
John Gray, Lionel Johnson, Ernest Dowson, Aubrey Beardsley, Max
Beerbohm und Marcel Schwob, auch Flaubert, Gourmont, Rimbaud,
Dumas Fils, Augier, Feuillet, Proust, Stendhal und d'Annunzio. Und
es ist gewi kein Zufall, da deutsche Namen in dieser Liste f e h -
. 108
len
Voltaires Definition verbindet den Dandy mit dem Bohmien und - den
Punk mit dem Popper: die Desillusion angesichts einer gesellschaftli
chen Entwicklung, die vor ihrer pragmatischen Effizienz und ihrem
ziellosen Utilitarismus nicht zu retten sei. Und wie der Dandy durch
die Paradoxie seines Stils und die Strenge seiner Form der Angst vor
Isolation und Niedergang entgegenzuwirken suchte, so schtzt sich
der heutige Camp durch Esoterik und Egozentrik und Extravaganz
222
Anmerkungen
13 C f . s t a t t dessen die k o m m e n t i e r t e A n t h o l o g i e v o n H u g h e s / B r e c h t ,
V i c i o u s C i r c l e s and I n f i n i t y . A Panoply of P a r a d o x e s , London 1975
( d t . B r a u n s c h w e i g 1978).
14 Die sich in den Schwanz beiende Schlange ( c f . auch das m a t h e
matische U n e n d l i c h k e i t s z e i c h e n ! ) .
15 C f . C a r r o l l , What t h e T o r t o i s e said to A c h i l l e s ' , i n : i d . 1966,
p p . 1 1 0 4 - 1 1 0 8 ; h i e r z u auch v a n den Boom 1978, p p . 2 5 - 3 3 ; c f . A l a n
R. Whites E n t g e g n u n g a u f Zenon in M i n d , J a n . 1963.
16 S c h n i t z l e r , ' F l u c h t in die F i n s t e r n i s ' , Gesammelte W e r k e , Die e r
zhlenden S c h r i f t e n . V o l . 2 , F r a n k f u r t : Fischer 1961, pp.902-985,
hier zit. p.917.
17 Van den Boom 1978, p.28.
18 C f . J . M o l i n e , 'Aristotle, Eubulides and the Sorites', in: Mind,
J u l i 1969.
19 Zum Problem e i n e r D e f i n i t i o n d e r R a t i o n a l i t t v o n Handeln in D i a
logen als A r g u m e n t a t i o n s h a n d e l n o d e r s i n n h a f t e m V e r h a l t e n cf.
H e s s - L t t i c h 1 9 8 1 , p p . 1 6 8 s e q . u n d nota I I . 2 0 3 .
20 Tom S t o p p a r d , J u m p e r s , L o n d o n : Faber & Faber 1972, p p . 8 6 s e q .
21 Watzlawick et a l . 1973, p . 1 9 6 ; c f . i b i d . p p . 1 7 8 s e q . Z u r A n w e n
d u n g auf L i t e r a t u r c f . i b i d . K a p . 5 , p p . 1 2 8 - 1 7 0 ; z . T . auch Posner
1977. Z u r K r i t i k an Watzlawicks w i s s e n s c h a f t s t h e o r e t i s c h e n M i v e r
s t n d n i s s e n u n d l o g i s c h e n F e h l e r n c f . Z i e g l e r 1978, h i e r b e s . p p .
88-102.
13
22 M. P r o u s t , Les p l a i s i r s et les j o u r s , P a r i s : Gallimard 1924, p p . 1 9
seq.
23 C i c e r o , Paradoxa S t o i c o r u m , e d . G . H . Moser, G t t i n g e n 1846.
24 C f . A. Westermann, Scriptores rerum mirabi-
lium G r a e c i , B r a u n s c h w e i g 1839; G. Z e b i c h , A t h l e t a P a r a d o x o s ,
W i t t e n b e r g 1748, I h r i g 1933, p p . 2 s e q .
25 I. K a n t 1798/1975, Werke v o l . 1 0 , p.410.
26 I b i d .
27 C f . L a u s b e r g 1967, p p . 2 3 s e q . ; c f . zum f o l g e n d e n p p . 3 0 , 3 3 , 6 1 ,
68, 78, 9 0 , 9 4 , 126, 135, 139.
28 Dubois et a l . 1974, p p . 1 9 9 seqq., 206 seqq., 214 seqq., 236
s e q q . ; c f . Plett 1975, p . 2 5 5 .
29 "Es e r s c h i e n eines e r w a c h s e n e n Menschen u n w r d i g , seine Zeit mit
solchen P l a t t h e i t e n zu v e r g e u d e n , aber was sollte ich t u n ? I r g e n d
etwas stimmte n i c h t , w e n n solche W i d e r s p r c h e bei o r d n u n g s g e m
en V o r a u s s e t z u n g e n u n v e r m e i d l i c h w a r e n . P l a t t h e i t h i n o d e r h e r ,
die Sache lie mich n i c h t los. Das ganze zweite H a l b j a h r 1901 nahm
ich a n , die L s u n g w e r d e e i n f a c h s e i n ; doch nach A b l a u f d i e s e r
Zeit w a r ich zu dem S c h l u g e k o m m e n , da es s i c h um eine s c h w e
r e A u f g a b e h a n d l e " [ . . . ] . " D i e Sommermonate d e r J a h r e 1903 u n d
225
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234
Olle Hildebrand
1. The Object
2. Methodology
parts of a theatre building. This implies that the stage and the
auditorium are inseparable entities; the one cannot exist without the
other. 2. The relationships withing the theatrical sign. In this paper
reference will be made to the semiotic triangle proposed by Ogden and
Richards (1972:11):
Reference
Symbol Referent
ists who had turned the theatre into a temple. He maintained that
scenic representation must have the character of an a n t i - w o r l d ,
where people and things are related to each other in a way quite
different form the way they are in real life.
The object of this study, however, is not Evreinov's theories, but his
one-act play, Veselaja smert'. In the following pages I will t r y to
analyse the function of this dual concept of theatricality in an aes
thetic context.
5. Veselaja smert'
Feeling satisfied, Pierrot re-puts the clock ahead 2 hours and watches
with indifference as Harlequin and Columbine play their erotic games
in front of him. Suddenly Harlequin sinks down on the sofa. Death is
a r r i v i n g . When Death enters in the guise of a woman, Harlequin has
temporarily recovered. He greets Death with great dignity and asks
241
her to dance the dance from the good old days when people still knew
the art of d y i n g . To the sound of sweet music she dances the dance
of death for Harlequin. At last the clock strikes and Death covers
Harlequin with her white gown. Everything is quiet and a cold moon
light illuminates the stage. The play ends with Pierrot's epilogue.
The f i r s t scene with Harlequin sleeping and Pierrot whisking away the
flies with his wide sleeves, seems to illustrate two contrary prin
ciples: on the one hand Harlequin and Pierrot, whose main function is
to underline theatricality - they are, so to speak, theatrical signs
sui generis (Bogatyrev 1971) - , on the other the buzzing flies, which
belong to the kind of signs that were used to create illusion in the
naturalistic settings of the Moscow A r t Theatre. The figures of the
commedia dell'arte belong to the stage; it is their natural milieu, while
the flies seem to be there by pure coincidence: an encroachment of
'reality' upon the world of theatre.
Thus two levels are established in the prologue: 1. the level of the
characters, i.e. the play; 2. the level of the supposed actors or
pseudo-reality. It is evident that Pierrot is unable to separate these
two levels from each other ( i b i d . ) :
Pierrot: 1...] Nasty evil people! You're the ones that dreamed up
these stupid rules! It's because of you I had to shorten the life of
my best f r i e n d . (Turns his back on the audience.)
Just like Pierrot, Harlequin is both 'actor' and character, but while
this is a conflict for Pierrot, a conflict between life and theatre, it is
the very prerequisite for Harlequin's superiority. Harlequin is always
play-acting. His buffoonery makes the Doctor stand out as stupidity
itself. With Columbine he plays the part of a devoted and seducer.
Confronted with Death he transfers himself into a refined aristocrat.
However, Harlequin is more than just an actor who always finds a
part. He is also a 'director'. This function is marked most clearly in
the scene where Harlequin forces the role of the patient upon the
Doctor. In the seduction scene stress is laid upon the enjoyment of
243
Harlequin:
244
This quotation should be compared with the scene where Pierrot has
discovered that Harlequin is Columbine's lover (Evreinov 1973:12):
Harlequin: You're both my friends. But you want to be the only one,
so you're jealous?
Pierrot: You know very well why I'm jealous and who's to blame.
Harlequin: Be sensible. If you really love me and love Columbia, you
ought to be very happy for both of us. What's more, you know both
of us love you. So why complain? Set the t h i r d place!
There are two levels in Veselaja smert', the level of the 'actors' and
the level of the characters. To Harlequin there is no contradiction
between these two levels: he is always playing. Typical for classical
commedia dell'arte was the permanent relation between the actor and
the part he played. One actor always played Harlequin, another actor
always played Pierrot, a t h i r d always Columbine etc. This resulted in
the actor also being identified with his part off stage. The entire life
of an actor playing commedia dell'arte could be dominated by the
character he had specialized i n . T h u s , the borderline between the
actor's life and theatre became diffuse and he was also expected to
play his part in real life.
246
In izn' eloveka the life of Man is depicted from the cradle to the
grave. First you see him young and poor but very ambitious, then at
the height of his civil career and finally when he sinks into poverty
and misfortune.
izn' eloveka is a play which has two levels, a metaphysical one and
a 'real' one, representing praxis in bourgeois society. A fundamental
idea in the play is that the life that man creates for himself is merely
a long series of illusions and that the only things that are 'real' are
those which lie beyond man's control, i.e. his b i r t h , fate and death.
In the play the signs representing these 'real' phenomena are given a
metaphysical reference. Such signs are Andreev's 'the one dressed in
grey' and the 'old women wrapped in strange veils', which appear in
the final scene. The 'illusive reality', on the other hand, is depicted
in the semiotic tradition of realism. Thus the play consists of two
249
Schauet und h r t , die ihr hierher gekommen seid um der Lust des
Lachens willen. Vor euch wird sich das ganze Leben des Menschen
entrollen, mit seinem dunklen Anfang und dunklen Ende. [ . . . ]
Und i h r , die ihr hierher gekommen seid um des Zeitvertreibs willen,
ihr dem Tode geweihten, schaut und hrt: als ein fernes gespenstiges
Echo wird vor euch, mit seinem Leiden und Freuden, das rasch
hinflieende Leben des Menschen vorberrauschen.
8. Conclusion
References
Steen Jansen
. Prmisses
L'objet de l'analyse envisage ici est alors le texte dramatique tel qu'il
fonctionne dans la lecture. Dans une premire partie, nous voudrions
d'abord esquisser quelques notions de base qui explicitent, de ma
nire trs gnrale, notre conception du texte et permettent de mettre
en place des catgories thoriques conceptuelles qui puissent servir
de fondement une telle analyse du texte dramatique. Dans une
seconde partie, nous essayerons d'appliquer les concepts qui en
rsultent quelques exemples tirs du texte des Sei personaggi
in cerca d'autore de Pirandello.
S'il est ainsi, des concepts thoriques qui permettent d'tudier cette
structuration de l'univers f i c t i f , sont galement importants pour l'ana
lyse du texte dramatique et pour celle de la reprsentation scnique
- et c'est en effet partir d'une telle hypothse aussi que le prsent
travail a t crit.
tous les textes qu'il lit un mme type de texte (en faire par exemple
des 'documents' sur une certaine poque, qu'il s'agisse de Madame
Bovary ou de La dame aux camlias, des Fleurs du mal ou du Systme
de politique positive).
La question que nous nous posons est alors la suivante: qu'est-ce que
cela implique pour la lecture d'un texte qu'il se prsente comme, ou
est lu comme, un texte dramatique? C'est sur ces prmisses que
doivent tre compris les termes de texte et de type de texte tels que
nous les employons par la suite.
Le 'point d'accs' n'est pas le mme d'un (type de) texte l'autre
(comme on vient de le voir dans l'exemple du texte univers factuel:
personne ou conception). Lorsqu'il s'agit des textes univers f i c t i f ,
tels qu'ils sont conus i c i , c'est une telle diffrence entre les 'points
d'accs' qui conduit la distinction qui oppose texte narratif et texte
dramatique: dans le premier cas, le point d'accs est un narrateur,
dans le second un espace scnique. Dans la perspective adopte ci,
on proposera donc 1 ) de considrer ce dernier lment, l'espace sc
nique, comme fondamental dans la structure formelle du texte drama-
260
Mais poser l'ES comme une notion centrale dans la dfinition du texte
dramatique comme on fait du N dans celle du texte narratif, permet
de faire ressortir, dans une vue d'ensemble et sans privligier l'un
ou l'autre des deux types de texte, d'autres diffrences qui les
opposent et qui peuvent contribuer caractriser les possibilits
diffrentes (de fonctionnement ou d'utilisation) auxquelles ils donnent
lieu dans la situation de lecture, - et ventuellement de faire un
choix parmi les diffrences qui servent habituellement distinguer les
deux types.
limite, ou la distance qui les spare peut tre plus ou moins nette,
plus ou moins absolue ou infranchissable: elle n'est pas la mme dans
Ruy Blas et Brnice, dans Huis clos et Fin de partie.
2.O. Comme on sait, les Sei personaggi existent dans plusieurs ver
sions trs diffrentes les unes des autres. Nous tudierons deux de
ces versions, la premire et la dernire, afin de dterminer la forme
et la fonction de l'espace scnique dans cette pice, et pour montrer
comment les notions que nous venons de dfinir peuvent tre utilises
dans l'analyse d'un texte concret. Puisque l'ordre dans lequel les
deux versions ont t crites ne nous intresse pas i c i , nous les
appelerons simplement la version A (la premire) et la version (la
dernire) .
267
Ce sont l des instructions qui disent, non pas comment ou quel est
l'univers f i c t i f , mais comment il doit t r e reprsent sur une scne de
t h e a t r e , et q u i , en introduisant l'opposition entre spectacle et univers
fictif, 'dvoilent' le caractre d"illusion' de ce d e r n i e r ; et cela peut
se faire seulement si cet univers a dja t t a b l i , construit par les
autres noncs, au f u t u r .
Si l'on compare les deux versions, on peut dire que ces deux situa
tions se trouvent aussi dans la version B, mais que, dplaces et mo
difies par rapport la version A, elles ont ici une autre fonction,
ou un autre effet dans la lecture. La tirade de la belle-fille est int
gre dans un dialogue avec le directeur et elle fait ainsi partie des
prparatifs de la fin de la reprsentation-rptition organise par ce
dernier; la scne avec la mre et le f i l s , on la retrouve comme une
des situations de la f i n : les didascalies les font voir dans la mme
attitude de refus et de dsespoir, mais il n'y a pas de rpliques, et
donc pas d'explication, par l'vnement pass, de leur attitude, et de
plus ils agissent sous le regard du pre; la scne montre donc, avec
les autres situations de la f i n , comment les personnages conduisent
eux-mmes leur drame sa conclusion dans leur monde surrel (aprs
la mort des enfants) sans l'intermdiaire (recherch ou ralis) des
acteurs.
2.2.4. Enfin, c'est une diffrence en soi, et qui s'ajoute aux autres
dj releves, que d'une version l'autre celui qui a le 'dernier mot'
ou plus exactement occupe l'espace scnique dans la dernire situation
de la pice change: c'est le directeur ou les personnages.
279
2.3.2. Il est dit par les personnages et par les a c t e u r s , dans les
deux versions, que le conflit entre eux nat d'abord du h e u r t entre
leurs natures, ou essences, fondamentalement diffrentes; indpen
damment du conflit mme, ou paralllement ce qui ressort de celui-
ci, ce contraste est prsent dans A comme une diffrence entre deux
modes d'existence (existence fonde sur (la prsence d')un espace
scnique ou sur les paroles d'un personnage) et dans comme une
diffrence e n t r e deux lieux scniques. Il en rsulte que ce contraste,
en soi et en tant que cause du conflit, apparat de faon moins
voyante, moins vidente dans A que dans B: le lecteur de A peut
parfois t r e amen partager le scepticisme du d i r e c t e u r , c . - . - d .
se demander si les six personnages sont vraiment des tres non rels
ou bien des personnes, comme les a c t e u r s , mais atteintes d'une mme
'folie six' - comparable en quelque sorte celle dont a t atteint le
protagoniste d'Enrico I V . Cela n'arrive pas au lecteur de B.
Conclusion
3.1. La conception que nous avons formule plus haut des diff
rences entre les deux version des Sei personaggi et des lectures
possibles de l'une et de l'autre, trouve une confirmation, du moins
partielle, lorsqu'on regarde diffrentes analyses de la pice.
sur les six personnages - qui de personnes qui veulent ' e n t r e r ' dans
une fiction artistique deviennent personnages qui veulent passer
d'une fiction artistique une autre - reste o u v e r t e , en quelque sorte,
diffrentes explications galement vraisemblables et qui peuvent
aussi parfois s'exclure mutuellement.
Notes
Rfrences
Jansen, S. 1980
'Den dramatiske tekst og den sceniske fremstilling' in Italiensk
teater idag (Copenhague).
Jauss, H. R. 1978
Pour une esthtique de la rception (Paris: Gallimard).
Klem, Lone 1977
Pirandello og dramaets krise (Odense: Universitetsforlaget).
Lugnani, L. 1970
Pirandello. Letteratura e teatro (Firenze: La nuova Italia).
Manoni, O. 1969
Clefs pour l'imaginaire ou l'Autre Scne (Paris: Seuil).
Moestrup, J . 1967
'Le correzioni ai "Sei personaggi" e il Castelvetro di Pirandello'
Revue Romane I I , pp. 121-135.
Moestrup, J . 1969
'La diversa funzione di novella e dramma nell'opera di Pirandello'
Analecta Romana Instituti Panici V, pp. 199-239
Monti, Silvana 1974
Pirandello (Palermo: Palumbo).
Njgaard, M. 1978
'Tempo drammatico e tempo narrativo. Saggio sui livelli temporali
ne "La dernire bande" di Beckett' Biblioteca teatrale 20, pp.
65-75.
Peruzzi, E. 1963
Problemi di grammatica italiana (Torino: R A I ) .
Pirandello, L. 1921
Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore (Firenze: Bemporad).
Pirandello, L. 1950
'Six personnages en qute d'auteur' in Thtre I (Paris: Galli
mard).
Pirandello, L. 1958
'Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore' in Maschere nude I (Milano:
Mondadori).
Pirandello, L. 1977
'Six personnages en qute d'auteur' in 'Thtre complet I (Paris:
Gallimard)
Ruffini, F. 1978
Semiotica del testo. Esempio teatro (Roma: Bulzoni)
Sanaker, J . K . 1980
'Lieu et comportement dans le texte dramatique' Tribune 4.
Saraiva, A . J . 1974
'Message et littrature' Potique 17, pp. 1-13.
Souriau, E. 1950
Les 200.000 situations dramatiques (Paris: Flammarion).
289
Patrice Pavis
1. Introduction
often leads the uninstructed to suppose that only one or the other
can be manifest in the work of the actor, as if the Short Organon
concentrated only entirely on acting and the old tradition entirely on
experience" (Addition to 53, Brecht on Theatre: 277) . So we stand
forwarned; and if we insist on making an excursion (incursion) into
the unknown land of the Gestus, we do so at our own r i s k , justified
solely by the fact that the term itself, although in abundant use in
Brecht's 'theoretical w r i t i n g s ' , remains very vaguely and contradic-
torily defined. In the vast mass of his writing on the theatre which
has appeared since Non-Aristotelian Drama (1932-1941) from The Mess
ingkauf Dialogues up through the Short Organon for the Theatre
(1948-1954), the center of gravity is constantly s h i f t i n g : Brecht f o r
mulates his critique of the 'Aristotelian' dramatic form in reaction
against the notion of identification and catharsis; then he shows his
interest in the possibility of imitation and of critical realism; finally,
'theatre dialectics' gives him the chance to propose a method of ana
lysis of reality, and to go beyond the overly stressed oppositions be
tween epic/dramatic, formalism/realism, showing/incarnating, etc.
However, in this journey towards a theory of dialectical theatre two
key notions are particularly resistant to thematic and terminological
variations: that of the Gestus, and that of the Story (die Fabel).
They are veritable pillars of the theoretical s t r u c t u r e , which is mas
sive and solid, but whose foundations need to be examined. Brecht
himself comes ever closer to a definition of Gestus and Story, without
reducing them to an unequivocal meaning, as though he wanted to
preserve their richness and their productive contradictions. But it is
only at the end of his 'demonstration' that he introduces them into
the Short Organon ( 61-76); following the thread of Aristotelian
demonstration he sets out from the concept of imitation and the spec
tator's pleasure at that imitation, ending up at the 'Gestus of deliv
ery' of the performance ( 76).
terial into one gest after the other, the actor masters his character
by f i r s t mastering the 'story'" (64); and: "The exposition of the
story and its communication by suitable means of alienation constitute
the main business of the theatre" (70). According to these definitiong
it seems rather difficult to tell which element, Gestus or Story, is
logically and temporally anterior to the other; it appears at any rate
that Story and Gestus are closely linked, and constitute the play anc
its mise-en-scne. Theatre, in fact, always does tell a story (even it
it is illogical) by means of gesture (in the widest meaning of the
term): the actor's bodies, stage configurations, 'illustrations' of the
social body. The circle which illustrates the relationship between
Gestus, Story and Character could be schematically represented as
follows:
2. Definitions
signal emitted by the actor. The actor constantly controls his gestua-
l i t y , in order to indicate the character's social attitude and way of
behaving. It goes without saying that is not enough for that effort
by the actor to end et reproducing stereotypes of social relationships;
the actor must seek out the most subtle and hidden signals of normal
perception. So he is, therefore, coming directly to grips with social
reality, its evolution and the eternally newly invented forms ideology
adopts in order to encode attitudes between members of one class or
2
different socio-professional groups. The Modellbuch , through the
juxtaposition of stills of one particular actor in his different situations
gives us many examples of these variations of the Gestus (cf. Lenz's
Der Hofmeister where we can see "the rebellious vitality and brutality
of Lauffer, born into the lower classes and strapped into the strait-
jacket of court etiquette" [Theaterarbeit: 107]).
T h e discussion about the link between action and characters and the
way in which one is determined by the other is one of the oldest in
theatrical aesthetics. Like Aristotle in his Poetics, Brecht conceives of
theatre as a succession of actions from which the characterization
flows. In the early B r e c h t , in Man for man for example, the concep
tion of man is quasi-behaviouristic and mechanistic. ( I t is well known
how the clownish characters of Valentin and Chaplin fascinated B r e c h t . )
For the mature B r e c h t , man is no longer pure gesticulation; he cannot
be reduced to a single exterior b e h a v i o u r - p a t t e r n ; he is no longer an
'activist' but a dialectical strategist: his way of acting influences and
modifies the deepest elements of his nature. Gestus can therefore
assure the mediation between bodily action and character behaviour;
it is situated midway between the character and the determination of
his possible actions(of his 'spheres of action' in the functionalist
3
terminology of PROPP ) . As an object of the actor's r e s e a r c h , it
becomes more and more specific in defining what the character does,
and, consequently, what he is: way of being and way of behaving
296
4.4. Alienation
Gestus, stage sign and Story reveal at the same time materiality and
abstraction, historical exactitude and philosophical meaning, the
particular and the general . The dose of these two contradictory i n
gredients runs the risk of being rather 'explosive', since, according
to Brecht, the art of abstraction must be mastered by realists. The
thankless task of gathering together these contradictory demands falls
to Gestus, since it always allows for the passage from actor to char
acter, from the body to the reading of i t , from the reconstituted
event to its f i c t i o n , from theory to theatrical and social praxis.
However, the way in which the Gestus is determined by the actor and
the director poses a difficult theoretical problem: the director, Brecht
tells us, must gather information about the era in which the gestures
originated, as much as about his own social reality. In the same man
ner, the spectator, if he is to be able to decipher the characters'
300
In fact, Gestus and Story are tools which are constantly being ela
borated. They are located at the precise point of intersection of the
real object to be imitated (to be shown and told) and the subject per
ceiving and criticizing this reality. Gestus concentrates within it a
certain gestuality (given by the ideological code of a certain time)
and the personal and demonstrative gestuality of the actor. In the
same way, the story designates for Brecht the logic of the repre
sented reality (the signified of the narrative) the Story ('histoire' for
Benveniste) and the specific narration of these events from the critic
al point of view of the Story-maker (the signifier of the narrative or
'discours' for Benveniste). Extracting the Story of conveying the
appropriate Gestus will never mean discovering a universally decipher
able Story once and for all inscribed within the t e x t . In seeking out
the Story, the reader and the director express their own views on
the reality they want to represent. This work of exposition has al
ways to be complemented by the spectator's own work, the spectator
having the last w o r d , i.e. the r i g h t to watch/control the playwright's
'view'. In the same way, in the case of the Gestus shown by the
actor, we should not be content to receive it as is ( i . e . as a 'compact
signified' wherein the split between the thing and its critique does
not appear). We have to seize the Gestus on the rebound, to see in it
and to inscribe in it its constitutive contradiction, to understand it as
a gesture which is internal to the fiction (gestuality) and as the
"Gestus of handing over a finished article" (Short Organon, 76).
What could be more efficacious for the manipulations of a dialectical
theatre than the Gestus?
301
5. Semiosis of Gestus
The most fascinating aspect of the Brechtian Gestus, but also the one
on which there has been the least theoretical work, remains to be
commented o n : the possibility of 'translating' the Gestus in different
materials and its 'conductibility' in several different stage materials
and the prqblems of its semiosis and its intersemiotic translation .
One cannot help regretting that Brecht was not more explicit on this
'gestic music' and that he did not give away any formulas on how to
find the Gestus, which is best understood intuitively and by the me
thodological application of different readings of the text on the basis
of different subjective attitudes. It has nothing to do with the ' w r i t
ing of the body' as it has sometimes been referred to in the context
of A r t a u d , Cline, or Bataille. Gestus never deals exclusively with
the problem of the materiality of the textual signifier; it exists at the
level of prosodic and textual signifieds. It is a tool which remains
exterior to the t e x t , just as a seismograph is capable of recording the
shakings of the earth without being a part of that shaking. The Ges
tus; at best is only - but this is not negligible - a meaning 'detector',
a way of "accompanying the reading with certain appropriate body
movements, signifying politeness, anger, the desire to persuade,
goading, the effort to fix in one's memory, the effort to surprise an
adversary; the fear that one feels or fear that one wants to inspire"
(cf. Brecht's comments on the Chinexe poet Kin-Yem).
7. Conclusion
These brief remarks on Gestus are far from exhausting the substance
of the notion, and only sketch out a few possible developments. At
least, it should be clear how central the concept of Gestus is to all of
the d i f f e r e n t theoretical Brechtian paths. And is it not in the nature
of the Gestus, after a l l , that it can only be grasped by the actor and
the critic in approximate form?
Herta Schmid
Der vorliegende Beitrag setzt sich das Ziel, anhand des kleinen Bh
nenwerks "Predlozenie" den Ansatzpunkt der neuen dramatischen Kunst
nachzuweisen, den das Drama echovs generell in der Evolution der
dramatischen und theatralischen Gattung markiert. In den groen Dra
men echovs ist der innovatorische Impuls f r die Gattung schon lange
gesehen worden. Die kleinen Bhnenwerke hingegen wurden entweder
von der Forschung bersehen oder hinsichtlich ihrer Konstruktion als
1
konventionell eingestuft . Die Tatsache, da der in der Geschichte
der europischen Regiekunst revolutionre Regisseur Vsevolod E. Mejer-
chol'd die letzte Auffhrung seines Theaters drei Vaudevilles von e-
chov gewidmet hat, deutet aber schon darauf h i n , da zwischen der
Erneuerung des Theaters am Anfang unseres Jahrhunderts und der
Erneuerung des Dramas durch echov eine innere Beziehung besteht .
Auf diese innere Beziehung soll eine Strukturanalyse des Einakters
aufmerksam machen.
keit versieht, die die Dynamik des Wortes kontrastiv und parallelisie-
rend untersttzt. Die psychologische Motivierung war der Anziehungs
faktor der groen Dramen Cechovs f r die psychologische Schau
spieltechnik des Regisseurs Stanislavskij, die physiologische Motivie
rung vor allem der komischen Einakter war der Anziehungsfaktor f r
5
den Regisseur Mejerchol'd .
Durch die drei Arten des Handlungsnexus und das Postulat der Einheit
des Handlungsobjekts oder der Leitidee aller handelnden Personen
f g t sich das gleichzeitige und sukzessive Handeln der einzelnen Per
sonen im Drama zur Einheit der dramatischen Handlung als einer Ein
heit von Aktion und Reaktion. Der deutsche Dramentheoretiker Gustav
Freytag hat die dramatische Handlungseinheit empirisch auf ihre t y p i
schen Realisationsformen hin untersucht und aus dem Ergebnis der
309
a ) Die H a n d l u n g s s t r u k t u r in "Predloenie"
Die Grundhandlung des Stcks h a t , wie der Titel schon ansagt, den
Inhalt ' H e i r a t s a n t r a g ' . Die Semantik dieser Aktion sieht zwei Akteure
v o r , den A n t r a g s t e l l e r , der der Konvention des neunzehnten J a h r h u n
derts entsprechend mnnlichen Geschlechts sein mu, und den An
tragsempfnger, der weiblich sein mu. Der sozialen Konvention des
neunzehnten Jahrhunderts entspricht auch, da noch ein oder zwei
Nebenakteure vorgesehen s i n d , Vater und Mutter des weiblichen T e i l s ,
die ihre Erlaubnis z u r Heirat geben mssen. Die drei von der Wortse
mantik vorgesehenen Rollenpositionen wollen wir Agens (=initiativer
Teil bei der A k t i o n s d u r c h f h r u n g ) , Patiens ( = p a s s i v e r , von der Ak
tionsinitiative des Agens betroffener T e i l ) und mitbetroffener Patiens
nennen. echov besetzt die Rollenpositionen mit drei durch Eigenna
men gekennzeichneten Individualpersonen: Ivan Vasil'evi Lomov ist
d e r Agens der A k t i o n , Natal'ja Stepanovna deren Patiens und Stepan
Stepanovic ubukov als Vater Natal'jas ist der mitbetroffene Patiens.
Tabelle 1
Heiratsantrag:
Aktion Reaktion Hilfe
S1 S2
neg. neg. pos.
Die dramatische Handlung als Einheit von Aktion und Reaktion sieht
in diesem Stck, wie das Schema zeigt, drei Handlungsrollen v o r , den
Aktionstrger Lomov, die Reaktionstrgerin Natal'ja und den Helfer
ubukov. Die 'undramatische*, d.h. konfliktlose Beschaffenheit der
Grundhandlung des Stcks wird aus der identischen semantischen Be
setzung des Handlungsziels (Heiratsantrag) jedes der drei Rollentrger
ersichtlich. Die Tatsache, da es eines Helfers bedarf, um trotz der
identischen Handlungsziele der Hauptakteure schlielich die Handlungs
realisation zu erreichen, weist darauf h i n , da handlungsexterne Hin
dernisse die Realisation der Aktivitten der Hauptakteure behindern.
Die konfliktlose Handlungsstruktur wird besonders deutlich, wenn wir
in das formale Handlungsschema die drei Arten des personalen Hand
lungsnexus einfhren.
Tabelle 2
Wertstruktur: Wertstruktur:
institutionaler institutionaler
Wert der Ehe, Werte der Ehe
Wert des Fami
lienbesitzes,
Negation des Negation des
Liebesideals Liebesideals
Normdruck: man mu
die Tochter verheiraten
Wertstruktur:
institutionaler Wert der
Ehe,
Wert des Familienbe
sitzes, Negation des
Liebesideals
318
Tabelle 3
S2
16
zu machen . Whrend in dem v o r a n g e g a n g e n e n Untersuchungsschritt
die l o g i s c h - f a k t i s c h e O r d n u n g d e r Handlungselemente (ordo naturalis)
und ihre Wert- und Sinnstruktur betrachtet wurde, steht nun die
knstliche Ordnung (ordo artificialis) zur Untersuchung a n , die sich
im K u n s t w e r k d e r n a t r l i c h e n O r d n u n g des F a k t e n m a t e r i a l s ( h i e r : der
Handlung) berlagert, um aus d e r W e c h s e l w i r k u n g zwischen den b e i
den O r d n u n g s p r i n z i p i e n die s t h e t i s c h e W i r k s a m k e i t d e r g e g e b e n e n
17
Werkebene zu beziehen . Nach der L e h r e d e r r u s s i s c h e n Formalisten
gehen alle knstlerischen Verfahren auf die beiden Grundverfahren
18
von Symmetrie und Gradation z u r c k . Die G r a d a t i o n w i r d d a z u b e
ntzt, die dem F a k t e n m a t e r i a l i n h r e n t e S p a n n u n g zu s t e i g e r n . Da in
echovs S t c k die H a n d l u n g k o n f l i k t - u n d damit s p a n n u n g s l o s gebaut
ist, spielt das Gradationsverfahren in der Kompositionsbildung kaum
eine R o l l e . Das H a u p t v e r f a h r e n d e r H a n d l u n g s k o m p o s i t i o n ist hier die
Symmetrie.
Tabelle 4
I
Lomov - wei, was er tun w i l l ;
sagt, was er sagen will
ubukov - e r f h r t , was L. tun w i l l ; wei, was er tun will;
S1 sagt, was er sagen will
II
Lomov - wei, was er tun w i l l ;
sagt, was er will
IM
Lomov - vergit, was er tun w i l l ;
sagt, was er nicht sagen will
Natal'ja - wei nicht, was L. tun w i l l ;
sagt, was sie nicht sagen wollte,
wenn sie wte
321
IV.
A
Lomov - v e r g i t , was er tun w i l l ;
sagt, was er nicht sagen w i l l ,
- wei nicht, was L. tun will
Natal'ja sagt, was sie nicht sagen wollte,
wenn sie wte
- vergit, was er tun w i l l ;
ubukov sagt, was er nicht sagen will
V
P
Natal'ja - e r f h r t , was L. tun w i l l ; wei, was sie tun w i l l ;
sagt, was sie sagen will
VI
Lomov - vergit, was er tun w i l l ;
sagt, was er nicht sagen will
Natal'ja - vergit, was sie tun w i l l ;
sagt, was sie nicht sagen will
R
V I I : erste Hlfte
Lomov - vergit, was er tun w i l l ;
sagt, was er nicht sagen will
Natal'ja - v e r g i t , was sie tun w i l l ;
sagt, was sie nicht sagen will
ubukov - vergit, was er tun w i l l ;
sagt, was er nicht sagen will
V I I : zweite Hlfte
Lomov - wei nicht, da er t u t , was er w i l l ;
sagt nichts;
sagt, da er das tun w i l l , was er ohne Wissen
S2
getan hat
Natal'ja - ebenso
ubukov - wei, was er tun w i l l ;
sagt, was er will
tion zwischen den Szenen III, IV und V I , VII erste Hlfte -die sequen-
zielle Entwicklung der Motive der personalen Bewutseinshaltung und
der Sprechorientierung (vom Wissen zum Vergessen und Sagen, was
man nicht will) auch bei i h r , so, wie es im ersten Handlungsteil schon
bei Lomov und Cubukov geschehen ist, was sich im zweiten Hand
lungsteil dann brigens noch einmal an diesen wiederholt.
Wir hatten oben gesagt, da die Handlung als die traditionelle Domi
nante des dramatischen Werkaufbaus gegen die Gestaltmglichkeiten
der direkten Rede der Personen ankmpft, um diese in den Hintergrund
und sich selbst und die eigenen Gestaltpotentiale frei zu setzen und
in den Vordergrund der Aufmerksamkeit des Rezipienten zu stellen.
Inhaltlich macht sich die Dominanz der Handlung darin geltend, da
sie die direkten Personenreden zum Instrument in der Handlungs
d u r c h f h r u n g degradiert. Dies bedeutet, da die Personen im Drama
soviel reden und ber solche Themen, die der Entwicklung der einzel
nen Handlungsphasen entsprechen.
Tabelle 5
S1 A
R S2
Funktion des Dialogs: Funktions des Dialogs:
(Hund der ubukovs) und wie diese zum Kaufpreis stehen. Als u b u -
kov sich zu dem Gesprch gesellt ( V I I ) , geht es nicht mehr um das
bessere Geschft, das jede Partei beim Hundekauf gemacht haben w i l l ,
sondern um den Renommierwert des Hundes. hnlich wie im Fall der
"Ochsenwiesen" wird der Gebrauchswert der Hunde f r die Jagd von
den Besitzern als gering eingestuft (Ugadaj ist alt und hat eine zu
kurze Schnauze, Otkataj hat einen zu kurzen Fang und verhlt sich
bei der Jagd untauglich), es geht hauptschlich um den 'Ruhm' des
eigenen Hundes. Damit stehen die beiden Streitobjekte f r denselben
Wertnenner im Bewutsein der Streitenden: die Ehre der Familie. Das
Besitztum von Nutzgtern (Wiesen) vergrert die Familienehre durch
die Macht und Verfgungsgewalt, das Besitztum von Jagdhunden ver
grert sie durch das soziale Ansehen, das diese Hunde verschaffen,
wobei vor allem der Stammbaum, weniger die objektiven Eigenschaften
der Hunde zhlen. Das Denken in Termini der Familienehre geht einher
mit dem Konkurrenzbewutsein zwischen den Familien. Dies wird be
sonders deutlich in der Auseinandersetzung um die beiden Hunde,
anllich derer beide Parteien in eine gegenseitige Beschimpfung der
jeweiligen Familienmitglieder vorausgegangener Generationen ausbre
chen. Die beiden Streitobjekte (Wiesen und Hunde) appellieren somit
an ein und dieselbe bewutseinsimmanente Wertvorstellung (Familien
ehre) und lsen jeweils eine identische normative Verhaltensweise in
den Gesprchspartnern aus: Die Familienehre mu gegenber einem
Vertreter einer anderen Familie verteidigt werden. Die Wertvorstellung
verbindet sich mit dem Faktor der sehr langen Zeit, der durch die
vielen Generationen in der Familie dargestellt w i r d . Dieser Zeitfaktor
treibt die Verhaltensnorm der Ehrverteidigung mit einem gewissen
unreflektierten Automatismus hervor, sobald ein Familienmitglied in
eine Situation gebracht w i r d , die an die beinahe 'eingeborene' Wert
vorstellung appelliert.
Nachdem die U n t e r s u c h u n g d e r D i a l o g s t r u k t u r g e z e i g t h a t , w a r u m
die Koordinierung von Langzeit- und Kurzzeitorientierung und damit
die dauernde funktionale Anpassung des sprachlichen Verhaltens an
das H a n d l u n g s v e r h a l t e n der Personen n i c h t g e l i n g t , soll die U n t e r s u
chung der K o m p o s i t i o n s f o r m d i e s e r Werkebene o f f e n b a r e n , wie es g e
lingt, da die Dialogebene die H a n d l u n g s e b e n e im B e w u t s e i n des s
thetisch rezipierenden Z u s c h a u e r s in den H i n t e r g r u n d d r n g t . Es g e h t
h i e r d a r u m zu e r f a h r e n , auf welche Weise d e r Dialog seine s t h e t i s c h e
Dominantenrolle bernimmt, nachdem wir schon gesehen haben, auf
welche Weise e r sich d e r inhaltlich-funktionalen Dienstleistung gegen
ber der Handlung entledigt.
nehmen wir an, da der Dialog, der ja Konflikt und Streit enthlt,
seinerseit Kompositionsverfahren ntzt, die das Spannungsmoment
steigern. Whrend die Handlung des Stcks spannungslose Symmetrie
aufwies, erwarten wir vom Dialog, da er spannungssteigernde Grada
tion zum grundlegenden kompositionsbildenden Verfahren macht.
Tabelle 6
Lomov - ubukov
II
Lomov - Lomov
III
Lomov - Natal'ja
IV
ubukov - Natal'ja
VI
Natal'ja - Lomov
VII ( I . T e i l )
VII (2.Teil)
Unter dem Aspekt der Entwicklung des physischen Zustands kann man
Lomovs A u s t r i t t aus der Kommunikationssituation mit Natal'ja und u-
bukov (in IV) als Versuch der Selbstrettung interpretieren; in VI ist
ubukov durch den wiederaufgenommenen Streit mit Natal'ja schon so
geschwcht, da seine Krfte nur noch zur Verbalreaktion (Bitte um
Wechsel des Gesprchstyps und um Abbruch der kommunikativen Be
ziehung) reicht. In VII schlielich schlgt der Rettungsversuch in
Selbstzerstrung um: Entgegen der von auen (von ubukov in Form
von dessen Bitte um Beendigung des Streits) kommenden Hilfe setzt
er den Streit f o r t , bis er ohnmchtig w i r d . Diese kontinuierliche Stei
gerungslinie im physischen Zustand Lomovs mag ihre zerstrerische
Kulmination daraus begrnden, da Lomov psychisch geschwcht durch
die handlungsbezogene Angstemotion in die Kommunikationssituation
eintritt.
Die Ebene des Dialogs in diesem Stck ist somit sowohl hinsichtlich
ihres materiellen (Wortstreit um Familienehre) wie kompositionellen
(Gradationsverfahren) Aspekts dramatisch angelegt, so da diese
Ebene tatschlich zur sthetischen Dominante werden kann. Als gat-
343
Die sthetische Dominante uert sich in der Regel nicht nur in einem
auf Deformation und Kontrast angelegten Korrelationsverhltnis zu
einer mit ihr konkurrierenden Ebene (hier: der Handlungsebene als
ehemaliger Dominante), sondern auch in der Fhigkeit, andere, auer
halb dieser Korrelationsspannung liegende Ebenen auf sich zu bezie
hen, nun aber nicht im Sinne der Deformation sondern der harmoni-
37
sierenden Abstimmung . Fr eine solche harmonisierende Abstimmung
bietet sich im Drama die auerverbale Ausdrucksebene an, die schon
bei der Untersuchung der Dialogkomposition im Element des physi
schen Zustands der Personen relevant wurde. Das Krpermoment ist
einerseits in den Dialog integriert (als Dialogthema und T r i e b k r a f t der
phatischen Funktion sowie als Mittrger des Gradationsverfahrens ne
ben der psychischen Komponente), andererseits bildet es zusammen
mit weiteren nicht-verbalen Ausdrucksmitteln eine autonome Werk
ebene, die sich jedoch, wie die folgende Analyse zeigen w i r d , nicht in
Konkurrenz zu Handlung oder Dialog entwickelt, sondern in stheti
scher Korrespondenz mit dem Dialog.
Die Personen dieses Stcks sind nicht nur in eine Handlungs- und in
eine Sprechsituation hineingestellt, sondern sie befinden sich auch in
344
Resultat der Handlung bedeutet von hier aus eine Umkehrung: Lomov,
der in seinem bisherigen Leben keinen Grund f r objektives Krper
unbehagen gehabt hat, was er aber - aufgrund der Hypochondrie -
nicht gewut hat, schafft sich durch die Heirat einen solchen G r u n d ,
was er aber nicht begreift. Handlungszeit und Krperzeit sind damit
aufeinander bezogen; die von den Aktions- und Reaktionsphasen ge
tragene dynamische Handlungszeit geht hervor aus einer krperorien
tierten Lebenszeit und schlgt ihrerseits wieder um in diese Lebens
zeit: Das Resultat der Handlung ist f r Lomovs gesamtes weiteres
Leben bestimmend.
Die Komposition dieser Ebene zeichnet sich durch zwei Verfahren aus,
die man als Verfahren der 1 . polyphonen Motiventwicklung und als
Verfahren des 2. optisch-akustischen Bildes bezeichnen knnte.
Krper ist hier nicht nur als Bedeutungs- und Sinnelement wichtig
(in Dialog und Handlung), sondern auch als visuelles, bewegliches
Element der sinnlichen Wahrnehmung durch den Zuschauer. In dieser
Eigenschaft hebt ihn schon die Liste der handelnden Personen in be-
zug auf die Hauptperson Lomov hervor. Die Angabe "Ivan Vasil'evi
Lomov, Nachbar ubukovs, ein gesunder, wohlgenhrter, aber sehr
hypochondrischer Mensch" dient nicht nur der Charakterisierung,
sondern noch einem anderen Zweck: Sie lenkt die Aufmerksamkeit des
Zuschauers von vornherein auf Lomovs Krper. Gerade die Diskrepanz
von objektiver Gesundheit und subjektiver Krankheit kann von hier
aus als Verfahren der Kontrastbildung gewertet werden, das darauf
berechnet ist, den Krper, der sonst nicht beachtet wrde, auffllig
zu machen. Der Krper Lomovs ist dadurch als Motiv der sinnlichen
Zuschauerwahrnehmung eingefhrt, und Lomovs erstes Auftreten m
te vom Schauspieler so gespielt
werden, da das Krpermotiv von
47
Anfang an beim Publikum prsent ist . Betrachtet man nun Lomovs
Verhalten in den Szenen des Stcks, so zeigt sich, da das Krper
motiv kontinuierlich weitergefhrt und entwickelt wird: I - Lomov
erwhnt seine Erregung und unterstreicht sie durch das Trinken von
Wasser, was sowohl sprachlich wie auch optisch vorgefhrt w i r d . II
- Lomov zhlt seine Krankheitssymptome auf und t r i n k t Wasser, das
handlungsfunktionale Redethema des Heiratsentschlusses und seiner
Begrndung t r i t t deutlich hinter dem Krperthema zurck. III - Im
Dialog mit Natal'ja wird das Krperthema erst versteckt im part-
Sprechen (das f r den Zuschauer gleichwohl wahrnehmbar i s t ) , dann,
am Schlu der Szene, dialogisch verbalisiert und durch nun besonders
betontes Wassertrinken (Lomov "geht schnell" zur Karaffe und t r i n k t )
unterstrichen. IV - Lomov erlebt die Symptome, die er in II nur be
schrieben hat, aktuell an sich, was durch eine Geste ("er fat sich
ans Herz") unterstrichen w i r d . Er kann nicht mehr zur Karaffe gehen,
sondern r u f t nur noch nach Wasser und verliert im weiteren die rum
liche Orientierung und das Krpergleichgewicht, so da er "schwan
kend" abgeht. Das Thema des Krpers wird somit durch Sprache,
Dinge (Wasser), Geste und Bewegung (Gehen) variiert und dynamisch
351
In III gibt Lomov das 'Bildthema' mit dem letzten Ausruf am Ende einer
lngeren Replik an, der durch eine Steigerung der Stimmstrke mar
kiert w i r d :
In VII gibt Natal'ja, nachdem die Trauzeremonie beendet ist, das ' B i l d
thema' an:
353
Auf der akustischen Ebene kann man hier das Verfahren der ikoni
schen Relation zwischen Lautgestalt und Handlungsebene feststellen,
das von der optischen Ebene unterstrichen w i r d . Im Russischen bilden
die zweimal ausgetauschten Streitrepliken "moi", "nasi" ("meine", " u n
sere") im ersten Fall ( I I I ) lautqualitativ (in den Vokalen a, i; a, i)
eine Parallelfigur, in welche durch die lautquantitativen Verhltnisse
(Wechsel der Betonung: "moi", "ni") bei gleicher Silbenzahl (zwei)
eine Kontrastrelation eingefhrt w i r d . Im zweiten Fall sind die beiden
Streitwrter "lue", "chue" (besser", "schlechter") lautqualitativ
(in bezug auf die Vokale) und lautquantitativ identisch ("le",
"chze"), so da hier nach vorangegangenem Kontrast eine hnlich
keit hergestellt w i r d . Als ikonisches Zeichen i n t e r p r e t i e r t , sagt die
Lautfigur im ersten Fall die noch bestehende soziale Ferne zwischen
den beiden Streitenden aus, im zweiten Fall ihre Nhe (sie sind nun
durch die Trauzeremonie v e r e i n t ) . Die in beiden Positionen der Ferne
und Nhe gleichbleibende semantische Polarisierung sagt dabei aus,
da die beiden Sprechpartner, gleichgltig, wie sie sozial zueinander
stehen, den sprachlichen Streit, der einer langen Verhaltensgewohn
heit entspricht, fortsetzen werden. Dabei w i r d , was schon durch die
sprachphysiologische Charakterisierung beider Personen angekndigt
ist, Natal'ja die Oberhand behalten, da sie ber die grere Sprech
energie v e r f g t . Dies ist im quantitativen bergewicht ihrer letzten,
dreimaligen Wiederholung des Streitworts "chuze" ber das jeweils nur
einmal im Replikenwechsel auftretende "lucze" Lomovs auch ikonisch
noch einmal ausgedrckt.
354
Auf der optischen Ebene wird der Kontrast im ersten Fall unterstrichen
durch die gegenstzliche Mundhaltung beider Sprecher: Lomov endet
seine Replik "moi" auf dem betonten i, das eine Breitenffnung des
Mundes vorsieht, Natal'ja hlt den Ton auf dem a ( " n i " ) , das eine
runde IVIundffnung verlangt, die durch das nachfolgende unbetonte i
zum Abschlu gebracht w i r d . Im zweiten Fall setzt die identische Vo
kalstruktur der Streitwrter "lue" und "chuze" auch eine identische
Mundhaltung beider Sprecher voraus. Da die Streitrepliken jedesmal
schreiend geuert werden und das Ende der Szene (bzw. des ganzen
Stcks im letzten Fall) markieren, ist der durch die Artikulation be
dingte optische Eindruck der Mundhaltung noch durch die gesamte
Krperhaltung unterstrichen, denn ein schreiender Mensch nimmt eine
andere Haltung ein als ein normal sprechender. Die Sprecher erstarren
somit in den beiden Fllen zu einmal kontrastiven, dann identischen
/
Schreipositionen, die aufgrund ihrer Statuari ber den Szenen- und
Stckschlu hinausdauernd vorgestellt werden mssen. Die konische
/
Zeichenstruktur dieser optisch-akustischen Eindrucksbilder wird dabei
durch die Replik ubukovs " N u n , es beginnt das Familienglck" iro
nisch kommentiert.
Das Verfahren der optisch-akustischen statuarischen Bilder, das ja
nicht nur die Lautebene der Rede sondern auch die gesamte Krper-
ebene erfat, kann man als Einbruch der Krpergroteske in das Stck
werten. In ihr werden die lebenden Personen der Handlung in posen-
haft erstarrte Puppen transformiert, ein Verfahren, das stark an den
Schlu von Gogol's "Revizor" erinnert, wo auch die dramatischen Per-
51
sonen in charakteristischen Redehaltungen versteinern . Neben dem
Kontrast des beweglichen, lebendigen und des s t a r r e n , toten Krper
zustands impliziert dieses Verfahren im gegebenen Fall auch noch den
Kontrast des klaren und des unklaren Bewutseinszustands. Dieser
Kontrast wird durch ubukovs Zwischenrufe "Champagner" in die
Bildkonstruktion introduziert. Von der Handlungs- und Sprechsitua-
tionsebene aus gesehen ist der Ausruf ubukovs funktional zu ver
stehen: Cubukov, der am Schlu selber ein 'klares' Bewutsein in
bezug auf Handlungs- und Sprechsituation hat, will den Zustand der
355
Resmee
Der Dialog als die neue Dominante des dramatischen Baus wird sekun
diert durch eine d r i t t e Strukturebene des Dramas, die Ebene der
nicht-verbalen Zeichen, die im Krper der dramatischen Charaktere
und in Dingen zum Ausdruck kommt. Die Untersttzung der Dominan
ten ist inhaltlich begrndet, insofern Krperzustand und sprachphysio
logische Besonderheiten der Sprecher eine physiologische (statt er
traditionellen psychologischen) Motivierung des berwiegens des
dialogischen Kurzzeitbewutseins ber das handlungsrelevante Lang
zeitbewutsein liefern. Gleichzeitig handelt es sich auch um eine
sthetische Untersttzung, denn die auf der Ebene der nicht-verbalen
Zeichen zur Anwendung kommenden kompositorischen Verfahren der
polyphonen Krpermotiventwicklung und des optisch-akustischen sta
tuarischen Bildes parallelisieren die Kompositionsverfahren der Dialog-
ebene und bilden eine Zusammenfassung der Hauptmerkmale der i n
haltlichen Entwicklung der beiden anderen Strukturebenen und deren
gegenseitiger Beziehung in einem szenischen 'Superzeichen'.
Summary
The analysis of three structural levels, the level of action, the level
of dialogue and the level of non-verbal signs in Chekhov's one-act-
play "Predlozenie" (The proposal of Marriage) demonstrated, that the
dramatical structure undergoes the process of shifting of the dominant.
In traditional drama the level of action is characterized by the d y
namics of the f i g h t ; its composition is marked by the artistic device
of gradation, that serves to increase the dynamics of the action. In
"Predlozenie", however, the action is without conflict nor f i g h t , and
its composition is marked by the device of symmetry. The device of
symmetry is embodied by the motive of 'knowing', varied by 'not
359
He staged it together with "Medved 1 " (The Bear) and "Jubilej" (The
Jubilee) under the common titel "33 obmoroka" (33 Blackouts). This
title was meant to indicate the loss of moral thinking and thereby the
destruction of the personality such as it is typical for the bourgeois.
The destruction of the moral individual and its transformation into an
animal, that is exclusively interested in physical well-being, is the
common denominator of all of Chekhov's comical one-act-plays. In
"Predlozenie" it finds its expression in the specific manipulation of
the motive of 'knowing', in the transformation of all dramatic char
acters into one "collective person" (according to the definition, given
by Otakar Zich), and in the autonomy of the speechact. It is also
this independent dialogue, freed from the meaning of the action, as
well as the loss of identity of the dramatic characters that explain,
why today the plays of Chekhov are looked upon as predecessors of
the theatre of the absurd.
Anmerkungen
7 V g l . Z i c h , S. 169-184.
8 F r e y t a g , S . 9 3 - 1 0 1 ; v g l . auch Schmid ( 1 9 7 6 ) .
9 echov ( 1 9 6 1 ) , S . 6 5 ; v g l . auch A n i k s t , S.560.
10 V g l . dazu a u c h V o l ' k e n t e j n , d e r ein b e s o n d e r s e x p o n i e r t e r V e r
t r e t e r d i e s e r A n s i c h t i s t ; v g l . die a b w e i c h e n d e M e i n u n g bei Honzl
(1963).
11 V g l . d a z u auch Schmid ( 1 9 7 8 b ) , S.169.
12 V g l . dazu G r e i m a s , S.49-50.
13 u b u k o v s V e r m u t u n g " V e r l i e b t wie eine Katze w i r d sie sein u n d -
s o w e i t e r . . . " ( V l j u b l e n a n e b o s ' , k o s k a , i p r o c e e . . . ) h e b t auch
v o n d e r s t i l i s t i s c h e n Ebene h e r den b i o l o g i s c h e n A s p e k t im H a n d
lungsverhalten h e r v o r , der nicht nur f r Natal'ja, sondern f r
alle Personen des S t c k s g i l t .
14 Zich, S.174.
15 Die a l t e r n a t i v e - u n d damit ausweglose K o n s t r u k t i o n s w e i s e i s t auch
fr die g r o e n Dramen echovs c h a r a k t e r i s t i s c h . V g l . dazu
Schmid ( 1 9 7 6 ) , S . 1 9 2 , A n m . 4 8 .
16 V g l . dazu M u k a r o v s k y ( 1 9 7 1 ) , S.88.
17 D e t a i l l i e r t w i r d diese A u f f a s s u n g von Komposition dargelegt bei
Vygotskij und Petrovskij.
18 V g l . dazu Doleel.
19 Ein Beispiel aus d e r r u s s i s c h e n K o m d i e n t r a d i t i o n i s t die G e s t n d
nisszene z w i s c h e n Molcalin u n d Liza in " G o r e o t urna" v o n G r i -
b o e d o v , wo Molcalin d a s , was e r s a g t , n i c h t sagen w r d e , wenn
e r w t e , da er v o n zwei w e i t e r e n Personen b e l a u s c h t w i r d
( S o f ' j a u n d C a c k i j ) , v o n denen w i e d e r u m n u r e i n e r ( a c k i j ) w e i ,
da auch d e r a n d e r e ( S o f ' j a ) z u g e g e n i s t .
20 Das Wissensmotiv w i r d schon bei A r i s t o t e l e s b e t o n t u n d d o r t mit
d e r H a n d l u n g s p e r i p e t i e in V e r b i n d u n g g e b r a c h t , v g l . das Kapitel
"Peripetie und E r k e n n u n g " , S.41-43.
21 Der B e g r i f f d e r O r i e n t i e r u n g w i r d bei L e i s t , S . 6 9 - 7 1 , in b e z u g
auf Parsons d i s k u t i e r t . Mir g e h t es h i e r u n d im f o l g e n d e n d a r u m ,
da bei S p r e c h h a n d l u n g e n u n d n i c h t - s p r a c h l i c h e m Handeln v e r
schiedene O r i e n t i e r u n g s r i c h t u n g e n w i r k s a m w e r d e n k n n e n , die
aus aus dem W i d e r s p r u c h z w i s c h e n p e r s n l i c h e n B e d r f n i s s e n u n d
sozialen Rollen e n t s p r i n g e n . Z u r T e c h n i k d e r Rollendarstellung
generell v g l . Sladek.
22 Bei diesem Monolog h a n d e l t es sich um die v o n Ingarden (S.419)
beschriebene Funktion der Selbstbeeinflussung.
23 Die I r r e l e v a n z des Wissens u n d E r k e n n e n s w i r d auf e r s t e m Plan
a u c h in echovs g r o e n Dramen g e z e i g t , v g l . dazu Schmid (1976;
1978a).
362
Bibliographie
Benutzte Werkausgaben
Anikst, A. 1972
Teorija russkoj dramy ot Puskina do echova, Moskva.
Aristoteles 1979
Poetik (Reclam. 8 2 ) .
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echov d r a m a t u r g , Leningrad.
echov, M . P . 1924
Anton echov, P e t r o g r a d .
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Vachtangov, Moskva.
Dolezel, L. 1972
" N a r r a t i v e Composition: A Link between German and Russian
Poetics", i n : Russian Formalism, e d . by S t . Bann and J . E .
Bowlt, E d i n b u r g h , S . 7 3 - 8 3 .
366
Freytag, G. 1857
Die Technik des Dramas, Leipzig.
Greimas, A . J . 1972
"Elemente einer narrativen Grammatik", i n : H. Blumensath,
H r s g . , Strukturalismus in der Literaturwissenschaft, Kln, S.47-
67.
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"Slovo na jevisti a ve f i l m u " , in: ders., novmu vyznamu
urnen , Praha, S. 197-221.
Honzl, J . 1963
"Hra a jej promny", in: ders., Zklady a praxe modernho
divadia, Praha, S.43-71.
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"Von den Funktionen der Sprache im Theaterschauspiel", in:
d e r s . : Das literarische Kunstwek, Tbingen, S,403-425.
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"Linguistik und Poetik", i n : H. Blumensath, H r s g . , S t r u k t u r a
lismus in der Literaturwissenschaft, Kln, S.118-147.
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"Zur Intentionalitt von Sprechhandlungen", i n : Linguistische
Pragmatik, Hrsg. D. Wunderlich, F r a n k f u r t , S.59-98.
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Mejerchol'ds Theatersthetik in den 20er Jahren, Kopenhagen.
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Schriften. Aufstze-Briefe-Reden-Gesprche, 2 B d e . , Berlin.
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"Dialog a monolog", i n : d e r s . , Kapitoly z cesk poetiky, B d . 1 ,
Praha, S.145-175.
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"Predmluva", i n : d e r s . , Kapitoly z esk poetiky, B d . 3 , Praha,
S.9-11.
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"O soucasn poetice", in: ders., Cestami poetiky a estetiky,
Praha, S.99-115.
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"Morfologija puskinskogo Vystrela, in: sb. Problemy potiky,
Moskva/Leningrad, S.173-204.
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Rezisser Mejerchol'd. Moskva.
Schmid, H. 1976
"Ist die Handlung die Konstruktionsdominante des Dramas? e-
chovs 'Drei Schwestern' als Beginn einer Paradigmenerweiterung
der dramatischen Gattung", i n : Poetica, B d . 8 , S.177-207.
367
Schmid, H. 1978a
"Der Aufbau der thematischen Bedeutung in Ostrovskijs 'Groza'
und in echovs 'Djadja V a n j a ' " , i n : A . G . F . van Holk, H r s g . ,
Zugnge zu Ostrovskij - Approaches to O s t r o v s k y , Bremen, S . 3 -
89.
Schmid, H. 1978b
"Die Bedeutung des dramatischen Raums in A . P . echovs
'Visnevyj sad' ( D e r K i r s c h g a r t e n ) und A . S t r i n d b e r g s 'Gespen-
stersonate' " , i n : Referate und Beitrge zum V I I I . internationa
len Slavistenkongre in Zagreb 1978, Mnchen, S . 1 4 9 - 1 9 8 .
Sladek, A . 1977
Aktionslogik und Erzhllogik, Tbingen.
Surkov, E.D. ( H r s g . ) 1961
echov i t e a t r , Moskva.
Veltrusky, J. 1977
Drama as L i t e r a t u r e , Lisse.
5
Vol'kenstejn, V . M . 1969
Dramaturgija, Moskva.
2
Vygotskij, L.S. 1968
Psichologija iskusstva, Moskva.
Z i c h , O. 1977
Esteti ka dramatickho urnen , j a l - r e p r i n t W r z b u r g .
FRAMES AND METACOMMUNICATION
IN GENET'S THE BALCONY
Dina Sherzer
1.
Escher in his graphic work Reptiles, Hill in his film The Sting, Ma
g r i t t e in his painting Le Modele rouge, Robbe-Grillet in his novel La
Maison de rendez-vous, and Velasquez in his painting Las Meninas,
are each in their own way and with different media exploring possible
ways of representing reality and experience. In Reptiles two types of
representation are mingled which contrast volumes and flat surfaces.
Amid many objects small alligators are walking. One of the objects is
a drawing book opened on a page representing a mosaic of reptilian
figures contrasting three shades. In The Sting some of the characters
think that a horse race is actually taking place, while the confidence
men who devised the whole operation know that the race is fake. What
seems real for some characters is fake for others. In Le Modle rouge
Magritte represents two feet with veins, nails and toes, connected not
to an ankle but to the top part of a pair of shoes. Unexpectedly live
matter is represented as a continuation of dead matter or vice-versa.
In La Maison de rendez-vous a Eurasion girl wearing a t i g h t - f i t t i n g
Chinese dress is the subject of a series of representations actualized
in different media. She appears on a piece of newspaper, on a r i n g ,
on a mannequin, or as a stereotyped image about the Orient in the
mind of the narrator. In other words the same representation occurs
with different anchorings. Las Meninas is a painting which represents
369
2.
4
Under the title Frame Analysis Erving Goffman studies systematically
a set of communicative devices which are used to organize the re
presentation of experience in everyday interactions, verbal and non
verbal, as well as in theater. Inspired by an article by Gregory
Bateson which discusses how by behavioural or linguistic means, an
animal or a person indicates whether he is playing or being serious,
370
3.
3.1.
3.2.
The f i r s t four tableaux which open the play belong to domain B. The
cutomers are in the studios where they have enacted or will enact
their scenario. They appear as bishop, judge, general and tramp,
that is as persons who exist in the literal world. They wear cothurni
and exaggerated make-up, so that immediately it is apparent that they
are a transformation of literal individual and roles. They know and so
do their partners that what they are doing is make believe; the four
tableaux are keyings in terms of Goffman's framework. Actually these
tableaux demonstrate how the keyings are done and undone by means
of clothes, accessories, and language, and that they are possible
because the customers pay for the sessions. In Tableau I, the bishop
is being disrobed, strings are untied, his mitre and surplice are
going to be put away, and Irma the director of the brothel asks for
money. In tableau I I , a woman with a torn muslin dress orders a
Judge in robe crawling on the floor to lick her foot. Both are watch
ed by an executioner stripped to the waist, holding a whip. Then the
position changes and the woman is crawling on the floor and the
Judge dominates her. The components of the keying are permuted. In
tableau I I I , the spectator witnesses the progressive entering of the
373
But the appearance on the balcony of the bishop, the judge, the
general, and the queen is a ceremony which is the equivalent of an
investiture. The new rulers are presented to the people, in a public
display. This sort of social ritual is a type of keying which takes
place in the real world, says Goffman ( p . 5 8 ) . It is plotted in ad
vance, rehearsals can occur, and a distinction can be drawn between
a rehearsal and the real performance. It turns out that in the play
the keyings in the studios of the brothel were rehearsals for that
particular ceremony. Irma prepared the costumes, the customers
learned how to wear them and to behave in them, and thus they
were, without knowing i t , preparing themselves and rehearsing for
the fabrication.
Now that the fake bishop, the fake judge, and the fake general have
played the role of literal ones, the question is: are they to exercise
the function which pertains to their role? Or, in the terms I have
been using here are the fabrications to become permanent and thus in
379
a sense literal? After some arguments and some scuffle the Chief of
Police decides that he is going to rule by himself. But this discussion
leads the fake representatives of authority to reminisce about what
they felt when they were in their studios enacting their roles. The
bishop says: " . . . For ours was a happy state. And absolutely safe.
In peace, in comfort, protected by a police force that protects b r o t h
els, we were able to be a general, judge and bishop to the point of
perfection and to the point of rapture! You tore us brutally from that
delicious, untroubled state". The general interrupts the bishop to
add: "My breeches! What joy when I pulled on my breeches: I now
sleep in my general's breeches, I eat in my breeches, I waltz - when
I waltz - in my breeches, I live in my general's breeches. I'm a
General the way one is a priest". The general answers the bishop:
"At no moment can I prepare myself - I used to start a month in
advance! - prepare myself for pulling on my general's boots and
breeches. I am rigged in them for all eternity. By Jove, I no longer
dream" (pp.79-80). These remarks are again metastatements on what
happened in the studios. This time it is the perspective of the cus
tomers themselves which is presented. Their remarks corroborate what
Irma and Carmen had said in tableau V about the meaningfulness of
the sessions. In contrast, the literal activities during which the
bishop, the judge, and the general act as literal representatives of
the authority are felt as not satisfactory at all; they are banal, they
lack novelty, they are too real. And this dissatisfaction with reality
is also stressed by Irma when in tableau V she mentions that the real
bishop, general, and judge are "props of a display that they have to
drag in the mud of the real and the commomplace. Here (in the
brothel) Comedy and Appearance remain p u r e , and the Revels intact".
(p.36).
The last section of tableau IX deals with something for which the
Chief of Police has been waiting for a long time: his keyings in one
of the studios of the brothel. Roger, Chantal's lover and revolutiona
ry, comes to act as the Chief of Police in the recently built new
380
3.3.
4.
4.1.
4.2.
4.3.
4.4.
22
plementarity . Supplements are utilized to remedy a deficiency, or to
supply something additional. These two aspects are constantly present
in the play. The customers who go to the brothel go there to sup
plement a lack or to add something to their life. They are people
living essentially in solitude, refusing or not being able to communi
cate with others and finding in the brothel a place which provides
psychic protection from normal intersubjective relations, and fetishiz-
23
ed bodies in a ritualistic space . The revolution too needs a sup
plement in the person of Chantal who is asked to play the role of
heroine; even the counterrevolutionary needs supplements in the
person of the customers, who in their attire from the brothel, appear
on the balcony. Finally and importantly power needs symbols, cos
tumes, and accessories as supplements. Everything in the play needs
to be supplemented by something else.
4.5.
an out-of-place detail. For instance the customer who enacts the role
of a waiter complains bitterly because Irma has forgotten to buy a
pink apron instead of a white one; and Carmen, in the role of Saint
Teresa she might play, will have black lace under her homespun
skirt. Characters create discrepancies and contrasts with words too.
Irma is capable of being very refined and very elegant in her way of
speaking but she can also in the same sentence use the argot of
prostitutes, thus juxtaposing lyricism and v u l g a r i t y : " . . . quand je me
nomme, dans le secret de mon coeur, mais avec une grande prcision,
une tenancire de boxon. Chrie quand secrtement, dans le silence
je me rpte en silence: Tu es une mre maquerelle, une patronne de
claque et de bouic, chrie, tout (soudain lyrique) s'envole: lustres,
24
miroirs, tapis, pianos, cariatides et mes salons . . . " (p.78) . The
bishop holding the flap of his surplice says the following: "Oh laces,
laces, fashioned by a thousand little hands to veil ever so many
panting bosoms, buxom bosoms . . . you illustrate me with branches
and flowers!" ( p . 11). He points out that the lace can be part of the
most sacred costume, in a most ceremonial surrounding, and can also
be a teasing and titillating element, in the most physical and personal
of situation, that of eroticism and sexual intercourse. A little later
the bishop continues this type of discrepancy when he addresses
again his surplice: "And in order to destroy all functions, I want to
cause a scandal and feel you u p , you slut, you b i t c h , you trollop,
you tramp ..." ( p . 12). Nothing in the play indicates that the cus
tomers want to degrade the sacred and the powerful. Such words,
rather than being intended as blasphemy or degradation, stem from
the desire and the pleasure of creating* contrasts and clashes. And of
course Saint Genet, as Sartre called him, because he wanted to be
come a saint in criminality, the thief and the prostitute who became a
famous dramatist and novelist, accepted both by high society and by
the 'scum,' certainly enjoys the discrepancies and contrasts he set up
in his play, having the customers of a brothel become the rulers of a
city, and making a character dressed as a bishop swear: "For
25
Christ's sake, leave me alone. Get the hell o u t ! " (p.12) . The
387
Balcony is the work of a man who has the sense of hierarchies and
ceremonial that would have been required to live in Versailles, but it
is also the work of a man who knows the hierarchies and the rules of
26
the underworld and enjoys play and manipulation to the extreme
The basic message that both real life and representation are play
exists in Escher, Hill, Magritte, Robbe-Grillet, and Velasquez; but
Genet goes f u r t h e r in showing that under the trappings of represen
tation and communication there is no center, but only movement, ex
change, and instability. Is Genet a pessimist then? It is up to the
reader to decide; but perhaps it is time to stop being affected by
what has been called European schizophrenia and be aware that sci
entists and social thinkers in their works point to instability and
fluctuation without giving them negative connotations. "This is the
end of certitudes ... it is the opening to a period of multiple ex
perimentation, of an increased awareness of both the incertitude and
the great possibilities implied by our human condition", writes Ilya
.27
Prigogine
Notes
8 Martin Esslin in his essay 'A hall of m i r r o r s ' , The Theater of the
Absurd (New Y o r k : Doubleday, 1969) mentions Genet's preoccupa
tion with the borderline between fantasy and reality ( p . 180).
t r a v a i l , 90 s r i e F, 1980 ( C e n t r o I n t e r n a u i o n a l e d i Semiotica e d i
Linguistica, Urbino).
16 I deal w i t h t h e system of r e f e r e n c e a n d a d d r e s s in t h e p l a y , i n
'Les a p p e l l a t i f s d a n s Le Balcon de G e n e t ' , F r e n c h Review 4 8 , ( I ) ,
1974, p p . 9 5 - 1 0 7 .
18 I t s h o u l d be n o t e d t h a t as f a r as c o s t u m e s , u n i f o r m s , and acces
sories a r e c o n c e r n e d , Genet recommends in his p r e f a c e t o t h e
F r e n c h e d i t i o n t h a t t h e y be t h o s e of t h e c o u n t r y w h e r e t h e p l a y
is p e r f o r m e d .
24 I am q u o t i n g t h e F r e n c h t e x t h e r e t o a t t r a c t a t t e n t i o n t o t h e d i f
f e r e n t s y n o n y m s of t h e w o r d b r o t h e l Irma u s e s : " b o x o n , c l a q u e ,
b o u i c , " w h i c h are lost in t h e E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n ( p . . 3 7 ) , b u t a r e
crucial f o r the contrast they provide with words like " l u s t r e s ,
miroirs, tapis, cariatides."
References
D e r r i d a , Jacques 1970
' S t r u c t u r e , S i g n and Play in t h e D i s c o u r s e of Human S c i e n c e s , '
i n : R. Macksey and E. Donato ( e d s . ) , T h e Language of C r i t i c i s m
and T h e Sciences of Man ( B a l t i m o r e : T h e John H o p k i n s U P ) ,
pp.247-273.
D e r r i d a , Jacques 1974
Glas ( P a r i s : Ed. Galilee).
D e r r i d a , Jacques 1978
La V r i t en p e i n t u r e ( P a r i s : Minuit).
F o u c a u l t , Michel 1966
Les mots et les choses ( P a r i s : Gallimard).
F o u c a u l t , Michel 1975
S u r v e i l l e r et p u n i r ( P a r i s : Gallimard).
L a p l a n c h e , Jean 1976
Life and Death in P s y c h o a n a l y s i s (Baltimore: The John Hopkins
UP).
391
, Richard N. 1968
The Vision of Jean Genet (New York: Grove Press).
S a r t r e , Jean-Paul 1963
Genet actor and m a r t y r (New Y o r k : Geore B r a z i l l e r ) .
T h o d y , Philip 1968
Jean Genet (New Y o r k : Stein and D a y ) .
Jii Veltrusk
This article, like the previous one, only examines acting in the
theatre. Film acting and elements of acting in everyday life have
been left aside for the sake of c l a r i t y ; the concept of t h e a t r e , on the
other h a n d , is to be taken in the broadest sense.
1 . T h e Problem
It follows that the difference does not necessarily pertain to all the
parts and components of the performance. A monograph on Joseph
Grimaldi points out that in his day fencing on the stage was not
choreographed but real. Long before he became a clown, Grimaldi
made his reputation at the D r u r y Lane theatre because he excelled in
this martial a r t , just as Mrs. Wybrow won fame by her prowess with
the sword (Findlater 1978 :76). Another example: When, during a
scene in which he was to play a character sleeping, Constant Coque-
lin one night really fell asleep and snored, the spectators failed to
notice that he was not acting and some of them found that he was
overdoing his bit of 'business' (Coquelin 1968 :67). In other words,
an audience which has been set by the whole performance to receive
signs may take even a fairly protracted piece of unintentional be
haviour as a sequence of signs.
itself. Some of them derive from others, and each carries a different
relative weight in different theatrical structures. Nonetheless, three
of these aspects seem to be crucial: f i r s t l y , acting is characterized
by what may be called its distinctness, secondly, acting consists in
breaking down behaviour and building it u p ; finally, it has a certain
consistency of its own, different from the consistency of ordinary
behaviour.
2. Distinctness
This does not mean that the spectators actually take note of every
single detail. Perception is always selective, and this is true even of
the perception of art although the aesthetic function works to the
opposite effect. The selectivity of perception in the theatre is well
illustrated by an amusing story, which exists in several versions, n-
4
cluding one reported by Coquelin (1968 :45-46): an actor who forgot
his lines at a crucial point in a play replaced them with an equivalent
number of nonsense verses, delivered with impassioned conviction; he
was wildly applauded by an audience which had failed to notice any
thing unusual about his speech.
general can be. With small flashlight bulbs attached to the joints -
shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles - a person is
filmed walking against a dark background in a darkened room. People
watching the film are puzzled during the opening section, when the
'actor' is sitting motionless in a chair, but as soon as he rises and
starts to move they recognize a human being walking; sometimes it
takes them only a tenth of a second to do so. Similar results are
obtained when the film shows limping, running in different directions,
cycling, climbing, a couple dancing, various types of gymnastic
motion, etc. A walking person is also easily recognized when the
number of bulbs is reduced to f i v e , representing the hip-and-legs
part of the movement; most viewers describe this as "two walking
legs" (Johansson 1973 and 1975). I have been told that in the film of
two people performing a lively folk dance it is even possible to dis
tinguish the male from the female dancer. The viewer here is, of
course, set on recognition. By contrast, the spectator in the theatre
is set on getting the full meaning of the acting. But he cannot get it
without recognition. That is where the distinctness and the implied
perceptibility of acting come into the picture.
lucid a thinker as Karl Bhler did not quite resist the temptation to
substitute intelligibility for perceptibility when, in his discussion of
Johann Jacob Engel's classic treatise on acting, he stated that in the
theatre the gestures are highlighted and rendered extremely distinct
so as to make sure that what is otherwise no more than a clue must
be seen and cannot be overlooked even by "stupid eyes" (Bhler
1933:46). A posture, gesture, facial expression, cadence or timbre
which conveys an indeterminate meaning is in no way inferior a r t i s t
ically; it is often appreciated as "enigmatic" or "revealing a profound
internal disturbance." Certain of the procedures by which the ref
erential function of language is sometimes eliminated in the theatre
(Veltrusky 1976) involve intentionally defective articulation. Opera
provides another, though more complicated, example. The ability of
some opera singers to articulate intelligibly is appreciated but the
lack of this ability does not devalue others; and many opera lovers
enjoy performances in foreign languages which they do not under
stand, except for a few 'catchwords.'
Among the many factors which jointly bring about the distinctness of
acting in its two facets - being different and being perceptible - four
seem to be particularly important: straight difference between acting
and life, acting conventions, semiotic intentionality, and controlled
tempo. Although they variously do overlap, each one of them c o n t r i
butes in its own way.
400
2 . 4 . Semiotic intentionality
which knew nothing about the role." They "continued to express the
insignificance of daily life and to bring out the musculature instead of
the Racinian shades of meaning." The drapery they were lifting kept
falling vertically. Their intentions, surrounding their voice and
gesture "like a majestic or delicate f r i n g e , " were obvious to the spec
tator.
The effort to slow down delivery can match the slowing down of
movements and gestures only up to a point. Beyond t h a t point it can
only be pursued by means of pauses or by the injection of some
musical principles in the sound s t r u c t u r e of speech. But pauses have
many other functions in acting and are apt to convey a wealth of
meanings which may i n t e r f e r e with the intentions motivating the quest
for slow tempo in any given case; as a r u l e , actors are well aware of
the danger and p a r t i c u l a r l y of the most pernicious of these incidental
meanings, namely the pause being perceived as a result of defective
memory (Talma 1825). The injection of musical principles may turn
declamation into singing and b r i n g about all the inhibitions t h a t beset
opera acting. Even singing may not be slow enough to match the
tempo of physical movement. In the Kathakali the translation of e v e r y
word into g e s t u r e s , movements and the play of the eyes takes so long
that every line is repeated, as many times as necessary, by the
chanters. T h i s , of course, is feasible only because physical movement
and declamation are separate in this form of t h e a t r e , the f i r s t being
carried out by the actors and the second by the singer-narrators
(Scott 1 9 7 2 : 2 3 5 - 2 3 6 ) .
Mime is probably the most extreme and the simplest example of a gen
eral aspect of acting, namely the breaking down of behaviour and its
building up. In mime human behaviour is broken down into its two
basic components, speech and physical a c t i v i t y , and the f i r s t is elim
inated. This operation tends by itself to highlight the visual element.
But mime consists not only in suppressing speech but also in building
up physical activity into a self-sufficient set of signs. These signs
also convey certain meanings which outside mime are conveyed by
speech. Naturally, mime cannot replace speech (Engel 1785-1786:
letters VIII, IXXX-XXXI; Decroux 1963:135 and 144). But it also
evokes meanings which speech could not convey.
each victim's final answer to the judge's question who killed the
Commander: that it was the v i l l a g e , Fuenteovejuna.
Behaviour is also broken down into speech and bodily activity in the
many forms of t h e a t r e - ranging from the No through the 15th
century English mummings and disguisings to Nemirovich-Danchenko's
staging of Tolstoy's Resurrection in the Moscow Art Theatre (Vel-
trusky 1976) - in which these two basic components are divided be
tween two different agents: On one hand the reciters, chanters,
n a r r a t o r s , c h o r u s , e t c . , a n d , on the o t h e r , the actors. Even here the
physical performance is often built up into an at least autonomous, if
not self-contained, set of signs. In the Kathakali, as already mention
ed, the t e x t chanted by the narrators is not only enacted by the
actors' dance but also duplicated by their gestural language. T h e use
of such a systematized gestural language does not, however, pre
suppose a division of functions between reciters and actors. The
Kathakali and its language of gesture arose, indeed, much later than
the Kootiyattam which has a very similar gesture language - both
stem from the Vedic 'mudras' ( A u b o y e r 1961) - but does not separate
speech from the visual element.
Yet another way of breaking human behaviour down into the two
basic components can be found in the 17th and 18th c e n t u r y 'Opra
comique en vaudevilles' of the Paris f a i r s , where the texts ('vaude-
412
In a subtle sense human behaviour was also broken down into the two
basic components when Garrick and Mrs. Pritchard resorted to a kind
of whisper at the beginning of the scene after the murder in Mac
beth. By damping their voice production the two actors obviously
brought out the play of the eyes and facial muscles, the gestures and
the postures. As a contemporary critic put i t : "Their looks and action
supplied the place of words. You heard what they spoke, but you
learned more from the agitation of mind displayed in their action and
deportment. The poet here gives only an outline to the consumate
actor" (Price 1973:20).
The French tragedy acting of the same period may have constituted
the counterpart of Garrick's method by severely limiting the dynamic
aspect of physical performance and building up declamation into the
main carrier of dramatic action; for a big speech the actor apparently
would freeze in a beautiful pose.
3.2. Delivery
The actor's delivery is the result of speech having been broken down
and built up. The foundations are already laid in the t e x t , that is, in
its semantic structure and its sound qualities.
2
action and so ruin the pattern of the text (Gielgud 1979 :28). The
second example comes from Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being
Ernest. Although the play requires a leisurely pace, the sense of
dialogue is dissipated and its progress held up unless the actors
shape their delivery in such a way as to sacrifice laughs on certain
witty lines in order that a big laugh may come later. The following
exchange illustrates the point:
Gielgud comments: " I f the actor playing Jack allows the audience to
laugh after the words, ' I t produces a false impression,' Algernon's
reply will fall flat and seem redundant. Actors with expert pace and
timing will h u r r y the dialogue, Algernon breaking in quickly with his
line, so that the audience will not laugh until he has spoken it"
( i b i d . :82).
The sound shape of the text results from the multiple selection
operated by the author at all levels: choice of words, the order in
which they follow each other, the semantic and syntactic links be
tween them, the structure of the sentence and the way in which
successive sentences are linked together, the system of versification,
and so on. At all these levels the selection plays down some sound
qualities of language and brings out others. Just one example: the
timbre or 'color' of the voice is played down when intonation, with its
striving for continuous undulation, is brought out and, vice versa,
the continuity of the intonation is disrupted by the frequent and
abrupt changes of the timbre which give the timbre prominence among
the sound qualities (Mukarovsky 1939). Far from being limited to such
general features, the sound shape of a text pertains to every detail:
specific melodic curves and cadences, specific voice colorations,
degrees of loudness, pauses, changes in tempo, etc. Although it
gives the reciter considerable scope for variation and interpretation,
415
the way in which the sound shape of the text breaks down and builds
up the sound quantities of language is the very foundation of the
actor's delivery (Veltrusky 1941b).
Delivery itself can be separated into the voice performance and the
actual words, and either can be more or less neutralized to bring out
the other. The actors' story (already mentioned) about a tragedian
who provoked enthusiastic applause with a couple of nonsense verses
when he forgot his lines at a culminating point illustrates the neutral
ization of the words. The voice performance is largely neutralized for
the benefit of the words in Samuel Beckett's Play. Here the actors,
enclosed in grey urns from which only their heads protrude and facing
the auditorium throughout the play, are instructed to use toneless
voices except at the rare moments when an expression is indicated by
the playwright.
At the same time, every period or school has its own style of delivery
and nearly every actor his own manner. Both consist in a particular
way of breaking down and building up the sound qualities of lan
guage; therefore they can be at variance with the sound shape of the
text or even clash with i t . It is reported that it was "really comical"
to see Konrad Ekhof play a hero of Corneille because his "prosaic"
delivery contrasted with the pompous poetry of the dialogue (Engel
1785-1786: letter VII). The actors of the Weimar Court Theatre,
under Goethe's direction, spent several years learning to perform
plays written in verse (Flemming 1949:64-67). The history of the
theatre abounds in accounts of dramatists' efforts to make the actors
speak " n a t u r a l l y , " "without affectation," e t c . , which in fact reflect
clashes between the sound shape of the play and the period style or
the individual style of delivery.
Perhaps the closest that delivery can come to actually eliminating some
sound quality of language is in the use of an artificial voice, as oc
curs in the No, in some forms of folk and puppet theatre, etc. The
existing descriptions of the way artificial voices are used by certain
English mummers and Czech folk performers (Southern 1968:50; Brody
n.d. 25; Bogatyrev 1940:115-129) tend to indicate that articulation,
and therefore the division of speech into vowels and consonants and
syllables, is eliminated; but there also seems to be some fluctuation
between this extreme procedure and a mere b l u r r i n g of articulation
(Bogatyrev 1940:115). The articulation of certain sounds is strongly
modified but by no means eliminated in the No (Tamba 1974:44-49),
which of course does not preclude the suppression of some other
sound quality of speech. To my knowledge these phenomena have not
yet been submitted to full linguistic analysis.
In an Elizabethan play, one of the actors performs with his right arm
in a sling. To imagine the probable impact of this on his acting, the
rich gesticulation of the Elizabethan actors must be borne in mind.
417
Since the head, the face and the eyes assume a tremendous impor
tance in every person's behaviour and in all sorts of reactions ( r e
cognition, interest, puzzlement, understanding, attraction, repulsion,
e t c . ) a person arouses in others, the twin tendencies to break down
and build up often focus on the head and its relation to the rest of
the body.
the parts of the body, like the arms, the t r u n k , the legs, etc. The
ensuing shift of the spectator's interest reveals the beauty of a move
ment he has seen so many times without paying any attention to i t .
Zeami, the great 15th century N actor and playwright, points out
that the actor playing a female part must not keep his neck stiff
(Zeami 1960:71). I am indebted to Sir Ernst Gombrich for calling my
attention to the fact that the capital importance of this small detail of
behaviour is likely to be connected with the Japanese female hair
style. It is interesting that the same feature is also used in the Bun-
r a k u . The head of a male puppet is fitted closely to its neck so as to
be perfectly erect. The head of a female puppet is fitted more loosely
and protrudes somewhat f o r w a r d ; as a result the quality of movement
is different (Scott 1973 2 :55).
In everyday behaviour the head, the face, the eyes, the brows, the
mouth, e t c . , form a single whole. In acting this whole is often broken
down in order to bring out one of its components. The extreme case
is Beckett's Not I, where only the actress's mouth is visible; when
the play was performed at the Thtre d'Orsay in Paris, this was the
only visual sign in the entire performance because the figure of the
Auditor was eliminated.
But the relationship between the make-up and the facial play is a
broader issue than the techniques used in either one of them. In the
aragoto style of acting in the Kabuki theatre the make-up often con
sists of bold lines in r e d , blue, black or grey which follow the mus
culature of the face and thus bring out every expression and facial
play (Brandon 1978:69). By contrast, when the classic Chinese
theatre uses make-up - which is by no means the case of all the stage
figures - it relies on a highly conventionalized system of colour sym
bolism and the colours are often distributed according to a division of
the face which corresponds only remotely to its natural division into
the forehead and the cheeks, because it actually follows the lines of a
shape similar to the letter Y (the chin, usually covered by a beard,
seems to be indeterminate as to meaning). The space which each
colour covers within this pattern symbolizes the share of the qualities
it signifies in the whole mentality and attitude of the represented
character. Moreover, the general pattern set by the letter Y may be
further complicated by the addition of other geometrical elements.
Thus the character of an old man is frequently signified by horizontal
eyebrows running the whole way to the ears; for a clown a coloured
upside-down triangle is sometimes painted just above the nose. Yet,
according to a plausible hypothesis, this whole make-up system,
which negates the musculature, was taken over from the ancient
warrior masks and the symbols were painted directly on the actor's
face in order to enable him to use his facial muscles. Although the
422
The relationship between the mask and facial play is even more com
plicated. It is true that the mask conceals the play of the actor's
facial muscles. But it can provide the stage figure the actor creates
with a distinct, even s t r i k i n g , physiognomy which contributes a great
deal to the sense of that f i g u r e .
Moreover, though it hides the play of the actor's own facial muscles,
the mask need not deprive the stage figure of its variable facial com
ponents. The masks of the No, for instance, are sculptured in such a
way as to acquire many different expressions depending on the angle
of reflexion of the light. Thus, a slight change in the angle of ex
posure of the young woman's mask to the light will change a sweet,
somewhat ambiguous smile into an expression of deep melancholy. The
actor keeps modifying the position of his head to produce a sequence
of facial expressions corresponding to the unfolding of the text (Sief-
f e r t 1960:22). Similarly, the masks used in the Topeng take on dif
ferent expressions when viewed from different angles. Before choosing
a mask, the actor holds it in his hand and turns it in different direc
tions and plays with the movement at varying speeds to find out
whether the mask 'lives' and how it 'wants to move;' he discards the
masks that have no life in them (Emigh 1979). An American mime who
went to Bali to learn the Topeng bought several beautiful masks on
arrival but when he reached the stage in his training where he could
start using masks he discovered that these, which had been carved
for tourist shops and looked good on the wall, were unsuitable for
the performance because their expression did not vary in movement
(Jenkins 1979).
Breaking down the physical activity does not consist only in neutra
lizing, immobilizing or emiminating from the performance some part of
the body, it also affects the way in which every pose or motion, even
the simplest one, is made. One of the great concerns of the Moscow
A r t Theatre dramatic school was to teach the students to break down
behaviour and build it up in both respects. Now a student was
blamed for "indulging in naturalism for its own sake," now another
was praised for basing a performance on carefully selected elements
taken from real life, for taking nothing wholesale or taking just what
was necessary, no more, no less, and for having a sense of propor
tion (Stanislavsky 1937:159-161). Stanislavski's insistence that the
muscles must be relaxed and only those must be used which are ab
solutely necessary for the motion carried out at any given moment
( i b i d . : 95-110) is also pertinent to the breaking down and building
up of behaviour.
3.4. Sequence
This tendency can also affect the structure of a single action. Thus,
Talma praised an "artifice" whereby the actor can give the impression
that the character is speaking extremely fast: to make a quick mute
action - a gesture, an attitude, a look - precede the words. "This
display adds greatly to the expression, as it discovers a mind so
profoundly imbued t h a t , impatient to manifest itself, it has chosen the
more rapid signs. These artifices contribute to what is rightly called
byplay, a most essential part of the theatrical a r t , and most difficult
to acquire, retain and regulate well" (Talma 1825). It is interesting
that exactly the same method, though not intended to create the same
effect, was recommended to Talma at the very beginning of his career
when, in the letter of July 1780, his father pointed out that Garrick
had often used byplay to introduce a speech: "the reply which he
was to give was announced by his byplay and the natural movement
of his body" ( A u g u s t i n - T h i e r r y 1942: 22).
Stanislavski of course never gave up his narrow idea that the unity
of the sequence stems ultimately from the psychology of the re
presented character and situation; he was an a r t i s t , not a theoret
ician. But in other forms of theatre the procedures by which the
sequence is constructed are to various degrees conventionalized. In
the Kabuki, for instance, the argument between standing opponents is
represented by the actors or groups gradually edging towards each
other, step by step; these steps represent the growing heat of the
argument. When this procedure is needed in a play which also re
quires the f u l l - f r o n t acting of seated actors facing the audience, the
procedures are intercut. So during the interrogation scene in The
Subscription List the two actors glare at, and move toward, one an
other, then t u r n f r o n t to deliver the next lines and go on alternating
the two procedures in this way until they are close together in the
center (Brandon 1978:98-101).
428
4. Consistency
Gielgud considers that the actor has to adapt his means of presenta
tion according to the demands and quality of the text on which he
has to work, and that the t e x t , whether it is in Shakespeare's lan
guage or the most colloquial modern speech, has its own sound shape
('pattern') which the actor must find and which can, as it were,
carry his whole performance (Gielgud 1972 : 4 - 5 ) . Richard II allows
the actor to indulge himself, "luxuriating in the language he has to
430
The sound shape of the text is often so compelling that the actor who
gives himself over to it completely in the early stages of the prepara
tion of the role may later be inhibited when t r y i n g to add gestures,
facial play and movements (Dullin 1946:90-91). The converse is
equally t r u e . The actor who develops his bodily performance disre
garding the sound shape of his lines is beset by inhibitions in his
delivery, forgetting words, stammering, etc. Stanislavski, whose poor
2
memory for words was long proverbial (Nemirovitch-Dantchenko 1968 :
86), is an outstanding example of the second k i n d ; he was so i n
sensitive to the language of the play that in the early rehearsals of
Othello by his students he took the text away from them and forced
them to make up their own speeches (Stanislavsky 1961:139-141).
head" (Arnheim 1948). All the relations between what the different
parts of the body respectively perform are thoroughly changed by the
same token. In the Topeng, the entire movement of the actor's body
is adjusted to the requirements of the mask's varying expressions o r ,
to repeat the Topeng actors' own phrase, to the way the mask "wants
to move" (Emigh 1979).
Every actor's speeches and motions are intermittent, since the actors
keep relaying each other in the course of the action. Hence each of
his interventions contributes to the 'particular' tempo which d i s t i n
guishes him from his fellow-actors and to the 'individual' tempo of the
instant, which he shares with them. In other words, the tempo of any
435
dispenses him from actually carrying out such acts. Various methods
of relieving him from this necessity do exist but they are fairly rare.
An interesting example can be found in the Kabuki: a large wooden
box for which the characters struggle in The Tea Box is held by a
stage assistant from beneath so that it is weightless for the actors
and does not interfere with their dance movement (Ernst n . d . : 1 0 9 ) .
References
Susan E. Bassnett-McGuire
1.
What Raymond Williams (1977) has to say about Marxist writing seems
highly applicable to the phenomenon of the new women's writing also.
Stating that Marxist writing is always aligned, Raymond Williams goes
on to say that
446
2.
The f i r s t , most immediately striking problem, is the whole issue of
terminology. Already in the f i r s t few paragraphs of this paper the
terminological ambiguity of women's theatre has emerged, and the
problem becomes more complex if the term is considered in a his
torical perspective. The term f i r s t comes into being in the British
context to describe the agit-prop protests by women's groups and gay
groups against the Miss World contest in 1970 and in the abortion
rallies of the same period. By March, 1979, the journal Spare Rib
listed under the heading of 'A Guide to Women's Theatre Groups',
some fifteen companies of varying size touring the country with shows
on issues of sexual politics, and that list has since increased in size
despite a hostile economic climate. Whilst some of the companies listed
had originated directly from involvement in the Women's Movement,
others had arisen as breakaway groups from commited Left-wing
companies and, interestingly, the Spare-Rib guide included Gay
Theatre groups under the same blanket heading, thus equating the
term 'women's theatre' with shows dealing with both homosexual and
heterosexual oppression.
2.2.
What is significant about this statement is the stress laid on the sub
ject matter, on the way in which specifically female issues and per
spectives can be introduced into theatre. The question of women's
work, both the practical exploitation of women and the ambiguities
surrounding, the issues of working mothers has provided material for
several shows, and there have been plays about violence against
women, divorce, lesbian motherhood, abortion, oppressive family
structures and so on. In addition, there have been many shows
dealing with feminism in a historical perspective, with plays about
the seventeenth century wich persecutions, the role of women in the
Paris commune, early Socialist and Anarchist women, the problem of
women and fascism, the suffrage movement and a series of plays
about women who played a central role in the development of the new
awareness.
to create major roles for actresses, and about her choice of Christina
she notes that "Christina is the most disturbed of the women I've
written about - the most in conflict about being a woman." This,
t h e n , is her starting point, and Ruth Wolff's play, which follows the
conventions of the two act well-made piece, explores the problem of
the conflicts within one woman as her desire to love and be loved
clashes with the weight of social expectation and, ultimately, with the
possibility of a divine plan. At the height of her agony of indecision,
over the abdication, Christina cries out (Wolff 1980:437):
Yet in spite of the surface novelty, this play is still making a very
traditional statement about women's identity, for the juxtaposition
throughout is between the public, seen as the male part of Christina's
consciousness, and the private, which is the female part. The play is
really about the conflict of love and d u t y , and in perceiving these as
opposites and as sex-determined opposites, Ruth Wolff is actually
reinforcing the Garboesque vision rather than attacking i t . The given
frame of reference may seem to be different, but the treatment of the
material is entirely conventional.
Plays about 'great' women, then, even where the context might i n d i
cate the contrary, are not feminist plays or even, except in strict
terms of the sex of the w r i t e r , main character and director, women's
theatre. And clearly this is in part because of the concept of history
that sees the past as expanses of time punctuated by the emergence
453
2.3.
One of the tendencies in the small touring groups has been to attempt
to create a new theatre on two fronts simultaneously: in terms of
organizational structures and in terms of stage figures. Hence the
shift towards a collectively administered s t r u c t u r e , where the company
concerns itself with both financial and artistic decision-making pro
cesses and where the credit for the final show is often not attributed
to a single writer but to the combined work of the group. Perceiving
hierarchies as contrary to the aims of the women's movement, a num
ber of groups can best be described as 'women's theatre' by what
happens off rather than on-stage.
2.4.
2.5.
We started out with a theatre that broke with the past, attacked, set
up barricades. That was the 'white-hot' time of feminism. We wanted
to spread ideas that very few people held and very few people agreed
w i t h . Then as feminism gradually spread, as consciousness-raising i n
creased and as some of the basic tenets of the women's movement
were accepted by the masses, we began to feel the need to work on
our theatre projects in greater depth and to establish a more complex
process of mediation with our fathers' culture. You couldn't do b a r r i
cade theatre any more; we had to follow the path that the movement
was following in analysing the unconscious, considering everything we
had read into patriarchal values. So from the political shows, of the
f i r s t three years of questioning we moved on to more sophisticated,
more 'thought-out' performances that expressed our contradictions as
well as our certainties. Now we have, within the collective, one or
two experimental groups that don't even touch on female subject
matter.
456
2.6.
The suggestion that Edgar makes does indeed have wide ranging im
plications for he seems to be claiming that there could be a hierarchy
of greater and lesser representational material, a surprisingly elitist
idea. Yet the notion of theatre as the shell from which the yolk is
extracted in actor-audience discussion lies at the centre of a specific
type of women's theatre. Although some groups have sought out work
ing class venues, many play predominantly to small audiences, usually
young and often middle-class, most of whom are already converted to
the message brought by the actors, and such a theatre illustrates
some of the ambiguities surrounding the question of the power rela
tionship between stage and auditorium.
Later she describes the new kind of theatre she and her co-workers
have set'out to create in terms of resolving in identity crisis:
I am less scared these days because some identity issues are settled:
Who I am is clear to me in an institution I am creating. Our audience
is a support group.
2.7.
The problems with such a concept, however, are vast. Leaving aside
the whole question of the viability and desirability of separatism, two
major problematical areas remain: whether there can be a specifically
women's creativity in theatre terms and how to distinguish the bound
aries between theatre and non-theatre. Simone de Beauvoir, dis
cussing women w r i t i n g , expresses the view that women's creativity is
still restricted by her own lack of freedom:
When they (women writers) have removed the veils of illusion and
deception, they think they have done enough; but this negative
audacity leaves us still faced by an enigma, for the t r u t h itself is
ambiguity, abyss, mystery: once stated, it must be thoughtfully re
considered, recreated. It is all very well not to be duped, but at
that point all else begins. Woman exhausts her courage dissipating
mirages and she stops in t e r r o r at the threshold of reality. ( . . . )
( . . . ) A r t , literature, philosophy, are attempts to found the world
anew on a human l i b e r t y : that of the individual creator; to entertain
such a pretension, one must f i r s t unequivocally assume the status of
a being who has liberty.
Except that, as anyone knows who has been present at such discus
sions, this simply does not happen. Conditioned as we are to the idea
of an individual or individuals as initiators/teachers, the inevitable
result is often long silences, embarrassment and, ultimately the emer
gence of leading speaker who provides a focus for the attacks of the
newly galvanised group against elitism. For if ordered structures are
seen to be male, women are left in an intolerable - and untenable -
position: to set up alternative structures could be perceived as con
forming to the male notion of woman as his own reflection and to t r y
and dispense with structures altogether is to risk silence and stasis.
What happens therefore is compromise - ostensibly the idea of the
461
2.8.
Whatever the claims for creating a new theatre, the idea of theatre
outlined by Roberta Sklar of the women's discussion theatre of the
kind outlined above are still very reductive. For both approaches are
still striving to appropriate what they see as belonging elsewhere -
i.e. the underlying tenet is that theatre, like the system of having a
discussion led by a principal speaker(s) is fundamentally male, be
cause it involves a precise concept of hierarchical s t r u c t u r i n g , with
actors performing in order to elicit an audience response. Keir Elam's
suggestion (1977) that what converts people, action and objects into
signs on stage is the removal of the performance from praxis, follow
ing Veltrusky's statement that in theatre "the action is an end in
itself and lacks an external practical purpose" is not applicable to
closed-circle discussion theatre, where the dramatic situation is the
social situation.
3.
3.1.
Let us talk about form and about the possibility of a feminist con
sciousness pushing towards a new form. I am going to suggest that
the structure and form of plays and the dramatic energy of the play
. . . where you are dealing with protagonists and antagonists, with
conflict, and evolution and a sense of ending, where you're dealing
with this thing that is of short high energy construct in which events
are happening - and however you like to define a traditional play it
is that - can one say that the actual form of the play you have i n
herited, that you are working i n , is, in large measure, a form that is
derived from the tensions, resolutions, the composition within males.
Gillian Hanna's reply returns us in full circle back to the slogan that
the personal is political. She notes that in the progression of the
work of Monstruous Regiment there seems to have been a movement
towards "a kind of breaking up t h i n g s " , and links this with a refusal
to accept that life is linear. Suggesting that men are born into a
world where they can map out life and order their lives in a linear
463
manner, with a prior notion of beginning, middle and end, she points
out that such linearity is not part of the female experience: "It's
much more contradictory." For a woman, says Hanna, life is experi
enced as fragments which, put together make up a whole - the ex
periences of work, c h i l d b i r t h , menopause, the roles that with each
new development women are forced to assume (e.g. the woman
who marries "becomes" a wife, then perhaps also a mother, with the
huge set of cultural assumptions and evaluations of each stage) - out
of these fragmented parts comes the specifically female perception of
life. She might also have included the question of menstruation, that
causes women to read time differently, but all events what Gillian
Hanna is suggesting has considerable importance. For if the notion of
linearity, of overview, is taken as a starting point for the theatre
that is seen to be inherently male, then a specifically women's theatre
may well be a theatre in search of a form. And one cannot but be
reminded of the way in which the opposition fragmentation-linearity
(female-male) has led to a re-evaluation of the diary form of prose
writing.
3.2.
4.
References
Bassnett-McGuire, Susan E. f c .
'Women's Theatre, Notes on the Work of Monstruous Regiment'
British Drama and Theatre from the Mid-Fifties to the Mid-Seven
ties (Wilhelm-Pieck Universitt, Rostock) 1979, pp.89-101.
Eagleton, T e r r y 1980
'How the critical revolution started r o l l i n g , ' The Times Higher
Education Supplement (19 September 1980), p.9.
466
1. Introduction
more detailed account of this theoretical approach has been given else
where (= cf. Schoenmakers 1980, 1982; and Tan 1979, 1982).
The play Protest by the Czech author Vclav Havel has been per
formed by
(a group of) students of the Institute for Theatre Re-
2
search of the University of Amsterdam . Havel is known for his activ
ities as a member of the Charter 77 group and of V . O . N . S . (a com
mittee which defends the unjustly persecuted).
The performance was given in a class-room, as the producers expec
ted certain effects resulting from the peculiar characteristics of such
a room given the particular 'message' they had in mind. As a control
for these effects, performances were also given at the University
Theatre.
theatrical
perception emotion evaluation
space
2.3. Method
Cluster analysis did not give support to the assumption that 'compati
bility with regular expectations' and 'perceived size' are the major
dimensions of theatrical space. Instead, the following cluster emerged:
m sd n t df P
On some s e p e r a t e i t e m s , h o w e v e r , d i f f e r e n c e s c o u l d be e s t a b l i s h e d .
A s p r e d i c t e d , c l a s s - r o o m s u b j e c t s had t h e i m p r e s s i o n of b e i n g seated
closer t o o t h e r s p e c t a t o r s t h a n t h e a t r e - s u b j e c t s ( i t e m 7, p = . 0 1 ) . As
predicted, c l a s s - r o o m s p e c t a t o r s f o u n d t h e room ' c h i l l i e r ' (as opposed
t o ' c o s y ' ) t h a n t h e i r f e l l o w s in t h e t h e a t r e ( I t e m 10, p = . 0 1 ) . Fur
thermore the theatre was, in line w i t h t h e e x p e c t a t i o n s , seen as more
'conventional' (as opposed to 'surprising') than the class-room il
tern 13, p = . 0 0 ) . T h e c l a s s - r o o m was p e r c e i v e d as 'smaller' ( I t e m 14,
p = .01) and ' c l o s e r ' (as opposed t o ' s p a c i o u s ' ; item 17, p = . 0 1 ) .
2.4.2. Emotions
cluster item
rij
22. c a p t u r e d
Interest 24. ( n o t ) b o r e d .56
23. i n v o l v e d
Positive 20. amused .47
Feelings 25. c h e e r f u l
Negative 19. i r r i t a t e d .44
Feelings 21. uncomfortable
T a b l e 3: C l u s t e r s in emotions ( c f . t a b l e 1)
474
cluster m sd n t df P
Interest
class-room -.38 4.80 66 -.70 134 .24
theatre .17 4.35 70
Positive
Feelings
class-room 9.19 3.58 64 -1.86 6 132 .03
theatre 10.37 2.94 71
Negative
Feelings
class-room 11.34 2.99 64 1.66 132 .05
theatre 10.44 3.26 70
2.4.3. Evaluation
cluster m sd n t df p
T a b l e 5: E v a l u a t i o n - m a r k s ( I t e m 26) in c l a s s - r o o m v s . theatre
( c f . t a b l e 2)
2 . 4 . 4 . A t t i t u d e and Identification
cluster item
1. agree w i t h S t a n e k
3. agree w i t h both .38
For Stane 8. i d e n t i f y with Stanek
4. ( n o t ) agree w i t h neither
2. agree with Vanek
For V a n e k .56
9. i d e n t i f y w i t h V a n e k
T a b l e 6 : C l u s t e r s in a t t i t u d e and i d e n t i f i c a t i o n ( c f . t a b l e 1.)
T h e p r o d u c e r s assumed t h a t t h e r e w o u l d be no d i f f e r e n c e s in a t t i t u d e
and identification due to theatrical space. T h i s a s s u m p t i o n was sup
ported :
cluster m sd n z P
For S t a n e k
class-room 11.27 5.58 26 .80 .42
theatre 10.33 5.70 42
For Vanek
class-room 5.82 3.55 38 -.18 .86
theatre 5.67 3.13 55
T a b l e 7: A t t i t u d e a n d i d e n t i f i c a t i o n in c l a s s - r o o m v s . t h e a t r e .
z = normal a p p r o x i m a t i o n of M a n n - W i t n e y U - t e s t s t a t i s t i c ;
p = two tailed p r o b a b i l i t y ( c f . table 2 ) .
A clear 'good guy bad guy' effect is shown. If the two space condi
tions are taken together, 78.90% of the spectators to some measure
disagree with Stanek, that is, have a score of 5, 6 or 7 on item 1.
On the other hand, 82.40% of all spectators agree with Vanek, that
478
1. How should we explain the fact that more positive and less neg
ative feelings are reported by class-room spectators as compared
with theatre spectators?
2. Can we give reasons for our failure to detect differences in eval
uation between theatrical space conditions? and
3. Can we say more about the unpredicted 'good guy bad guy' effect
and its consequences for various sub-processes of reception?
b F p
The table shows that only Interest and Attitude to Stanek significant
ly contribute to Evaluation of the performance. Perception of t h e a t r i
cal space does not have any influence on evaluation-marks. It is re
markable that being pro Stanek instead of against him tends to
481
b F p
The more one is pro Vanek, the more one is likely to feel interested.
Perception of theatrical space does not influence Interest to a signifi
cant degree. This variable, that was originally attributed an impor
tant role, seems to have some effect only on Positive and Negative
feelings, as it is shown in tables 10a and b:
482
b F p
Negative aspects
theatre space -.15 2.94 .09 .23
b F p
Negative aspects
theatre space -.14 2.51 .12 -.22
Table 10: Effects on Posivite (a) and Negative ( b ) feelings (cf. table 8)
Positive and Negative feelings are, however, not linked to either Eva
luation or Interest. Furthermore, the effect of (perceived) theatrical
space on these feelings is rather weak. Thus it should be concluded
once more, that theatrical space, in this performance, does not play a
role of any importance. Instead, it seems that attitude towards and
identification with Stanek and Vanek is a much more powerful factor,
determining the most important sub-processes of reception, as we
measured them.
FOR VANEK
INTEREST EVALUATION
FOR STANEK
significant effect
non-significant effect
Now we can reconsider our second question: Can reasons be given for
our failure to detect differences in evaluation between theatrical space
conditions?
The consequences of the 'good guy bad guy' effect seems to have
been all-pervading. First, it replaced the intended critical reflection.
Second, it determined Interest and Attention to a large extent and,
indirectly, Evaluation of the performance. As they identified with
Vanek almost exclusively, the spectators were probably interested
until, rather late in the performance, Stanek's decision not to sign
appeared to be definite, so that Vanek's goal could not been reached.
This lasting feeling of being captured led to a favourable judgement
of the performance, having a stronger influence on Evaluation than
other factors, like perception of theatrical space, and Positive and
Negative feelings, which we surmise to have occurred more inciden
tally. The 'good guy' effect upon evaluation of the performance may
have been counteracted by a weaker influence. A minority of the
spectators recognized 'the other side' of Stanek and liked the perform
ance better, possibly because they understood and appreciated the
intention of the producers to realize a balanced view.
The tentative explanations given for the results obtained with Protest
seem, at least p a r t l y , applicable to data from research into the recep
tion of another performance, also dealing with a politically, hot issue:
g
Towards a nuclear f u t u r e by the Pip Simmons Theatre Group . The
Dutch government tries to widen the debate on the problem of energy
supply in the f u t u r e , at least it says so. It is hoped f o r , that impor
tant decisions concerning this matter like, for instance, the extension
of the number of nuclear plants or the search for alternative sources
of energy, will be taken by society at large, instead of by a kongsee
of backroom boys and captains of i n d u s t r y . Furthermore, many a pol
itician, regarding the debate in its present form as a superficial ex
change of empty slogans, hopes that the argument will gain in clear
ness and rationality. Pip Simmons meant to contribute to the realiza
tion of this latter objective by his performance, that was produced in
collaboration with and presented at the Mickery Theatre in Amsterdam.
The producers did not want to present a plea for or against nuclear
energy. It is their conviction that both advocates and opponents use
manipulations techniques of which the impact is strengthened by the
mass media. By showing these, the producers aimed at demonstrating
that the debate on nuclear energy is not a real one.
1. Spectators will not make a choice between the two characters, that
is, the impressions formed of the two characters will be equally
favourable.
2. The arguments favouring nuclear energy and those against nuclear
energy presented in the performance, will be seen as being in
balance.
3. It will be noticed that the intention of the producers is to carica
t u r e the debate on nuclear energy.
487
3.3. Method
Figure 4 shows the impressions formed of the advocate and the oppo
nent.
489
HONEST DISHONEST
SERIOUS HUMOROUS
VALUABLE WORTHLESS
DYNAMIC STATIC
WARM COLD
PROFOUND SUPERFICIAL
TRUE UNTRUE
COLOURFULL COLOURLESS
EXCITING CALM
HEAVY LIGHT
INVOLVED ALOOF
T a b l e 11 shows t h e p r o p o r t i o n of s p e c t a t o r s p e r c e i v i n g t h e a r g u m e n t s
as b e i n g in balance, biased in f a v o u r of n u c l e a r e n e r g y and biased
against nuclear e n e r g y , respectively:
T a b l e 11 : P e r c e i v e d balance between a r g u m e n t s
Percentages of r e s p o n d e n t s a g r e e i n g , t o some d e g r e e , with
statement.
3.4.3. P e r c e i v e d i n t e n t i o n of producers
'agree ( v e r y
m sd n much)'
'In this performance it becomes clear that the Pip Simmons Theatre
Group is against nuclear energy.'
492
By far the majority of all 379 spectators, that is, eighty percent of
them, agreed or agreed very much with the statement. It seems very
plausible, for that matter, that Towards a Nuclear Future was held for
a plea against nuclear energy, or, in other words, that it was the
intention of the producers to have their view against nuclear energy
propagated.
77% 53% 4% 5%
(64%) (53%) (7%) (5%)
1 De Volkskrant
2 Vrij Nederland
3 De Telegraaf
2
Elsevier's weekblad and Elsevier's Magazine taken together
Third, the way the arguments were presented may have contributed
to their being perceived as unbalanced. It is difficult to distinguish
this effect from the already mentioned 'good guy bad guy' effect,
b u t , for clarity's sake, we will treat them seperately. The arguments
favouring nuclear energy, then, were presented in an exclusively
verbal way, whereas the arguments against were presented more live
ly and saliently as played actions. A s , furthermore, a lot of, intelli
gent, 'theatrical violence' was used, especially in the case-scenes
about Karen Silkwood and H a r r i s b u r g , where not only many special
sound-(music!) and light-effects were used, but also some very spec-
494
Our speculations as to the reasons why spectators did not grasp the
intention of the producers can be summarized as follows:
staging perception of
characteristics arguments
perceived intentional
opinion of producers
pre-existing perception of
attitude towards characters
nuclear energy
Finally, the 'good guy bad guy' effect. As figure 5 shows this effect
may, in our opinion, have strongly influenced the intentions a t t r i b u
ted to the producers by the audience. Furthermore we believe, as can
also be seen from the diagram, that the perception of the arguments
495
and the impression of the characters may have interacted. The emo
tionally more appealing arguments against nuclear energy have, pos
sibly, made the opponent more attractive (colourful, exciting, dynam
ic, involved, warm), but a reverse relationship can be assumed to
exist as well: a favourable perception of the opponent will have made
his contributions more salient. Everything that contributed to the
perception of the arguments, was also related to the perception of the
characters. First, the presentation of the arguments was realized by
way of the two characters. Arguments were presented differently. So
it can be said that the two characters differed on "built-in' character
istics, such as rationality and emotionality. By ' b u i l t - i n ' we mean that
such features were willingly varied by the producers. One very impor
tant built-in characteristic may have been the apparent 'pre-wiredness'
of the advocate. The advocate was coached by a media expert. This
fact could have seriously affected his credibility, especially since the
opponent seems to act spontaneously.
Second, 'good guy bad guy' stereotyping will have resulted from at
titudes towards nuclear energy existing prior to seeing the perform
ance. We assume that the majority of spectators is, more or less, a-
gainst nuclear energy, which explains why most spectators see the
opponent as the good g u y .
SERIOUS HUMOROUS
VALUABLE WORTHLESS
DYNAMIC STATIC
WARM COLD
PROFOUND SUPERFICIAL
TRUE UNTRUE
COLOURFULL COLOURLESS
EXCITING CALM
HEAVY LIGHT
INVOLVED ALOOF
This 'good guy bad guy' effect may, along with other factors, as we
have seen, have thwarted the intentions of the producers. It is very
unlikely that Protest contributed to a critical reconsideration of the
political system that produces dissidents and fellow-travellers. It is
evident that Towards a nuclear f u t u r e was seen as a plea against n u
clear energy instead of as an attempt to cast some doubt on the value
of the debate in its present form.
About the ultimate causes of the 'good guy bad guy' effect, we can
only speculate. It might be interesting to devote some attention to
these, however. The search for heroes and villains may be a c u l t u r
ally determined or even universal response to the perception of com
plex events. It becomes stronger when such events are perceived as
fictional, like when reading a book or attending a theatre perform
ance. Introspectively, it seems plausible t h a t , under such circum
stances, there is a strong tendency in people to identify with a 'good'
12
character, a character for instance, fighting for a noble cause , like
Vanek and the opponent who appear not to act out of self-interest.
We have seen (table 9) that taking part with the 'good guy' may
cause longer lasting pleasant feelings of interest and of involvement,
which determine, to an important degree, satisfaction with the atten-
499
If our speculation that the 'good guy bad guy' phenomenon results
from a basic mechanism in the reception of fictional material is cor
rect, then producers who t r y to circumvent the effect may have a
hard time. Nevertheless, our analysis brought to light some factors
that may be relevant to the effect. More knowledge about these fac
tors may eventually be helpful in avoiding undesirable effects. First
the spectators' attitude prior to the performance, may determine who
is seen as the 'good' and who as the 'bad g u y ' . Furthermore, as we
have seen before, the size of the effect may vary with preexisting
attitude. Our suggestion is that it is very important for theatre-pro
ducers to gather some global knowledge as to attitudes existing in
their ( f u t u r e ) audience. Also they have to consider the possibility of
selective attendance to their performance. It is, as we have shown,
very well conceivable, that performances dealing with controversial
subjects may selectively attract people who have more or less the
same attitude towards it while, at the same time, repelling potential
spectators holding a different opinion. Often titles and short summa
ries of performances dealing with political issues may create the im
pression that producers take side with those who have 'made' the is
sue, that is, the group who f i r s t tried to make it public (the pro-
dissidents in the case of 'dissidence in Eastern Europe' and the anti-
nuclearists in the case of nuclear e n e r g y ) .
500
A second factor, obviously related to the 'good guy bad guy' phenom
enon, has to do with the performance itself. Staging-characteristics of
(aspects of) the show may give rise to particular 'good guy bad guy'
effects. We suspect that in Towards a nuclear f u t u r e the emotional
presentation of arguments against nuclear energy may have interacted
with pre-existing attitudes in making the opponent a 'hero'. Further
more, it has been shown that the 'good guy bad guy' effect was much
stronger than the supposed effects of theatrical space. Although f u r
ther research is needed here, we think that it should be possible to
overcome 'good guy bad guy' effects with theatrical means, for i n
stance, by stereotyping the character or characters in a direction
opposite the bias that may be expected to affect perception due to
501
The role of the characters as defined in the play, that is, thematic
aspects of the performance may set limits to thes counter-effects. It
is, for example, difficult to see how Stanek could have been made to
look really 'honest' or 'credible' given the inalterable fact that he is
not willing to sign a petition that puts his comfortable position into
jeopardy. In other words, in some cases, the 'story' underlying the
performance will give rise to 'good guy bad guy' effects, in which
cases the counter-effects of purely theatrical means may only be mar
ginal.
Notes
agree disagree
completely completely
1. I agress with Stanek's 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
point of view
2. I agree with Vanek's 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
point of view
3. I agree with both 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
points of view
4. I disagree with either 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
. .
point of view
5. I likes to see my fellow- 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
spectators continuously
6. I sat close to the actors 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
7. I had the feeling that
the spectators were seated 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
closely together
8. I identified with Stanek 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
9. I identified with Vanek 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
10. c h i l l y c o s y
11. c o l o u r f u l g r e y
12. f u n c t i o n a l n o n - f u n c t i o n a l
13. c o n v e n t i o n a l s u r p r i s i n g
14. s m a l l l a r g e
15. i l l u s i v e i l l u s i o n - d i s t u r b i n g
16. t e n s e r e l a x e d
agree disagree
completely completely
18.' c o n f u s e d 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
19. i r r i t a t e d 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
20. amused 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
21. uncomfortable 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
22. c a p t u r e d 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
23. i n v o l v e d 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
24. b o r e d 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
25. c h e e r f u l 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
Please i n d i c a t e below y o u r a p p r e c i a t i o n of t h e p e r f o r m a n c e b y
a s s i g n i n g a n u m b e r between 1 and 10, 1 meaning ' e x t r e m e l y b a d '
a n d 10 ' e x c e l l e n t ' .
26. ...
27. Have y o u been 1. seated
2. standing
28. A r e y o u 1 . female
2 . male
506
1. AGREE STANEK
3. AGREE BOTH
8. IDENTIFY STANEK.
6. CLOSE TO ACTORS
2. AGREE VANEK
9. IDENTIFY VANEK
26. EVALUATION
12. FUNCTIONAL
15. ILLUSIVE
13. CONVENTIONAL
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Photographs
(Courtesy of Bob van Dantzig, Amsterdam)
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T a b l e r o n d e i n t e r n a t i o n a l e de smiologie d u t h t r e ,
M a r c h , 1977, P a r i s ) .
58 C o n f e r e n c e on P i r a n d e l l o
1979 ( 1 8 - 2 1 December, 1979, C u n e o ) .
59 C o n f e r e n c e on Zich
1979 T h e S c i e n t i f i c H e r i t a g e of O t a k a r Zich ( 1 9 7 9 , P r a g u e ) ,
60 Conference
1980 T h e T h e o r y of T h e a t e r ( 1 7 - 1 9 A p r i l , 1980, A n n Arbor).
61 Conference
1980 P l a y i n g a n d P e r f o r m i n g : t h e Semiotics of Entertainment
( 6 - 7 J u n e , 1980, T o r o n t o ) .
62 Coppieters, Frank
1976 'A Research Programme f o r I n v e s t i g a t i n g T r a g i c P r o
cesses in T h e a t r e P e r f o r m a n c e ' , Communication a n d C o g
nition 9, 1/2, p p . 7 7 - 8 6 .
63 1977 T o w a r d s a P e r f o r m a n c e T h e o r y of E n v i r o n m e n t a l Theatre
(Diss. Antwerp) .
64 1979 ' E t h o g e n i s c h o n d e r z o e k naar h e t g e d r a g v a n de t h e a t e r -
recipint', [Ethogenic Investigations into the Behaviour
of t h e T h e a t r e P e r c e i v e r ] , Scenarium 3 , p p . 8 1 - 8 8 ,
p.115.
65 1981a ' P e r f o r m a n c e a n d P e r c e p t i o n ' , Poetics T o d a y 2 , p.3.
66 1981b ' P a r t i c i p a n t O b s e r v a t i o n and P e r f o r m a n c e Theory' (pa
p e r read at IASPA I , B r u s s e l s ) .
516
67 C o p p i e t e r s , F r a n k , and Carlos T i n d e m a n s
1977 ' T h e T h e a t r e P u b l i c . A semiotic a p p r o a c h ' , ( i n ) Das
T h e a t e r u n d sein P u b l i k u m ( W i e n : V e r l a g d e r ster
r e i c h i s c h e n Akademie d e r W i s s e n s c h a f t ) .
68 C o r v n , Michel
1978 'La r e d o n d a n c e d u signe dans le f o n c t i o n n e m e n t th
t r a l ' , Degrs 13, c - c 2 3 .
69 1978b 'La d t e r m i n a t i o n des u n i t e s en smiologie t h t r a l e ' ,
(in) R e g a r d s s u r la smiologie c o n t e m p o r a i n e (Saint
E t i e n n e : U n i v . de S a i n t E t i e n n e ) .
70 1878c ' A n a l y s e d r a m a t u r g i q u e de t r o i s e x p o s i t i o n s ( A m p h i t r y
on 3 8 , E l e c t r e , Intermezzo de G i r a u d o u x ) ' , Revue d ' H i s
toire du Thtre 30, pp.156-167.
71 1980 'Smiologie et s p e c t a c l e : George D a n d i n (mise en scne
de D. B e n o i n ) ' , O r g a n o n 8 0 , p p . 9 3 - 1 5 2 .
72 C o r v i n , Michel ( e d . )
1980 Smiologie et t h t r e (= O r g a n o n 8 0 ) .
73 C o s t a n t i n i , M.
1981 ' M u s i q u e , c h a n t - p a r o l e : Pour une d e s c r i p t i o n smiotique
des t r a g d i e s g r e c q u e s ' ( P a p e r read at lASPA I , B r u s
sels) .
74 C o u l t h a r d , Malcolm
1977 'The analysis of l i t e r a r y d i s c o u r s e [Othello]', (in)
M. C o u l t h a r d , An Introduction to Discourse Analysisl
(London: Longman), pp.170-181.
75 D a m i s c h , H. et Louis M a r i n ( d i r s . )
1976 ' C o r p s et g e s t e ' ( c o u r s at C I S L , J u l y , 1976, Urbino).
76 David, Gilbert
1980 ' F o n c t i o n s smiotiques de l'clairage s c n i q u e ' (ms.).
77 Deak, Frantisek
1976 ' S t r u c t u r a l i s m in T h e a t r e : T h e P r a g u e School C o n t r i b u
t i o n s ' , T h e Drama Review 2 0 , p . 4 .
78 Degrs 13
1978 T h t r e e t smiologie .
79 De K u y p e r , Eric
1979 Pour une smiologie s p e c t a c u l a i r e ( T h s e I I I , P a r i s ) .
80 1980 ' T h e a t e r w e t e n s c h a p : v e r r u i m i n g of v e r e n g i n g ' [ T h e a t r e
Research: enlargement or a b r i d g e m e n t ] , T i j d s c h r i f t voor
T h e a t e r w e t e n s c h a p 5.
81 De K u y p e r , E r i c , and Emile Poppe
1978 ' P o u r une smiotique d u s p e c t a c u l a i r e . Ebauche d'un
t r a v a i l en c o u r s ' , Degrs 15, e 1 - e 8 .
82 1981 ' R e g a r d e r et V o i r ' , Communications .
517
83 Deloche, J .
1977 Des a m b i g u t s d u c o l l a g e . Recherches p a r t i r de R.
Planchon ( T h s e I I I , P a r i s ) .
84 De M a r i n i s , Marco
1977a ' M a t e r i a l i p e r una semiotica del t e a t r o ' , ( i n ) M. De Ma
r i n i s e G. B e t t e t i n i , p p . 3 5 - 1 3 1 .
85 1977b 'The Theatrical Journey of Guiliano Scabia', TDR 2 1 ,
p.1.
86 1977c 'Teatro, pratica e s c r i t t u r a : I t i n e r a r i o de G i u l i a n o Sca
b i a ' , R i v i s t a Italiana d i D r a m m a t u r g i a 5, pp.61-95.
87 1978 'Lo s p e t t a c o l o come t e s t o ( I ) ' , V e r s u s 2 1 , p p . 6 6 - 1 0 4 .
88 1979a 'Lo spettacolo come t e s t o ( I I ) ' , V e r s u s 2 2 , p . 3 - 3 1 .
89 1979b ' T h e T e x t u a l A n a l y s i s of t h e P e r f o r m a n c e : A s p e c t s a n d
Problems' ( p a p e r read at C a l a b r i a ) .
90 1979c 'I classici nel t e a t r o c o n t e m p o r a n e o : t r a r i f i u t o e p r e d -
d i l e z i o n e ' , RID 1 4 , p p . 9 9 - 1 1 4 .
91 1981 Semiotica del t e a t r o ( M i l a n o : B o m p i a n i ) .
92 De M a r i n i s , Marco ( e d . )
1978 T e a t r o e semiotica (= V e r s u s 21) .
93 De M a r i n i s , Marco e G i a n f r a n c o B e t t e t i n i
1977 T e a t r o e communicazione ( F i r e n z e : G u a r a l d i ) .
94 D i n u , Mihai
1976 'Approche linguistique-mathmatique de l'histoire de
l ' o p r a ' , L T A 13, p . 1 .
95 1977 'How t o estimate t h e w e i g h t of stage r e l a t i o n s ' , Poetics
6, 3/4, pp.209-227.
96 1979 'Aspects smiotiques de la s t r a t g i e de p e r s o n n a g e s
dans le t h t r e ' , ( i n ) P r o c e e d i n g s of lASS I , Milan
1974.
97 D o d d , William
1979a ' M i s u r a p e r M i s u r a ' : La t r a n s p a r e n z a della commedia
( M i l a n o : il F o r m i c h i e r i ) .
98 1979b 'Metalanguage and C h a r a c t e r in D r a m a ' , Lingua e Stile
14, 1 , p p . 1 3 5 - 1 5 0 .
99 1980 ' A s p e c t s of t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between 'episode' and f a
bula in d r a m a t i c t e x t s ' ( p a p e r read at B C L A , C a n t e r
bury) .
100 1981 'Conversation, dialogue, and exposition', Strumenti
critici .
101 Dort, Bernard
1979 T h t r e en j e u ( P a r i s : S e u i l ) .
518
119 F r a l , Josette
1979a 'Le s i g n e et le s u j e t : l'example de la s c n e ' , Travaux
d u c e r c l e m t h o d o l o g i q u e de T o r o n t o .
120 1979b ' P o u r u n e t h o r i e d u d p l a c e m e n t : l'example d u t h t r e
e x p r i m e n t a l ' , T r a v a u x d u c e r c l e m t h o d o l o g i q u e de
Toronto.
121 1980a 'La p r o b l m a t i q u e d u s i g n e d a n s le t h t r e e x p r i m e n -
t a l ' , C a h i e r s Canadiens de Recherches S m i o t i q u e s .
122 1980b ' P e r f o r m a n c e et t h t r a l i t : le s u j e t d m y s t i f i ; (paper
read at T h t r a l i t , T o r o n t o ) .
123 Fieguth, Rolf
1976 'A New S t r u c t u r a l i s t A p p r o a c h t o t h e T h e o r y of Drama
and t o General Genre T h e o r y ' ( r e v i e w of Schmid 1973,
S t r u k t u r a l i s t i s c h e Dramentheorie ( K r o n b e r g / T s . : S c r i p
t o r ) ) PTL 1 , p p . 3 8 3 - 3 9 0 .
124 1979 'Zum Problem des v i r t u e l l e n E m p f n g e r s beim Drama.
Am Beispiel v o n O s t r o v s k i j ' s Komdie Besenye D e n ' g i ' ,
( i n ) A . J . F . v a n Holk ( e d . ) , p p . 9 0 - 1 1 6 , 2 4 6 - 2 5 1 .
125 F i n t e r , Helga
1979 'La p r o d u c t i o n d u d i s p o s i t i f s u b j e c t i f dans le t h t r e
p o s t m o d e r n e ' , ( p a p e r read at IASS I I , V i e n n a ) .
126 1980a Semiotik des A v a n t g a r d e t e x t e s ( S t u t t g a r t : Metzler).
127a 1980b ' T h t r e e x p r i m e n t a l et smiologie de la v o i x ' , (paper
read at T h t r a l i t , T o r o n t o ) .
127b 1981a ' A u t o u r de la v o i x au t h t r e : v o i x de t e x t e ou t e x t e de
v o i x ? ' , ( i n ) C . P o n t b r i a n d et a l . , P e r f o r m a n c e , t e x t e s
et documents ( M o n t r e a l : p a r a c h u t e ) .
127c 1981b 'Die s o u f f l i e r t e S t i m m e ' , T h e a t e r h e u t e 10
127d 1981c ' E n t r e clameurs et c i t a t i o n s : la v o i x s o u f f l e ' ( p a p e r
read at L ' O p e r a , C o n f e r e n c e at U r b i n o , J u l y 1 9 8 1 ) .
127e 1981d 'Vom k o l l e k t i v e n O p f e r zum s i n g u l r e n Proze' (paper
read at t h e R o m a n i s t e n t a g , R e g e n s b u r g 1981).
128 1981e ' T h e a t r a l i s i e r u n g d e r Stimme im ( E x p e r i m e n t a l - ) T h e a -
t e r ' , ( p a p e r read at t h e 3. Semiotisches K o l l o q u i u m
Zeichen u n d R e a l i t t , D e u t s c h e Gesellschaft f r Se
m i o t i k ( D G S ) , H a m b u r g , 4-8 O c t o b e r , 1981).
129 F i s c h e r - L i c h t e , Erika
1977 'Probleme d e r Rezeption k l a s s i s c h e r Werke - am B e i
spiel von Goethes Iphigenie', (in) K.O. Conrady
( H r s g . ), Deutsche L i t e r a t u r zur Zeit der Klassik
( S t u t t g a r t ) , p p . 114-140.
130 1979 ' Z u r K o n s t i t u t i o n des s t h e t i s c h e n Zeichens u n t e r b e
sonderer Bercksichtigung des theatralischen Zei
c h e n s ' , ( p a p e r read at Essen, 8-11 N o v e m b e r , 1 9 7 9 ) .
520
207 1979 ' S u r les signes des Squestrs', Obliques 18/19, pp.
141-147.
208 1981 'Space a n d Reference in D r a m a ' , Poetics T o d a y 2 , ..
209 J a n s e n , Steen
1976a A n a l y s e de la f o r m e d r a m a t i q u e d u 'Mensonge' de Na
thalie Sarraute (Kbenhavn: Akademisk Forlag).
210 1976b ' B e r n a r d Masson: Musset et le t h t r e i n t r i e u r ' Revue
romane 1 1 , p . 1 .
211 1977a ' L ' u n i t della T r i l o g i a come u n i t de una r i c e r c a c o n
t i n u a ' , ( i n ) E. L a u r e t t a ( e d . ) , Il t e a t r o nel t e a t r o d i
Pirandello ( A g r i g e n t e : Fond. Pirandelliana), pp.222-236.
212 1977b ' A p p u n t i p e r l'analisi dello s p e t t a c o l o ' ( = Documenti d i
L a v o r o 68) ( U r b i n o : C I S L ) .
213 1977c ' S t r u t t u r a n a r r a t i v e e s t r u t t u r a drammatica in Questa
sera si r e c i t a a s o g g e t t o ' , R i v i s t a Italiana d i Dramma
turgia 6, pp.55-69.
214 1978a 'Problemi d e l l ' a n a l i s i di testi drammatici', Biblioteca
t e a t r a l e 20.
215 1978b ' I n t e r v e n t o ' , Versus 2 1 .
216 1980a ' I l t e s t o d r a m m a t i c o ' , ( p a p e r read at t h e C o n f e r e n c e on
t h e A v a n t - g a r d e I t a l i a n T h e a t r e , 10-14 M a r c h , 1980,
Copenhagen).
217 1980b 'Le t e x t e d r a m a t i q u e et la r e p r s e n t a t i o n scnique',
( p a p e r read at B C L A , Canterbury).
218 f..a. 'L'espace s c n i q u e dans le spectacle d r a m a t i q u e et
dans le t e x t e d r a m a t i q u e ; q u e l q u e s notes s u r les lec
t u r e s de L'uomo, la bestia e la v i r t de P i r a n d e l l o p a r
C a r l o Cecchi et Edmo F e n o g l i o ' , ( i n ) A t t i del C o n v e g n o
' T e s t o , communicazione e s p e t t a c o l o ' , s e t t . 1979, C o
senza.
219 f.c.b. 'Per una r i c o s t r u z i o n e della prima assoluta do Questa
sera si r e c i t a a s o g g e t t o a K n i g s b e r g , a l c u n i mate
r i a l i ' , ( i n ) A t t i della f i o n a t e d i s t u d i o p i r a n d e l l i a n a ,
d i c . 1979, C u n e o .
220 f.c.c. 'Den d r a m a t i s k e t e k s t - og den s c e n i s k e f r e m s t i l l i n g ;
nogle t e o r e t i s k e o v e r v e j e l s e r med eksampler f r a P i r a n -
dellos Vestire gli i g n u d i ' , (in) I t a l i e n s k t e a t e r idag
(1980) ( K b e n h a v n : Museum T u s c u l a n u m s F o r l a g ) .
221 J a n s e n , Steen ( d i r . )
1977 Principes d'analyse du texte dramatique (sem. CISL,
U r b i n o , J u l y , 1977).
222 Johansen, J . D .
1981 ' D i a l o g u e , A c t i o n and Scenic Space in I b s e n ' s T h e
M a s t e r b u i l d e r ' , ( p a p e r read at IASPA I , B r u s s e l s ) .
526
349 Poetica 8 , 3 / 4
1976 Dramentheorie - Handlungstheorie (Amsterdam: Gr
ner).
350 Poetics 6 , 3 / 4
1977 T h e f o r m a l s t u d y of drama (Amsterdam: North-Hol
land).
351 Poetics T o d a y 2 , 3
1981 Drama/ T h e a t r e , Performance (Tel Aviv).
352 P o n t b r i a n d , Chantal
1980 'Performance; presence et t e m p o r a l i t ' (paper read at
Thtralit, Toronto).
353 P o p p e , Emile
1981 A n a l y s e smiotique de l'espace spectaculaire (Paris:
Thse I I I ) .
354 Poyatos, Fernando
1981 ' N o n v e r b a l Communication in t h e T h e a t r e : t h e P l a y
w r i g h t / A c t o r / S p e c t a t o r - R e l a t i o n s h i p ' , ( i n ) E r n e s t Hess-
Lttich ( e d . ) , I l , pp.96-122.
355 P r a t i q u e s 15/16
1977 Thtre .
356 P r a t i q u e s 24
1979 Thtre .
357 Prochzka, Miroslav
1977 ' smiotice d i v a d l a ' [ O n Semiotics of T h e a t r e ] , Esteti -
ka 14, p . 1 .
358 1978 ' J i n d r i c h Honzl a o t z k y t e o r i e d i v a d e l n h o z n a k u ' [ J .
Honzl a n d t h e problems of T h e o r y of S i g n s in T h e a t r e ]
E s t e t i k a 15, p . 2 .
359 1979a 'U zklad s m i o t i k y d i v a d l a l - l I : Smiotick trnata v
cesk mezivlecn t e a t r o l o g i i ' [ A t t h e r o o t s of T h e o r y
o f S i g n s in T h e a t r e ] , Wiener S l a w i s t i s c h e r Almanach
4/5.
360 1980 ' A s p e k t y reci v d r a m a t i c k m t e x t u ' [ A s p e c t s of lan
g u a g e in d r a m a t i c t e x t s ] , Umnovdn s t u d i e 2 .
361 1979b 'Spor povahu jednoho t y p u divadla' [Dispute concern
i n g one t y p e o f t h e a t r e ] , ( p a p e r read at t h e Zich C o n
ference, Prague).
362 ... 'On t h e n a t u r e of d r a m a t i c t e x t ' ( m s . ) .
363 R a l i n o f s k y , D.
1976 Die G e s t a l t u n g z w i s c h e n m e n s c h l i c h e r B e z i e h u n g e n im
Drama d e r M o d e r n e . T r a d i t i o n u n d M u t a t i o n ( F r a n k f u r t
/ M . : Mnchen).
535
418 S c h o l l , Amde A .
1976 'Zeichen u n d Bezeichnetes im Werk F r i e d r i c h D r r e n -
m a t t s ' , ( i n ) G.P. Knapp ( H r s g . ) / F r i e d r i c h D r r e n
m a t t : S t u d i e n zu seinem Werk (Heidelberg: Stienen),
pp.203-217.
419 Schreurs, Bernadette
1979 'Mtanalyse d ' u n texte thtral' (paper read at lASS
I I , Vienna).
420 1981 D i s c o u r s et action dans l ' u v r e d r a m a t i q u e d'Arthur
Adamov ( D i s s . L o u v a i n ) .
421 S c h u l z e , Joachim
1976 'Was macht das Drama dramatisch?', Poetica 8, 3/4,
pp.346-355.
422 Schwarz, Wolfgang
1978 Drama als s z e n i s c h e r T e x t (Frankfurt/M., Las
V e g a s : Peter L a n g ) .
423 S c h w a r z , Wolfgang u n d W i n f r i e d Baumann
f.. D r a m e n t h e o r i e des t s c h e c h i s c h e n S t r u k t u r a l i s m u s .
Avantgardistische Praxis und wissenschaftliche Metho
d i k ( F r a n k f u r t / M . , B e r n , Las V e g a s : P. L a n g ) .
424 S e g r e , Cesare
1981 ' N a r r a t o l o g y and T h e a t e r ' , Poetics T o d a y 2 , p.3.
425 Serpieri, Alessandro
1977a 'La r e t o r i c a della poltica in Shakespeare', Il piccolo
Hans 13, p p . 1 1 1 - 1 3 6 .
426 1977b ' I p o t e s i t e o r i c a di segmentazione del t e s t o t e a t r a l e ' ,
Strumenti critici 32/33, pp.90-135 ( i n : A . S e r p i e r i et
al., pp.11-54).
427 1978a ' O t e l l o ' . L'eros negato ( M i l a n o : Il Formichiere).
428 1978b 'Propositions thoriques du dcoupage de t e x t e th
t r a l ' , Degrs 13, p p . i - i 2 .
429 1978c ' I l c r o l l o della g e r a r c h i a medievale in King Lear', II
piccolo Hans 19, p p . 1 3 1 - 1 4 6 .
430 1979a ' R e t o r i c a e modello della c u l t u r a nel d r a m m a ' , ( i n ) II
modello della c u l t u r a e i codici (Pavia: GJES), pp.
146-163.
431 1981 ' T o w a r d a segmentation of the dramatic t e x t ' , Poetics
Today 2, p.3.
432 S e r p i e r i , A l e s s a n d r o et a l .
1978 Come comunica il t e a t r o : dal t e s t o alla scena ( M i l a n o : Il
Formichiere).
433 Sherzer, Dina
1978a ' D i a l o g i c I n c o n g r u i t i e s in t h e T h e a t e r of t h e Absurd',
Semiotica 2 2 , 3 / 4 , p p . 2 8 7 - 3 0 8 .
540
513 1979c 'De taal van Koot en Bie' [ T h e language of Koot and
B i e ] , ( i n ) Handelingen van het 35ste Nederlands Filo
logencongres, Leiden 1978 (Amsterdam: Holland U P ) ,
pp.239-243.
514 1980a 'Vier toneelbewerkingen van de Celestina. Een seman
tische analyse' [Towards a Semantic Analysis of Stage
Adaptations (La C e l e s t i n a ) ] , Scenarium 4 , p p . 104-117,
155-156.
515 1980b 'Theaterwetenschap; een pamflet' [ T h e a t r e Research; a
p a m p h l e t ] , T i j d s c h r i f t voor Theaterwetenschap 5, p p .
51-69.
516 1980c De taal van toneel [The language of t h e a t r e ] (Assen:
Van Gorcum).
517 1980d 'A Semio-logical Approach to the Study of T h e a t r e His
t o r y ' ( p a p e r read at B C L A , C a n t e r b u r y ) .
518 1980e 'Introduction to a Methodology of Theatre Research'
( p a p e r read at N I A S , Wassenaar).
519 1980f 'Receptie en deceptie in theater' [Reception and de
ception in t h e a t r e ] , ( p a p e r read at U t r e c h t ) .
520 1981a ' T h e a t r e , Video, and Incompetence', ( i n ) Ernest Hess-
Lttich ( e d . ) , I I , p p . 2 6 3 - 2 9 2 .
521 1981b Theaterwetenschap: Methodologie voor een jonge w e t e n
schap [ T h e a t r e Research; Methodology for a Young
Science] ( D i s s . A n t w e r p ) .
522 1981c 'Theaterwetenschap; een kader voor t h e o r e t i s c h , d e
scriptief en toegepast onderzoek' [ T h e a t r e Research; a
frame for t h e o r e t i c a l , d e s c r i p t i v e , and applied r e
s e a r c h ] , ( i n ) W. Hildebrand en T . Kuchenbuch ( r e d . ) ,
Problemen bij het receptieonderzoek bij f i l m , theater en
d r a m a ( t e k s t ) ( U t r e c h t : I n s t , voor T h e a t e r w e t e n s c h a p ) .
523 1981d 'Theorie van de Theatergeschiedsschrijving; een a a n
zet' [ T h e o r y of T h e a t r e Historiography; a proposition]
( p a p e r read at the VAL Conference, G a r d e r e n ) .
524 Van K e s t e r e n , Aloysius, Frans Bosboom en Wil Hildebrand
1980 'Theaterwetenschap; een ( n o g ) i r r e l e v a n t e hulpweten
schap' [ T h e a t r e Research; a ( y e t ) i r r e l e v a n t auxiliary
discipline] ( m s . ) .
525 Van Kesteren,. Aloysius en Marije Kweekel
1979 'Van roman naar beeldroman. Een nagelaten bekentenis
en zijn toneelbewerking' [From novel to drama; an
adaptation of Een nagelaten bekentenis] ( m s . , 1 2 0 p p . ) .
526 Van K e s t e r e n , Aloysius and Peter van Stapele
1981a Applied T h e a t r e T h e o r y ; A Semiotic Video Performance'
( p a p e r read at Theatersemiotik, M n c h e n ) .
546
543 V i l l , Susanne
1981 'Das Zeichen als A r i a d n e - F a d e n - t h e a t r a l e , l i t e r a r i s c h e
u n d m u s i k a l i s c h e Zeichen i n R i c h a r d S t r a u s s ' A r i a d n e
a u f Naxos' ( p a p e r read at T h e a t e r s e m i o t i k , M n c h e n ) .
544 V i s c h , Marijke
1980 'De t o e s c h o u w e r b i j Peter H a n d k e . Een semiotische
analyse v a n Das Mndel w i l l V o r m u n d s e i n ' [ T h e s p e c
t a t o r and Peter H a n d k e . A semiotic a n a l y s i s ] , T i j d
s c h r i f t v o o r T h e a t e r w e t e n s c h a p 3, p p . 2 5 - 3 8 .
545 V o g t , C.
1981 'Langage et performance' (paper read at IASPA,
Brussels) .
546 Vrebos, Pascal
1978 ' A p p r o c h e smiologique de d e u x p r a t i q u e s t h t r a l e s
e x p r i m e n t a l e s : le Plan et le l a b o r a t o i r e V i c i n a l ' ,
D e g r s 15.
547 W a a r d e n b u r g , Elida
1981 ' C o n t e x t Formations on the Stage', (paper read at
lASPA, Brussels).
548 Weiblen, Cornelia
1981 'Projekt ' M ' , und viele Fragen offen' (paper read at
DGS III, H a m b u r g ) .
549 Wiingaard, Jytte
1976 Teatersemiologi ( K b e n h a v n : Berlingske).
550 Wiingaard, Jytte ( e d . )
1978 Den l e v e n d e Ibsen ( B o r g e n ) .
551 W i l k i n s o n , Robin
1980 ' S t r u c t u r e sotopique du Jardin aux b e t t e r a v e s ' , Or
ganon 8 0 , p p . 2 7 - 9 2 .
552 Zajac, Peter
1978 'Bertolt Brecht: lyricky a dramaticky t e x t ' , Slovensk
divadlo 26, pp.316-335.
553 Ycel, Tahsin
1981 ' E n o n c i a t i o n et spectacle populaire' (paper read at
IASPA, Brussels) .
554 Z e i j , Hanneke
1979 'Een p e r s o n a g e is ook maar geen mens. P e r s o n a g e b e
s c h r i j v i n g en p s y c h o l o g i s c h e c o m p l e x i t e i t ' [ A c h a r a c t e r
is o n l y u n h u m a n . C h a r a c t e r d e s c r i p t i o n and p s y c h o l
ogical c o m p l e x i t y ] , T i j d s c h r i f t v o o r T h e a t e r w e t e n s c h a p
1, pp.29-39.
555 1980a 'Een roman b e w e r k e n t o t d r a m a : Een spel z o n d e r g r e n
zen?' [ D r a m a t i z a t i o n of a n o v e l : a game w i t h o u t b o u n d
a r i e s ? ] , Scenarium 4 , p p . 3 6 - 4 9 , 1 5 0 - 1 5 1 .
548
1 See a l s o :
De M a r i n i s , Mario a P a t r i z i a Magli
1975 'Materiali bibliografici per una semiotica del teatro'.
Versus 1 1 , pp.53-128.
Van K e s t e r e n , A l o y s i u s
1975 ' E i n f h r e n d e Bibliographie z u r modernen Dramentheo
r i e ' , ( i n ) A . Van K e s t e r e n u n d H . Schmid ( H r s g . ) ,
Moderne D r a m e n t h e o r i e ( K r o n b e r g / T s . : S c r i p t o r ) , p p .
318-338.