Chien, chèvre, taureau, couvée, ou le personnage de théâtre à l’épreuve du bestiaire johnstonien

According to Hamlet, drama aims to “hold […] the mirror up to nature”. Yet such a task has become quite a challenge since the 20th century, as history keeps unsettling the very notion of human nature. Denis Johnston’s attempt to explore that nature on the stage therefore led him to unsettle that poe...

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Main Author: Virginie Girel-Pietka
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte" 2016-07-01
Series:Sillages Critiques
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/4540
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author Virginie Girel-Pietka
author_facet Virginie Girel-Pietka
author_sort Virginie Girel-Pietka
collection DOAJ
description According to Hamlet, drama aims to “hold […] the mirror up to nature”. Yet such a task has become quite a challenge since the 20th century, as history keeps unsettling the very notion of human nature. Denis Johnston’s attempt to explore that nature on the stage therefore led him to unsettle that poetics which did not make any sense any more. In Táin Bo Cuailgne (1956) and in The Golden Cuckoo (1979), a dog, a bird-witch, a bull, a goat and a rooster challenge the notion of human nature as well as that of a character. They interfere with the protagonists’ fates, either physically or metaphorically, and lead them to rebel against the society they live in. I argue that becoming outstanding theatrical performers allows them to make sense of their respective stories and therefore to redefine human nature by reconfiguring the poetics of theatre.
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institution Kabale University
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1969-6302
language English
publishDate 2016-07-01
publisher Centre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte"
record_format Article
series Sillages Critiques
spelling doaj-art-57da737170f840708cd3982232009cb52025-01-30T13:47:44ZengCentre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte"Sillages Critiques1272-38191969-63022016-07-012010.4000/sillagescritiques.4540Chien, chèvre, taureau, couvée, ou le personnage de théâtre à l’épreuve du bestiaire johnstonienVirginie Girel-PietkaAccording to Hamlet, drama aims to “hold […] the mirror up to nature”. Yet such a task has become quite a challenge since the 20th century, as history keeps unsettling the very notion of human nature. Denis Johnston’s attempt to explore that nature on the stage therefore led him to unsettle that poetics which did not make any sense any more. In Táin Bo Cuailgne (1956) and in The Golden Cuckoo (1979), a dog, a bird-witch, a bull, a goat and a rooster challenge the notion of human nature as well as that of a character. They interfere with the protagonists’ fates, either physically or metaphorically, and lead them to rebel against the society they live in. I argue that becoming outstanding theatrical performers allows them to make sense of their respective stories and therefore to redefine human nature by reconfiguring the poetics of theatre.https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/4540theatricalitybestialityCharacterhuman naturebecoming-animal
spellingShingle Virginie Girel-Pietka
Chien, chèvre, taureau, couvée, ou le personnage de théâtre à l’épreuve du bestiaire johnstonien
Sillages Critiques
theatricality
bestiality
Character
human nature
becoming-animal
title Chien, chèvre, taureau, couvée, ou le personnage de théâtre à l’épreuve du bestiaire johnstonien
title_full Chien, chèvre, taureau, couvée, ou le personnage de théâtre à l’épreuve du bestiaire johnstonien
title_fullStr Chien, chèvre, taureau, couvée, ou le personnage de théâtre à l’épreuve du bestiaire johnstonien
title_full_unstemmed Chien, chèvre, taureau, couvée, ou le personnage de théâtre à l’épreuve du bestiaire johnstonien
title_short Chien, chèvre, taureau, couvée, ou le personnage de théâtre à l’épreuve du bestiaire johnstonien
title_sort chien chevre taureau couvee ou le personnage de theatre a l epreuve du bestiaire johnstonien
topic theatricality
bestiality
Character
human nature
becoming-animal
url https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/4540
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