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La poésie de Philippe Jaccottet : réparer l’absence, « à la frontière de Dieu »
Get PDFIn 1961 Philippe Jaccottet wrote: "The best answer to all kinds of questions is the poem’s very absence of a response". In keeping with the elusive nature of the world, abandoned by the gods and by God, the poem remains mysterious, thus trans-lating as well as preserving the inexhaustible richness of Nature and human beings. So the poet not only accepts such a precarious situation, but learns from it. Nevertheless, when someone dear dies, the poet tends to deny the absence of the loved one and revolts against it, since there no longer are any signs of presence: merely incomprehensible absence. Yet he chooses to bear witness, even if he remains ignorant and weak. In effect, this is a duty: poetry provides a link which enables the separation to avoid becoming a definitive absence. Words are repairing shuttles.In 1961 Philippe Jaccottet wrote: "The best answer to all kinds of questions is the poem’s very absence of a response". In keeping with the elusive nature of the world, abandoned by the gods and by God, the poem remains mysterious, thus trans-lating as well as preserving the inexhaustible richness of Nature and human beings. So the poet not only accepts such a precarious situation, but learns from it. Nevertheless, when someone dear dies, the poet tends to deny the absence of the loved one and revolts against it, since there no longer are any signs of presence: merely incomprehensible absence. Yet he chooses to bear witness, even if he remains ignorant and weak. In effect, this is a duty: poetry provides a link which enables the separation to avoid becoming a definitive absence. Words are repairing shuttles
« Les marques » de l’absence dans le théâtre de Maurice Maeterlinck
Get PDFOur approach is focused on the issue of the “markers” of absence as well as on the expression and materialization of that absence in a corpus of works formed of the following plays: L’Intruse, Les Aveugles, Intérieur by Maurice Maeterlinck.
The acceptions the concept of “absence” may receive throughout our analysis are parts of the phenomenon of progressive alienation seen, for instance, as separation (stressing the idea of distance and departure), or as solitude, then omission (in the sense of forgetting), and culminating with the inability of perception that anticipates isolation, physical imprisonment and announces death (designated through a privative prefix) as an absence that is always present and obscurity.
We attempt to reveal the “markers” of absence on the level of certain constituents of the play: the character, formed of a discursive feature, infinitely simple and repetitive, much more diminished and developing without individuality, like a silent, mysterious ghost; and the action where it is rather inaction that represents our primary direction of research. As a secondary direction, we consider the markers of absence in a language that, in the case of Maeterlinck, is remarkably pure and lacks any syntactic or lexical complication, from lexical structures (the reassessment of short expressions makes the utterances seem captivatingly strange, revealing, beyond words, unutterable, unspeakable) and the grammar, especially the semantics of its forms – the 3rd person pronouns, a form we may consider as deprived of referential content, the indefinite pronouns which indicate absence –, the semantics of punctuation, especially that of the suspension points.Our approach is focused on the issue of the “markers” of absence as well as on the expression and materialization of that absence in a corpus of works formed of the following plays: L’Intruse, Les Aveugles, Intérieur by Maurice Maeterlinck.
The acceptions the concept of “absence” may receive throughout our analysis are parts of the phenomenon of progressive alienation seen, for instance, as separation (stressing the idea of distance and departure), or as solitude, then omission (in the sense of forgetting), and culminating with the inability of perception that anticipates isolation, physical imprisonment and announces death (designated through a privative prefix) as an absence that is always present and obscurity.
We attempt to reveal the “markers” of absence on the level of certain constituents of the play: the character, formed of a discursive feature, infinitely simple and repetitive, much more diminished and developing without individuality, like a silent, mysterious ghost; and the action where it is rather inaction that represents our primary direction of research. As a secondary direction, we consider the markers of absence in a language that, in the case of Maeterlinck, is remarkably pure and lacks any syntactic or lexical complication, from lexical structures (the reassessment of short expressions makes the utterances seem captivatingly strange, revealing, beyond words, unutterable, unspeakable) and the grammar, especially the semantics of its forms – the 3rd person pronouns, a form we may consider as deprived of referential content, the indefinite pronouns which indicate absence –, the semantics of punctuation, especially that of the suspension points
Le vide dans le théâtre camusien
Get PDFThis article is an analysis of two plays by a great French literature writer, Albert Camus: Caligula (1945) and Le Malentendu (The Misunderstanding, sometimes published as Cross Purpose, 1944). After a careful presentation of the plots of the play, we are proposing a definition of the following terms: the absence and the void. Afterwards, we examine the nature of the absences presented and we offer a classification of such absences. We establish four categories of the void: philosophical, spiritual, physical, and the absence of the closest kin. A re-reading of the dramaturgical texts serves to appreciate the manner in which these texts are presented to the reader/spectator and to prove that the Camusian void is in a strict relation with an existential pain associated with the absence of God in people’s life.This article is an analysis of two plays by a great French literature writer, Albert Camus: Caligula (1945) and Le Malentendu (The Misunderstanding, sometimes published as Cross Purpose, 1944). After a careful presentation of the plots of the play, we are proposing a definition of the following terms: the absence and the void. Afterwards, we examine the nature of the absences presented and we offer a classification of such absences. We establish four categories of the void: philosophical, spiritual, physical, and the absence of the closest kin. A re-reading of the dramaturgical texts serves to appreciate the manner in which these texts are presented to the reader/spectator and to prove that the Camusian void is in a strict relation with an existential pain associated with the absence of God in people’s life
Novecento, celui qui n’existait pas
Get PDFThe division of the article into three parts represents the three phenomena of absence present in Novecento, a work of Alessandro Baricco. First, the author discusses the peculiar existence of a main character, which, on the internal level of the story told in the book, is full of absence. On the external level, the author focuses on the manner of narration and stage performance (didascalia). His second scope of interest is the lack of author’s unanimous statement concerning the text genre, as well as the interspersion of important elements of drama, theatre and both, pure narrative and music forms. This, recently quite popular phenomenon, has been called hybridity. It allows the juxtaposing of contrasts, joining of contradictions and departures from the accepted specific rules in favour of artistic generic disarray. Moreover, this part of the paper stresses the difference between the original title and its French translation. The extra information added in the French version highlights the lack of precision in the original title. This significantly influences the readers’ choice. The third phenomenon discussed in the article is music. It has its special place among Baricco’s works. In Novecento, music is the second, after the pianist, protagonist. It can be even treated as equally important. However, the lack of a musical code (a proper way of communication) reduces the domination of music. By using a linguistic sign, the author gave music an important function – being the catalyst and medium between what exists but cannot be seen and what can be felt but cannot be expressed in words. Absence, perceived by human senses and the inadequacy of verbal expression, is elicited through music and, paradoxically, it becomes present.The division of the article into three parts represents the three phenomena of absence present in Novecento, a work of Alessandro Baricco. First, the author discusses the peculiar existence of a main character, which, on the internal level of the story told in the book, is full of absence. On the external level, the author focuses on the manner of narration and stage performance (didascalia). His second scope of interest is the lack of author’s unanimous statement concerning the text genre, as well as the interspersion of important elements of drama, theatre and both, pure narrative and music forms. This, recently quite popular phenomenon, has been called hybridity. It allows the juxtaposing of contrasts, joining of contradictions and departures from the accepted specific rules in favour of artistic generic disarray. Moreover, this part of the paper stresses the difference between the original title and its French translation. The extra information added in the French version highlights the lack of precision in the original title. This significantly influences the readers’ choice. The third phenomenon discussed in the article is music. It has its special place among Baricco’s works. In Novecento, music is the second, after the pianist, protagonist. It can be even treated as equally important. However, the lack of a musical code (a proper way of communication) reduces the domination of music. By using a linguistic sign, the author gave music an important function – being the catalyst and medium between what exists but cannot be seen and what can be felt but cannot be expressed in words. Absence, perceived by human senses and the inadequacy of verbal expression, is elicited through music and, paradoxically, it becomes present
L’absence d’un frère dans Le Dicôlon de Yannis Kiourtsaki
Get PDFYannis Kiourtsakis wrote Le Dicôlon, an autobiographical novel which describes all the important events for the Kiourtsakis family throughout the twentieth century. The novel is written under the spell of the author’s brother’s absences as he committed suicide. The experience of an irremediable loss echoes the collective destiny of Greece. The article focuses on the conditions of the staging of this loss with an analysis of different types of narration. In which way is the autobiographical genre affected by the writing of the death?Yannis Kiourtsakis wrote Le Dicôlon, an autobiographical novel which describes all the important events for the Kiourtsakis family throughout the twentieth century. The novel is written under the spell of the author’s brother’s absences as he committed suicide. The experience of an irremediable loss echoes the collective destiny of Greece. The article focuses on the conditions of the staging of this loss with an analysis of different types of narration. In which way is the autobiographical genre affected by the writing of the death
Décomposition et recomposition : présence et absence des corps noyés dans Lélia (1833) de George Sand et L’Éducation sentimentale (1845) de Gustave Flaubert
No full textIn Romantic literature, water often serves as a symbol of death and of the dissolution of the individual, representing a passage from presence to absence. In order to show this transformation, writers frequently rely on scenes of drowning. However, in these depictions drowning does not always lead to an absence, but rather, it reveals a physical presence: that of the cadavers themselves. Through a detailed analysis of two romantic texts whose treatment of drowning sheds light on the relationship between absence and presence, Lélia (1833) by George Sand and L’Éducation sentimentale (1845) by Gustave Flaubert, this study engages the following questions on thematic and structural levels: Does drowning undeniably bring about an annihilation of the individual? Are the boundaries between absence and presence, disappearing and (re)appearing, decomposition and (re)composition, clearly defined? Or is there another interpretation? One that is specific to textual portrayals of immersion? From an eco-critical perspective, it is clear that water represents an ideal space to portray the tension between life and death. As presented by Sand and Flaubert, drowned bodies inspire images of life rather than death and therefore cause the reader to question these boundaries on an imaginative and symbolic level.In Romantic literature, water often serves as a symbol of death and of the dissolution of the individual, representing a passage from presence to absence. In order to show this transformation, writers frequently rely on scenes of drowning. However, in these depictions drowning does not always lead to an absence, but rather, it reveals a physical presence: that of the cadavers themselves. Through a detailed analysis of two romantic texts whose treatment of drowning sheds light on the relationship between absence and presence, Lélia (1833) by George Sand and L’Éducation sentimentale (1845) by Gustave Flaubert, this study engages the following questions on thematic and structural levels: Does drowning undeniably bring about an annihilation of the individual? Are the boundaries between absence and presence, disappearing and (re)appearing, decomposition and (re)composition, clearly defined? Or is there another interpretation? One that is specific to textual portrayals of immersion? From an eco-critical perspective, it is clear that water represents an ideal space to portray the tension between life and death. As presented by Sand and Flaubert, drowned bodies inspire images of life rather than death and therefore cause the reader to question these boundaries on an imaginative and symbolic level
Absence de décision. Examen de quelques récits brefs des XIIe et XIIIe siècles
No full textThe absence of decision making is one of the aspects of the issues of will and choices in short French court narratives of the XII and XIII centuries. The paper focuses on two executions that present this motif. Protagonists facing numerous options – or, on the contrary, being faced with dramatic turning points in the plot that restrict their choices – feel a kind of decision deadlock. In the analysed texts, the absence of decision – short or long term – is shown in the narratives with ‘ne set que faire’ formula (“does not know, what to do”) and a reference to advice needed by the indecisive protagonist.The absence of decision making is one of the aspects of the issues of will and choices in short French court narratives of the XII and XIII centuries. The paper focuses on two executions that present this motif. Protagonists facing numerous options – or, on the contrary, being faced with dramatic turning points in the plot that restrict their choices – feel a kind of decision deadlock. In the analysed texts, the absence of decision – short or long term – is shown in the narratives with ‘ne set que faire’ formula (“does not know, what to do”) and a reference to advice needed by the indecisive protagonist
Entre l’absence et la présence de la Morte dans Bruges-la-Morte de Georges Rodenbach
Get PDFIn his short novel Bruges-la-Morte Georges Rodenbach presents an inconsolable widower, Hugues Viane, who tries to immortalise his dead wife by the worship of her souvenirs and installing himself in Bruges, a “dead town”. The aim of the study is to examine how the absence changes into presence. Firstly, the Dead returns in Hugues Viane’s mind, the spouse appears in multiple portraits the widower contemplates every day and especially in the cult of her hair. Then, she reveals herself also in the history and the actual state of Bruges. Finally, the dead woman returns in her “double” – Jane Scott, a theatre dancer, who becomes for Hugues Viane his wife risen from the dead, unfortunately only for a while. Georges Rodenbach chooses absence as the main aspect of his novel but he joins it to all kind of attempts, especially related to the fantastique, to transform it into presence.In his short novel Bruges-la-Morte Georges Rodenbach presents an inconsolable widower, Hugues Viane, who tries to immortalise his dead wife by the worship of her souvenirs and installing himself in Bruges, a “dead town”. The aim of the study is to examine how the absence changes into presence. Firstly, the Dead returns in Hugues Viane’s mind, the spouse appears in multiple portraits the widower contemplates every day and especially in the cult of her hair. Then, she reveals herself also in the history and the actual state of Bruges. Finally, the dead woman returns in her “double” – Jane Scott, a theatre dancer, who becomes for Hugues Viane his wife risen from the dead, unfortunately only for a while. Georges Rodenbach chooses absence as the main aspect of his novel but he joins it to all kind of attempts, especially related to the fantastique, to transform it into presence
