Dissertation Abstract
Brecht, Artaud, And The Semiotics Of Distance
by
Iris L. Smith
Degree: PH.D.
Year: 1986
Pages: 00188
Institution:
Source: DAI, 47, no. 05A, (1986): 1721
"Aesthetic distance" in theatre is
redefined semiotically in terms of the distinctions between the sign elements
formulated by the philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce. The types of performance
under discussion, Antonin Artaud's theatre of cruelty and Bertolt Brecht's epic
theatre, are first examined synchronically, by isolating and discussing basic
sign functions. The theatre of cruelty is demonstrated to be an impossible
conflation of the sign elements (sign, interpretant, object)
in that Artaud attempted to create a pure icon. Epic theatre, on the other
hand, plays with the distance among sign elements, leaving room for the
spectator to take an active role in signifying processes, both during and after
the performance. After these individual sign functions are discussed, a
diachronic analysis of both theatres is provided. Verfremdung (estrangement),
as it functions in Brecht's Life of Galileo and Mother Courage, is examined as
an argumentative and participatory rhythm. Turning to Artaud, whose essays and
letters give the best sense of what the diachronic nature of the theatre of
cruelty might be, a performance rhetoric emerges
clearly, based on Artaud's highly personalized sense of history. The concluding
chapter reflects on the general uses of semiotics for a study of the theatre.
Calling for semiotic models that do not oversystematize theatre, the conclusion
suggests creative strategies implicit in the type of reasoning Peirce called
"abduction."
SUBJECT(S)
Descriptor: LITERATURE, COMPARATIVE
Accession
No: AAG8617791
Provider: OCLC
Database: Dissertations