La genèse du poème rostandien : résistance et reconstitution du monde

• Authors: Géraldine Vogel

Title variants

EN

The Birth of Rostand’s Poem: Resistance and Reconstruction of the World

• Languages of publication: FR

Abstracts

EN

In Edmond Rostand’s works, poetry is constantly compared to a battle. The dramatic poems and the poems are places where poetic characters such as Cyrano de Bergerac struggle to put ideas into words so as to woe women and conquer the spectator. But writing poetry is also fighting for the right to participate in a personal recollection and conception of History. Haunted by Romanticism, the Empire and the monarchy, symbolised by the figure of Victor Hugo and Napoleon I in The Eaglet (L’Aiglon), the playwright disproves the world in which he and his characters evolve, as well as the literature of their time. In order to do so, he seeks to revolutionize traditional theatrical techniques. First, the characters he stages refute their author by creating their own world and lives as they write their poems. Then, he stages “paintings” to emphasize perspective and extend poetry in view of creating a whole new universe estranged from the audience’s passive daily life. Thus, he encourages the spectator to create a poetic world for himself, a world in which men – referred to as «poets» – would avoid conflict and live in harmony. This extension provides insight for viewers to better cope with their day to day life.

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Gdański
• Journal: Cahiers ERTA
• Year: 2016
• Issue: 10
• Pages: 9-27

Dates

published

2016-12-01

Contributors

author

Géraldine Vogel