History in Tatters: Bodies and Things in Samuel Beckett’s Theatre

History in Tatters: Bodies and Things in Samuel Beckett’s Theatre

History in Tatters: Bodies and Things in Samuel Beckett’s Theatre (A. McMullan)Drawing on concepts such as the chiasm in Merleau-Ponty’s The Visible and the Invisible, this article argues that Beckett’s theatre creates a dynamic stage space that includes a spectrum of being from human to things. On...

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1. autor: McMullan, Anna
Format: Article ou chapitre numérique
Język:Anglais
Wydane: Études britanniques contemporaines 2019
Dostęp online:Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
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spelling openedition-oai:revues.org:ebc_5953 https://doi.org/10.4000/ebc.5953 urn:doi:10.4000/ebc.5953 en https://journals.openedition.org/ebc/5953 2019-04-05T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/fe8h https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ History in Tatters: Bodies and Things in Samuel Beckett’s Theatre Études britanniques contemporaines Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2271-5444 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1168-4917 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ebc McMullan, Anna History in Tatters: Bodies and Things in Samuel Beckett’s Theatre (A. McMullan)Drawing on concepts such as the chiasm in Merleau-Ponty’s The Visible and the Invisible, this article argues that Beckett’s theatre creates a dynamic stage space that includes a spectrum of being from human to things. On the one hand, this might be termed a posthuman perspective, in that it presents a critique of anthropocentric humanism; on the other, a kind of transference takes place between bodies and objects (from the tree in Godot to the rocking chair in Rockaby) so that subjectivity or indeed affectivity is invested in the entire visual field, including both bodies and objects or parts thereof, both the seen and the unseen. Moreover, things, including props but also costume, materialize historical references and counter the sense of Beckett’s a-historical spaces to suggest multiple, layered histories. Beckett’s theatre therefore stages a vision that, while rooted in the phenomenological present, encourages an expanded perception which places the human in the frame of a dysfunctional creation which includes the human, animal, vegetable and for want of a better word, things, but also in a temporal frame that layers or ‘sediments’ the present with fragments of memory and history, both recent and ancient. Se fondant sur des concepts tirés de Le Visible et l’invisible de Merleau-Ponty, tel le chiasme, cet article tente de démontrer que le théâtre de Beckett crée un espace scénique dynamique incluant un spectre d’entités allant de l’humain à la chose. Pareille perspective pourrait être qualifiée de post-humaine, en ceci qu’elle présente une critique de l’humanisme anthropocentrique. Toutefois, un certain transfert entre corps et objets se met en place (depuis l’arbre de Godot au fauteuil à bascule de Rockaby), si bien que la subjectivité, voire l’affectivité investit l’ensemble du champ visuel, incluant corps et objets, visible et invisible. En outre, les choses, des accessoires aux costumes, font office de références historiques et s’opposent au espaces an-historiques de Beckett pour suggérer un feuilletages d’histoires et de périodes. Le théâtre de Beckett met en scène une visions qui, alors même qu’elle s’enracine dans la phénoménologie du présent, encourage une perception élargie plaçant l’humain au cœur d’une création en dysfonctionnement qui inclut l’humain, l’animal, le végétal et les choses, et le situant également dans un cadre temporel qui stratifie et fait se sédimenter le présent en termes de fragments de mémoire et d’histoire, ancienne et récente.
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language Anglais
format Article ou chapitre numérique
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description History in Tatters: Bodies and Things in Samuel Beckett’s Theatre (A. McMullan)Drawing on concepts such as the chiasm in Merleau-Ponty’s The Visible and the Invisible, this article argues that Beckett’s theatre creates a dynamic stage space that includes a spectrum of being from human to things. On the one hand, this might be termed a posthuman perspective, in that it presents a critique of anthropocentric humanism; on the other, a kind of transference takes place between bodies and objects (from the tree in Godot to the rocking chair in Rockaby) so that subjectivity or indeed affectivity is invested in the entire visual field, including both bodies and objects or parts thereof, both the seen and the unseen. Moreover, things, including props but also costume, materialize historical references and counter the sense of Beckett’s a-historical spaces to suggest multiple, layered histories. Beckett’s theatre therefore stages a vision that, while rooted in the phenomenological present, encourages an expanded perception which places the human in the frame of a dysfunctional creation which includes the human, animal, vegetable and for want of a better word, things, but also in a temporal frame that layers or ‘sediments’ the present with fragments of memory and history, both recent and ancient.
author McMullan, Anna
spellingShingle McMullan, Anna
History in Tatters: Bodies and Things in Samuel Beckett’s Theatre
author_facet McMullan, Anna
author_sort McMullan, Anna
title History in Tatters: Bodies and Things in Samuel Beckett’s Theatre
title_short History in Tatters: Bodies and Things in Samuel Beckett’s Theatre
title_full History in Tatters: Bodies and Things in Samuel Beckett’s Theatre
title_fullStr History in Tatters: Bodies and Things in Samuel Beckett’s Theatre
title_full_unstemmed History in Tatters: Bodies and Things in Samuel Beckett’s Theatre
title_sort history in tatters: bodies and things in samuel beckett’s theatre
publisher Études britanniques contemporaines
publishDate 2019
container_title URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ebc
url https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/ebc.5953
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/ebc/5953
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