CELTIC AND CHRISTIAN SIGNS IN DIALOGUE: JOHN M. SYNGE AND RAMON DEL VALLE-INCLAN (IRELAND, SPAIN)
Abstract
Both John M. Synge and Ramon del Valle-Inclan were brought up in the strong Christian tradition of their families and exposed to the rural folklore of their Celtic regions. Each author draws upon this storehouse of models from the Christian and Celtic-pagan-folk traditions in his rural plays. In these plays, the playwrights juxtapose Christian and Celtic signs, or employ polysemantic symbols to set up a Christian-Celtic dialogue for various purposes. This work makes use of semiotic analyses of the stage settings, narrations, characters, and rituals in an effort to identify the three main Objectives for utilizing such a dialogue in Synge's and Valle-Inclan's dramas. Objective 1 is the creation of a new sort of realism--"peasant realism"--which reflects the peasant's acceptance without discrimination of Celtic folk signs and Christian signs on equal terms. The signs in the play reflect this equation and integration of the two systems. No criticism of the beliefs or the people who hold them is implied in this Objective. Objective 2 is the creation of a mythological, magical time and space for the drama through the employment of mostly folk signs. Both Objectives 1 and 2 are broadly aesthetic, the creation of a specific atmosphere for the action. Objective 3 is rather a technique, defamiliarization used to point out problems the author finds in society's usage of Christian symbols, or in Christianity itself. The dramatist places a familiar Christian or Celtic image in a new, strange context, or builds up certain expectations of a familiar situation only to subvert those expectations, causing defamiliarization. In studying which plays follow the three Objectives in terms of a Christian-Celtic dialogue, a general chronological pattern emerges. Synge and Valle-Inclan begin with a presentation of "peasant realism," but quickly branch out to experimental usage of the Christian-Celtic dialogue, using defamiliarization with critical intent. Their final plays return to the roots of the Celtic folk tradition, creating a mythological ambiance on stage.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Comparative literature|British and Irish literature|Romance literature|Theater
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