The symbolist aesthetic : one century in European drama

Abstract

Historically, Symbolism proposed the most important condensation and artistic manifestation of the idealistic trends that arose from the complex phenomenon of Pre-Romanticism. In theater, Symbolism offers a notably well determined theory that comes from a praxis of renowned playwrites such as Maeterlinck, Hauptmann and Ibsen. The Symbolist theatricality has been well codified and this is the basic principle of the Symbolist theatrical creation: to produce a vital show on stage. In 1885, Jean Moreás published an article which shifted the differentiating criteria from the 'decadent' to the 'symbolic', thus provoking a symbolist schism in the heart of French Decadentism. Edmond Rostand's "Cyrano de Bergerac" (drama debuted in Paris at the end of 1897) should be contemplated in this context because the drama's formal aspects and sensibilities correspond in many ways to those of the Decadent spirit. In his plays, Rostand puts into practice a dramatic line that is formally infused by the tradition of theater in verse but equally nourished by the ever-present Decadentist sensibilities and the aesthetic of dramatic and literary Symbolism. The elements borne of this 'turn of the century' spirit and the Symbolist aesthetic can be found in the Cyrano of our days though in distinct forms and with different meanings. This Cyrano, the Cyrano of our days, is Joseph-Angel's post-theatrical version entitled "Cyrano Parfumé" ("Cyrano's perfume"). This post-theatrical recreation of Rostand's "Cyrano" is selectively projected over some intense moments of French drama. Joseph-Angel inscribes his recreation of Cyrano in the heart of another spiritual category intimately related to the new turn of the century process, the Post-Modernity.