Performance in the Texts of Mallarmé

The Passage from Art to Ritual

Fiction & Literature, Poetry, Continental European, Literary Theory & Criticism, Poetry History & Criticism, Theory
Cover of the book Performance in the Texts of Mallarmé by Mary Lewis Shaw, Penn State University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Mary Lewis Shaw ISBN: 9780271075532
Publisher: Penn State University Press Publication: March 22, 1993
Imprint: Penn State University Press Language: English
Author: Mary Lewis Shaw
ISBN: 9780271075532
Publisher: Penn State University Press
Publication: March 22, 1993
Imprint: Penn State University Press
Language: English

Performance in the Texts of Mallarmé offers a new theory of performance in the poetic and critical texts of Stephane Mallarmé, a theory challenging the prevailing interpretation of his work as epitomizing literary purism and art for art's sake.

Following an analytical presentation of the concepts of ritual and performance generally applied, Mary Shaw shows that Mallarmé perceived music, dance, and theater as ideal languages of the body and therefore as ideal forms of ritual through which to supplement and celebrate poetic texts. She focuses on previously unexplored references to supplementary, extratextual performances in four of Mallarmé's major poetic texts—Herodiade, L'après-midi d'un faune, Igitur, and Un coup de des—revealing the consistent formal expression of his original conception of literature's relationship to the performing arts.

Shaw then discusses Mallarmé's monumental project, Le Livre, a metaphysical book designed to be performed in a series of ritual celebrations. She analyzes and describes the intrinsic structure and contents of this unfinished work as the fullest realization of the text-performance relationship elaborated throughout Mallarmé's corpus. Shaw offers Le Livre as a prototype of avant-garde performance, drawing important parallels between Mallarmé's literary experimentation and crucial developments in twentieth-century arts.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Performance in the Texts of Mallarmé offers a new theory of performance in the poetic and critical texts of Stephane Mallarmé, a theory challenging the prevailing interpretation of his work as epitomizing literary purism and art for art's sake.

Following an analytical presentation of the concepts of ritual and performance generally applied, Mary Shaw shows that Mallarmé perceived music, dance, and theater as ideal languages of the body and therefore as ideal forms of ritual through which to supplement and celebrate poetic texts. She focuses on previously unexplored references to supplementary, extratextual performances in four of Mallarmé's major poetic texts—Herodiade, L'après-midi d'un faune, Igitur, and Un coup de des—revealing the consistent formal expression of his original conception of literature's relationship to the performing arts.

Shaw then discusses Mallarmé's monumental project, Le Livre, a metaphysical book designed to be performed in a series of ritual celebrations. She analyzes and describes the intrinsic structure and contents of this unfinished work as the fullest realization of the text-performance relationship elaborated throughout Mallarmé's corpus. Shaw offers Le Livre as a prototype of avant-garde performance, drawing important parallels between Mallarmé's literary experimentation and crucial developments in twentieth-century arts.

More books from Penn State University Press

Cover of the book Becoming Centaur by Mary Lewis Shaw
Cover of the book Sacred Plunder by Mary Lewis Shaw
Cover of the book Human Rights and Memory by Mary Lewis Shaw
Cover of the book “Civilizing” Rio by Mary Lewis Shaw
Cover of the book The Power and the Glorification by Mary Lewis Shaw
Cover of the book Valley Forge by Mary Lewis Shaw
Cover of the book The Hidden Life of Life by Mary Lewis Shaw
Cover of the book Language and Love by Mary Lewis Shaw
Cover of the book Wonder and Exile in the New World by Mary Lewis Shaw
Cover of the book Broken Lights and Mended Lives by Mary Lewis Shaw
Cover of the book Reading the Written Image by Mary Lewis Shaw
Cover of the book Sentenced to Science by Mary Lewis Shaw
Cover of the book Letters Written from the Banks of the Ohio by Mary Lewis Shaw
Cover of the book Gifford Pinchot by Mary Lewis Shaw
Cover of the book Elections in Pennsylvania by Mary Lewis Shaw
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy