La valeur dramatique de Brieux

[摘要] This study examines several plays by Eugene Brieux, a French dramatist at the turn of this century. In the introduction the significant influences to which Brieux was exposed, such as Antoine's experimental theater and the realist dramatists, are established. He actually figures among those dramatists who upset the traditional theater by their innovations in dramatic form and subject matter. The evolution in the drama of this period is so complicated that it is necessary to situate Brieux's plays. Some of the changes they effected have remained and have become new dramatic traditions, but there were others which were incompatible with the new theater. One must therefore examine the (dramatic) conventions of the theater contemporary to Brieux and that which was anterior to him to establish that which composed good theater of the period, because ;;on n'échappe pas à la convention au théâtre mais toute convention n'est pas art;; (as Clifford Bissell states). It will be necessary consequently to indicate relevant information about Brieux's life and career. His talent was shaped by his experience as a journalist and other circumstances not related to the stage. And his dramatic debut was made with an experimental group which negated the principles of traditional theater. It is often too evident that Brieux wrote social pieces or idea plays. Due to this fact one tends to deny his dramatic talent from time to time. There are however various established dramatists -- Shaw, for example -- who wrote the same type of play and who defend his work for its well-executed dramatic elements. In order to evaluate the full extent of his dramatic power it is necessary then to include a discussion of the moral values in his work together with an examination of the innovative techniques he adopted. Brieux wrote approximately thirty-three dramas in his life of which this study includes only the three in which he most successfully isolated and dramatized the moral problems. There are various social issues presented in this selection. In each chapter the principal concern is the examination of the selected plays a propos of the techniques enumerated in the introduction. The conclusion assesses the extent of his dramatic power and his significance as a playwright in modern standards.

[发布机构] Rice University