Genet, Affirmation of Life and The Balcony

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35699/2317-2096.2023.44912

Keywords:

Genet, Nietzsche, defamiliarization, nihilism, Theatre of the Absurd

Abstract

Abstract: This article aims to contribute to the reconceptualization of the post-World War II dramaturgy in destabilizing the notion of Theatre of the Absurd drawing upon Michael Y. Bennett’s perspective (2011). It discusses the decisive influence of Friedrich Nietzsche both on Jean Genet’s personal trajectory as well as his artistic practice and proposes a concise hermeneutic approach to the play The Balcony, first published in 1956. On the one hand, the article argues that the dramatic work in question portrays, with unequivocal pessimism, the modern subject adrift on nihilism and, on the other hand, it highlights the creative vigour that prompted Genet’s prodigious trajectory.

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Author Biography

  • Sergio Nunes Melo, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, Santa Catarina/ Brasil

    Sergio Nunes Melo é professor associado da UFSC. Graduado em Letras (Inglês-Literaturas) pela UERJ, mestrado em Literaturas de língua inglesa pela UERJ, doutorado em Artes Cênicas pela University of Toronto, pós-doutorado pela University of Glasgow. Ex-roteirsta da TV Globo, ex-professor da UFBA e da British School RJ, trabalha com atuação, dramaturgia, encenação, tradução e filosofia. 

References

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Published

2024-02-08

Issue

Section

Dossier - Forms of Modern and Contemporary Dramaturgy

How to Cite

Nunes Melo, S. (2024). Genet, Affirmation of Life and The Balcony. Aletria: Revista De Estudos De Literatura, 33(4), 96–117. https://doi.org/10.35699/2317-2096.2023.44912