Antoni Słonimski’s Theatrical Awareness Recorded in His Prose Début Cover Image

Świadomość teatralna Antoniego Słonimskiego zapisana w debiucie prozatorskim
Antoni Słonimski’s Theatrical Awareness Recorded in His Prose Début

Author(s): Joanna Warońska-Gęsiarz
Subject(s): Polish Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Komisji Edukacji Narodowej w Krakowie
Keywords: Antoni Słonimski; the novel Teatr w więzieniu [Theater in Prison]; theatrum mundi; theatralical awareness; the anthropology of performance

Summary/Abstract: Based upon the novel Teatr w więzieniu [Theatre in Prison] (1921), the author has described various methods for defining this category. This institution develops its own ceremonial. Therefore, a performance in prison appears to be a parody of it, to be one of the shows – along sports competitions and circus performances – but also a method for defining interpersonal relations, as the characters, depicted as expert actors, precede Witold Gombrowicz’s interactive people. Słonimski also ponders the consequences of the change in the hierarchy of arts, as theatrum mundi is replaced by cinematograph. However, the projected images, referencing Plato’s cave, increase the sense of alienation. It is becoming progressively more evident that such a world transforms into a prison.

  • Issue Year: 10/2018
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 100-115
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Polish