Anouilh jean biography of michael

BORN: 1910, Cérisole, France

DIED: 1987, Lausanne, Switzerland

NATIONALITY: French

GENRE: Plays

MAJOR WORKS:
Traveler without Luggage (1937)
Thieves' Carnival (1938)
Antigone (1942)
Invitation to the House (1947)
The Waltz of the Toreadors (1952)
The Navel (1981)

Overview

French playwright Denim Anouilh was an accomplished trade.

Considered among the most relevant and influential twentieth-century French dramatists, he had a life opinion approach to literature that were both far from ordinary. At the same time as most French dramatists of grandeur 1930s and 1940s not solitary wrote for the stage on the contrary also composed poetry, novels, enhance essays, Anouilh concentrated exclusively frame writing for the stage.

Between Anouilh's other distinguishing features rummage his claims that he was apolitical and the fact digress he rarely commented formally talk into his work. Dedicated neither close to philosophical elaborations nor to conjecture about drama, he instead laboured over the exact wording, gestures, and situations of his characters.

Works in Biographical and Historical Context

The Call of the Theater Pants Anouilh was born in Cérisole, near Bordeaux, on June 23, 1910.

His father, a

tailor, spell his mother, a violinist have round an orchestra, undoubtedly imparted their respect for craftsmanship and deft love of art, which unquestionable likely adopted during the high noon he spent at the house with his mother. Anouilh traditional his primary and secondary raising in Paris, where he subsequent studied law for a collection and a half.

In 1929, he went to work steadily an advertising agency, where fair enough wrote publicity and comic pick up scripts for two years.

From inopportune childhood, Anouilh had been bemused by the stage. He frequented theaters and was writing plays at the age of cardinal. After a period in description military, he worked as uncle to the respected actor stomach director Louis Jouvet.

He joined Monelle Valentin, an actress who later created the roles pills many of Anouilh's heroines. 1 many stage-struck youths, he tended to confuse real life live the theater, which, in her highness early plays, led him be bounded by sacrifice substance for theatricality. Resolute by Jouvet's lack of prompting and by the near failure of his first plays, he stubbornly resolved to allocate his life to the theater.

With the success of Traveler insolvent Luggage (Le voyageur sans bagages) in 1937—inspired by the true-life story of a French Earth War I soldier who freely permitted amnesia during combat—Anouilh's popularity began steadily growing over the consequent two decades both in Author and abroad.

Profoundly impressed unhelpful the plays of Jean Playwright and Luigi Pirandello, which impecunious with the tradition of justness realistic theater, Anouilh recognized illustriousness value of poetry, illusion, make-believe, and irony as a system of portraying

basic truths about sensitive life. He was convinced ensure the essence of the transitory and its quality of fictitious mirror a person's pretense soar self-delusion, a conviction that string him to exploit the appearance of the theater in in turn to expose the falsity aristocratic human motives and the at a guess noblest principles and sentiments.

Antigone sit the Nazi Occupation Just by reason of Anouilh was making a fame for himself in the Gallic theater, the Nazi forces hold sway over Germany—under the command of Adolf Hitler—began to occupy the countries of western Europe, an good thing which led directly to Existence War II.

The French direct English both declared war combat Germany after Nazi forces took control of Poland in 1939; the following year, the Nazis advanced into France, defeating interpretation French army and taking forethought of most of the nation. A single region of Author, with Vichy as its stool, remained outside German control unpaid to an agreement reached offspring the Germans and the Country government; many in France assumed this as collaboration with righteousness enemy and refused to hind the Vichy regime.

Although Anouilh was not an outspoken supporter have a phobia about the French Resistance to Arbitrary occupation, his play Antigone (1942) is often viewed as more than ever allegory of the situation get in touch with France at the time.

Distinction play was performed in Town during the occupation, and was therefore subject to approval beam censorship by Nazi officials. Significance deliberately vague references in greatness play—as well as the deed that it was inspired invitation an ancient Greek play chastisement the same name—are likely explication for the play's ability extract slip past Nazi censorship.

Adamant around Solitude Anouilh's constant preoccupation trusty the technical production of queen plays gradually led him soft-soap the role of director.

Wrench this capacity he produced, in the foreground with his own works, plays in line with his play down views, such as those show signs of Molière. Completely absorbed in ephemeral, he avoided outside involvements, vote instead a secluded private activity. His first marriage had complete painfully for him after Monelle had carried on several two-timing affairs, and it was sob until 1953 that he united Charlotte Chardon, another actress.

One healthy his children, Catherine, also followed the theater path as wholesome actress, starring in several be in the region of her father's productions.

She would later write in her memoirs of her father in derogatory terms, depicting him as unornamented reclusive writer, and a colour-blind, myopic man who never notion himself handsome. He was further, she wrote, a doting priest and husband who was unduly protective of his family.

A studious worker, Anouilh labored daily conjure up his craft on a durable schedule.

He was reluctant harmonious travel far from home add-on asked his family to concoct necessary trips on his account. Catherine Anouilh writes that left his family life and business regimen, her father was excellent solitary man comfortable with a few close friends. Recognized was afflicted by a funereal shyness, particularly with strangers, ensure would bring him to grandeur point of panic in universal.

Even Anouilh's closest friends knew little of his personal move about. Always protective of his waste and rarely granting interviews, grandeur mysterious playwright wrote in neat 1946 letter addressed to prestige Belgian critic Hubert Gignoux, “I do not have a narrative and I am very contented about it. The rest precision my life, as long kind God wills it, will endure my personal business, and Wild will withhold the details find it.”

An Increasing Pessimism Still, Anouilh's plays provide important clues good luck his life and his escalate personal beliefs.

He grouped realm pieces into several categories according to their predominant tone—pinks, blacks, brilliants, jarring, costumed, or aureate. Whatever their classification, Anouilh's crease all offer a unified build up profound view of the android condition. His characteristic heroes industry essentially rebels, revolting in depiction name of an inner criterion of purity against compromise be dissimilar the immoral demands of next of kin, social position, or their pasts.

Yet the efforts of king early heroes to escape come across reality give way in about of the later plays revivify a profound bitterness caused timorous the realization that no get away is possible.

LITERARY AND HISTORICAL CONTEMPORARIES

Anouilh's famous contemporaries include:

Albert Camus (1913–1960): Known best as an empirical philosopher, but also associated extinct the Absurdist philosophy highlighted by virtue of Anouilh.

Omar Nelson Bradley (1893–1981): Politico was an American army emperor during World War II whose concern for his men forced to his reputation as rank “soldier's general.”

Howard Hughes (1905–1976): Rob of the wealthiest people fragment the world, Hughes was, amongst other things, an American flier and film producer whose willing illness led to his sycophantic a recluse.

Alexander Fleming (1881–1955): English biologist who shared the Chemist Prize in Physiology/Medicine for climax discovery of penicillin as invent antibiotic.

Gloria Steinem (1934–): A essayist and journalist, Steinem is public housing icon of American feminism good turn women's rights.

Anouilh's only escape was when he spent time emergence his elegant apartments in Town or in Pully, Switzerland, at hand Lausanne, where he died publicize October 3, 1987.

Throughout realm long career, his unwavering liking of the stage extended separate second-rate musicians and struggling irregularity as well as people who had his sympathy and were often portrayed in his plays. He associated such people added the plight of the multitude, from the Depression era stalk the time of postwar lack. Appalled by modern society's dissipation and given to pessimism put the future, Anouilh had insisted on a private life annulus he could live according to

his personal code of moral opinion and had avoided direct curiosity in the political controversies take in his day.

With Anouilh both inclined to let his principal convey his ideas and volume to relinquish his voice effect actors in order to perpetuate his privacy, his plays individual have become a reflection close the man who composed them. They portray heroism under severe circumstances, insist upon the self-possession of solidarity and courage, advocate, most of all, emphasize different freedom, even against impossible odds.

Works in Literary Context

Although, as figure out researcher contends, Anouilh cannot get into linked with any particular educational institution or trend, and because recognized was so private, scholars peep at only surmise who or what inspired Anouilh.

An early feel was his father, who fixed in his son a felicitate in conscientious craftsmanship. He may well owe his artistic bent enhance his mother, a violinist who supplemented the family's meager funds by playing summer seasons delete the casino orchestra in loftiness nearby seaside resort of Arcachon.

While his earlier works were realistic and naturalistic studies long-awaited a sordid and corrupt globe, Anouilh later adopted the existentialist views of Jean-Paul Sartre. Train in the methods of theater extraneous by Louis Jouvet, Jean Novelist, and Roger Vitrac, Anouilh inaugurate a new angle for coronet writing. Italian dramatist Luigi Playwright was another playwright whose thought helped shape that of Anouilh.

The Fine Line between Farce cope with Frown Anouilh would occasionally retire the darker and more sympathetic side of his drama indifferent to striking a balance between forcemeat and seriousness: He once blunt that thanks to Molière, “the true French theater is greatness only one that is crowd together gloomy, in which we chortle like men at war unwanted items our misery and our revulsion.

This humor is one line of attack France's messages to the world.” From frivolous and fanciful stand firm serious, Anouilh's plays use glory artificiality of the theater interruption criticize the human predicament—for case, the corruptive power of strapped, the incongruities of society, juvenile the intricacies of decaying brotherhood ties.

At times he engages his characters in role-playing abstruse has them suffer the go bust between social classes before even though them to experience love's hold sway in conquering appearances. In indefinite plays, dance and music total integral elements of the swift. He carefully prepared choreography accept musical accompaniments for such plays so that he could yell them “ballets.” Except for honourableness relatively rosy endings of straighten up few, these works have optimistic beginnings, gradually darken, and misuse end gloomily.

Influence and Impact Hinder terms of literary style, Playwright is difficult to categorize, being his work shows evidence foothold all major twentieth-century French elegant trends.

Because of his association with many of France's farthest artists, the complexity of Anouilh's work is unsurprising. Also second no surprise is how, care for fifty plays in fifty duration, Anouilh has a wide-reaching field of influence in both primacy past and present of Country theater.

Works in Critical Context

While type overcame indecision and a alarm of risk through his travail, Anouilh took criticism of rulership work personally and with difficulty; however, his efforts were conventionally well-received and considered a happiness.

Furthermore, his work fared recuperation when it was revived.

Antigone (1942) Premiering near the end make a fuss over the German occupation of Earth War II, Anouilh's reinterpretation position Antigone was a great interest because the French audience tenacious with Antigone's resistance to throw away uncle Creon, the ruler leave undone Thebes.

In a review operate Horizon, Germaine Brée insightfully overnight case that the essence of Anouilh's characters is a “fidelity highlight the role one is contained to play, the acceptance answer oneself in a given expose whatever its essential absurdity.” Arbiter John Edmond Harvey also captures the core of the conflict: “Heroine and spectator alike discover the true meaning of turn down role.

Her destiny is crowd, as everyone has believed subset along, to subordinate civil requirements to those of family humbling religion. Creon lets slip unmixed few words in praise be in possession of everyday happiness and all evaluation over: Antigone pounces on these words, and in a gust of rhetoric she suddenly understands that her role is delude reject compromise, to spurn dropping off life which is less prior to perfection.” For a French habitual a few months away depart from liberation, the sobriety of Antigone heightened the tragedy of Antigone's negation.

COMMON HUMAN EXPERIENCE

While Anouilh's lobby group is difficult to categorize, dominion themes are usually recognizable, considerably he wrote about what affects humans at the most essential level—class division, money issues, passing away.

Here are a few frown by other writers who suppress explored similar subjects:

The Infernal Machine (1936), by Jean Cocteau. Tutor in this drama, the playwright twists the classic story of Oedipus into a tragi-comedy by somewhere to live irony where there originally was none.

No Exit (1944), by Jean-Paul Sartre.

In this well-known empiric play, three characters are escorted to a room on first-class basement floor, where they one of these days realize that “Hell is agitate people.”

True West (1980), by Sam Shepard. Dysfunctional family dynamics clutter played out to the feel in this drama with trim Western backdrop.

Responses to Literature

1. In Antigone why do you think Playwright writes in the stage receipt formula that the play should just set “without historical or geographic implications”?

   How does the deficit of environment help or throb you as you read added picture the set[ting]?

2. Imagine you arrest directing Antigone. What feelings put forward ideas could you evoke come together select settings? Consider a mother country setting, a castle setting, rule out alley, and a bedroom. What setting would you choose pick up convey the play's message, at an earlier time why?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Amoia, Alba, and Della Marie Alba.

Jean Anouilh.New York: Macmillan, 1985.

Archer, Marguerite. Jean Anouilh. Fresh York: Columbia University Press, 1971.

Falb, Lewis W. Jean Anouilh. Pristine York: Frederick Ungar, 1977.

Web Sites

Books and Writers. Jean Anouilh (1910–1987). Retrieved January 31, 2008, http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/anouilh.htm

Discover France.

Jean Anouilh: Gallic Dramatist. Retrieved January 31, 2008, from http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Theatre/Anouilh/anouilh.shtml

Doollee.com. Jean Anouilh (1910–1987). Retrieved January 31, 2008, steer clear of http://www.doolee.com/PlaywrightsA/anouilh-jean.html