Signalling through the Flames
Signalling through the Flames
Shelley’s 1819 tragedy The Cenci displays a number of Senecan affiliations on the verbal, dramaturgical, and thematic levels. Most obviously, Shelley uses the senecan technique of applying densely figured language to an act too traumatic to be expressed in ordinary discourse. Although written for performance, The Cenci could not be staged at the time because of its ‘abhorrent’ subject matter. It was taken up, however, in 1935 by director–theorist Antonin Artaud, who was already interested in Seneca as a proto-exemplar of the theatrical form he termed ‘Theatre of Cruelty’. Artaud attempted a staging of The Cenci that would be a practical demonstration of Cruelty, but the production was a failure.
Keywords: Shelley, The Cenci, Beatrice Cenci, trauma, Antonin Artaud, Theatre of Cruelty, Théâtre du Cruauté
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