이성의 연극미학 - 신고전주의에서 서사극까지 - = Theatre Aesthetics of Rationalism - From Neo - Classical Theatre to Epic Theatre -

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The history of Theatre includes innumerable attempts of penetrating into human life and the world. The rational approach to the truth has been one of those endeavors, establishing its own tradition. The theatres of reason, however, are not the same, because they are different in methods and perspectives under the influence of social and historical changes. This paper, therefore, examines the theatre aesthetics of rationalism, focused on the following questions. (1) What is the reason in theatre? (2) What kind of truth does it seek? (3) What kind of pleasure does the theatre of reason provide? The reason, as a means of insight, has changed its method through theatre history. The reason in the 17th century neo-classical theatre depended on common sense and good sense that tended to confirm tested answers or socially accepted truth. The reason reappeared in the theatre of naturalism and epic theatre under the name of science. It was the method of natural science that the theatre of naturalism employed in order to observe and analyze reality thoroughly. The scientific method in epic theatre was Marxism that activates the critical attitude toward reality. The truth each theatre sought was different due to the different method of reason. The neo-classical theatre recognized only verisimilitude, that is, the truth proper to common sense. Here the standard of common sense was adjusted to the thought of social elite such as nobles. In case of naturalism, the truth was almost identified with the natural science of Charles Darwin, as it depicted the ‘natural man’ who is dominated by environment and body. Consequently the theatre of naturalism revived the un-common truth that was rejected by neo-classical theatre. The truth in epic theatre was Marxist in that it tries to understand the objective social reality from the viewpoint of Marxism. Here the social truth can not be grasped by the imitation of reality but by reconstructing reality from the perspective of Marxism. The theatre of rationalism is too intellectual to produce the enjoyable pleasure. That was one of the problems the theatre of rationalism confronted. Here we can consider theatrical pleasure from two directions. One is the intellectual pleasure that comes from intellectual interpretation and understanding, the other is the sensational pleasure that relies on sensorial impression, emotional excitement, and pure amusement. The neo-classical theatre, in principle, is pointed to the intellectual pleasure as it only admitted the pleasure satisfying the reason. But it tried, in practice, to add the sensational pleasure that comes from the marvelous incident. Principally the theatre of naturalism can realize the marvelous, because it can depict human and social evil that violates common sense. In spite of this possibility, the theatre of naturalism is inclined to the intellectual pleasure, aiming the rational/intellectual understanding of familar reality. The epic theatre seeks the harmony between intellectual and sensational pleasures. First of all, the epic theatre finds the source of pleasure in intellectual understanding as it tries to transform the theatre into a ‘pleasurable learning.’ The theatrical elements such as song and dance, at this point, are used not only as a means of intellectual understanding through Verfremdungseffekt but also as a source of sensorial pleasure. All the theatres of rationalism have a common feature despite of their differences. They are oriented toward the ‘aesthetics of clarity,’ presenting the life image understandable rationally. The light of reason, however, is limited to certain area, as it depends on specific intellectual knowledge. The theatre of rationalism tends to head for an aesthetics of the mean as it emphasizes the probable and the ordinary rather than the improbable and the extraordinary. One of standard for the mean is common sense. When respecting common sense in such a case of neo-classical theatre, the theatre of ra