11.2 Deconstruction and intertextuality in dramatic texts
4 min read•july 30, 2024
and shake up traditional theatre. They challenge fixed meanings, expose hidden contradictions, and blur lines between texts. These techniques make plays more open-ended, inviting audiences to create their own interpretations.
Postmodern playwrights use these tools to subvert expectations and critique old ideas. By breaking down familiar structures and mixing in references to other works, they create complex, layered performances that keep viewers on their toes.
Deconstruction in dramatic texts
Challenging traditional assumptions
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- Deconstruction is a poststructuralist theory and method of literary analysis that challenges traditional assumptions about the stability and fixed meaning of language and texts
- Identifies and subverts binary oppositions (presence/absence, speech/writing, literal/metaphorical) to reveal inherent instability and contradictions within a text
- Seeks to expose multiple, often conflicting meanings and interpretations derived from a play, challenging the notion of a single, authoritative reading
- Focuses on marginalized, repressed, or excluded elements within the text, highlighting how these elements subvert or destabilize the dominant narrative or themes
Revealing ambiguity and open-endedness
- Application of deconstruction to dramatic texts reveals inherent ambiguity, instability, and open-endedness of language and meaning in theatre
- Deconstructive readings uncover layers of meaning and interpretation, inviting audiences to consider multiple perspectives
- Challenges the idea of a fixed, singular meaning intended by the playwright, instead emphasizing the role of the reader or viewer in constructing meaning
- Highlights the inherent contradictions and paradoxes within a text, demonstrating how meaning is always in flux and subject to reinterpretation
Intertextuality in postmodern plays
Challenging originality and highlighting constructed nature of texts
- Intertextuality refers to the interconnectedness of texts and how they relate to one another through allusions, quotations, parody, or
- Postmodern playwrights employ intertextuality to challenge the notion of originality and highlight the constructed nature of texts
- Intertextual references range from direct quotations and allusions to other literary works (Shakespeare, Greek mythology) to incorporation of elements from popular culture, history, and mythology
- Creates a layering of meanings and interpretations as the audience considers the relationship between the play and referenced texts
Subverting and critiquing original texts
- Intertextuality serves to subvert or critique the original texts or genres being referenced, often through irony, parody, or pastiche
- Postmodern plays may use intertextuality to deconstruct canonical works, exposing their underlying assumptions, biases, or limitations
- Intertextual references can create a dialogue between the play and its sources, inviting audiences to reconsider their understanding of the original texts
- Analysis of intertextuality reveals how meaning is constructed through the interplay and juxtaposition of different texts and discourses (literary, historical, cultural)
Subversion of traditional structures
Challenging linear narratives and character development
- Postmodern theatre seeks to challenge and subvert traditional dramatic structures and conventions, such as linear narratives, character development, and the fourth wall
- Non-linear or fragmented narratives disrupt traditional cause-and-effect structure and challenge audience expectations (Caryl Churchill's "Top Girls")
- Blurs boundaries between reality and fiction, creating ambiguity or uncertainty that undermines traditional suspension of disbelief
- Subverts traditional character development through creation of unstable, contradictory, or fragmented characters that resist psychological realism or coherence (Samuel Beckett's "")
Destabilizing audience-stage relationship
- Challenges traditional relationship between audience and stage by breaking the fourth wall or incorporating interactive or participatory elements
- Postmodern plays may directly address the audience, acknowledging their presence and role in the theatrical experience (Bertolt Brecht's "Epic Theatre")
- Incorporates multimedia elements, non-traditional staging, or site-specific performances to disrupt conventional theatrical spaces and engage audiences in new ways
- Examination of these subversive techniques reveals how postmodern theatre questions and destabilizes assumptions and conventions of traditional dramatic forms
Audience role in meaning creation
Active engagement in interpretation
- Postmodern theatre emphasizes the active role of the audience in creating and interpreting meaning rather than positioning them as passive recipients
- Open-ended, ambiguous, or contradictory nature of postmodern plays invites audience to engage in their own process of meaning-making, drawing on individual experiences, knowledge, and perspectives
- Playwrights deliberately leave gaps or uncertainties in the text, encouraging the audience to fill in these spaces with their own interpretations and associations (Harold Pinter's "The Homecoming")
- Use of intertextuality and subversion of traditional conventions requires audience to navigate and make connections between multiple texts and discourses
Reflecting postmodern skepticism and multiplicity
- The audience's role in creating meaning reflects broader postmodern skepticism towards grand narratives and belief in the multiplicity and subjectivity of truth and meaning
- Postmodern theatre seeks to democratize the interpretive process and challenge traditional notions of authorial control and intention
- Encourages a plurality of interpretations and highlights the inherent subjectivity of the theatrical experience
- Discussing the audience's role sheds light on how postmodern theatre aims to empower viewers as co-creators of meaning and challenges hierarchical relationships between playwright, text, and audience
Key Terms to Review (14)
Absurdism: Absurdism is a philosophical concept and artistic movement that highlights the inherent meaninglessness and irrationality of human existence, often portraying the struggle to find meaning in a chaotic and indifferent universe. This perspective is reflected in various works of literature and theatre, where characters confront absurd situations and existential dilemmas, revealing the futility of their efforts to impose order on their lives.
Cultural criticism: Cultural criticism is an analytical approach that examines cultural artifacts, practices, and beliefs to understand their social, political, and historical contexts. It focuses on the ways culture influences and is influenced by power dynamics, ideology, and identity. This type of criticism often challenges dominant narratives and highlights marginalized voices, making it relevant in discussions about representation and meaning in various forms of art, including dramatic texts.
Deconstruction: Deconstruction is a critical approach that seeks to unravel and analyze the inherent contradictions within texts and systems of thought, emphasizing how meaning is constructed and deconstructed through language. This method often challenges established norms and truths, leading to new interpretations and insights. By questioning the stability of meaning, it connects deeply with various forms of theatre that embrace fragmentation, intertextuality, and non-linear narratives.
Fragmentation: Fragmentation refers to the disconnection and disjointedness that arises in modern and postmodern works, where narratives and structures are broken into pieces rather than presented in a linear fashion. This concept is significant in understanding the complexities of identity, reality, and representation in both modernist and postmodernist theatre.
Intertextual reference: An intertextual reference is a relationship between texts where one text influences, echoes, or responds to another, creating layers of meaning through their interconnectedness. This concept emphasizes that no text exists in isolation; rather, all texts are part of a broader cultural and literary conversation, allowing audiences to draw connections and interpretations based on familiar narratives or themes.
Intertextuality: Intertextuality refers to the relationship between texts and how they reference, echo, or draw from one another. This concept highlights the way in which a work is shaped by and contributes to a web of existing texts, creating layers of meaning that can enrich the audience's understanding. In theatre, intertextuality plays a vital role in postmodern works where the blending of various sources and styles challenges traditional narratives and conventions.
Jacques Derrida: Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher best known for developing deconstruction, a critical approach that challenges the assumptions behind traditional interpretations of texts and meaning. His ideas significantly influenced various fields, including literary theory and philosophy, by emphasizing the complexity and fluidity of meaning, which aligns with the transition from Modernism to Postmodernism and explores how texts interact with one another.
Julia Kristeva: Julia Kristeva is a Bulgarian-French philosopher, psychoanalyst, and literary critic known for her work in feminist theory, semiotics, and intertextuality. Her theories challenge traditional notions of authorship and meaning in texts, arguing that texts are not isolated works but part of a larger network of meanings and cultural references, which ties into concepts like deconstruction and intertextuality.
Non-linear narrative: A non-linear narrative is a storytelling technique in which events are presented out of chronological order, allowing for a more complex and layered understanding of the plot and characters. This approach contrasts with traditional linear narratives, enabling deeper exploration of themes and emotional experiences by shifting perspectives and timelines.
Pastiche: Pastiche is an artistic work that imitates the style or character of another work, often as a form of homage or celebration. In the context of modern and postmodern theatre, pastiche serves as a way for playwrights and directors to blend different styles, genres, and cultural references, creating a collage that reflects the fragmented nature of contemporary society.
Poststructuralism: Poststructuralism is a critical theory that emerged in the mid-20th century, challenging the idea that language and meaning can be fixed or absolute. Instead, it emphasizes the fluidity of meaning and how interpretation is shaped by context, culture, and individual perspectives. This approach is vital in understanding how texts can be deconstructed and reinterpreted, leading to rich intertextual connections in dramatic works.
Reader-response theory: Reader-response theory is a literary theory that emphasizes the reader's role in creating the meaning of a text, suggesting that the reader's personal experiences, emotions, and interpretations are essential to understanding a work. This approach shifts the focus from the author's intentions or the text itself to the active engagement of the reader, allowing for multiple interpretations and meanings based on individual perspectives.
The Wooster Group: The Wooster Group is an experimental theater company based in New York City, known for its innovative and avant-garde approach to performance. They often blend multimedia elements with traditional theater, creating a unique style that challenges audience perceptions and expectations. This company plays a significant role in shaping modern theatrical practices, especially in relation to postmodern concepts and the integration of technology in performances.
Waiting for Godot: Waiting for Godot is a seminal play by Samuel Beckett that epitomizes the Absurdist movement, showcasing two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, who wait for someone named Godot who never arrives. The play highlights themes of existentialism, the search for meaning in an indifferent universe, and the nature of time and human existence, resonating deeply with both modernist and postmodernist ideas.