Symbolism in Theatre

Symbolism

the first artistic movement to reject representationalism was symbolism, launched in 1885. It denied the claims made by realists that ultimate truth is to be discovered through the five senses, arguing instead thattruth is beyond objective examination. becausw it can be only intuited, it cannot be expressed directly or through wholly wholly rational means; truth can be only hinted at through network of symbols that evokes feelings and states of mind corresponding imprecisely to our intuitions. Maurice Meaterlinck, aauthor of Pelleas and Melisande, the best known of all the symbolist plays, worte that the most important element of great drama is the "Idea which the poet forms of unknown in which float about the beings and things which he evokes, the mystery which dominates them."

Unlike the realist, the symbolists chose their subjects from the past, the realm of fancy, or the mysterious present and avoided any attemt to deal with social problems or environmental forces.

they aimed to suggest universal truth independent of time and place that cannot be logically defined or rationally expressed. Thus their deama tended to be vague and mysterious.

Establishedtheatres, finding symbolist drama incomprehensible, were even less inclined to produce it than the works of Ibsen and Zola.

Consequently, the symbolist, like the realist and naturalist, established independent theatres in which to perform their plays. The symbolist believed that the most important aspect of a production is mood or atmosphere. They used little scenery,and even that was vague on form and almost devoide of detail.

they open placed a gauze curtain just back of the proscenium so the actionwould appear to be taking place in a mist or timeless void.