Film, televize a konceptuální proměny v próze Samuela Becketta z 60. let 20. století

This dissertation examines the impact of Samuel Beckett's close personal and professional engagement with film and television technologies on the form and content of his prose works of the 1960s. It begins by charting Beckett's interest in cinematography and its complex but key role in the development of his aesthetics during the 1930s, the formative and intellectually rich period to which he kept returning throughout his life and writing career. Drawing on letters, unpublished manuscript material, critical and creative writings as well as numerous contemporary resources, the dissertation traces the evolution of Beckett's thinking about the practice and theory of cinema across the decade, including documentary film, montage editing, and the decline of silent black-and-white cinema, and sets this into a context of the wider cultural debates in modernist Europe around the significance of film as an art form. The dissertation then argues that this experience comes to inform his practical encounters with the media of film and television during the 1960s and beyond, starting with Beckett's work on Film in 1963, and considers the ways in which these modes of expression and their specifics in turn prompted creative impulses for the development of an entirely new conception of Beckett's fiction. It does so...Tato disertační práce zkoumá vliv úzké osobní a profesionální angažovanosti Samuela Becketta v práci s filmovými a televizními technologiemi na formu a obsah jeho prozaických děl z 60. let 20. století. Zprvu mapuje Beckettův zájem o kinematografii a její složitou, ale přesto klíčovou roli ve vývoji jeho estetického smýšlení ve 30. letech, což pro něj bylo formativní a intelektuálně bohaté období, k němuž se po celý svůj život a spisovatelskou kariéru vracel. Práce čerpá z korespondence, nepublikovaných rukopisných materiálů, kritických a tvůrčích děl, jakož i z četných dobových zdrojů a s jejich pomocí sleduje proměny Beckettova porozumění filmové teorii a praxi v průběhu tohoto desetiletí. Mimo jiné popisuje jeho názory na dokumentární film, montáž i úpadek němého černobílého filmu, které zasazuje do kontextu širších kulturních debat napříč modernistickou Evropou o významu filmu jako umělecké formy. Disertace dále sleduje vliv těchto zkušeností na Beckettova pozdější praktická setkáni s filmovým a televizním médii, počínaje prací na Filmu v roce 1963, a uvažuje o způsobech, jimiž se tyto technologické formy vyjádření a jejich specifika podílely na rozvoji zcela nového pojetí Beckettovy prózy. Prostřednictvím analýz méně známých spoluprací Becketta se specialisty z oboru nabízí užší náhled na...Department of Anglophone Literatures and CulturesÚstav anglofonních literatur a kulturFaculty of ArtsFilozofická fakult

Something Gone Wrong With the Silence: The Motif of Voice in Samuel Beckett's Embers, Eh Joe and That Time

in English The primary concern of this thesis lies in the investigation of the motif of voice, and its various forms and functions, in three selected plays by Samuel Beckett. One of his lifelong preoccupations, the motif of voice already pervades much of Beckett's early prosaic work finding its more suitable and sophisticated realization in the author's later dramatic works for radio, television and theatre. Throughout the author's entire oeuvre, the motif of voice is called for on many different occasions: voices are engaged in the creation of both characters and the external reality surrounding them; Beckett's narrators are concerned with the voices ceaselessly echoing within their heads; voices represent the characters' memories and past selves becoming, eventually, characters in their own right. Embers, Eh Joe and That Time were deliberately chosen for the investigation of the nature of such a motif on the basis of the correspondence of their contents, as well as of the difference in their realization involving three different media. The introductory chapter foreshadows the origins of the motif of voice in Beckett's non-dramatic texts, as well as it attempts to outline several basic features of the motif in connection to its realization within the dramatist's work. The chapter briefly considers..

Audiovizuální stránka próz Samuela Becketta Company, Ill Seen Ill Said a Worstward Ho

V ČESKÉM JAZYCE Prvotním záměrem této práce je prozkoumat, jakými způsoby do sebe pozdní próza Samuela Becketta přijímá prvky přejaté z médií rádia a filmu, které jsou pro tato média určující. Rozbor textů tvořících Beckettovu románovou trilogii Nohow On je založen na zkoumání dvou způsobů vnímáni, tedy sluchového a zrakového, a uskutečněn pomocí vykladového čtení Company, Ill Seen Ill Said a Worstward Ho v kontextu teorie a praxe médií a filmu. Hlavním předpokladem je, že formální přechody mezi tištěnými a netištěnými médii v Beckettově díle jsou podmíněny autorovým zájmem o rádio, televizi a kinematografii a jeho teoretickou a praktickou obeznámeností s jejich specifiky. Textový rozbor je tak doplněn o biografický a bibliografický rámec a Beckettova znalost vysílacích médií a kinematografie je kladena do souvislosti s progresivní "technologizací" jeho psaní během 80. let. Práce podává obrys počátků a transformací motivu hlasu coby jednoho z hlavních předmětů Beckettova zájmu a v jeho textech zkoumá výpůjčky, ať už praktické či teoretické, z oblasti kinematografie, aby tak osvětlila jejich simulaci pocitového vnímání. Jednotlivé oddíly vycházejí z rané teorie rádia Rudolfa Arnheima, z podrobného rozboru principů sovětské filmové montáže 20. let, jakož i z dalších čistě filmových postupů a...IN ENGLISH The primary concern of this thesis is to explore the instances of incorporation of media-specific elements extracted and translated from radio and cinema into Samuel Beckett's late prose. The analysis of the texts forming Beckett's Nohow On trilogy is based on the investigation of the two modes of perception - the aural and the visual - and is realised through the close reading of Company, Ill Seen Ill Said, and Wostward Ho in the context of media and film theory and practice. The chief premise is that the formal translations among the print and non-print media in Beckett's work are conditioned by the author's interest in, and theoretical and practical familiarity with, radio, television, and cinematography. The discussion is thus supported by biographical and bibliographical framework, and Beckett's familiarity with the specificities of broadcast media and cinema is considered in their direct relation to the progressive 'technologisation' of his fiction of the 1980s. The thesis outlines the origins and transformations of the motif of voice as one of Beckett's chief fictional concerns, and explores the texts' practical and notional borrowings from the field of cinematography to elucidate the way in which they are designed to simulate perceptual experiences. In doing so, the individual...Department of Anglophone Literatures and CulturesÚstav anglofonních literatur a kulturFilozofická fakultaFaculty of Art

Motiv hlasu ve třech vybraných hrách Samuela Becketta: Embers, Eh Joe a That Time

v českém jazyce Tato práce se zabývá analýzou motivu hlasu a jeho rozličnými formami a významy ve třech vybraných hrách Samuela Becketta. Vzhledem k tomu, že je téma slov a především hlasu jedním z autorových celoživotních zájmů, prostupuje tento motiv již jeho raným prozaickým dílem a nachází mnohdy více vyhovující a sofistikované vyjádření až v autorových pozdějších hrách pro rozhlas, televizní vysílání a divadlo. Hlas je vskutku často se vyskytujícím prvkem uplatňovaným v mnoha různých situacích: hlasy se aktivně účastní utváření jak postav, tak vnější reality, jejíž jsou tyto postavy součástí; mnozí z Beckettových vypravěčů jsou sužováni hlasy, které se jim neustále ozývají v hlavách; hlasy také představují vzpomínky a dřívější "já" postav, které se nakonec transformují do velmi svérázné a samostatné postavy. Hry Embers, Eh Joe a That Time byly záměrně zvoleny pro rozbor motivu hlasu jak na základě jejich tématické podoby, tak i pro různorodost jejich realizace prostřednictvím tří různých médií. Úvodní kapitola nastiňuje původ tématu hlasu v Beckettově nedramatickém díle a pokouší se zhruba vytyčit několik základních rysů tohoto motivu s ohledem na jeho uplatnění v autorových pozdějších dramatických hrách. Kapitola se krátce věnuje roli jazyka - a jeho auditivního protějšku - v souladu s jeho...in English The primary concern of this thesis lies in the investigation of the motif of voice, and its various forms and functions, in three selected plays by Samuel Beckett. One of his lifelong preoccupations, the motif of voice already pervades much of Beckett's early prosaic work finding its more suitable and sophisticated realization in the author's later dramatic works for radio, television and theatre. Throughout the author's entire oeuvre, the motif of voice is called for on many different occasions: voices are engaged in the creation of both characters and the external reality surrounding them; Beckett's narrators are concerned with the voices ceaselessly echoing within their heads; voices represent the characters' memories and past selves becoming, eventually, characters in their own right. Embers, Eh Joe and That Time were deliberately chosen for the investigation of the nature of such a motif on the basis of the correspondence of their contents, as well as of the difference in their realization involving three different media. The introductory chapter foreshadows the origins of the motif of voice in Beckett's non-dramatic texts, as well as it attempts to outline several basic features of the motif in connection to its realization within the dramatist's work. The chapter briefly considers...Department of Anglophone Literatures and CulturesÚstav anglofonních literatur a kulturFaculty of ArtsFilozofická fakult

Saying Seen Again: Audio-Visual Aspects of Samuel Beckett's Company, Ill Seen Ill Said, and Worstward Ho

IN ENGLISH The primary concern of this thesis is to explore the instances of incorporation of media-specific elements extracted and translated from radio and cinema into Samuel Beckett's late prose. The analysis of the texts forming Beckett's Nohow On trilogy is based on the investigation of the two modes of perception - the aural and the visual - and is realised through the close reading of Company, Ill Seen Ill Said, and Wostward Ho in the context of media and film theory and practice. The chief premise is that the formal translations among the print and non-print media in Beckett's work are conditioned by the author's interest in, and theoretical and practical familiarity with, radio, television, and cinematography. The discussion is thus supported by biographical and bibliographical framework, and Beckett's familiarity with the specificities of broadcast media and cinema is considered in their direct relation to the progressive 'technologisation' of his fiction of the 1980s. The thesis outlines the origins and transformations of the motif of voice as one of Beckett's chief fictional concerns, and explores the texts' practical and notional borrowings from the field of cinematography to elucidate the way in which they are designed to simulate perceptual experiences. In doing so, the individual..

Samuel Beckett's 'The North'

This essay closely inspects the manuscript cluster relating to The North (held by the Beckett International Foundation, University of Reading) to provide insight into Beckett's collaboration with Enitharmon Press and its publisher, Alan Clodd, on an eponymous livre d'artiste illustrated with three etchings by Avikdor Arikha. It outlines the intricate publication details of a short excerpt from (then unfinished) Le Dépeupleur, which was the first part of the late prose text to be translated by Beckett into English. With the help of Beckett's published and unpublished correspondence with Clodd, Arikha, and Barbara Bray in particular, the essay traces the translation process of both The North and what was to become The Lost Ones. Extending over several months, the translation of the short novel gave Beckett considerable trouble and, as appears from his letters to Bray, her involvement in it was tangible. Beckett's linguistic choices surrounding the image of a crouching woman at the centre of this limited-edition artist's book and the English title of the master text, The Lost Ones, are also considered in relation to other art forms, namely Auguste Rodin's Dante-inspired La porte de l'enfer and the statue extracted from it, La femme accroupie. In addition to that, the publication particulars of the Calder & Boyars edition of The Lost Ones (1972) are discussed in parallel to those of Clodd's The North (1973), unearthing the differences between the two translations as well as contractual obligations that shaped them

Cinema, Television and Conceptual Transmutations in Samuel Beckett's 1960s Prose

This dissertation examines the impact of Samuel Beckett's close personal and professional engagement with film and television technologies on the form and content of his prose works of the 1960s. It begins by charting Beckett's interest in cinematography and its complex but key role in the development of his aesthetics during the 1930s, the formative and intellectually rich period to which he kept returning throughout his life and writing career. Drawing on letters, unpublished manuscript material, critical and creative writings as well as numerous contemporary resources, the dissertation traces the evolution of Beckett's thinking about the practice and theory of cinema across the decade, including documentary film, montage editing, and the decline of silent black-and-white cinema, and sets this into a context of the wider cultural debates in modernist Europe around the significance of film as an art form. The dissertation then argues that this experience comes to inform his practical encounters with the media of film and television during the 1960s and beyond, starting with Beckett's work on Film in 1963, and considers the ways in which these modes of expression and their specifics in turn prompted creative impulses for the development of an entirely new conception of Beckett's fiction. It does so..