Papers by John Pendergast
Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries, 2019
This chapter considers Shaw’s Joan of Arc play and considers how all the works discussed in the b... more This chapter considers Shaw’s Joan of Arc play and considers how all the works discussed in the book compare to Schiller’s original conception. Following Joan’s canonization in 1920, Shaw’s Saint Joan recasts her in a new dramatic mold. Shaw dismisses Schiller and Shakespeare: the former for “beglamored sentimentality”; the latter for inconsistent scurrility. He is either not aware or chooses not to see that much of what he rejects in Schiller’s Idealist Romanticism is based on philosophical principles that are strikingly similar to the tenets of his own philosophy of Creative Evolution and Vitalism. Pendergast asserts that the depictions of Joan in Shakespeare, Schiller, and Shaw reveal almost mystically inevitable parallels with Euripides’s Iphigeneia. Despite his protestations to have been distancing himself as far as possible from Shakespeare and Schiller, an analysis comparing the works and their underlying ideas suggests that Shaw produces a version of Joan that is consistent with the features of Schiller’s Euripidean sublime sanctity.
Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries, 2019
The first chapter consists of three parts. The first part asserts that Schiller bases his depicti... more The first chapter consists of three parts. The first part asserts that Schiller bases his depiction of Joan of Arc in Die Jungfrau von Orleans (“The Maid of Orleans”) on the image of Iphigeneia in Euripides’s plays Iphigeneia Among the Taurians and Iphigeneia in Aulis. Iphigeneia decides to sacrifice herself for her country, a singular act of personal sacrifice corresponding to two of the qualities Schiller ascribes to Joan of Arc: She is sublime, a state attained only by extraordinary suffering, and she exudes sanctity, an extreme individuality of will. The author then explores depictions of Joan of Arc in Shakespeare’s Henry VI, pt I, where she is presented as a wily but doomed sorceress, and Voltaire’s La pucelle d’Orleans, in which she is an ignorant stable girl. The author argues that Schiller’s aim was to supplant these popular images, in the manner of a scribe writing over a used palimpsest, with that of his Joan of Arc, whose sublime sanctity transforms her from victim of fate to warrior-prophet, changing history by sheer force of will.
Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries, 2019
This chapter considers the opera Verdi wrote based on Schiller's Jungfrau von Orleans: Giovanna d... more This chapter considers the opera Verdi wrote based on Schiller's Jungfrau von Orleans: Giovanna d'Arco. Given so many composers' penchant for making operas out of the German playwright's work, it is striking to consider that, like this one, none of them is in German. Rossini gives us Schiller's Wilhelm Tell in French as Guillaume Tell, Donizetti's tragic soprano's name is Maria Stuarda, while Tchaikovsky's version of Joan sings in Russian. 1 Verdi's four Schillerian operas alternate between Italian and French. The discussion here pursues two related questions. What prevented Germans from making Schiller's plays into operas, and what were the results when a non-German like Verdi created operas out of Schiller's plays, and especially out of Jungfrau? An argument emerges to suggest that opera libretti based on Schiller's plays expose moments of tension between the passing of the Baroque and Classical operatic traditions and the emergence of the Romantic. Schiller's admiration for operatic composers, such as Gluck, 2 seems to have inspired him to incorporate operatic elements in his plays, especially Jungfrau. On the one hand, perhaps his blending of Baroque and Classical features into Romantic tragedy contributed to his German contemporaries' reluctance to make his plays into operas. In Italy and elsewhere, on the other hand, this blend captured the attention of eminent librettists and composers. Rossini's Guillaume Tell, Donizetti's Maria Stuarda, and Verdi's Don Carlo can be found on the stages of opera houses all over the world to this day. In contrast to its composer's other brilliant and enduringly CHAPTER 3
Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries, 2019
This chapter explores the process by which Schiller created his Joan of Arc play, examining drama... more This chapter explores the process by which Schiller created his Joan of Arc play, examining dramatic works that led up to it, such as Don Carlos and Maria Stuart, as well as the philosophical works, such as Naive and Sentimental Poetry, On the Sublime, and On the Aesthetic Education of Man, all of which contributed to his notion of “sublime sanctity.” Along with these ideas, Pendergast demonstrates that Schiller incorporates Ancient Greek dramatic principles in creating his characters, such as the eidolon represented by the Black Knight, and the notion of the “sympathetic villain” represented by Talbot. Inspired by Euripides, Schiller introduces romance, paternal betrayal, and a rescue almost worthy of a deus ex machina. In Schiller’s alternate version, the enemy soldier who captured her in history becomes the object of her captivated gaze, and instead of being burned as a witch, she dies on the battlefield in sublime sanctity.
The author argues that the experience most pivotal to the creation of Tchaikovsky's opera... more The author argues that the experience most pivotal to the creation of Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin was the composer's decision to marry, despite the fact that he was homosexual. In Tatiana, Tchaikovsky found a heroine whom he would have liked to reproduce in his own life and marriage. In Onegin, he saw the essence of worldly cynicism that would forestall any possibility of such happiness. This paper examines in detail how Tchaikovsky manipulates Pushkin’s text in the creation of his libretto to point out and emphasize the homoerotic tension between Onegin and Lensky that partly explains Onegin’s initial rejection of Tatiana. He elevates Tatiana’s commitment to her marriage to underscore his own faith in the simultaneously powerful and terrible bonds of matrimony.
Bulgakov and Tchaikovsky: Themes and Variations References to Tchaikovskyís works in Bulgakovís w... more Bulgakov and Tchaikovsky: Themes and Variations References to Tchaikovskyís works in Bulgakovís writing function without explanation and somewhat surreptitiously as both signifiers of the writerís antipathy toward the nascent communist regime and as hermeneutic devices. They reveal the authorís ambivalence toward the characters and the works themselves, such as The White Guard, ìA Dogís Heartî and The Master and Margarita. Failure to interpret these enigmatic signposts may present no obstacle to understanding the plot, but unlocking the puzzle signified by their presence offers a much richer appreciation for the conflicts and dilemmas confronting the characters. The reader unfamiliar with Tchaikovsky may skim over musical references in these three works as merely atmospheric. This article posits that such a reader gains an impression very different from that which arises upon consideration of the musical and thematic associations. This consideration provides not only a deeper appreciation of the works, but reveals the extent to which Bulgakov himself was of two minds in his relation to them.
At the dawn of the nineteenth century, Friedrich Schiller reinvented the image of Joan of Arc in ... more At the dawn of the nineteenth century, Friedrich Schiller reinvented the image of Joan of Arc in his play, Die Jungfrau von Orleans, with consequences that affected theatrical representations of Joan for the rest of that century and well into the twentieth. Regarding representations of Joan of Arc to be found in Shakespeare or Voltaire as unworthy of her nobility, Schiller set out to create a more powerful character who suffers at the hands of fate but changes history by sheer force of will. He took as his allegorical model the characterization of Iphigenia made famous by Euripides in Iphigenia among the Taurians and Iphigenia in Aulis, in which the ancient Greek tragedian transformed his heroine from a pitiable victim of fate into a fearsome priestess with the power to reverse a familial curse and unite a nation at war. Schiller was equally bold with the historical facts of Joan of Arc's life. Inspired by Euripides, he introduced romance, paternal betrayal, and a rescue almost worthy of a deus ex machina. In Schiller's alternate version, the enemy soldier who captured her in history becomes the object of her captivated gaze. In place of condemnation by the church, she finds herself denounced by her v own father. Instead of burning at the stake, she experiences a glowing vision of the heavens as she dies in the glory of battle. The effect was electric, and his play's enormous (albeit shortlived) popularity gave rise to numerous subsequent treatments, including a translation into Russian by Zhukovsky, an opera by Verdi, and an opera by Tchaikovsky. This dissertation examines the literary and aesthetic context in which Schiller created his drama and proposes several reasons for its notoriously ahistorical character. The fundamental, guiding concept here is "sublime sanctity," which I plan to argue is the product of Schiller's appropriation of Euripides' themes into his play. Sublime sanctity, as I plan to show, is the essential quality in Schiller's depiction of Joan, an idea that seizes the willing spectator and enables the play to achieve its intended force. I plan to argue, moreover, that subsequent versions only achieve their force by retaining key salient qualities that Schiller's Joan shares with Euripides' Iphigenia. Without them, these versions must fail; with them, audiences may be introduced to sublime sanctity itself, irrespective of their aesthetic dispositions. After establishing the ideas and principles underpinning sublime sanctity, the investigation will proceed chronologically, with an examination of other manifestations of Joan of Arc, primarily in the theater, either tracing their provenance directly to Schiller or, in the case of Shaw's Saint Joan, bearing a high degree of affinity with his creation. The discussion will return often to the fluctuating distinctions between classicism and romanticism, idealism and realism, philosophy and history, and the impact produced by these ideas on the creative artists, their works, and their audiences. I will attempt to account for the enduring appealor just as often the lack thereofof the various plays and operas on the basis of these ideas throughout the nineteenth century across Europe. I plan to consider these ideas more as reflections of the circumstances in which the works were created than as the basis for assessing their dramatic impact. Ultimately, this dissertation contends that vi the dramatic value of each of the theatrical incarnations of Joan of Arc under discussion must be judged by the degree to which the various authors and composers preserve the salient elements of sublime sanctity and create an atmosphere for the audience to respond to it. vii Acknowledgements Why Joan? Numerous intersections between the popular conception of Joan of Arc, especially the ideas and symbols depicted in Schiller's play about her, and the details of my own life explain my choice of this topic. One of my sisters is named Joan, and as a pious little Catholic girl, Joan of Arc was a natural hero for her growing up. She dressed up as Joan of Arc when we were little, and I was very jealous of the sword, shield, and banner my mother made for her. A cousin named Joanne, the variation of Joan, has been fascinated by Joan of Arc all her life, as well. To them I dedicate my work in gratitude for sharing their sincere feeling for Joan, a connection of blood and heart. As Schiller says of Joan: "Dich schuf das Herz" ("You were made by heart"). Through the entire doctoral process, my partner João Forte, my daughters Tasha and Ali, my other sister Helen, my brother Patrick, my mother Catherine and my extended family have shown enormous patience, understanding, and support, without which I would never have found the heart to complete this dissertation. To them I say: obrigado, спасибо, Danke, and thank you! I have taught at the United States Military Academy, West Point, since 2002, and images related to Schiller's depiction of Joan abound there, as well. The most prominent is displayed on a
Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries, 2019
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries, 2019
Bulgakov and Tchaikovsky: Themes and Variations References to Tchaikovskyís works in Bulgakovís w... more Bulgakov and Tchaikovsky: Themes and Variations References to Tchaikovskyís works in Bulgakovís writing function without explanation and somewhat surreptitiously as both signifiers of the writerís antipathy toward the nascent communist regime and as hermeneutic devices. They reveal the authorís ambivalence toward the characters and the works themselves, such as The White Guard, ìA Dogís Heartî and The Master and Margarita. Failure to interpret these enigmatic signposts may present no obstacle to understanding the plot, but unlocking the puzzle signified by their presence offers a much richer appreciation for the conflicts and dilemmas confronting the characters. The reader unfamiliar with Tchaikovsky may skim over musical references in these three works as merely atmospheric. This article posits that such a reader gains an impression very different from that which arises upon consideration of the musical and thematic associations. This consideration provides not only a deeper appreciation of the works, but reveals the extent to which Bulgakov himself was of two minds in his relation to them.
Joan of Arc on the Stage and Her Sisters in Sublime Sanctity, 2019
This chapter considers Shaw’s Joan of Arc play and considers how all the works discussed in the b... more This chapter considers Shaw’s Joan of Arc play and considers how all the works discussed in the book compare to Schiller’s original conception. Following Joan’s canonization in 1920, Shaw’s Saint Joan recasts her in a new dramatic mold. Shaw dismisses Schiller and Shakespeare: the former for “beglamored sentimentality”; the latter for inconsistent scurrility. He is either not aware or chooses not to see that much of what he rejects in Schiller’s Idealist Romanticism is based on philosophical principles that are strikingly similar to the tenets of his own philosophy of Creative Evolution and Vitalism. Pendergast asserts that the depictions of Joan in Shakespeare, Schiller, and Shaw reveal almost mystically inevitable parallels with Euripides’s Iphigeneia. Despite his protestations to have been distancing himself as far as possible from Shakespeare and Schiller, an analysis comparing the works and their underlying ideas suggests that Shaw produces a version of Joan that is consistent ...
Sisters in Sublime Sanctity: Schiller’s Jungfrau, Euripides’s Iphigenia Plays, and Joan of Arc on... more Sisters in Sublime Sanctity: Schiller’s Jungfrau, Euripides’s Iphigenia Plays, and Joan of Arc on the Stage
The first chapter consists of three parts. The first part asserts that Schiller bases his depicti... more The first chapter consists of three parts. The first part asserts that Schiller bases his depiction of Joan of Arc in Die Jungfrau von Orleans (“The Maid of Orleans”) on the image of Iphigeneia in Euripides’s plays Iphigeneia Among the Taurians and Iphigeneia in Aulis. Iphigeneia decides to sacrifice herself for her country, a singular act of personal sacrifice corresponding to two of the qualities Schiller ascribes to Joan of Arc: She is sublime, a state attained only by extraordinary suffering, and she exudes sanctity, an extreme individuality of will. The author then explores depictions of Joan of Arc in Shakespeare’s Henry VI, pt I, where she is presented as a wily but doomed sorceress, and Voltaire’s La pucelle d’Orleans, in which she is an ignorant stable girl. The author argues that Schiller’s aim was to supplant these popular images, in the manner of a scribe writing over a used palimpsest, with that of his Joan of Arc, whose sublime sanctity transforms her from victim of fa...
This chapter consists of two parts. The first part examines the translation of Jungfrau into Russ... more This chapter consists of two parts. The first part examines the translation of Jungfrau into Russian by Vasily Zhukovsky, the father of Russian romanticism. Orleanskaya deva (“The Maid of Orleans”) was never allowed to be performed but was nonetheless extremely influential to a generation of Russian poets and critics. A study of his other translations of Schiller poems and ballads reveals that he consistently prefers an elegiac tone to Schiller’s heroic one and, heightening the explicitly religious content and using words derived from Old Church Slavonic, he significantly alters and diminishes the pantheistic, Ancient Greek quality that Schiller crafted so carefully for his play. The second part explores the genesis of the eponymous opera Tchaikovsky devises from Zhukovsky’s play, for which he served as his own librettist. Compounding the effect of the alterations already inherent in the translation, Tchaikovsky has others of his compositions still very much in mind as he works, inc...
is a transliteration variant; the modified Library of Congress (mod LC) transliteration is "Onegi... more is a transliteration variant; the modified Library of Congress (mod LC) transliteration is "Onegin;" similarly, mod LC of "Poushkin" is "Pushkin." * This term refers to a musical score that has been "reduced" from a full orchestral notation to one containing only the voices and piano accompaniment.
Joan of Arc on the Stage and Her Sisters in Sublime Sanctity
This chapter explores the process by which Schiller created his Joan of Arc play, examining drama... more This chapter explores the process by which Schiller created his Joan of Arc play, examining dramatic works that led up to it, such as Don Carlos and Maria Stuart, as well as the philosophical works, such as Naive and Sentimental Poetry, On the Sublime, and On the Aesthetic Education of Man, all of which contributed to his notion of “sublime sanctity.” Along with these ideas, Pendergast demonstrates that Schiller incorporates Ancient Greek dramatic principles in creating his characters, such as the eidolon represented by the Black Knight, and the notion of the “sympathetic villain” represented by Talbot. Inspired by Euripides, Schiller introduces romance, paternal betrayal, and a rescue almost worthy of a deus ex machina. In Schiller’s alternate version, the enemy soldier who captured her in history becomes the object of her captivated gaze, and instead of being burned as a witch, she dies on the battlefield in sublime sanctity.
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Papers by John Pendergast