The Stoic Comedy of Elizabeth Bishop and Buster Keaton

IF 0.2 2区 文学 0 LITERATURE
ELH Pub Date : 2022-09-01 DOI:10.1353/elh.2022.0028
George A. Potts
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Abstract:Elizabeth Bishop famously asserted in 1964 that poetry “can be cheerful AND profound! – or, how to be grim without groaning,” delineating a form of tragicomic equilibrium which she found embodied by “any of Buster Keaton’s films.” This article explores how Keaton provided Bishop with a model of stoic comedy, one through which she could reimagine worldly tribulation as slapstick poetry. Examining the dramatic monologue “Keaton” alongside “Sandpiper” and other poems, I argue that Bishop’s imaginative investment in slapstick film is most palpable in a recurrent scenario from her poetry, in which a singular figure exists on brinks and limits. In these poems, humor functions as an invitation to read more deeply, while the reserve for which Keaton’s character is famous becomes a self-referential play on Bishop’s own reputation as a reticent poet.
伊丽莎白·毕晓普和巴斯特·基顿的禁欲喜剧
摘要:伊丽莎白·毕晓普在1964年的著名论断是,诗歌“可以是欢快而深刻的!——或者,如何做到冷酷而不呻吟”,描绘了一种悲喜剧的平衡,她发现这种平衡体现在“巴斯特·基顿的任何一部电影”中。本文探讨了基顿如何为毕晓普提供了一种斯多葛喜剧的模式,通过这种模式,她可以将世俗的苦难重新想象为闹剧诗歌。通过对戏剧独白《基顿》(Keaton)、《矶鹞渡》(Sandpiper)和其他诗歌的研究,我认为毕晓普对闹剧电影的富有想象力的投入,在她诗歌中反复出现的场景中最为明显,在这个场景中,一个独特的人物存在于边缘和极限。在这些诗中,幽默的作用是邀请人们更深入地阅读,而基顿这个角色出名的矜持则成为毕晓普作为一个沉默寡言的诗人的名声的自我参照。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
ELH
ELH LITERATURE-
CiteScore
0.60
自引率
0.00%
发文量
30
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