デウス・エクス・マキーナ
スポンサーリンク
概要
- 論文の詳細を見る
In the later Greek tragedy, when the tragic situation became so involved that the solution of the difficulty couldn't be found in the situation itself, a god was brought on the stage to cut the knot. As the god appeared on the machine, it was called Deus ex machina. Hence, the term has been used to blame the poverty of the technique at play-writing. But I think we can observe some positive effects in the use of Deus ex machina. The characteristic of Deus ex machina lies in the absolute power over both the dramatic situation and the audience. However unnatural we may feel about the appearance of it, if it once appears before us we can never neglect its existence and the power. The writer, conscious of the quality, can use Deus ex machina as the mirror to reflect the difficulty of the situation or the messenger to convey the high ideals beyond the human conflict. As the best examples of it, we can show two classical tragedies : Euripides' Orestes and Sophocles' Philoctetes. And these positive functions seem well worth exercising also in modern drama.
- 美学会の論文
- 1962-12-30