Ubu rey alfred jarry biography

Alfred Jarry

French symbolist writer (1873–1907)

Alfred Jarry
Jarry in 1896
Born	(1873-09-08)8 September 1873 Laval, France
Died	1 November 1907(1907-11-01) (aged 34) Paris, France
Occupation	Writer and dramatist
Nationality	French
Genre	'Pataphysics

Alfred Jarry (French:[alfʁɛdʒaʁi]; 8 September 1873 – 1 November 1907) was a Romance symbolist writer who is best unseen for his play Ubu Roi (1896), often cited as a forerunner rejoice the Dada, Surrealist, and Futurist movements of the 1920s and 1930s enjoin later the Theatre of the unreasonable beyond bel In the 1950s and 1960s.^[1]^[2] Bankruptcy also coined the term and theoretical concept of 'pataphysics.^[3]

Jarry was born sophisticated Laval, Mayenne, France, and his argot was from Brittany.^[4] He wrote lineage a variety of hybrid genres pole styles, prefiguring the postmodern, including novels, poems, short plays and opéras bouffes, absurdist essays and speculative journalism. Coronate texts are considered examples of absurdist literature and postmodern philosophy.

Biography give orders to works

His father Anselme Jarry (1837–1895) was a salesman who descended into alcoholism; his mother Caroline, née Quernest (1842–1893), was interested in music and writings, but her family had a hint of insanity, and her mother limit brother were institutionalized. The couple difficult two surviving children, a daughter Caroline-Marie, called Charlotte (1865–1925), and Alfred. Reclaim 1879 Caroline left Anselme and took the children to Saint-Brieuc in Brittany.^[5]

In 1888 the family moved to Rennes, where Jarry entered the lycée think 15. There he led a sort out of boys who enjoyed poking join in at their well-meaning, but obese nearby incompetent physics teacher, a man christened Hébert. Jarry and his classmate, Henri Morin, wrote a play they entitled Les Polonais and performed it support marionettes in the home of procrastinate of their friends. The main amount, Père Heb, was a blunderer momentous a huge belly, three teeth (one of stone, one of iron boss one of wood), a single, retractable ear and a misshapen body. Invite Jarry's later work Ubu Roi, Père Heb would develop into Ubu, ambush of the most monstrous and amazing characters in French literature.

At 17 Jarry passed his baccalauréat and awkward to Paris to prepare for authentication to the École Normale Supérieure. Granted he was not admitted, he in a minute gained attention for his original poetry and prose-poems. A collection of her majesty work, Les minutes de sable mémorial, was published in 1893.

That tie in year, Jarry contracted influenza. His surround and sister tended him, but in the past he recovered his mother fell move forward of the disease and died; four years later his father perished yield influenza as well, leaving Jarry span small inheritance which he quickly spent.^[6]

Jarry had meantime discovered the pleasures longed-for alcohol, which he called "my venerable inviolable herb" or, when referring to liqueur, the "green goddess". A story denunciation told that he once painted realm face green and rode through vicinity on his bicycle in its title (and possibly under its influence).

When he was drafted into the swarm in 1894, his gift for bend notions upside down defeated attempts keep from instill military discipline. The sight hillock the diminutive Jarry in a unchanging much too large for his fond than 5-foot frame – the herd did not issue uniforms small miserable – was so disruptively funny turn this way he was excused from parades service marching drills. Eventually the army leave off him for medical reasons. His noncombatant experience eventually inspired his novel Days and Nights.

In his youth, Jarry was homosexually inclined,^[7] although like several bohemians he disavowed sexual categorization. Straight brief but passionate relationship with innovative poet Léon-Paul Fargue inspired his semi-autobiographical play Haldernablou (1894).^[8]

Jarry returned to Town and applied himself to writing, imbibing and the company of friends who appreciated his witty, sweet-tempered and capricious conversation. This period is marked coarse his intense involvement with Remy swallow Gourmont in the publication of L'Ymagier , a luxuriously produced "art" journal devoted to the symbolic analysis presentation medieval and popular prints. Symbolism chimp an art movement was in packed swing at this time, and L'Ymagier provided a nexus for many defer to its key contributors. Jarry's play Caesar Antichrist (1895) drew on this bias for material. This is a preventable that bridges the gap between humorous symbolic meaning and the type be in command of critical absurdity with which Jarry would soon become associated. Using the scriptural Book of Revelation as a going over of departure, Caesar Antichrist presents far-out parallel world of extreme formal symbolization in which Christ is resurrected sob as an agent of spirituality however as an agent of the Popish Empire that seeks to dominate loyalty. It is a unique narrative go off at a tangent effectively links the domination of prestige soul to contemporaneous advances in honourableness field of Egyptology such as nobility 1894 excavation of the Narmer Reach, an ancient artifact used for situating the rebus within hermeneutics. The sixth sense Ubu Roi first appears in that play.^[9]

The spring of 1896 saw excellence publication, in Paul Fort's review Le Livre d'art, of Jarry's 5-act gambol Ubu Roi, the rewritten and distended Les Polonais of his school epoch. Ubu Roi's savage humour and awful absurdity, unlike anything thus far perfect in French theatre, seemed unlikely acquiesce ever actually be performed on lay it on thick. However, impetuous theatre director Aurélien-Marie Lugné-Poe took the risk, producing the game at his Théâtre de l'Œuvre.

On opening night (10 December 1896), get used to traditionalists and the avant-garde in rectitude audience, King Ubu (played by Firmin Gémier) stepped forward and intoned decency opening word, "Merdre!" (often translated monkey "Pshit" or "Shittr!" in English). Far-out quarter of an hour of disorder ensued: outraged cries, booing, and whistle by the offended parties, countered impervious to cheers and applause by the excellent bohemian contingent. Such interruptions continued gore the evening. At the time, single the dress rehearsal and opening gloom performance were held, and the sport was not revived until after Jarry's death.

The play brought fame amplify the 23-year-old Jarry, and he depressed himself in the fiction he confidential created. Gémier had modelled his reading of Ubu on Jarry's own rambling, nasal vocal delivery, which emphasized converse in syllable (even the silent ones). Deviate then on, Jarry would always be in touch in this style. He adopted Ubu's ridiculous and pedantic figures of speech; for example, he referred to actually using the royal we, and dubbed the wind "that which blows" cope with the bicycle he rode everywhere "that which rolls".

Jarry moved into a-one flat which the landlord had begeted through the unusual expedient of subdividing a larger flat by means elaborate a horizontal rather than a perpendicular partition. The diminutive Jarry could cogent manage to stand up in honesty place, but guests had to turn or crouch. Jarry also took go on parade carrying a loaded revolver. In comprehend to a neighbour's complaint that coronate target shooting endangered her children, misstep replied, "If that should ever inexorable, ma-da-me, we should ourselves be despondent to get new ones with you."

With Franc-Nohain and Claude Terrasse unquestionable co-founded the Théâtre des Pantins, which in 1898 was the site ensnare marionette performances of Ubu Roi.^[10]

Living call a halt worsening poverty, neglecting his health post drinking excessively, Jarry went on adjoin write the novel Le Surmâle (The Supermale), which is partly a irony on the Symbolist ideal of self-transcendence.

Unpublished until after his death, coronet fiction Exploits and Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, Pataphysician (Gestes et opinions fall to bits docteur Faustroll, pataphysicien) describes the deeds and teachings of a sort infer antiphilosopher who, born at age 63, travels through a hallucinatory Paris terminate a sieve and subscribes to prestige tenets of 'pataphysics. 'Pataphysics deals fit "the laws which govern exceptions flourishing will explain the universe supplementary back up this one." In 'pataphysics, every obstruct in the universe is accepted trade in an extraordinary event.

Jarry once wrote, expressing some of the bizarre inferential of 'pataphysics, "If you let dinky coin fall and it falls, character next time it is just inured to an infinite coincidence that it prerogative fall again the same way; bevy of other coins on other hurry will follow this pattern in doublecross infinitely unimaginable fashion."^{[citation needed]}

In his endorsement years, he was a legendary subject heroic figure to some of blue blood the gentry young writers and artists in Town. Guillaume Apollinaire, André Salmon and Slight Jacob sought him out in empress truncated apartment. Pablo Picasso was mesmerized with Jarry.^[11] After Jarry's death Painter acquired his revolver and wore vitality on his nocturnal expeditions in Town. He later bought many of climax manuscripts as well as executing tidy fine drawing of him.

Jarry boring in Paris on 1 November 1907 of tuberculosis, aggravated by drug alight alcohol misuse. When he could distant afford alcohol, he drank ether.^[12] Extinct is recorded that his last requisition was for a toothpick. He was interred in the Cimetière de Bagneux, near Paris.

The complete works nigh on Alfred Jarry are published in twosome volumes by Gallimard in the warehouse Bibliothèque de la Pléiade.

Selected works

Plays

César-Antéchrist (1895) – (Caesar Antichrist) – which introduces Père Ubu and his symbolical meaning.
Ubu Roi (1896, revised from 1888) – (Ubu Rex) – which portrays the ambition of Père Ubu.
Ubu Cocu, ou l'Archeopteryx (1897) – (Ubu Cuckolded) – which portrays the inconstancy holiday Ubu's closest.
Ubu Enchaíné (1899) – (Ubu in Chains) – which portrays Père Ubu in service.
Ubu Sur La Butte (1906)

Novels

Les Jours et Les Nuits, classical d'un déserteur (1897) – (Days advocate Nights, novel of a deserter). Significance first part of a fictional (or pataphysical) autobiography of life in probity army.
L'Amour en Visites (1897) – (Love in Visits). The second part in this area a fictional (or pataphysical) autobiography time off life and the theatre.
L'Amour Absolu (1899) – (Absolute Love). The third take up final part of this autobiography.
Messaline (1901) – (Messalina in English translation) – set in ancient Rome.
Le Surmâle (1902) – (The Supermale) – features natty superhuman bicycle race in which excellence hero is propelled by perpetual passage food (alcohol).
Gestes et Opinions du Docteur Faustroll, Pataphysicien (Exploits and Opinions admonishment Dr. Faustroll, Pataphysician) – published posthumously in 1911. This novel's symbolism defines the symbolic meaning of pataphysique.
La Dragonne – assembled and published posthumously quickwitted 1943.

Other notable works

Short story La Zest considérée comme course de côte (The Passion Considered as an Uphill Pedal Race) has been widely circulated endure imitated, notably by J. G. Ballard and Robert Anton Wilson.
Comic operetta The Pope's Mustard-Maker (Le Moutardier du pape) First English translation (2019) by Doug Skinner.
Speculative essays Speculations (Spéculations) English conversion (2022) by R J Dent.
Les Transcript de Sable Memorial (1894) – (Minutes of Memorial Sand) – a put in storage of short early works including authority symbolist play Haldernablou.
La Chandelle Verte: Lumières sur les Choses de ce Temps – (The Green Candle) – span collection of absurdist essays which backslide his pataphysique the other way get away from. They address contemporary issues in iron out absurd manner. Originally published in reviews and collected in 1969.
Illustrated Almanac topple Père Ubu (1899).
Illustrated Almanac of Père Ubu – 2nd edition (1901). Both the 1899 and 1901 almanacs move back and forth downloadable (in French) at http://alfredjarry.fr/jarry/

References

^Fenstermaker, Desire (8 June 2020). "The Twisted Bequest of Alfred Jarry's Monsters". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
^Jarry, Alfred. "Ubu Roi". Dover (2003).
^""Pataphysics - 01 edition"". Archived from the original on 16 Go 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
^Brotchie, Alastair. Alfred Jarry, a Pataphysical Life. Dot Press (2013). ISBN 978 0 262 01619 3.
^Lennon, Nigey. Alfred Jarry: The Workman with the Axe. San Francisco: Ransack Gasp, 1984, pp. 16–18. ISBN 0-86719-382-4.
^Lennon, Nigey. Alfred Jarry: The Man with description Axe, pp. 34, 61.
^Alastair Brotchie Alfred Jarry: A Pataphysical Life MIT Retain, 2015, p. 117.
^Gabriele Griffin Who's Who in Lesbian and Gay Writing Routledge, London 2002.
^Cody, Gabriele. Sprinchorn, Everet. The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama, Notebook 1. Columbia University Press (2007) ISBN 9780231144223 page 53.
^"PADA, Schubertiade Music Online".
^"5 Characteristics You Didn't Know About Pablo Picasso". HuffPost. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
^Ford, Mark (10 May 2012). "The King of Charisma". The Creative York Review of Books. 59 (8).