Word: canetti
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Such a sense of frankness is the heart of Elias Canetti's latest play, The Deadlined, a drama which, as the title none-too-subtly implies, explores the limits imposed by man's mortality. And not surprisingly, this very candor is responsible for both the successes and the shortcomings of the play...
...that Canetti's play revolves around death is an understatement. From the characters' names--or more aptly, their numerals--to the dated capsules they wear around their neck as reminders of their limited lifespans, the play focuses relentlessly on the passage of time. And if these tangible elements aren't enough to remind the audience that death is just a footstep away, the characters' conversations--which, at least in the first half, transpire in brief vignettes--are ample evidence of Canetti's preoccupation with his own mortality...
Although the characters in Canetti's imaginary society are obsessed with the knowledge of their fates, they nevertheless demonstrate an ironically casual attitude towards death itself. Though each of the characters talks incessantly about "the moment" or the merits of marrying "a twenty" as opposed to "a forty," no one fears or attempts to delay the inevitable. No one, of course, except Fifty...
...Canetti's treatment of the issue of death itself, by contrast, is less artistically solid. While Canetti unquestionably leaves the audience both pensive and frustrated--even Fifty cannot escape his own mortality--his cumbersome handling of the subject reduces the impact of his message. Most of the early vignettes are repetitious and clumsily crafted, lacking either substantive dramatic power or much-needed comic relief...
...Halldor Lawness in '55' Know any couplets by Giosue Carducci '06 Put 'em o n postcard and send 'em in Or how about recent history. Can you even name a bookstore, which carries two books by Vicent Aleixandre '77' In fact. If you knew anything at all about Elias Canetti '81 before last year and your name isn't Susan Sontag. I'll buy you a beer at Whitney. But what the hell, It's a gargeous day and a bunch of pitultury "All Star" strikers just played patty cake to the tune of 23-22. So here...