Antonin Artaud. Antoine Marie Joseph Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (French: [aʁto]; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French playwright, poet, actor, essayist, and theatre director.[1] §Early life[edit] Antoine Artaud was born 4 September 1896 in Marseille, France, to Euphrasie Nalpas and Antoine-Roi Artaud.[2] Both his parents were natives of Smyrna (modern-day İzmir), and he was greatly affected by his Greek ancestry.[2] His mother gave birth to nine children, but only Antonin and one sister survived infancy. When he was four years old, Artaud had a severe case of meningitis, which gave him a nervous, irritable temperament throughout his adolescence. He also suffered from neuralgia, stammering, and severe bouts of clinical depression. [citation needed] Artaud's parents arranged a long series of sanatorium stays for their temperamental son, which were both prolonged and expensive. §Paris[edit] In 1926-28, Artaud ran the Alfred Jarry Theatre, along with Roger Vitrac.
§Final years[edit] Romain Gary. Romain Gary (21 May [O.S. 8 May] 1914 – 2 December 1980), born Romain Kacew, and known by the pen name Émile Ajar, was a French diplomat, novelist, film director and World War II aviator of Litvak origin. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt twice (under his own name and under his pseudonym). Early life[edit] Career[edit] Following the Nazi occupation of France in World War II, he fled to England and under Charles de Gaulle served with the Free French Forces in Europe and North Africa.
As a pilot, he took part in over 25 successful sorties, logging over 65 hours of air time.[8] During this time, he changed his name to Romain Gary. He was greatly decorated for his bravery in the war, receiving many medals and honours, including Compagnon de la Libération and commander of the Légion d'honneur. In 1945 he published his first novel, Education européenne. Literary work[edit] He is the only person to win the Prix Goncourt twice. Personal life and final years[edit] Filmography[edit] Jean Genet. Madame Bovary. Madame Bovary (1856) is the French writer Gustave Flaubert's debut novel. The story focuses on a doctor's wife, Emma Bovary, who has adulterous affairs and lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life.
Though the basic plot is rather simple, even archetypal, the novel's true art lies in its details and hidden patterns. Flaubert was a notorious perfectionist and claimed always to be searching for le mot juste ("the precise word"). Plot synopsis[edit] Madame Bovary takes place in provincial northern France, near the town of Rouen in Normandy. One day, Charles visits a local farm to set the owner's broken leg, and meets his client's daughter, Emma Rouault. At this point, the novel begins to focus on Emma. One day, a rich and rakish landowner, Rodolphe Boulanger, brings a servant to the doctor's office to be bled. When Emma is nearly fully recovered, she and Charles attend the opera, on Charles' insistence, in nearby Rouen.
Characters[edit] Illusions perdues. Illusions perdues was written by the French writer Honoré de Balzac between 1837 and 1843. It consists of three parts, starting in the provinces, thereafter moving to Paris, and finally returning to provincial France. Thus it resembles another of Balzac’s greatest novels, La Rabouilleuse (The Black Sheep), in that it is set partly in Paris and partly in the provinces. It is, however, unique among the novels and short stories of the Comédie humaine by virtue of the even-handedness with which it treats both geographical dimensions of French social life.
Plot summary[edit] Even as Part I of Illusions perdues, Les Deux poètes (The Two Poets), begins, Lucien has already written a historical novel and a sonnet sequence, whereas David is a scientist. Lucien is introduced into the drawing-room of the leading figure of Angoulême high society, Mme de Bargeton, who rapidly becomes infatuated with him. Fundamental themes of the work[edit] The novel has four main themes. Narrative strategies[edit] Les Rougon-Macquart. Influences[edit] Zola, with the book of the Rougon-Macquart under his arm, salutes the statue of Balzac.
Early in his life, Zola discovered the work of Honoré de Balzac and his famous cycle La Comédie humaine. This had a profound impact on Zola, who decided to write his own, unique cycle. However, in 1869, he explained in Différences entre Balzac et moi, why he would not make the same kind of book as Balzac: "In one word, his work wants to be the mirror of the contemporary society.
"The great characteristic of the Rougon-Macquarts, the group or family which I propose to study, is their ravenous appetite, the great outburst of our age which rushes upon enjoyment. Preparations[edit] Letter by Zola to his publisher In a letter to his publisher, Zola stated his goals for the Rougon-Macquart: "1° To study in a family the questions of blood and environments. [...] 2° To study the whole Second Empire, from the coup d'état to nowadays Genealogy and heredity[edit] The study of the Second Empire[edit]