Data di Pubblicazione:
2010
Abstract:
ABSTRACT. In the Thirties, many European artists and intellectuals, who were trying to make
sense of their art, under the constant threat of Nazi-fascist violence, eventually decided to leave
their homeland for the United States. When the English poet and dramatist, Wystan Hugh Auden,
moved to the States for good, in 1939, he had to confront the European values and the traumatic
historical situation he had just left behind with a totally new way of life. Auden’s operetta Paul
Bunyan, staged for the first time in New York, in 1941, testifies to this attempt at scrutinizing the
new American cultural context through the lenses of an English intellectual, who was clearly both
fascinated and somewhat puzzled by what the American Dream meant to Europe, especially to
left-wing intellectuals. The image of Paul Bunyan, the giant logger of American folklore, is at the
core of the operetta, which explores the birth of ‘civilization’, by enriching the myth of the giant
logger—naïve, strong, stubborn, and innocent—with further meanings and implications directly
drawn from the tragic experiences of Nazism and Fascism in Europe.
sense of their art, under the constant threat of Nazi-fascist violence, eventually decided to leave
their homeland for the United States. When the English poet and dramatist, Wystan Hugh Auden,
moved to the States for good, in 1939, he had to confront the European values and the traumatic
historical situation he had just left behind with a totally new way of life. Auden’s operetta Paul
Bunyan, staged for the first time in New York, in 1941, testifies to this attempt at scrutinizing the
new American cultural context through the lenses of an English intellectual, who was clearly both
fascinated and somewhat puzzled by what the American Dream meant to Europe, especially to
left-wing intellectuals. The image of Paul Bunyan, the giant logger of American folklore, is at the
core of the operetta, which explores the birth of ‘civilization’, by enriching the myth of the giant
logger—naïve, strong, stubborn, and innocent—with further meanings and implications directly
drawn from the tragic experiences of Nazism and Fascism in Europe.
Tipologia CRIS:
4.1 Contributo in Atti di convegno
Keywords:
American civilization and European values; nazi-fascism threat; Audenian dramatic production; operetta; American folklore; English expatriates
Elenco autori:
DE CHIARA, Marina
Link alla scheda completa:
Titolo del libro:
Translating America. Importing, Translating, Misrepresenting, Mythicizing, Communicating America, pp. 774 (270 Kb)