Paul Claudel

French playwright, poet, and diplomat. Born on August 6th in a small village in the Aisne department in northern France. Living in Paris since 1882, he was baptized by fin de siècle trends such as positivism and symbolism while studying political science. He first tried his hand at poetry, but in 1886 he was converted after being enlightened by the supernatural life force of Rimbaud's poetry and experiencing the grace of Catholicism. Eventually, influenced by Mallarmé, Wagner, Aeschylus, and Shakespeare in particular, he began writing plays, producing works such as "The Golden Head" (first draft published in 1890) and "The City" (first draft published in 1893). He quickly invented a unique dramatic poetry method that was in tune with breathing, and his dramaturgy of the living symbolic structure of the universe that unites the inside and outside of humans attracted the attention of some experts. He passed the diplomatic examination in 1890, and in 1893, he began his long career as a diplomat in various countries, starting with America. His human, cultural and theatrical experiences in various places were utilized in his works of the second period, such as "Exchange" (first drafted in 1894), "Parting at Noon" (written in 1905), "The Annunciation to Mary" (premiered in 1912), the trilogy "The Hostage" (published in 1911), "Hard Bread" (written in 1914), and "The Abuse of the Priest" (written in 1916), making his dramatic world even more dynamic, objective and concrete. In 1921 (Taisho 10), he was appointed ambassador to Tokyo, experienced the Great Kanto Earthquake, and returned to Japan in 1925. His diplomatic career came to an end after his visits to Washington in 1927 and Brussels in 1933, but he began to write in earnest. In this final period of his life, when he was at his most mature, the scale of his dramas expanded more freely in terms of time and space, and his world truly manifested a total audiovisual chaos. These works include "Satin Shoes," written in Japan, "The Book of Christopher Columbus" (published in 1929), and "Joan of Arc at the Stake" (premiered in 1938; prior to this, it was made into an opera with a composition by Honegger and performed in 1935).

It goes without saying that, like other Catholic writers, Claudel ultimately hears the voice of God and thus brings salvation, but his theatrical achievement lies in the unique dramatization of the conflict between the chaotic, cosmic, earthly human and the transcendental that exists both within and outside of him in the process, which is Catholic yet goes beyond it.

It should be noted that he often revised his earlier manuscripts and rewrote them many times, and that his plays were difficult to stage, so full-scale performances of his plays had to wait until the 1940s, especially after he met Jean-Louis Barrault. He became a member of the Académie Française in 1946, and died in Paris on February 23, 1955.

[Jun Watanabe]

"Claudel's Poems" translated and edited by Isao Yamamoto (1967, Shichosha)" ▽ "World Literature Series 56: Claudel, Valery" translated by Moriaki Watanabe et al. (1976, Chikuma Shobo)" ▽ "Paul Claudel, the World of Dramatic Imagination" by Moriaki Watanabe (1975, Chuokoron-Shinsha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの劇作家、詩人、外交官。8月6日北フランス、エーヌ県の一小村に生まれる。1882年以来パリに住み、政治学を学びながら実証主義、象徴主義など世紀末の諸思潮の洗礼を受け、まず詩作に手をそめたが、86年ランボーの詩とカトリックの恩寵(おんちょう)体験により超自然な生命力を啓示されて回心。やがて、とりわけマラルメやワーグナー、アイスキロスやシェークスピアなどの影響下に、劇作に着手、『黄金の頭(かしら)』（1890初稿・刊）、『都市』（1893初稿・刊）などを発表、早くも呼吸にあわせた独特な劇詩法を編み出し、人間の内と外とを一つにした宇宙の生きた象徴的構造というドラマツルギーが一部識者に注目された。90年外交官試験に合格、93年アメリカを振り出しに長い諸外国での外交官生活が始まるが、それら各地での人間的・文化的・演劇的体験が第二期の諸作『交換』（1894初稿）、『真昼に分かつ』（1905執筆）、『マリアへのお告げ』（1912初演）、三部作『人質』（1911刊）、『硬いパン』（1914執筆）、『凌辱(りょうじょく)された神父』（1916執筆）に生かされて、彼の劇詩的世界はいっそう動的で客観的で具象的になった。1921年（大正10）駐日大使として東京に赴任、関東大震災を体験して25年帰国、27年ワシントン、33年ブリュッセルを最後に外交官生活の幕を閉じるが、文筆活動は本格化する。このもっとも円熟した晩年の総仕上げの時期では、時間・空間的にドラマの規模がさらに自在に広がり、彼の世界はまさしくトータルに視聴覚的なカオスを現出している。日本で執筆された『繻子(しゅす)の靴』を筆頭に、『クリストファー・コロンブスの書』（1929刊）、『火刑台上のジャンヌ・ダルク』（1938初演。なおこれに先だち1935年、オネゲルの作曲でオペラ化、上演）などがそれである。

　クローデルにあっても、カトリック作家の例に漏れず最後には神の声が聞こえ、それによる救いがくることはいうまでもないが、彼の演劇的功績は、そのプロセスにおいて混沌(こんとん)と宇宙的に地上的な人間と、その内外に存在する超越的なものとの対立がユニークに劇化され、カトリック的でありながらも、それを突き抜けているところにある。

　なお、彼はしばしば先だつ稿に手を入れ、何度も書き改めていることと、彼の戯曲は上演がむずかしいため、本格上演は1940年代以降、ことにジャン・ルイ・バローとの出会いを待たなければならなかったことは特記しておきたい。46年からアカデミー・フランセーズ会員となり、55年2月23日パリで没した。

［渡辺　淳］

『山本功訳・編『クローデル詩集』（1967・思潮社）』▽『渡辺守章他訳『世界文学大系56　クローデル　ヴァレリー』（1976・筑摩書房）』▽『渡辺守章著『ポール・クローデル、劇的想像力の世界』（1975・中央公論社）』

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