Description
In his seminal study 'Kazantzakis: Politics of the Spirit', Peter Bien claims that '[it is not] easy to understand how a work as detached as Kouros could have been written at a time when Kazantzakis was still so anguished regarding the Greek civil war' (2007:356). Bien emphasises the role of this theatrical work as a form of 'political and personal wish-fulfilment' (2007:358) for Kazantzakis, and seems to suggest that the play is ultimately operating on a level removed from actual political activism. However, I would argue that, instead, Kazantzakis actively seeks to encourage real, concrete change in the world around him in this play, alerting his audience to the change that must be made through a very conscious use of an Eliotian 'mythical method' and its rupture. Within this paper, I will show how Kazantzakis uses allegory, and the 'mythical method', in Kouros (1951) to encourage his audience to think about their present moment, but does not allow his audience to remain in that allegorical / mythological space. Rather, he forces them out of it within the text, through specific literary technique, breaking free from allegory and myth, which can no longer contain the urgency of the change, and forcing his audience to transform themselves and the world around them, confronting the reality that they face.| Period | 30 May 2025 |
|---|---|
| Event title | The Society for Modern Greek Studies: Graduate Research Colloquium in Modern Greek Studies 2025 |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Reading, United KingdomShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |