SCLC 2012 Two additional factors lend particular force to Havel’s dramatic compression. On the one hand, he makes uses of the techniques of the Theater of the Absurd, an approach to drama that “provide[s] a new language, new ideas, new approaches, and a new, vitalized philosophy to transform the modes of thought and feeling of the public at large” (Esslin 2001:15). On the other, ‘he creates a unique dramatic persona, Ferdinand Vaněk, who is less of an on-stage character than he is a dramatic principle: he is an empty space onto whom the spectators project their own emotions and insecurities. Combined, these factors comprise the appeal (or apel) component of the plays, the purpose of which is “‘to engage the intellect and the imagination of the spectator in order to force him to agree, disagree, compare, and view a subject matter from various angles’” (Trensky 1978: 105). The impact of Havel’s special kind of dramatic compression will perhaps be better understood as neuroscientists discover more about the functioning of so-called mirror neurons (Iacobini 2008). As I will try to show, Havel’s plays represent absurdist simulations compressed to a human scale. They are, in this regard, like maps that compress a large and richly detailed environment into a useful scale: the audience does not experience them as maps but rather “we experience what the maps make it possible to perceive” (Cook 2010: 26). It is precisely in this sense that Havel’s Vaněk plays mirror a deeper, pre-reflective truth about modern society and thereby provide an appropriate vehicle for Havel’s broader message. While my paper takes literature (Havel’s plays) as the analytic figure with Cognitive Science (blending theory) as the ground, it can also be read as a contribution to research on applying discoveries in neuroscience to theater and performance (see Cook 2010 and Blair 2008). References R. Blair. 2008. The Actor, Image, and Action: Acting and Cognitive Neuroscience. A. Cook. 2010. Shakespearan Neuroplay. M. Esslin. 2001. The Theatre of the Absurd. G. Fauconnier and M. Turner. 2003. The Way We Think: Conceptual Blending and the Mind’s Hidden Complexities. M. Goetz-Stankiewicz (ed). 1987. The Vaněk Plays. M. Iacobini. 2008. Mirroring People: The Science of Empathy and How We Connect with Other People. P. Trensky. 1978. Czech Drama Since World War II.
Stephen Dickey University of Kansas Perfectivizing Prefixation and Verbs of Motion in the History of Slavic German, Lithuanian, and Slavic (Russian is taken as representative) all allow prefixed telic/perfective verbs with a prospective or future meaning: (1)
a. b. c.
Ich trinke mein Bier aus und gehe. (German) Išgeriu alų ir einu. (Lithuanian) Ja vyp'ju pivo i pojdu. (Russian) ‘I out.drink my beer and go.’
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