« l’écriture des nuages !… » Song & Dance in Féerie pour une autre fois I by Louis Ferdinand Céline

                                                         Illustration de la Ballade des pendus

                                                       extraits de Testament de Francois Villon. ( 1490)

 « l’écriture des nuages !… »

Song & Dance in Féerie pour une autre fois I

 by Louis Ferdinand Céline

In the following article, I wish to examine the role that song – chanson – and dance – danse, or more to the point ballet, play in Louis Ferdinand Céline’s fourth great novel project ( 1952) Féerie pour une autre fois I  and in parallel how the two literary figures also play out, and which are at the same time intertwined with the concepts of music and dance also, and they are La chanson du Roland, the first great epic text in the French literary tradition ( 11^th century) and whose author remains anonymous, and secondly the figure of Francois Villon, the medieval poet, and whom the French stylist has for so long been associated with. Starting with the title of the novel, we shall first explore Céline’s extraordinary vision of himself and his work in the French literary tradition, and this is the testimonial factor of Céline and which he inherits from Villon and yet which he describes as his work as a chronicler of the human condition. From here, we will move onto prison life, again this is something which Céline shares with Villon, and the very particular genre of prison writing and which French literature is particularly rich in. From Villon and stasis of prison, we will move onto chanson du geste and in particular La chanson du Roland and which Céline evokes explicitly in Féerie pour une autre fois I. This is really the most singular aspect of Céline, the case I will be largely making, how Céline attempts to unite his prose, and explicitly so, with early epic French poetry. Though, what makes him truly unique, I believe, is how he also uses song and dance to create his inimitable style.

 

To begin, Louis Ferdinand Céline ( 1894-1961) was an absolutely extraordinary figure in French 20^th century literature and I can think of no such English speaking author who can compare with him in terms of sheer thematic scope and literary inventiveness, except perhaps James Joyce ( 1882- 1941) and Samuel Beckett ( 1906- 1989). This may seem like a bold claim to make, particularly when, as I write, Céline’s books cannot even be found on the shelves of the book stores in Dublin. Further proof, I would assert, of Céline’s relevance and contemporariness; he was cancelled during his own lifetime and remains, particularly in the English speaking world, a very much misunderstood figure who is hardly read any more. This is a great shame, as he has much to tell us about literature, and ourselves.  

To be continued...!