Michel de Ghelderode

Piet Defraeye (University of Alberta)
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Michel de Ghelderode (1898-1962) is a Belgium-born playwright, prose writer, and poet. Influenced and inspired by expressionism, surrealism, and constructivism, his work is now quite dated – though it still elicits occasional attention from theatre makers. De Ghelderode is best known for his plays, which often focus on motifs of religion and death. His work is almost invariably situated in the past, or another time and place than the here and now. This creates a unique universe, quite undefined, though there are clear references to Flanders throughout his writing. What emerges is a dark view of society and of mankind, in which one is doomed to live one’s inescapable fate. It is a world of opportunists, liars, and corrupt rulers, in which false piety, deception, and cruelty prevail.…

4119 words

Citation: Defraeye, Piet. "Michel de Ghelderode". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 August 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12877, accessed 31 October 2024.]

12877 Michel de Ghelderode 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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