Antonin Artaud’s Five Interesting Sayings

Antonin Artaud’s sayings are beautiful.  He studied virtually all fields of literature, although he became famous as a poet and playwright. In fact, Antonin Artaud is known as the creator of the Theater of Cruelty.

It could be said that all works in contemporary theater rely on the philosophy believed by this exceptional French writer. Many of Antonin Artaud’s sayings relate exclusively to theater, but also to other truths of humanity that he discovered during his most difficult moments.

At the age of 4, Antonin Artaud contracted meningitis. When she was 9 years old, her sister died suddenly, giving birth to a process of grief in her that she could not fully get through. It was perhaps one of those extremely difficult experiences that led him to become such a profound writer. Let’s look at some of Antonin Artaud’s best sayings.

1. What is life all about?

This is one of Antonin Artaud’s most beautiful sayings. He connects life with its inherent essential indifference. We are all born ignorant, knowing almost nothing, and we die by answering only some of the questions we have in mind.

Artaud does not refer to indifference from an intellectual point of view. That’s why he uses the word “burning”. He describes the unknown with a burning flame. We don’t know exactly where we’re coming from, where we’re going or why we’re here.

2. The purpose of real theater

This saying expresses how Artaud felt about the theater. He always said that words are unnecessary because there were other more effective ways to talk about a person’s feelings and thoughts. One of them was theater.

He loved theater and hated movies. He considered the latter to be a “harmful poison,” inherently negative, but not causing serious harm. Antonin Artaud thought theater was the best way to express himself. It was created to teach people the lessons of life about death, suffering, and determination.

3. Being human

Many of Antonin Artaud’s sayings reveal a strong and almost violent spirit. The illness of his childhood made him a really nervous individual. In fact, because of that, over time, he developed paranoid delusions.

This explains why Artaud spent many years in a psychiatric hospital. In particular, this saying, although expressed in an aggressive way, reveals a real, raw message. People are not only sublime, but they are also prosaic and disgusting.

4. The language of words

Antonin Artaud was very interested in learning more about mystical phenomena. He was truly devoted to religion during his childhood and throughout his youth. Years later, he felt as if he was looking for some new kind of spirituality that led him to live with the Tarahumara community in Mexico.

His special view of life made him very sensitive to the most subtle phenomena. He was fully involved in the activities of the Tarahumara community despite their language barrier. Perhaps this saying refers to the fact that words are just one of many ways to communicate and understand the people around you.

5. Antonin Artaud and the importance of life experiences

Artaud was above all a scholar of human life. After his time in Mexico, he delved into some esoteric topics such as astrology, Tarot interpretation, and numerology. His obsession with these topics once again led him to a state of extreme nervousness.

In 1938, he was taken from Ireland to France because he “crossed the boundaries of marginality”. He spent nine years in a psychiatric hospital. He suffered a lot during these years. All of these experiences reinforced his hatred of psychiatry.

Antonin Artaud died in 1943 after undergoing several electrotherapy treatments that destroyed him both physically and mentally. Thanks to his friends, he was able to spend the last three years of his life outside of mental health facilities.