Elegy, Mythology and the Sublime in Michael Cook's Colour the Flesh the Colour of Dust

• Published in: Theatre Research in Canada
• Main Author: Walker, Craig Stewart
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Graduate Centre for the Study of Drama, University of Toronto 1994
• Subjects: Canada; Newfoundland; Terre-Neuve
• Online Access: http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1062406ar; https://doi.org/10.7202/1062406ar

Michael Cook, one of Canada's most admired playwrights, died in St John's, Newfoundland on July 2, 1994, at the age of 61. This essay, which was written before his death, analyses the poetics of his work in reference to one of his earliest plays. While the political stance of the play is indeterminate, Cook's reimagination of Newfoundland in terms of pastoral elegy, mythology and the romantic sublime creates a compelling vision of the struggle to make something coherent out of the fragmented experience of modernity. Michael Cook, un des dramaturges les plus appréciés au Canada, est mort à St. John's, Terre-Neuve, le 2 juillet 1994, à l'âge de 61 ans. Cet essai, écrit avant sa mort, analyse la poétique de son oeuvre à partir d'une de ces premières pièces. Bien que les positions politiques de la pièce soient indéterminées, Cook réinvente ici Terre-Neuve dans le sens de l'élégie pastorale, de la mythologie et du sublime romantique, ce qui contribue à créer une vision fascinante de la lutte pour rendre cohérente l'expérience fragmentaire de la modernité.