2 - Kleistian Teichoscopy: Cannibalism Made Palatable — or Not

Summary

“Then I knew I loved her so much I wanted to kill her.”

“What did they call such young people in Goethe's Germany?”

— Jack Kerouac, On the Road

“They're nice to have. A dog.”

— F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

“Cui labella mordebis?”

— Catullus, Carm. VIII

TEICHOSCOPY IS A DRAMATIC DEVICE that facilitates the depiction of an offstage event by means of simultaneous onstage action. Most often a character stands on a hill or ascends a tower and reports actions out of view of the other dramatis personae and the audience. Sometimes the observer peers over or through a wall; hence the Greek root of the word (teixos) and the German translation Mauerschau. Classical philologists coined the term with reference to the episode in book 3 of the Iliad where Helen, peering over the wall protecting Troy, describes the Achaean heroes to King Priam. While an epic text provided the inspiration for the term, teichoscopy more typically is a technical tool used in drama to present large-scale events that would otherwise be difficult to present onstage, such as great battles or ocean scenes. It can also be used to portray actions that might offend good taste or social decorum.

The device is employed throughout world literature. One famous example occurs in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (5.3), while another more unusual instance can be found at the end of the second act of Manzoni's Il Conte di Carmagnola.