Research On Susanne.K.Langer's Drama Aesthetics

I make principal research on drama aesthetics thought of Susanne.K.Langer in this article. Her thought of symbol aesthetics is an important theory in the field of aesthetics of the 20th century. In the basis of symbol aesthetics, she made deeply study in drama. As a result, Her drama thought could be called "great drama viewpoint", which is distinguished from individual drama phenomenon.In part one, I discuss Philosophy background, original thought and theory regime constitution of Langer's aesthetics thought. Langer's aesthetics thrived from 1950 to 1960. It gives up asking beauty essence that ontology aesthetics ever asked and establish symbol aesthetics. It absorbs the study achievement of psychology of appraising beauty, form principle and showing principle and establishes the system of symbol aesthetics. Langer learned from Whitehead and Ernst. Cassirer. They were aesthetics virtuosos. Whitehead had much effect on Langer in the thought mode, while Cassirer affected her deeply and fully. In another word, Langer directly adopt some basic concept and particular expound. Her symbol aesthetics is the extending thought of Cassirer's human symbolism in the fields of aesthetics. Langer's aesthetics included art symbol, life form, illusion and intuition. These theories discuss respectively the location of art essence, the specific implication, the art presentation form and the view form of art. So Langer's aesthetics takes a outlook of close system and is representative of system aesthetics in 20 century. Langer's aesthetics draws the research performance of anthropology, natural science and psychology and is in order to build up heart philosophy.In part two, I discuss drama aesthetics of Langer, which includes the theory of drama essence, the important drama form, the theory of audience. I separate what drama is from how drama is and Langer answers the question what drama is through the discuss on act, fate and situation. Langer's drama aesthetics adopts a macroview which makes it apart from specific drama aesthetics. Summarizing Langer's discuss,we can draw a definition of drama aesthetics: drama is fate exposed by act. Langer threw out of the cultural separation between tragedy and comedy. She thought a play was composed of tragedy rhythm and comedy rhythm. This judgement not only complies with drama practice but also help us go out of the area of the cultural concept and not consume energy on unimportant questions. But Langer's audience theory is not so abundant, because she discussed the audience on the point of playing, not but audience themselves. She didn't realize the constitution value of audience as theatre art on play.In the fields of aesthetics and drama aesthetics, Langer insists looking people as the research core and discusses life, emotion and heart. She tried her best to hunt for a road of surpassing human limit, which doesn't exist destination.