Riddle, mystery, mystery, strangeness - all this is contained in the semantics of the word phantasmagoria. Everyone subconsciously feels this when he uses this combination of letters in his speech, however, not everyone is fully aware of the versatility of its meaning.
If we turn to the etymological dictionary, we can see that phantasmagoria is a word borrowed from the Greek language. Its first part - phantasma literally translates as "ghost". As for the second basis - agoreuo, it can be translated as "I say." Thus, a literal translation of the original version means a ghost story or a ghost story, as some linguists believe. If we turn to a large encyclopedic dictionary, the meaning of the term comes down to a delusional, bizarre vision.
Phantasmagoria and art
All the charm of this word and phenomenon lies, perhaps, in its universality. Phantasmagoria is applicable to almost any kind of art. Music, as its area most saturated with psychologism, is especially susceptible to this phenomenon. However, phantasmagoric elements can be found in countless numbers in literature, cinema, painting or sculpture. Especially there are a lot of such elements in architecture, sculpture and literature, close to the Gothic style. Our age of civilization added computer games to this list, many of which included phantasmagoria as an integral part.
Phantasmagoria in literature
For verbal creativity, the use of phantasmagoria is quite familiar. Among the representatives of Russian literature, this phenomenon was actively used by N.V. Gogol, M. Bulgakov, Saltykov-Shchedrin, and many others.
The motive of an inverted, strange world, in which the boundaries of the natural and unnatural are blurred, was in this case fundamental. Phantasmagoria in literature,
certainly used extensively and extensively.
We must not forget about the works of the great Edgar Allan Poe, where mysticism and reality are intertwined in tight, almost inextricable knots. Another inimitable example of the involvement of phantasmagoria is Bram Stoker's Dracula.
A little bit about the white rabbit
All over the world there is not a single person who would not hear about L. Carroll's “Alice in Wonderland”. The characters of this book have long and firmly entrenched in the consciousness of mankind, but the author of the work is perhaps the first and most striking example of a writer who turned to phantasmagoria.
The fantasmagoria of Lewis Carroll is fascinating, mysterious, sometimes colorful to the point of absurdity. On its pages in the literal sense, magic passes into the world of reality, becomes reality itself. That is why his characters and heroes have long been familiar to man.
In addition to the famous “Alice,” a collection of poems by the Phantasmagoria came out from under Carroll’s pen, which included the poem of the same name.
In general, in the literature the phantasmagoria of the prepared soul is most often used when the incredibility of being, a huge world full of hyperbolizations and puns, becomes an integral part of human being.
Phantasmagoria and Cinema
Touching upon the topic of literary phantasmagoria and, of course, the work of Lewis Carroll, one cannot but say about the film, which the leader of the musical group Marilyn Manson intended to release.
It should be noted right away that this, albeit not accomplished,
work of art substantially differed from the original. Despite the quite obvious dedication to the writer, the author of the film invented its own unique phantasmagoria (the film was supposed to be called “Phantasmagoria: Lewis Carroll's Visions”)
- a completely new, strange, in some way even disturbing reading of the famous “Alice in Wonderland”.
Work on the tape was started, but the work did not appear on the big screens for unknown reasons.
Gaming Industry
Phantasmagoria is , first of all, an incredible image, and nothing gives a more powerful sense of the image than computer games. A more or less thought out plot, good graphics and high-quality musical accompaniment allow you to plunge into the world of mysteries and secrets. This kind of work has always been and will be in demand among adventurers and mysteries.
Phantasmagoria is a game that owes its appearance to the famous Roberta Williams, who became the ideological inspirer and one of the creators of the masterpiece. Despite the fact that horror cannot boast of powerful graphics, it simply has no equal in the atmosphere of indescribable horror.
Of course, this is far from the only example of the use of phantasmagoric elements in the creation of video games. The same sensational "Silent Hill" or "Amnesia" use this phenomenon in full.
Painting and phantasmagoria
If we take into account the fact that phantasmagoria is, first of all, going beyond the usual, a certain fraction of insanity, mental insanity, then Jerome Bosch can be called the biggest admirer of this phenomenon. It is difficult to find works that are more phantasmagoric, strange, surprising and frightening at the same time.
Of course, this example is far from the only one. Phantasmagoria is both Dali, and Rodney Matthews, and, no doubt, Goya, for whom this direction was final.
The phenomenon of phantasmagoria is quite difficult to relate to one or another time period, a particular era. Of course, in the era of classicism, the appeal to such a figurative system was unusual, but Baroque architecture and painting can provide countless examples of phantasmagorias.
An appeal to this kind of art is, first of all, an attempt to transmit, to transmit the vulnerability, fragility of human nature, its place in the context of the immensity of the soul, consciousness, world. This is an attempt to focus on how frightening and at the same time beautiful can be a world passed through the prism of human perception.