Literary notes about Proscenium (AI summary)
The term "proscenium" has seen varied usage in literature, functioning both as a literal architectural element and as a metaphorical lens through which to view human experience. In ancient texts, as exemplified by Suetonius, the proscenium is described with precision as an unyielding, architecturally solid construct in theatre, emphasizing stability and permanence [1] and serving as the vantage point from which life’s "games" are observed [2]. In contrast, Bernard Shaw employs the term more abstractly, likening the proscenium to a kind of observational frame that both reveals and conceals, inviting the spectator to discern personal identity while acknowledging the limitations imposed by predetermined boundaries [3].
- The proscenium of the ancient theatres was a solid erection of an architectural design, not shifted and varied as our stage-scenes.]
— from The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete by Suetonius - These games he beheld from the front of the proscenium.
— from The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete by Suetonius - Through these, as through a proscenium, the curious spectator may contemplate his profile as well as the blinds will permit.
— from Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy by Bernard Shaw
