Theme and Motif in La Guerre de Troie n’aura pas lieu

Abstract

Flaubert once said that a theme imposes itself upon the writer, that it demands to be treated. And Curtius remarked that the choice of a theme reflects an author’s basic attitude toward the world, that it indicates his typical reactions to given situations. But he also pointed out that he who has only a theme will not necessarily create great literature. No doubt, the theme alone cannot assure literary value to any work; nor does the particular orientation, the point of view from which the theme is treated, endow the work with stature. Broadly considered, war is the theme of La Guerre de Troie n’aura pas lieu, and a despondent pacifism is its orientation. At first glance, the play appears to say either that war is in the hearts of men or that it is a pastime of gods indifferent to human will or human prayers.