Pataphysics Techniques by Alfred Jarry in the Play “The King of Ubu”

The article examines the artistic features of the work of the great French experimental playwright, author of the famous shocking play “King Ubu”. Having chosen the poetics of puppet theater as a basis, using an updated artistic language and the universality of acting, the premiere of “King Ubu” marked the beginning of a new stage in the history of the development of theatrical art. Jarry created an illogical reality on stage, in which it is impossible to accurately determine the place and time of action. The theory of pataphysics by A. Jarry is a “scientific concept” invented by the author, which tries to explain the absurdity of existence, going beyond the boundaries of the traditional, metaphysical understanding of the world. The work of A. Jarry differs sharply from the legacy of his predecessors and contemporaries, since he overthrows the classical canons in art while adhering to the principles of “pataphysical science”, based on the synthesis of opposites. It is shown how Jarry's pataphysical conception is implemented in the text of the play “King Ubu” at the level of language. Using a playful approach to language, choosing the grotesque as the basis
of the artistic language, A. Jarry reveals the illogicality of the depicted plot, presenting
a multifaceted reading of the image of Papa Ubu. It is concluded that A. Jarry stepped over established aesthetic canons, experimented both with genre forms in his works and with language. Thus, the playwright needed a special kind of word that would go beyond traditional metaphysical thinking. Enriching his text with literary reminiscences, affirming the playful principle in language, Jarry gives a new status to the artistic word. The work used the strategies of comparative historical literary criticism, hermeneutic and intertextual methods.