pierrot
/'piərou/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A male character in French pantomime: A traditional theatrical character, typically depicted as a sad, lovesick clown. He is conventionally dressed in loose white clothing with a whitened face, often wearing a black skullcap.
- A performer portraying this character: An actor or mime artist who plays the role of Pierrot in a performance.
Examples of Usage
- Noun:
- The silent mime performed as a classic pierrot, his white costume and painted face conveying deep melancholy.
- In the 19th-century French pantomime, the pierrot was a central, tragicomic figure.
Advanced Usage
- Cultural Reference: The character of Pierrot became a symbol of the lonely, poetic dreamer in European art and literature, extending beyond theater into poetry and painting.
- The poet identified with the pierrot, seeing in him the eternal outsider.
Variants and Related Words
- Pierrette (n): The traditional female counterpart or companion to the Pierrot character.
- The pierrot and pierrette performed a delicate dance of unrequited love.
Synonyms
- Whiteface clown: A type of clown characterized by a fully whitened face, from which the Pierrot character evolved.
- Mime: A performer who uses gestures and body movement without speech; Pierrot is a specific character often performed by mimes.
Related Phrases
- Pierrot figure: Used metaphorically to describe someone who is naive, sentimental, or pathetically sad.
- He was a bit of a pierrot figure, always sighing over unattainable loves.
Related Idioms
- "To play the pierrot": To act the part of a sad, lovesick fool.
- Stop playing the pierrot and tell her how you feel.
Noun
- a male character in French pantomime; usually dressed in white with a whitened face