The poem "Playtime" by Paul Celan (1968) shows a fabric of intertextual allusions to the homonymous film by Jacques Tati. These references concern a critical representation of the phenomena of depersonalisation and standardisation which pervade the contemporary age.
The activities of writing and translating do not stand in a direct relationship here. Nonetheless, the work of Celan in the poem is deeply linked with a question that, albeit treated in different ways, is touched both in Shakespeare’s drama and in Tati’s film. The question regards the possibility of transmitting events or situations from the past to a present which is characterised by historical ignorance. The analysis brings to light a Shakespearian signature which relates in particular to the conception of historical time as elaborated in "Hamlet". La poesia "Playtime" di Paul Celan (1968) presenta un tessuto di allusioni intertestuali al film di Jacques Tati che porta il medesimo titolo. Tali richiami fanno globalmente capo a una rappresentazione critica dei fenomeni di spersonalizzazione e massificazione che pervadono il mondo contemporaneo. L’analisi porta alla luce una segnatura shakespeariana riferita in particolare alla concezione del tempo storico elaborata in "Hamlet".
