Abstract
The tragic events of May 8, 1945 left a deep impression on Algerians, seriously contributing to the mobilization of the population against the colonial occupier and the outbreak of the struggle for independence in 1954. Having promised independence to the Algerians just after liberation, the colonial forces changed their minds and ferociously repressed a demonstration for independence on May 8, 1945 in Sétif and Guelma, causing the death of thousands of Algerians. Kateb Yacine, who participated in the demonstrations, was imprisoned in Sétif as a 16-year-old high school student. A large number of his writings take as an essential element the city of Sétif and the places of memory (P. Nora) characterizing this occasion. Whether in his poems (Nedjma, le poème ou le couteau), his novels (Nedjma and Le Polygone étoilé) or his plays, including his tetralogical suite (Le Cercle des représailles), he gives to read this event and this city bruised. The city of Sétif is the key spatial element articulating the journey of the characters and the literary and theatrical discourse. This contribution seeks to question the place and function of the city of Sétif in determining the functioning of the characters, the ideological quest and the implementation of theatrical discourse in Kateb Yacine.
