HSC REVISION – DRAMA



HSC REVISION – DRAMA

Australian Drama and Theatre

Early History and Development

|1788 – 1850s |- European settlers brought western traditions of theatre to Australia in the 1780s |

| |- Dominant attitudes shaped by the church (drama was innately evil) |

| |- Early colonial drama consisted of mostly English style musical theatre, comedies and pantomimes |

| |- Took on local themes and has been described merely as ‘disordered fun’ (humour and entertainment purposes) |

|1850s - 1900 |- Biggest impact on Australian drama came from the gold rushes of the 1850s |

| |- Population in Australia began to increase, overseas artists and plays started arriving in Australia to explore the |

| |possibilities of a new market |

| |- Rapid urbanisation, immigration and multiculturalism |

| |- People started emigrating to Australia by free will ( 1850s |

| |- Melodrama became the most popular form of entertainment throughout the 19th c. |

|Melodrama |- Queen Victoria ( most popular time for melodrama |

| |- Melodramas are simple in plot, shallow in character and with a predictable end. |

|Ibsen and ‘Realism |- The arrival of the works of Henrik Ibsen saw drastic changes in the nature if theatre in Europe, which eventually was |

| |to have repercussions in Australia |

| |- ‘Father of Modern Theatre’ |

| |- New sense of realism to theatre, demanding that it be made relevant to people. He saw the theatre had a moral |

| |obligation to challenge the injustices apparent in his world. |

| |- Hedda Gabler, first performed in Melbourne in 1900 |

|Australian ‘Voice’ |- The 1890s saw a surge in Australian ‘nationalism’. Improved communication, sporting interests, the question of |

| |federation were all contributing. |

| |- Writers ( Banjo Patterson and Henry Lawson. Artists ( Tom Roberts and Frederick McCubbin all strove to find an |

| |authentic ‘voice’ |

| |- The struggle to develop authentic Australian drama was further challenged by the arrival of cinema, as popular culture |

| |shifted to this new and exciting form of escapism. |

| |- By WW1 theatre was still predominately imported from England and America |

| |- Australian playwrights were not popular |

| |- Over the coming decades ‘amateur’ theatres provided a stage for Australian drama and was here that Australian identity |

| |was nurtured and the Australian ‘voice’ heard. |

|Rudd and Esson |- Steele Rudd’s – “On Our Selection” |

| |- Louis Esson’s – “The Time Is Not Yet Ripe” |

| |- Both produced in the 1910s and continued to take up Australian themes. Though they were essentially melodramas, they |

| |took a look at success, struggle and work in the lives of ordinary Australians. |

|Musical Comedy 20s |- The 1920s saw the importation of the American Musical Comedy in both film and production |

| |- Productions were usually ‘cheap and easy’ to stage and integrated dancing and based on American ideas and themes |

| |- Although entertaining, did little to assist the development of an authentic Australian voice. |

|Between the Wars |- Major contributions to Australian drama being made my women playwrights. |

| |- Betty Rowland – “A Touch Of Silk” 1928 ( It probingly examined genuine issues in Australian society at the time such as|

| |immigration, drought, isolation, financial hardship, marital relationships. Concerns about life in the bush for women and|

| |to some extent challenged the myth associated with the ANZAC legend. |

| |- The characters and story are complex, the language naturalistic |

|Revolution |- WW2 before Australian drama began to make its mark. |

| |- Sumner Locke-Elliot – “Rusty Bugles” 1948 ( the play is well structured, strongly character driven and the dialogue |

| |captures that free-flowing Australian speech. |

| |- To some degree this was responsible for a surge in interest in Australian theatre |

| |- The Elizabethan Theatre Trust was established in 1954 and with the assistance from the government was able to set aside|

| |funds for the development of the Arts in Australia. |

|“New Wave” |- 1960s and 1970s was a period of considerable transformation and a time when Australian drama finally found its own |

| |distinct style, where strong connection between social context and ideas presented on stage |

| |- Pram Factory, La Mama, Old Tote, Nimrod ( presented work that was new, innovative and made some kind of social comment.|

| |- Challenged the ‘high-brow’ (upper-class) of mainstream theatre that was still dominant by work from Europe and America.|

| |- Challenged theatre to be more then just entertainment – shock you. |

| |- Created work on low budget and main focus was on experimenting with ideas. |

|DEFINITIONS |

|Conventions |Common principles of form and/or style shared by performers and audiences, usually by tradition, but sometimes negotiated|

| |with the performance |

|Forms |Established sets of structural principles by which drama and/or theatre is produced and/or critically evaluated. E.g. |

| |Historical forms such as Greek theatre and recent forms such as Avant-Garde performances |

|Styles |Establish aesthetic features of any part of the process of making and performing works of drama and theatre. |

Alex Buzo – Norm and Ahmed

|Social, Political and Historical |- ‘Norm and Ahmed’ was written and first performed at a time in Australian history when changes in governmental policy |

|Context |forced Australians to re-evaluate their own identity. |

| |- Australia, in the 1950s had encouraged immigrants from Europe in the late 1960s, began to foster a closer association |

| |with those of the Asia Pacific region. |

| |- Up until the 1960s a policy of assimilation had been pursued by the Australian government and from this time the face |

| |if Australia was beginning to change more noticeably and the idea of Australia as a ‘Multicultural’ society began to |

| |take hold. |

| |- Forced Australians to consider what being Australian meant (e.g. values, customs, traditions) |

| |-The concept of multicultural Australia was, and continues to a be a highly divisive topic and tends to bring polarised |

| |views. In his own way, Buzo was simply contributing to the debate. |

|Themes |- Alienation of Individuals |

| |- Australian Idioms (speech/language) |

| |- Australian Society |

|Controversy |- In 1969 Buzo was arrested because of the obscene language thought to be evident in the play. Ironically it was the use|

| |of the work “fuckin’” not ‘boong’ that was the issue. This ignited much publicity regarding censorship and ended in the |

| |supreme court |

| |- “My aim as a writer was to put Australian drama on the front page. I didn’t anticipate this sort of front page |

| |treatment but, I thought it did have a good result in the sense that people knew that Australian drama was alive and |

| |well, whereas up until that point it had no publicity whatsoever.” |

| |- “I’d be disappointed if people didn’t think the play had something to say about racism and generational envy.” |

|Theatrical Significance |- In terms of Australia’s theatrical heritage, “Norm and Ahmed” was a ground breaking work and was one of the first |

| |plays to link male aggression with insecurity and challenge popular Australian notions such as the Great Australian |

| |Dream, Mateship, the ‘fair go’ and the ANZAC legend. |

| |- In the 1960s, ethnic characters in Australian plays tended to be subjected to stereotype. In Buzo’s words: “All ethnic|

| |characters were played in a pop-eyed ungrammatical greengrocer style. The spectacle of a well-spoken ethnic character |

| |was something of an affront.” |

|Style And Structure |- “Norm and Ahmed” was a one act play |

| |- Takes place during the course of 1 hour |

| |- The place is deceptively simple in structure – a conversation between 2 characters, but its simplicity lies its |

| |dramatic strength |

| |- Buzo uses the tension created by the disparate (contrasting) match of working class Norm with articulate, educated |

| |Ahmed to drive the action of the play and gradually reveal that Norm is just as alienated from his supposed native |

| |culture as Ahmed. |

| |- Debate in Australian theatre concerning why Norm lashes out at Ahmed when they appear to have eventually found common |

| |ground. Buzo himself responds “What do you think?” |

| |- The ambiguity of the play gives it its driving force and the ending is a deliberate move away from a conventional, |

| |predictable ending. |

| |-Buzo’s belief in “never underestimate that power of difference” does however, come the closest to providing an |

| |explanation. |

| |- To maintain the tautness of the action, the audience must warm to both Norm and Ahmed. |

| |- Buzo makes this possible through humour, their mutual willingness to listen to each other and giving each other a |

| |chance to talk about their lives with depth and warmth. |

| |- The key to an effective playing style with this text is the balanced use of both Norm’s aggression and insecurity. |

| |John McCallum writes: “If Norm is played as a complete ocker, aggression and all. The Ahmed begins to look like a total |

| |fool. Why does he not simply walk away?” |

|The Set and Costume |- Both are open to the directors interpretations but the set is very simple – neutral urban landscape. |

| |- Designed especially and appropriate for an intimate performance space. |

| |- Main features are a bus stop sign, an aluminium bench and a trash can. |

|Social Impact |- Buzo insisted that the play was not necessarily a true reflection of life or a political drama but rather a work of |

| |art: “I had been interviewed and photographed and presented by the media as a ‘young iconoclast’ (someone who challenges|

| |beliefs and values). I managed to get in some good points about an authors right to call things as he sees them, but |

| |whenever I said that Norm nor ex-servicemen were being lampooned (satirised) in the play and that it was not a piece of |

| |message drama, my words were never printed… the nature of theatrical truth was not investigated… but whatever the |

| |artistic shortcomings might have been, at least the public got to know that theatre was alive.” |

|Significance for Asian Audiences |- Further illuminating the concept of alienation and to note an interesting variation in the plays context. Buzo |

| |describes a Malaysian production in 1989: “Many in the Malaysian audience had relatives who had studied in Australia. |

| |For them, the play was a background to letters home and the audience response was the most emotional and expressive I |

| |have seen in this pieces long history. |

| |- Buzo explained that in the Malaysian production, when Norm said the line “he challenges the Gods” in reference to his |

| |boss, the actor playing Ahmed and the audience gasped. |

| |- This highlights the differing religious sensitivities and values between and Australian and Muslim audience. |

| |- In other words there are nuances (subtle meanings) in the play that affect different people in different ways. |

| |- The increasing multicultural nature of Australian society means that the play takes in limitless meaning to its varied|

| |audience. |

|Contemporary Australian Relevance|- The September 11 terrorist attacks bought a new wave of relevance for the play. |

| |- It seemed to reflect the all to familiar racist undercurrents of Australian society epitomised by recent high profile |

| |incidences such as the Cronulla riots and the backlash against the Muslim schools in Sydney. |

|Characters |- Norm ( strongly built, middle aged, rough, racist, not open to change |

| |- Ahmed ( slim, Pakistani, student, timid, intelligent, striking |

| |- these are ARCHETYPES (representations) |

| |- distinct contrast in character, physically and mentally |

|Evidence/Quotations |- NORM – “I floored this bloody Kraut. Really laid him out” |

| |- “You’re not a black are you? You could pass for a Greek or a Turk.” |

| |- “They’d never call you Mr Midnight, would they” |

| |- “I could never kill a man in cold blood, Ahmed. It’s not in my moral code of ethics.” |

| |- “All you Asian students coming out here to study and then going back to your own countries, it’s a good thing, I |

| |reckon.” |

| |- “I wouldn’t tell your blokes how to run your country.” |

| |- AHMED – “I crave your forgiveness.” |

| |- “What are you getting at, I fail to understand.” |

| |- “Yes, there is a lot of violence prevalent at the moment.” |

| |- “The people are very friendly.” |

| |- “A thousand apologies.” |

David Williamson – The Removalist

|Shaping the Australian Identity |- The ‘New Wave’ saw the metamorphosis for the national identity and the characterisation of the ‘real Australian’ on |

| |stage. |

| |- The national identity developed into the ‘ocker’ character, whose mannerisms and idiosyncrasies are still relevant to |

| |this day. |

| |- The ‘ocker’ was brash, crude, a big talker, a big drinker, middle class and exclusively male. |

| |- The ‘ocker’ was a character that many Australians not only identified with, but sometimes aspired to be. |

|David Williamson |- “The Removalists” was apparently based on a story told to Williamson in a pub by a removalist. |

| |- “I had an obsessive interest in telling stories from a very early age… it led to an obsessive interest in the roots of|

| |human nature.” |

|Social and Political Context |- In its original context, “The Removalists” was seen as a highly confronting play. |

| |- It exposes and deals with several themes that were particularly relevant in urban Australia during the 1970s |

| |- Work was best described as a social satire |

| |- Australians could directly relate to the characters and their situations on stage. |

| |- The 1970s in Australia was a period of considerable social and political upheaval. |

| |- Australian perspectives were changing on a whole range of issues including: immigration, the validity of war, sexual |

| |morality, the role and perception of women, Justice and Authority. |

| |- Whitlam government installed major changes across the fields of health, education, immigration, Indigenous rights, |

| |foreign affairs and industrial relations. |

| |- The issue of women’s rights, working conditions and social perception were also challenged in the 1970s by the |

| |feminist movement. |

| |- Women continued to challenge traditional gender roles that confined them to work as child bearers and in domestic |

| |roles, or kept them in low status positions. |

| |- Questions were being asked about female sexuality. |

| |- 1970s saw a wave in ‘sexual liberation’ in western countries and issues of contraception (especially the pill) were |

| |highly controversial. |

|La Mama Theatre |- La mama was founded in 1967 and is committed to exploring diversity of artistic approach, to innovation in form and to|

| |exploring minority as well as general cultural and social concerns. |

| |- Famously the cradle of the huge burst of energy which characterised the birth of Australian theatre in the early |

| |1970’s, it has never ceased to nurture new, vital and unconventional talents. |

| |- La Mama theatre was established to nurture new Australian theatre practice and has since played a vital role in the |

| |development of the Australian dramatic voice. |

|Themes and Issues |- Key themes in the Removalists are: Abuse and authority, sexism and sexuality and violence. |

| |- For the first time Australians were seeing themselves on stage. Symbolically David Williamson explores Australian |

| |society through characters, themes and concerns. |

| |- Violence is a constant theme throughout the play. Words such as ‘fuck’ and ‘shit’ are provocative and confronting but |

| |also true of the ‘ocker’ language and mannerisms that Kenny, Ross and Simmonds embody. |

| |- The tensions between the characters in play and their various manifestations of power along with a strong sense of |

| |realism, create and extraordinarily confronting piece of theatre. |

| |- Williamson’s genius is to also make comedy and serious drama sit comfortably together. |

| |- There is an essential truth to the text that parallels modern social and power relationships |

|Characters |- SIMMONDS ( he is the police sergeant who abuses his power by threatening the new recruit, Ross. He is a chauvinistic |

| |hypocrite who has little respect for women including his own wife and daughter. He sees to satisfy his sexually perverse|

| |needs through the pretext of examining his clients, such as Fiona, for marks “apparent to the medically untrained eye”. |

| |His clients, usually victims of circumstances, are in desperate need of help. |

| |- ROSS ( he is a recruit who has only recently joined the police force after being in training for 1 year. When he is |

| |assigned his first duty at a small police station located in a small suburb of Melbourne, Ross becomes s subject of |

| |abuse from his sergeant Simmonds. As the play progresses, he begins taking part in the actions of corruption that |

| |Simmonds creates. Near the end of the play, Ross assaults Kenny after losing his temper. Under the belief that he had |

| |killed Kenny, Ross tries to blackmail Simmonds to save himself. The transformation from a naïve recruit to abuser of |

| |power is clearly depicted. He is no longer a puppet for Simmonds but a player in this sick game. |

| |- KATE ( She arrives at the police station with her sister Fiona; to report Fiona being assaulted by her husband Kenny. |

| |She is promiscuous and uses her body to get what she desires and it is noted that she does not limit her sexual activity|

| |to her husband. She may have been doing the right thing by trying to help her sister get away from Kenny, but she is |

| |just as bad as Simmonds when it comes to abusing the power that they hold. |

| |- FIONA ( she is a passive housewife and fits into the stereotypical gender roles of the 1970s Australia. She is married|

| |to Kenny, and has a baby daughter Sophie. She is a complex character. Moments in the play reveal that she is genuinely |

| |cares for Kenny, which makes the relationship more complex and engaging. |

| |- KENNY ( he is depicted as a larrikin working-class man, and represents the stereotypical egoistic Aussie male of the |

| |70s. He is very hot-headed and his vocabulary is vulgar Australian vernacular. Comparisons to Simmonds reveal they share|

| |similar qualities; they both like to use treats, use sexually explicit and rude language is both physical forms of |

| |violence to make them seem dominant. The plays major plot twist occurs in the final minutes when Kenny, despite |

| |apparently having recovered from a beating by Ross to the point where he begins to negotiate a deal with two officers, |

| |dies suddenly and mid-conversation from a brain haemorrhage. Ironically, in the end Kenny seems to be the victim. |

| |- REMOVALIST ( his role is very symbolic represent the everyman who sits on the fence. His main concern is getting paid |

| |for work and running off to the next job. He represents another part of Australian society whom is passive in times of |

| |crisis. |

|Evidence/Quotations |- SIMMONDS – “Stuff the rulebook up your arse” |

| |- “There’s only one person in authority here mate, and that’s me” |

| |- “Some of the most interesting work is done after hours.” |

| |- KENNY – “That’s your job” |

| |- “I can see that you dumb twit” |

| |- “You dead cunt!” |

| |- ROSS – “Thank Christ! I thought you were gone boy.” |

| |- KATE – “We’ve come to report an offence.” |

Tragedy

Sophocles – Oedipus

|The Genre of Tragedy |- In particular, the role of fate (moira), suffering, hubris and moral responsibility in the experience of the individual|

| |tragic heroines and heroes should be considered in light of the political, social and cultural aspects of that |

| |experience. |

| |- The ‘protagonist’ or hero suffers some serious misfortune but is intrinsically connected to his actions. Tragedy |

| |stresses the vulnerability of human beings and presents plays of well-known legends that all audience members would be |

| |aware of. |

|Forms |- Athens in 5thC BC was the intellectual centre of the known world. Centre of philosophy, science and learning. It was a |

| |decidedly patriarchal society. Women played no role whatsoever and slavery was an accepted feature of Athenian society. |

| |- The Greeks had a profound belief in the presence and activity of Gods as they had a polytheistic society. They believed|

| |that the gods were the cause of all natural phenomena including plague, floods, drought etc. The gods could be fickle and|

| |jealous and wreak havoc on mankind of the proper rites and rituals were not performed. |

| |- Ideas of presenting stories and narrative based on Greek history, myth and legend has a long and ancient tradition. |

| |Often elements of song and poetry were included. |

|Origins of Tragedy |- Financed by the Athenian state as an integral part of an Athenian religious festival: The Dionysia |

| |- Dionysus was an important Greek god who was patron deity of agriculture and the theatre. |

| |- The tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides do not belong connected to trilogiues, but are self contained drama. |

| |- The tragic poets competed with one another and their efforts were ranked by a panel of judges. |

|Sophocles |- Sophocles was the second of the three great Greek tragedians (Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides). Only seven of his |

| |tragedies have survived into modern times with their text completely unknown. |

| |- Sophocles influenced the development of the drama, most importantly by adding a third character and thereby reducing |

| |the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot. |

| |- He also developed his characters to a greater extent and used female characters in his plays. |

|Tragedy and Greek Philosophy |- It is possible to view these years of prolonged conflict and social struggle as forcing many Greeks at this time to |

| |begin to contemplate what was at the deepest centres of a mans individual consciousness. |

| |- Though the characters in Sophocles’ plays were mythical, there is fundamental reasoning in these plays that asks |

| |audiences to question their position in the world around them. |

| |- Greek philosophy was particularly concerned with the question: What made med do what they do? |

| |- “With incidents arousing pity and fear wherewith to accomplish its kartarsis of such emotions… Every tragedy therefore,|

| |must have six parts, which parts determine its quality – namely, plot, characters, diction, thought, spectacle, melody” |

| |Aristotle |

|Myth of Oedipus |- Most if not all members of the Athenian audience would have been familiar with certain aspects of the Oedipus story or |

| |myth. |

| |( Defeated the female sphinx minster by correctly interpreting her riddle and thus became ruler of Thebes. |

| |( Unwittingly killed his own father |

| |( Equally unwittingly married his own mother |

| |- Stories relating to Oedipus and his tragic end were popular amongst many ancient Greek writers including Homer in his |

| |Odyssey and the earlier playwright Aeschylus who devoted a whole trilogy of plays to the story. |

|Problems of Interpretation |- Reading, of course, is our primary means of access to ancient tragedy except for occasional modern productions, which |

| |help u to a certain degree to appreciate its theatricality, but was quite a different theatrical experience. |

| |- Private reading of tragedy deprives us of visual and aural effects, which were important elements of this genre. |

| |- Because of the fact, we miss or sometimes have to speculate the following elements: ( Scenery |

| |( Inflection of actors voices |

| |( Actors’ gestures and postures |

| |( Costumes and masks |

| |( Singing and dancing |

| |( Sounds of the original language |

| |( Various poetic rhythms |

|The Greek Theatre |- SKENE ( was the building directly behind the stage. The skene was directly in back of the stage, and was usually |

| |decorated as a palace or temple, depending on the needs of the play |

| |- PARODOS ( are the paths by which the chorus and some actors made their entrances and exits. |

| |- ORCHESTRA ( The orchestra was usually circular. It was a level space where the chorus would dance, sing, and interact |

| |with the actors who were on the atge near the skene. |

| |- THYMELE ( An altar to Dionysus. Usually in the centre of the orchestra. It is speculated that offerings were made to |

| |this altar prior to the performance. |

| |- One device is the ekkyklema: a platform on wheels rolled out through one of the doors of the skene, on which a tableau |

| |was displayed representing the result of an action indoors (e.g. murder) and therefore was unseen by the audience. |

|Chorus of Tragedy |- The chorus is one of the more foreign elements of tragedy. It is not one of the conventions of modern tragedy. |

| |- The chorus, unlike actors, were non-professionals who had talent for singing and dancing and were trained by the |

| |playwright in preparation for the performance. |

| |- To engage in dialogue with characters through its leader, the coryphaeus, who alone spoke the lines of dialogue |

| |assigned to the chorus. |

| |- To sing and dance, choral ‘songs’ called stasima |

| |- The modern reader of Greek tragedy, whether in English or even in the original Greek, finds it very difficult to |

| |appreciate the effect of these choral songs which are devoid of their music and dance. |

|Dramatic Structure |- PROLOGUE ( spoken by one or two characters before the chorus appears. The prologue usually gives the mythological |

| |background necessary for understanding the events of the play. |

| |- PARADOS ( this is the song sung by the chorus as it first enters the orchestra and dances. |

| |- EPISODE ( this is the first of many episodes, when the character and chorus talk. |

| |- STASIMON ( at the end of each episode, the other characters usually leave the stage and the chorus dances and sings a |

| |stasimon, or choral ode. The ode usually reflects on the things said and done in the episodes, and puts it into some kind|

| |of larger mythological framework. |

| |- EXODUS ( at the end of the play, the chorus exits singing a processional song which usually offers words of wisdom |

| |related to the actions and outcome of the play. |

|Concept of Hubris |- The concept of hubris is central to the genre of tragedy and it is exaggerated self pride or self-confidence, often |

| |resulting in fatal retribution. |

| |- Hubris was a crime in classical Athens. The category of acts constituting hubris for ancient Greeks apparently |

| |broadened from the original specific reference to molestation of a corpse, or a humiliation of a defeated foe, to |

| |molestation, or ‘outrageous treatment’ in general. |

| |- The most obvious example oh hubris in Oedipus is where the protagonist on the road to Thebes, Oedipus meets King Laius |

| |of Thebes who is unknown to him as his biological father. Oedipus kills Laius out of Hubris over which has the right of |

| |way, thereby fulfilling the prophecy of the oracle that Oedipus is destined to murder his own father. |

| |- Aristotle ( to cause shame to the victim, not on order that anything may happen to you, nor because anything has |

| |happened to you, but merely for your own gratification. Hubris is not the requital of past injuries; this is revenge. As |

| |for the pleasure in hubris, its cause is this: men think that by ill-treating others they make their own superiority the |

| |greater. |

|Staging today |- Greek drama is a unique form of dramatic expression that is practically impossible to recreate exactly as it was |

| |intended in ancient times. |

| |- Any performance of Greek tragedy then is ultimately an adaptation or appropriation that requires directors to seek new |

| |dramatic styles of representation. |

| |- we are unable to fully comprehend particular nuances of language, religious associations and the context in which they |

| |were first produced. |

| |- Our modern perception of drama is vastly different to that of the ancient Greek as modern society is particular about |

| |what and what isn’t entertaining. |

| |- Our reliance on visual entertainment with less dependence on imagination, rejection of the ancient forms of story |

| |telling and myth, would make many people today see Greek tragedy as strange and probably boring. To some degree we lack |

| |the skill of listening especially without the use of electrical amplification. |

| |- It provides endless opportunities for reinvention and representation and its stylised action, particularly with the |

| |chorus, readily adapts to modern dramatic forms and the themes are as relevant now as they were then. |

| |- The use of music, movement and the adoption of a circular performance space can be reasonably adopted in any |

| |production. The use of masks however, seems to be a convention that is largely dropped by modern directors. |

| |- The formalised and poetic forms of language often form and interesting juxtaposition when placed in a modern context. |

|Character/isation |- OEDIPUS ( the king of Thebes, his concern for Thebes is his citizens and his personal rashness, when he overreacted, |

| |‘lost it’ and killed the man at the crossing of three roads. His ignorance of his past; his hot temper and impulsiveness,|

| |this is the dilemma, without those traits Oedipus’ heroic course of self-discovery would never have happened. He is a man|

| |of pride and pressure. |

| |- JOCASTA ( his wife and mother |

| |- CREON ( Jocasta’s brother |

| |- TEIRESIAS ( a soothsayer/prophet |

|Structure |- central character – protagonist or hero (Oedipus) suffers some serious misfortune but is intrinsically linked to his |

| |actions. |

| |- The chorus functioned as intermediaries between the action taking place on stage and the experience of the audience. |

| |The chorus contained stylised movement. |

| |- Greek tragedy has a very melodramatic, rigid structure |

| |- Greek tragedy stands alone as its own dramatic form and is one of the most important of dramatic forms as it transcends|

| |time and place, and the significant impact on playwright. |

|Themes/Dramatic techniques |- FATE AND FORTUNE ( oedipus calls himself the child of fortune but he has mistakenly assumed that all his luck is good. |

| |The play very clearly shows that fortune or fate can go either way and that sometimes it is seemingly most fortunate who |

| |can be prone to a great fall. |

| |- KNOWLEDGE, TRUTH AND TIME ( oedipus claims that truth is his defence but in a classic sophoclean irony, it is actually |

| |the truth that condemns oedipus to the most horrible of fates. |

| |- The orchestra was usually the space for the chorus to perform their choral odes which included singing and dancing. The|

| |parados were exit and entrance areas at either side of the stage. The arena was a curved area for the audience to sit in.|

| |The skena was a raised platform at the back of the orchestra on which the actors performed and the ex machine was a |

| |device used to fly characters as necessary. |

| |- Aristotle considered Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex to be the model of tragedy. |

| |- Sophocles’ great innovation of the third actor enabled 3 characters to interact on stage and more importantly allowed |

| |the audience to hear what was happening off-stage. |

|Terms |- MOIRA ( fate |

| |- PLIGHT ( difficulties/concerns |

| |- HUBRIS ( excessive/inflated self pride, vulnerability of humanity |

| |- STICHOMYTHIA ( fast paced |

|Evidence/Quotes |- SERVANT – “He says you are, be sure, you were born ill-fated” |

| |- JOCASTA – “It frightens me to look at you” |

| |- TIRESIAS – “You think me a fool, but the parents who gave you birth thought me wise enough” |

| |- “With all your threats and proclamations for the murder of Laius, he is here” |

| |- CREON – “I have not come to mock you Oedipus” |

| |- MESSENGER – “It was not possible to see how her suffering ended” |

| |- CHORUS – “Suffering terrible for men to see” |

| |- OEDIPUS – “To these hands of mine, the hands of your own brother” |

| |- “Ah, it is all too clear now” |

Arthur Miller – Death of A Salesman

|Context |- 20thC America was a time of turbulence when society was transitioning between old and new political realities. |

| |- America suffered the financial devastation of the Great depression, end of 1943 (WW2) saw a new identity as a free |

| |world, poised at the brink of a new battle for supremacy against the forces of communism. Demanded new structures of |

| |faith and values. |

| |- Arthur Miller lived through these times of instability and wrote to examine both the broader social picture and the |

| |role of individuals within it, which invites us to re-examine the social premises by which we live. |

| |- The ‘American Dream’ – well liked, personally attractive, materialistic, initiative, hard work, family, freedom, |

| |consumerism. |

|Characters |- WILLY LOWMAN ( only ‘average’ not a ‘great’ man. No self knowledge of the tragic hero. Fails to realise his personal |

| |failure and betrayal of his soul and family through meticulously constructed artifice of his life. |

| |- BIFF LOWMAN ( seeks truth about himself. Acknowledges his failure and manages to confront it. Trapped in Willy’s |

| |grandiose fantasies. |

| |- HAPPY LOWMAN ( one dimensional, lived in the shadow of the inflated expectations of his brother, self-delusional. |

| |- LINDA LOWMAN ( force of reason, enigmatic and complex, freedom is an escape from depth, internally conflicted, |

| |realistic, level-headed, emotional care. |

|Dramatic style and structure |- The play has a strong connection with the classical notion of tragedy and Aristotle’s perception of tragedy as the |

| |downfall of a great man, whether through a flaw in his character or a mistake he has made. |

| |- The play is both realistic and expressionistic in its style. |

| |- The play is told entirely from the perspective of the central character who drifts in and out of ‘reality’ |

| |- It centres on Willy’s stream of consciousness and his flashbacks of an idyllic past. |

| |- Through sometimes resembling a ‘flashback’, these scenes are more like ‘mobile occurrences’. In fact, flashbacks would |

| |show and objective (truthful or accurate) image of the past, Millers mobile occurrences, however, rather show highly |

| |subjective (warped or imagined) memories. |

| |- Set in a 24 hour time period. |

| |- Aristotelian unity of time place and action |

|Miller and Greek Tragedy |- He regarded classical plays as no longer ‘marble masterworks’ but improvisations that could be shaped to create new |

| |perspectives. |

| |- Over the years miller had come to see that it was not only the form that he had learned from the classical Greeks, but |

| |a sense of nature and function of drama itself |

| |- The play embodies three of what the Greek philosopher Aristotle found essential for all great tragedies. |

| |- Peripeteia (a reversal of circumstances, or turning point) |

| |- Hamartia (mistake or error in judgement) |

| |- Hubris (exaggerated self pride or self-confidence) |

|Tragedy as a social function |- A major focus for his was the social and ritual function of Greek drama within particular societies. |

| |In its text and subtext, Death of a Salesman replicates a model of community and of citizenship to which audiences |

| |regardless of time and nationality can respond. |

|Themes |- Abandonment ( Willy’s life charts a course from one abandonment to the next, leaving him in greater despair each time. |

| |His efforts to raise perfect sons, however, reflect his inability to understand reality. |

| |- Betrayal ( Willy’s primary obsession throughout the play is that he considers being Biffs’ betrayal of his ambitions |

| |for him. |

| |- Mythic Figures ( Willy’s tendency to mythologize people contributes to his deluded understanding of the world. Willy |

| |compares Biff and Happy to the mythic Greek figures Adonis and Hercules because he believes that his sons are pinnacles |

| |of ‘personal attractiveness’ and power through ‘well-liked’-ness to him, they seem the very incarnation of the American |

| |dream. |

|Symbols and Motifs |- Seeds ( represent the opportunity to prove the worth of labour. Symbolise a sense of failure in family relationships – |

| |no growth. |

| |- Diamonds ( represent tangible wealth and hence validates one labour and ability to pass material goods onto offspring. |

| |Symbolise Willy’s failure as a salesman. |

|Hubris |- Hubris is often referred to as reckless disregard for the rights of another person often resulting in some kind of |

| |social degradation for the victim. In ancient times, hubris was seen as the error of characters in Greek tragedy. |

| |- In modern times negative consequences of actions stem from hubris and are often seen to be associated with a lack of |

| |knowledge, interest in, or combine with over confidence and a lack of humility. |

|Arthur Miller – ‘Tragedy and the |- Heroism is only relatable and effective when it is shown in the common man. |

|Common Man’ |- The inevitable conclusion is, that the tragic mode is archaic, fit only for the very highly placed, the kings, or the |

| |kingly, and where this admission is not made in so many words it is most often implied. |

| |- The common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were. |

| |- Tragedy then is the consequence of a man’s total compulsion to elevate him justly. |

| |- The tale always reveals what has been called his tragic flaw, a failing that is not peculiar to grand or elevated |

| |characters. Inherent unwillingness to remain passive in the face of what he conceives to be a challenge to his dignity, |

| |his image of his rightful status. |

|Aristotle |- evoking pity and fear in the audience through great/noble people which fall from grace/dignity through their own |

| |mistakes. |

|Evidence/Quotes |-LINDA – “There's no stranger you'd do that to.” |

| |- “Did you pack fresh underwear?” |

| |- WILLY – “Biff, what are you doing in Boston?” |

| |- “Spite! Spite, it the word of your undoing” |

| |- “A man can’t go out the way he came in” |

| |- BIFF – “The only trouble is, it gets like bowling or something. I just keep knocking them over and it doesn’t mean |

| |anything.” |

| |- “All right, phony! Then let’s lay it on the line!” |

| |- CHARLIE – “Nobody’s worth nothin’ dead” |

| |- BEN – “What are you building? Lay your hand on it.” |

| |- HAPPY – “He had a swell time with us.” |

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