Study Notes on Theatrical Writing: Perspectives and Forms

CHAPTER FIVE - THEATRICAL WRITING: PERSPECTIVES AND FORMS

DRAMA’S PERSPECTIVES

  • Drama’s forms have evolved in response to societal changes and perceptions of the world.
  • Primary forms of drama include:
    • Tragedy
    • Comedy
    • Tragicomedy
    • Melodrama
    • Farce
    • Epic
    • Absurd

TRAGEDY

  • Definition: Tragedy is recognized as the first of the major dramatic forms in Western drama, conveying statements about human fallibility.
THE TRAGIC VISION
  • Tragic Heroes:
    • Engage in struggles with external forces (other characters), their internal drives, or their environment.
  • Suffering & Defeat:
    • Audiences witness the hero's suffering and their confrontations with defeat, yet sometimes observe personal triumphs despite these defeats.
  • Meaning of Trials:
    • The hero's challenges lend significance to the inherent pain and paradox of humanity.
THE TRAGIC REALIZATION
  • Following the hero's failed efforts, two outcomes often emerge:
    1. Learning from Suffering:
    • A belief that, despite suffering, there exists a world order and eternal laws from which lessons can be drawn.
    1. Futility in a Capricious Universe:
    • Alternatively, individual suffering may be seen as futile amidst an indifferent universe, but the hero’s defiance is commendable.
ARISTOTLE ON TRAGEDY
  • The Poetics: Written in the 4th century BCE, Aristotle discussed theater extensively.
  • Elements of Theater:
    • Six key elements:
    • Plot
    • Character
    • Thought
    • Diction
    • Music
    • Spectacle
    • Definition of Tragedy:
    • Tragedy is described as “an imitation of an action”, specifically highlighting the downfall of a well-meaning hero who makes a mistake leading to suffering or death.
  • Example: Alfred claims that Oedipus the King by Sophocles is the quintessential example from which universal truths can be derived.
EURIPIDES’S MEDEA AS TRAGEDY
  • Context: Euripides penned Medea in the 5th century BCE.
  • Plot Summary:
    • Medea, a barbarian princess and sorceress, aided Jason and the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece.
    • As part of her assistance, she murdered her brother, dismembering his body to slow pursuit by her father.
  • Conflict:
    • Jason ultimately abandons Medea for Creon’s daughter, precipitating her vengeful wrath.
  • Actions of Medea:
    • Medea employs her magical abilities to kill Creon and his daughter through a cursed robe.
    • To maximize her revenge on Jason, she murders their two sons and escapes in a chariot drawn by dragons.
  • Themes:
    • Euripides explores themes of unrequited love, extreme passion, and catastrophic revenge, depicting a world governed by the irrationality of both human and divine forces.

COMEDY

  • Definition: Comedy focuses on the examination of societal values, portraying individuals as social beings within that framework.
  • Social Order Disruption:
    • Comic narratives often arise from characters whose eccentricities disrupt social norms, leading to a social disorder.
  • Consequences:
    • In comedy, deviation threatens societal constructs such as marriage and family, sharply mocked within the narrative.
  • Differences from Tragedy:
    • Comic actions impact the social world while tragedies focus on moral consequences for individuals.
  • Character Archetypes:
    • Historical comedies include misers, hypocrites, fools, imposters, gluttons, and parasites.
  • Modern Comedy Themes:
    • Modern comedic writing often revolves around the youthful triumphs of lovers overcoming obstacles devised by the older generation.
  • Comic Vision:
    • At the conclusion of comedies, life is often celebrated through ceremonies (weddings, dances, banquets), signifying victories of reason over irrationality.
    • Shakespeare captures this idea in All’s Well That Ends Well.

TRAGICOMEDY

  • Definition: Tragicomedy blends elements of tragedy and comedy, featuring serious and comedic incidents, diverse styles, and characters from all walks of life.
  • Characteristics:
    • Typically serious in tone yet results in happy endings or avoids disaster.
  • Examples:
    • The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov features themes reflecting survival amidst societal and economic changes.
  • Modern Tragicomedy:
    • Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett exemplifies the intertwining of humor with despair, illustrating characters awaiting an absent figure, “Godot.”
  • American Tragicomedy:
    • Works like Fences by August Wilson portray characters enduring death and loss while affirming humanity's resilience despite limited prospects for change.

MELODRAMA

  • Definition: Deriving from the Greek term melos, meaning music, melodrama is characterized by heightened emotional experiences set against musical backgrounds.
  • 19th Century Characteristics: Melodramas presented serious actions shaped by antagonistic characters, emphasizing the hero's rescue from dire circumstances at crucial moments.
  • View of Life:
    • Melodrama presents a simplistic moral landscape, portraying clear divisions between the victorious protagonists and vanquished antagonists, often attributing failures to external factors.

FARCE

  • Definition: A form of theatre that emphasizes ludicrous situations and physical humor, such as mistaken identities and exaggerated activities.
  • Historical Context:
    • Examples can be found in early Greek theater, notably in The Frogs by Aristophanes, and further flourished in works like A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare.
  • Commedia dell’arte: This Italian Renaissance theatre emphasized humor through exaggerated characters, often utilizing masks.
  • Psychology of Farce:
    • Farce allows audiences to indulge in fantastical extremes (violence, adultery, etc.) without real-life repercussions, diverging from comedy’s moral concerns.
  • Safety Valve:
    • Farce serves as a mode for audiences to confront and laugh at societal absurdities, illustrating scenarios of entrapment followed by comical resolutions.

EPIC THEATER

  • Introduction:
    • Influenced by figures like Bertolt Brecht, epic theater intentionally breaks traditional narrative forms to stimulate critical engagement with social and political issues.
  • Characteristics:
    • Non-linear narrative, episodic structure aiming for a critical appraisal rather than simple emotional engagement.
    • Brecht’s plays are often assembled as scenes that allow exploration of historical processes rather than a conventional plot structure.
  • Acting Style:
    • Brecht guided actors to present characters more as narrators of events rather than immersing into character.
    • This approach contrasts sharply with Konstantin Stanislavski’s method, which involves embodying the character deeply.
THE ALIENATION EFFECT
  • Brecht aimed to alienate audiences from their emotional responses, ensuring they viewed plays through a critical lens rather than succumbing to emotional sympathy.
  • Techniques employed:
    • Use of music, visual projections, stylized performances, and lighting to confront audiences with the artificiality of the theatrical experience rather than allowing them to indulge in a seamless illusion.

ABSURDIST THEATER

  • Definition: Absurdist plays depict the irrational aspects of life without moral judgment, as seen through playwrights like Eugene Ionesco and Samuel Beckett.
  • Common Features:
    • Characteristics of absurdist works include bizarre plots, surreal characters, and nonsensical dialogue.
  • The Absurd:
    • Defined by Ionesco as “anything without a goal”, these plays often confront themes of conformity and the challenges to personal values amid broader societal issues.
  • American Absurd:
    • Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story serves as an example of American absurdism, centering on the disconnection between two strangers competing for attention in a park setting.