American Drama

Stage Direction

" Authors who write plays, called playwrights or dramatists, must incorporate movement into their works by including stage directions. These detailed instructions tell actors how to say lines and where to move on the stage. When actors perform a play, they do not read these instructions aloud. Instead, the actors act out the playwright's directions for the audience. However, when reading a play, the reader must use the stage directions, written into the script in italics, to imagine how lines are meant to be delivered and how the characters are moving around the stage.

Parody

A parody in literature is a work that imitates a popular literary style, author, or genre by mimicking certain features of the original—including diction, style, and form—while exaggerating and changing other elements for comedic effect. Parodies often mock distinctive characteristics of a work while pointing out its peculiar nuances in style. They can be created for humor, as criticism, or in tribute to an author or individual work. Parodies sometimes mock a specific person, situation, or culture, as this lesson's reading selection does. John Bennett's "What Troubled Poe's Raven" is a poem that parodies Edgar Allan Poe's famous work "The Raven." Compare excerpts from the two works on the next screen. Notice how Bennett's poem mocks Poe's. What elements of a parody does "What Troubled Poe's Raven" have? How does it discuss the original work? The speakers in both poems on the previous screen have a similar purpose. Poe's speaker is recounting a tale and addressing the raven, while Bennett is addressing Poe himself and surmising the Raven's motives. Bennett imitates the exact structure that Poe uses in "The Raven," down to the rhythm and internal rhyme. Bennett also repeats certain words that Poe uses, such as o'er. Bennett employs these characteristics of parody in imitating a well-known poem as a way to mock the serious and eerie mood that Poe creates.

What is the intended meaning behind Kaufman's use of understatement in relation to American drama?

British plays from the early twentieth century were full of stiff characters who interacted with one another in a formal manner, no matter the situation. This extremely formal behavior extended across all genres of

How does George S. Kaufman use understatement in his play? Cite textual evidence to support your answer.

George S. Kaufman uses understatement in the play by having the characters downplay the seriousness of the situation. One of the first uses of understatement in the play is when the bellboy says in a very calm manner, "The hotel is on fire, sir." Bob's reaction to this statement is "Well—is it bad?" In reality, a bellboy would not tell hotel guests about a fire so calmly, and the guests would not waste time by asking how bad the fire is. As the fire spreads, Bob remarks, "Yes, that is pretty bad." The bellboy later says to Ed, "The lower part of the hotel is about gone, sir." These understatements show how unconcerned the characters are about the fire, parodying British manners with the ridiculousness of the situation.

George S. Kaufman

Kaufman wrote predominately humorous plays, using understatement and satire to emphasize the comedic tone of his work. Many of his plays were later transformed into movie scripts. Kaufman uses understatement to portray British society as stiff and excessively proper, as exemplified by the calm manner in which his characters behave. Instead of reacting to the fire, the characters fixate on what is proper. For example, instead of being concerned about getting out of a burning building safely, Bob worries that no one will know where his mail should be sent. The characters also never raise their voices because such behavior would be considered improper. Kaufman's use of understatement demonstrates that British society can be standoffish, unmoved, and impassive, irrespective of the situation. For example, by having the characters in the play converse in a calm manner, even as they risk being trapped in the fire, Kaufman mocks British society's excessively stiff and proper mannerisms. Bob's calm reaction is amusing, as he is unaffected by the fire and is in no hurry to get outside the burning building safely and unscathed, which is not what anyone would consider a normal reaction to such a situation. To ensure that the actors perform the play as intended, Kaufman included a "vital note" at the beginning of the play, which states, "No actor ever raises his voice; every line must be read as though it were an invitation to a cup of tea." Kaufman goes on to say, "If this direction is disregarded, the play has no point at all." One of the main objectives of The Still Alarm is to parody British society, and Kaufman wants the understated behavior of the actors to mock how the British act. Stage directions are used sparingly in The Still Alarm, mostly to indicate the characters' restrained physical movement. Their dialogue is more important than their movements. This limited stage direction gives the actors the ability to interpret the characters' actions. For example, when Bob realizes the floor is hot, the stage directions simply say "Feels something on the sole of his foot; inspects it." The actor playing Bob is not told how to react, which allows him to interpret the manner in which his character will carry out the action.

The Still Alarm

The characters in The Still Alarm are calm and unconcerned about a serious fire. Instead of quickly evacuating the building and getting to safety, Bob and Ed stay in their room, even when they sense that the fire is reaching them. Their telephone calls exemplify Kaufman's use of understatement in the play: BOB: (Still looking out—looks up): Still all right up above, though. (Turns to boy) Have they notified the Fire Department? BELLBOY: I wouldn't know, sir. I'm only the bellboy. BOB: Well, that's the thing to do, obviously—(Nods head to each one as if the previous line was a bright idea)—notify the Fire Department. Just call them up, give them the name of the hotel— Bob is unusually calm for someone in a building that is on fire. A person would more typically be frantic, quickly calling the fire department to alert it to the disaster. Bob's lackadaisical approach to the fire is intended to be humorous because he is so underwhelmed by the dangerous situation.

Dialogue and Monologue

The dialogue in a play is the conversation that occurs between two or more characters. In the excerpt you read from Thornton Wilder's The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden, the dialogue is between Ma and Arthur. A monologue occurs when just one character is on stage and speaking. Monologues often reveal a character's inner thoughts and motivations to the audience.

How would the play The Still Alarm have been different if it was not a parody and the characters reacted normally to the fire in the hotel?

Under normal circumstances, in the event of a fire at a hotel, the hotel guests and employees would panic and head to an exit as quickly as possible to save themselves. The characters would not idle away time in needless, calm conversation, but rather they would call the fire department for help immediately. As the characters realized the flames were reaching their floor, they would have become more frantic and concerned about finding an escape route. The firemen would also have been more proactive and would not have brought along a fiddle to play. If the characters reacted more realistically, the play would not have the same humorous effect.

Understatement

Understatement is a technique used to create emphasis by saying less than what is known to be true. While writers use hyperbole to exaggerate an idea, they use understatement to downplay an important concept. Understatement is often used in a humorous way, helping to create an ironic or satirical tone. Look at an example of an understatement: It isn't very serious. I have this tiny tumor in my brain. (from The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger) If taken literally, this excerpt suggests that a brain tumor is not a serious matter and can be cured easily. However, the reader knows that the reverse is true. A particular kind of understatement is litotes, an understatement that expresses the affirmative by saying the negative of the contrary. Writers often achieve this effect with the use of negating words such as not or no. Examine the following use of litotes: Not seldom from the uproar I retired Into a silent bay . . . (from "The Prelude" by William Wordsworth) Wordsworth describes his activity as "not seldom," which means fairly often, thus suggesting that Wordsworth sought out silence more often than not. Writers use litotes, like understatement, to emphasize an idea, whether for comedic or serious effect.