Drama quiz 2

Symbols in "A Doll's House"

1. Christmas tree - happiness and birth 2. Macaroons - small rebellion, foreshadowing a larger one 3. Mending/knitting - mending/fixing lives 4. Black crosses - death, human liberation 5. Tarantella - reflects the agitated state of mind 6. Title - characters are more like dolls or puppets than individuals

Themes in "A Doll's House"

1. the restraints imposed on individual development and self-fulfillment by society's conventions 2. the effects on individual development of our pasts (including the influence of parents, upbringing, and genetic inheritance)

Restoration

1660; Charles II take the throne back and the monarchy is restored; theaters reopen

Heinrich Ibsen

1828-1906; Norwegian playwright; "A Doll House", "An Enemy of the People", "Hedda Gabler"

Strindbergh

1849-1912; Swedish plawright; Miss Julie

Oscar Wilde

1854-1900; English writer; The Importance of Being Earnest (drawing room comedy); art for art's sake

George Bernard haw

1856-1950; Irish playwright; Pygmalion, Major Barbara

Anton Chekhov

1860-1904; Russian writer; The Cherry Orchard

Luigi Pirandello

1864-1936; Italian dramatist and novelist; won Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934; said "After Shakespeare, without hesitation, I put Ibsen first"

William Butler Yeats

1865-1939; Irish writer of poetry and drama

Britain 1642

Civil War in England results in the King being ousted and the Puritans taking control and shutting down all theaters

interregnum

the time period when one monarch is ousted and before the next monarch takes charge

Plot of Cherry Orchard

the wealthy class had trouble keeping up big estates and this tells of one former serf, now a part of the social and economic climb; times are changing as we see class mobility up and down and the losses and acquisitions that accompany it

Restoration Drama

theaters reopening after the puritans had control; Charles II loved drama and it was a good time for the theater

A Doll House vs. A Doll's House

title consideration; the metaphor vs. the idea of possession

Plot of Importance of Being Earnest

two men are in love with two women who both love the name Ernest; the men endure their families or find ways to avoid them (Bunbury) and both men pretend to be Ernest; both men pair off with their women and, as real identities are uncovered, silly truth and lightweight love rule the day

Naturalism and Aristotle

typically follows the Greek philosopher's rules of "the three unities" (time, place, and action); action takes place in a single location over the time frame of a single day

19th Amendment

1920; gave women right to vote; women were/were not able to sit on juries depending on their state; states were allowed to exclude women from jury selection based on an 1879 SCOTUS decision; Wyoming allowed it as early as 1873, while Mississippi did not allow it until 1968; PA came in 1921, right after the 19th Amendment was passed

"A Doll's House" films

2 most famous were released in 1972; one was directed by Joseph Losey, starring Jane Fonda, David Warner, and Trevor Howard; other one directed by Patrick Garland, starring Claire Bloom, Anthony Hopkins, and Ralph Richardson

Victorian Era

British lit during Queen Victoria's reign in England; 1837-1901

Naturalism

Emile Zola; "slice of life" drama; shows a darker side of humanity in which each person is a product of his/her environment/heredity beyond his/her control; ex: Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman"

Characters in Trifles

George Henderson, Henry Peters, Mrs. Peters, Lewis Hale, Mrs. Hale, John Wright, Minnie Foster Wright

Faust

Goethe; German playwright; 1749-1832

Ibsen and Writing plays

Ibsen made at least three major drafts of his plays; first-said he knew characters like people on a railway journey; second-he knew them as one knows someone after four weeks at the same spa; third-knew as intimate friends

Commedia Del Arte

Italy; 16th-18th centuries; a kind of theater that flourished for 2 centuries; included comedy with actors specializing in a certain type of role--called a mask--and then bringing it out when the stock situation called for it, using improvisation in stock situations--and sometimes mime; as centuries passed, the stock routines and physical comedy became stale, and the form essentially died out

Moliere

Jean Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673); well educated and connected; was destined to inherit a place in the French court from his father, but he decided to go into the theater instead; had some successes and failures; wrote and acted his plays; most famous are Tartuffe, The Misanthrope, and The Miser

Plot of Miss Julie

Julie is an upper-class woman who gets messily entangled with a lower-class man, Jean; their messy affair lead Jean to convince Julie to kill herself, after Jean kills her canary

Big topic of Restoration

Marriage; marriages of convenience were common, so married couples in plays (and IRL, presumably) often had dalliances with others

Theater history in England

New theaters were built with artificial light, painted backdrops, and a closer connection to the audience in terms of the stage apron

Doll House characters to know

Nora Torvald Helmer Dr. Rank Kristine Linde Krogstad Anne-Marie Nora's father the children

Henrik Ibsen, in regards to Realism

Norwegian playwright; considered the father of modern realism in the theatre

Characters to know in Tartuffe

Orgon, wife Elmire Tartuffe Madame Pernelle, Orgon's mother Mariane (Orgon's daughter) and her bf Valere Damis, Orgon's son Dorine, Mariane's wily servant

Trifles

Susan Glaspell; 1916

Satire

a play meant to both make people laugh but also seriously undercut its subject mater in the pursuit of some sort of social change; ex: Tartuffe

Sentimental comedies

appear late in the 17th century and stuck around in the 18th century, too, bringing recognizable emotion to the stage; by the 18th century, it began to play on, even manipulate, the emotions of the audience

Trifles Setting

an American farmhouse, probably sometime in the first two decades of the 20th century (in keeping with the publication date and evidence from the text)

Realism

art to reproduce life; ordinary people in ordinary situations; gives idea of the "4th wall"; underscores that intimate feeling with the audience, as if we are eavesdropping on the private business of characters

Realism characters

believable, everyday types; have authentic costumes

Henrik Ibsen

born in Skein, Norway in 1828; family business failed when he was 6; father became depressed an alcoholic, and his mother eventually left his father; worked as an apprentice to an apothecary as a teenager ad considered studying medicine, instead decided to devote himself to writing and working in the theater; by early 20s, he earned a living by writing and directing plays in various Norwegian cities and became director of the Norwegian Theatre in Bergen, Norway

Comedies of manners

bright, witty comedies the revealed the foibles of society

When do female actors take the stage in Britain?

by the 18th century

Doll House Social issues

marriage, women, individuality, independence, law

19th Century Drama technological advancements in theatre

changes in lighting, scenery, costuming

Issues brought up in Miss Julie

class and gender

Naturalism in the theatre

costumes, sets, and props are historically accurate and very detailed; attempt to offer a photographic reproduction of reality; settings are often bland and ordinary; jumps in time and/or place between acts or scenes is unallowed

thematically-related nouns and issues

equality, identity, self-possession, illness, gender roles, death, the self, family/children, marriage, the law

Neoclassicism

established in France; an approach to theater that valued harmony, symmetry, and balance, with a focus on moral themes; valued thought over feeling; focused on honor and moral integrity with the focus being less on the individual and more on the greater good

Why realism was popular

everyday person in the audience could identify with situations and characters on stage

Claptraps

exaggerated reactions shown by actors onstage to help indicate emotion

Naturalism

extreme or heightened form of realism; short lived; stage time=real time

David Garrick

famous actor and theater manager of the time

"A Doll's House" premieres

first one-December 21, 1879 in Copenhagen, Denmark first time in London-1889 after a ban against it was lifted first time in US-New York, 1894

Thematically-related nouns and issues in Trifles

gender roles and expectations, marriage, identity, respect, violence, crime, morality, understanding, irony

Realism Effects on Theatre

greatly influenced 20th century theatre and cinema; effects are still felt today

structure of English Restoration Theatre

had a gallery and upper gallery, which were balcony seats risen in the air, usually having a better view; upper stage was scenic, almost looking like a wing and drop scenery; proscenium stage had two doors on each side that the cast could walk through

melodrama/melodramatic play

importance of music to reflect/enhance emotion, overwrought emotional scenes

Middle of Henrik Ibsen's life

in 1858, he became the creative director at the National Theater in Christiana (Oslo) and then married a year later; understanding the the severe northern Norwegian landscape helped to understand Ibsen, making many think him cold and aloof; left in 1864 for a 27 year exile

British playwrights of Restoration

include Aphra Behn (the first female playwright), William Congreve, and John Dryden

American Realism

inspired by Stanislavski's system of realistic acting at the turn of the 20th century; brought about method acting in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s (The Group Theatre, The Actors Studio)

Problem Play

it is difficult to know if a main character is a good, heroic character, or not; hero? anti-hero? selfless, selfish, both?; great example; "A doll house"

Controversy of "A Doll's House"

it questioned the conventional roles of husband and wife in the sacred institution of marriage, arguing, and the liberation of women; many saw Nora's act of leaving her family as a selfish abandonment of her duties as wife and mother, where others argued that her embarkation on a journey of self-discovery would not only make her a more independent and stronger individual, but also a better mother; Ibsen was not arguing for women's rights, but for justice of all humanity

influences of Naturalism

naturalist manifestos written by French novelist and playwright Emile Zola in the preface to Therese Raquin (1867 novel, 1873 play) and Swedish playwright August Strindberg in the preface to Miss Julie (1888); Darwin's theory of evolution, scientific determinism

4th wall

one wall has been removed from a room to allow the audience to "peek in" on the happenings there

End of Ibsen's life

permanently returned to Norway in 1891, where he was celebrated as a national treasure, honored by theater-goers, scholars, and royalty; was the first Norwegian author to gain widespread acclaim outside his native country; health deteriorated after a series of strokes in 1900 and died in 1906

Plots in Realism

plot is secondary to the interior lives of characters, motive, reactions to others, etc.; typically psychologically driven; often see the protagonist rise up against odds to assert self against injustice (Nora in Doll's House)

Tartuffe/The Hypocrite

premiered in 1664 privately at Versailles for the King; King disapproved of aspects of the play for the general public; Moliere rewrote it several times; play criticizes society and the clergy, thus upsetting many

"A Doll's House" book

printed two weeks before the production and sold 8000 copies in 2 weeks

Naturalistic subject matter

regularly explore sordid subject matter considered taboo on the stage in any serious manner (ex: suicide, poverty, prostitution)

Realism on stage

settings and props are often indoors and believable; typically uses the "box set" with the three stage walls and invisible fourth wall where the audience sits; settings are often bland; dialogue is not heightened for effect, but more everyday vernacular

characters in Naturalism

shaped by circumstances and controlled by external factors (such as hereditary or social/economic environment); considered victims in own circumstance and this is why they behave the way they do (seen as helpless products of their environment); often working/lower class

Audiences during Restoration wanted

socially observant comedy and re-written plays from times past to give happier endings

Ibsen as an Individualist

staunch advocate for individual freedoms and rights; "I think that l of us have nothing other or better to do than in spirit and sincerity to realize ourselves. That to my mind, is the real liberalism"; believed the state "is the curse of the individual"

French tragedy

stuck to Aristotelian unities of time, place, and action; Racine was the primary French tragedian of the time

Anti-hero

unlike heroes (Oedipus or Hamlet), the Anti-hero is a man character who is not elevated morally or socially; in fact, he/she may be downtrodden; found in naturalistic or other more modern plays

French theater

used female actresses

Scribe's formula for a "Well Made Play"

used for dramatic action/19th century: exposition (background, getting us "up to speed", surprises) suspense and coincidences climax late in the play, secrets revealed denouement (all things worked out and brought to resolution)

"A Doll's House" alternate ending

was written for Germany's debut; had Nora look at her children before she is about to leave, collapses to the floor, and decides to remain; Ibsen called the ending a "barbaric outrage"

The Cherry Orchard

written by Anton Chekhov; Russia; 1903; called comedy by playwright, and tragedy by critics; set after serfdom was abolished (1861)

Miss Julie

written by August Strindbergh; Sweden; 1889

The Importance of Being Earnest

written by Oscar Wilde; Irish; 1895; social comedy, comedy of manners, satire of upper class superficiality