THEORIES OF THEATER.   Term Paper ID:24445 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Overview of dramatic writing & critical theory from classical to modern era. Ideas & art of Aristotle, Sophocles, Pierre Corneille, Goethe, Hegel, Shakespeare.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Overview of dramatic writing & critical theory from classical to modern era. Ideas & art of Aristotle, Sophocles, Pierre Corneille, Goethe, Hegel, Shakespeare. Paper Introduction: The purpose of this research is to examine theatre and drama as forces that attempt to present, explain, or comment by means of artistic forms on human experience in historical and cultural context. The plan of the research will be to show how this force has functioned as dramatic art, as symbolic form and as material for and of aesthetic and social commentary, from the classical to the modern period, with a view toward understanding how the operations of drama and theatre interpenetrate and/or affect the shape of shared belief and experience. Undoubtedly, the Poetics is the first great and systematic articulation of dramatic theory, so important to subsequent dramatic theory that it is almost a given or a postulate whence virtually all succeeding Western aesthetics proceeds. Or to paraphrase what Whitehead famously says of Plato, one could say that Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Meanwhile, citing the clash between the feudal andbourgeois worlds and the modern clash of ideologies, Lukacs argues a moregeneral idea, that the modern world view is not shared, as it was inclassical or Renaissance period. Trans. A Treasury of the Theatre. The quarrel of Le Cid revealsrather more than it might have intended about the cultural priorities ofneoclassical France. Subsequent generations of Western drama and criticism can beinterpreted as strategies for explaining or commenting on culture as bothcontent and as context of immediate human experience. reflective facultycommands them and lifts them above that which their condition and definitepurpose would make them, so that they are all the while as it were forcedby the misfortune of circumstances and the obstacles of their position intodoing that which they accomplish" (Hegel 216). Ed. European Theories of the Drama, with a Supplement on the American Drama. Because the representation of action is achievedthrough a consistency and concentration of character and incident, andbecause the subject matter has weight, there is an interdependence of craftand aesthetic conception, as well as a confidence that the reader/spectatorof the play is engaged by the issues and characters at stake. The historical perspective, however, recognizes that Renaissancethought and dramatic art entailed both rediscovery of and departure from orexperimentation with ancient models. John Gassner. "The Theatre of Cruelty, First and Second Manifestos." Trans. . The Cid. Ed. Indeed,reversal and recognition occur at the same moment, thus also inciting pity,fear, and catastrophe at the same moment, specifically, when the kingdiscovers the source of the plague (himself), that he had killed his fatherafter all, that he has taken his mother as a wife. 1, The Comedies. Clark. Whatever intimate acquaintance with universalitySchlegel might have hoped for in real-life society remains elusive, howevermuch aesthetic experience is shared. According to Goethe,"The French poets have endeavored to follow most rigidly the laws of thethree unities, but they sin against comprehensibility, inasmuch as theysolve a dramatic law, not dramatically, but by narration" (Goethe 272). Anne and Henry Paolucci. . The Germans' preference forexperimentation has the effect of reformulating ancient classical discourseof dramatic structure and definition to accommodate an aesthetic consistentwith Enlightenment and Romantic strands of thought as forces of history oftheir own. Clark. "The most effective form of discovery is that which isaccompanied by reversals, like the one in Oedipus" (Aristotle 46). Barrett H. Ed. Once made clear, of course, they darken immediately. Over the long haul and in general(even in France), such an articulation appears to have won the war ofideas, even though the details vary and even though, as Lukacs sensiblypoints out (425), the bourgeois response to (and triumph over) Romanticismfostered modern drama as bourgeois drama, with mixed results for thepersistent and increasingly complex encounter of ideas of what constitutesart, drama, aesthetics. Vol. "Conversations" [excerpt]. Barrett H. Vol. New York: Crown Publishers Inc., 1965. 5 8-57.Sophocles. Eric Bentley. Ed. Viola's predicament of concealment has two counterpoints:the latent romance between Sir Toby and Maria, which does not flower untilOlivia marries Sebastian, and the slapstick fate of Malvolio, whose thick-skulled inability to decode a practical joke and whose determination to berevenged on everybody in Olivia's household suggest nothing so much as asinister underside of self-interested romance that makes him deserving ofthe disagreeable fate that befalls him. John Oxenford. inasmuch as foreigners who may see this precious masterpiece . Clark. Ed. Potter, 1978. Nor is the test of moderation in the play easilymet, for the hero marries the daughter of a man he kills. A.L. 89-91.Corneille, Pierre. 425-45 .Schlegel, August Wilhelm. The Theory of the Modern Stage: An Introduction to Modern Theatre and Drama. Clark. Wallace Fowlie. "Some Ways of Trating Tragedy According to Probability or Necessity." Trans. P.N. "First Discourse on the Uses and Elements of Dramatic Poetry." Trans. "Preface to Cromwell." Trans. 33-51. All of this is consistent with a self-conscious break fromhistorical aesthetic traditions. How the quarrel would be resolvedhad something to do with how the French perceived themselves asparticipants in the civil society. John Gassner and Ralph G. 357-7 .Lukacs, George. European Theories of the Drama, with a Supplement on the American Drama. Ed. For example, whereas Aristotle argues the virtues of compressionof incident and feeling in tragedy, Schlegel describes the virtues ofselectivity and consistency in the art of the poet (285). New York: Crown Publishers Inc., 1965. The implicit analogy is to theincreasing rationalization of Greek society itself, from primitive groupbehavior to the structures of culture and civil society with whichAristotle himself was sufficiently acquainted to undertake a systematicinvestigation of its various attributes. Evenas the shape of so much external experience is fully determined--by capital(431)--Lukacs is describing in aesthetic terms the Marxist idea ofalienation, noting the highly structured quality of real life, which tendsto drive aesthetic spirit more deeply inside the individual, paradoxicallymissing the vital center of being, which cannot realize itself by engagingwith the external world. European Theories of the Drama, with a Supplement on the American Drama. New York: Crown Publishers Inc., 1965. Consider the quarrel of The Cid, whichentails Poetics footnotes but highlights in ways unique to the neoclassicalperiod the interpenetration between what could be called the artifacts andthe axiology of art. Both Aristotleand Schlegel see the portrayal of men in action as foundational to drama,but whereas Aristotle systematically parses tragedy into plot, character,thought, diction, spectacle, and song, Schlegel defines drama in terms ofthe poetical and the theatrical. Or to paraphrase what Whitehead famously saysof Plato, one could say that all Western dramatic criticism is a series offootnotes to Aristotle. Theoverrefinement of form so repels Goethe that he concludes that "it is atbottom better to make a confused piece than a cold one" (Goethe 283).Hegel, meanwhile, faults the French for making characters out ofdialectical arguments (216) to arrive at plot conflict. Vol. Rowse. Equally, the fact of thequarrel is evidence of serious axiological engagement on the part of therecipients and transmitters of culture. . As Cesario she points Orsino's own folly in sending a surrogateto woo Olivia: "We men may say more, swear more: but indeed / Our shows aremore than will; for still we prove / Much in our vows, but little in ourlove" (II.v). There are also strongcontinuities of thought across generations, such that, in each succeedingage, current drama and commentary can be seen as relevant to--even whendeparting from--axiological origins. . Barrett H. What is important about Aristotle's judgment of Oedipus as a work ofart is the "vivid" emotional and psychological impact of its integration ofnarrative design and idea. A tone of disapproval ofFrench structure and authority permeates the critiques of Hegel, Goethe,and Schlegel alike. George Burnham Ives. Allen. . Gilmore. But therein lies the problem, for the action takesplace at one castle in one day. . A Treasury of the Theatre. Goethe and Hegel alike echo Schlegel's views. Oedipus the King. In the long view of history, Chapelain's tract is lessnotable for its content than for the fact that it established an aestheticauthority for the Academy that defined both adherence and rebellion on thecontinent for the next hundred or so years. Trans. Aristotlewas supposed by the French arbiters of taste to have insisted on theunities of time, place, and action as the presentational form of all drama.Into these aesthetic guidelines came Le Cid. 284-8.Shakespeare, William. Ed. Clark. 55-75.Chapelain, Jean. John Gassner. For example, Violaassumes the identity of a man as Cesario in Twelfth Night, becoming in theprocess a casualty of her fundamental nature in two equally hopelessrelationships, all the while driven by a disinterested sense of and respectfor love. The Annotated Shakespeare. Barrett H. In his determination toanswer one main question of the play--what caused the plague--he answersanother main question--who am I--principally because of his dogged andimperious determination to "start afresh and make dark things clear"(Sophocles 35). New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. The Theory of the Modern Stage: An Introduction to Modern Theatre and Drama. John Gassner. Baltimore: Penguin/Pelican, 197 . Aristotle's view that tragedy is the highest ofthe arts derives from its ability to accomplish, whether in written form orin performance, a convincing, serious, and powerful imitation of men inaction within a "shorter compass" than (say) the longer poetic form ofepic, e.g., the Iliad. Particularly in his discussion of reversal, or a dramatic change ofconditions to their opposite, and recognition/discovery, which is atransformation for the characters from a state of ignorance to a state ofknowledge, Aristotle takes his text from Oedipus, a primary text of thegolden age. The serious aesthetic response, asLukacs indicates (45 ), is to engage this dilemma as historical artifactand use it for subject material, following Albee's idea that it is theplaywright's responsibility "to show people who they are and what theirtime is like in the hope that perhaps they'll change it" (Albee 62). The German criticism that explains all ofthis, coming as it does generations after both Shakespeare and Frenchclassicism had become features of historical discourse, has the benefit ofhindsight. New York: Clarkson N. It happens that in the play, Corneille poses one guideline against theother, compressing a lifetime of grand-scale events into 24 hours (e.g.,duel, battle, marriage). Clark. Only because she is a woman can Violapenetrate Olivia's supercilious aloofness, but only as Cesario can shesuggest to Olivia the perversity of denying her sexual being. Produced successfully in 1636,the play caused a literary controversy that was never quite settled andthat has ever since been alluded to as a core event in the history of thedrama. Hegel on Tragedy. Indeed, in the modern world, defined byethical relativity, one individual's reality is not that of another. 3 vols. . Ed. 1 -1 .---. 1: World Drama from Aeschylus to Ostrovsky. New York: Crown Publishers Inc., 1965. New York: Crown Publishers Inc., 1965. As well, it seems to explain the cultural implications of thedifferences between Schlegel's and Aristotle's taxonomies of dramaticstructure. This helps explain Hegel's agreeing with Corneille'scritics in their negative reactions to The Cid, but for different reasons,and in the process faulting neoclassical dramaturgy more generally. Theatre and Drama in the Making. Baltimore: Penguin/Pelican, 197 . as the spiritual struggle of one andthe same character" (158-9)--unsatisfactory, in Hegel's view, because thestruggle is between abstractions and not a consequence of emotionalexperience. Against her own interests Viola also scolds Olivia--whom sheis disappointed to find has "beauty truly blent, whose red and whitenature's own cunning hand laid on"--for refusing Orsino's suit: "Lady, youare the cruell'st she alive, / If you will lead these graces to the grave /And leave the world no copy" (I.v). Corneille himself . Alternatively, Hegel cites with approval Shakespeare's creationof characters whose "imaginative power and . Trans. The evidence of the Poetics as itsown artifact and as commentary on tragedy is that both tragedy andcommentary had the effect of helping to explain how Greek conceptions ofhuman experience in general and Greek society in particular evolved. "Opinions of the French Academy of the Tragi Comedy The Cid." Trans. Ed. 823-43.---. It also, one must say, reflects what can only be taken asantipathy between French and German culture. Lee Baxandall. He connects "the tragic tone of mind," which is tragic heroism,to "the thought of the possible issu[ing] out of the mind as a livingreality" (288). Mary Caroline Richards. Ed. In the Poetics, this takes the form of a serious axiologicalengagement with found society and culture. The German response to French classicism articulates the collapse ofaesthetic authoritarianism and rigidity. 3 vols. Twelfth Night. Aristotle uses the earlychapters of the Poetics to describe the evolution of poetry from humanity's"instinct for imitation" and natural aptitude for rhythm and dance, throughits progression through organized phallic songs, and toward the emergenceof the "grandeur of tragedy" as features of refinements or embellishmentsof poetic method (Aristotle 35-7). This evolves into Schlegel's view that theunified content of a national character can be discerned from its aestheticresponses. Theaesthetic response of popular culture seems to be Broadway versions ofcartoons: Beauty and the Beast. might think that our greatest masters were no more than apprentices (Scudery, cited by Hugo 366).Not to be outdone, Corneille replied, citing alternative chapter and versein the Poetics, taking the view that actions "should be placed where it ismost accommodating and fitting that they should happen" (Corneille 353-4).Back and forth the pamphlets flew, until the quarrel was referred to thethen newly formed Academie fran(aise, which supported Scudery: "[A]s inmusic and painting, we should not consider every concert and every picturegood if it please the people but fail in the observance of the rules oftheir respective arts" (9 ). "The Sociology of Modern Drama." Trans. New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1962.Hugo, Victor. The multiplicity of character and incident in Shakespeare, as well astheir persuasiveness and entertainment value, elude classificationaccording to classical norms. This whole scheme of character lends both humor and melancholy truthto Twelfth Night. Undoubtedly, the Poetics is the first great and systematicarticulation of dramatic theory, so important to subsequent dramatic theorythat it is almost a given or a postulate whence virtually all succeedingWestern aesthetics proceeds. Beatrice Stewart MacClintock. The evidence of the text of Le Cid is that Aristotle's unities arefaithfully observed. . In this regard, Artaud, renounces "the theatricalsuperstition of the text and the dictatorship of the writer" (Artaud 67) inthe theatre of cruelty, chiefly to support the idea of drama as somethingbesides what Artaud particularly deplored in form and content, the well-made play, as if rationalism confines emotion and the totality of thetheatrical experience. The purpose of this research is to examine theatre and drama as forcesthat attempt to present, explain, or comment by means of artistic forms onhuman experience in historical and cultural context. Barrett H. When Le Cid was produced, Corneille's rival Georges Scudery "set outto prove that the subject of the play was worthless, that it violated thechief rules of the drama" (Clark 88). European Theories of the Drama, with a Supplement on the American Drama. Works CitedAlbee, Edward, and Gielgud, John. Now Aristotle also states that events intragedy should be necessary and probable, specifically that "probableimpossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities" (Aristotle68). Whether Le Cid remains relevant to modern aesthetics as either greatdrama or good theatre is debatable; undoubtedly, whoever, it is importantin the history of the drama and aesthetics. What is poetical refers not toversification but rather to the conceptual design, or the pattern ofuniversally, eternally true ideas that are contained in a work. In particular,Hegel cites Rodrigo in Le Cid as a "collision between the opposingprinciples of love and honour . 345-57.Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. The plan of theresearch will be to show how this force has functioned as dramatic art, assymbolic form and as material for and of aesthetic and social commentary,from the classical to the modern period, with a view toward understandinghow the operations of drama and theatre interpenetrate and/or affect theshape of shared belief and experience. That, too, is a cultural artifact. To put it another way, theart of a culture can have the effect of explaining the content andpriorities of that culture; that is why it seems rather crucial to takenote, as Aristotle does, of the social and religious context of theemergence of tragedy in Greek culture and the importance of tragic art asan aspect of that culture. Eric Bentley. Ed. "John Gielgud and Edward Albee Talk About the Theatre." Atlantic Monthly, April 1965, 124.Artaud, Antonin. The text of Le Cid reveals that observation about its handling of theunities was accurate, it also seems fair to suggest that the play mighthave been spared controversy over Aristotelian unities in a differentcultural context. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1964. Hegel's comic-character examples in this regard are Trinculo andStephano from The Tempest and Falstaff and Pistol from 1 Henry IV, but theobservation could apply equally to Twelfth Night. Citing chapter and verse inAristotle, Scudery condemned Corneille's flouting of dramatic convention: Pronounce, O my judges, a decree worthy of your eminence, which will give all Europe to know that Le Cid is not the masterpiece of the greatest man in France, but the least judicious performance of M. 269-83.Hegel, G.W.F. Ed. What istheatrical refers to the emotional content of those ideas and the means bywhich ("perspicuity, rapidity, and energy," as well as strength of theimpressions) the playwright gains interest and sympathy for character orincident (Schlegel 285-6). 1: World Drama from Aeschylus to Ostrovsky. Over the long term, particularly as the shape of Europeanculture changed and irrespective of the content and deficiencies of TheCid, the formalist victory of the Academy in 1636 translated intosubstantive defeat of not only the specific content of the Academy's attackon Corneille but also formalist axiological authority more generally. Barrett H. In his Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature and Comparison entre laPhedre de Racine et celle d'Euripide (Clark 283), writing severalgenerations after the quarrel, August Wilhelm Schlegel attacks Frenchclassicism, in particular preferring Euripides' Hippolytus to Racine'sPhaedra. Honor anddecorum, so highly prized by the neoclassical French, and the catharticemotion of tragic transcendence and sensibility so highly prized byAristotle, are set aside for romance and a happy ending. European Theories of the Drama, with a Supplement on the American Drama. 3 vols. What all of these characters share,however, is (perhaps ironically) what makes them distinct, i.e.,individuated personalities, and they each in their ways respond to theirenvironment with a view toward rationalizing their place in it. Aristotle'spositing of the vicarious nature of man implies the view that man's natureis also social and inquisitive, which in turn implies that what we know orcan find out about human social behavior is important to understanding thesocial structures in which behavior takes place. But it seems also important to recognize thatAristotle himself is engaged in a project of footnoting Greek society as hefinds it. Theatrical decorum is important, but Schlegelalso calls for "break[ing] through these barriers of conventional reserve[so that] those who before were strangers to one another become in a momentintimately acquainted" (286-7). A culture so wholly and self-consciously infused with discourse ofreason and the golden mean as neoclassical France naturally might wellexpect that its drama would adhere to norms of good sense and moderation.The aesthetic authority of Louis XIV's France was ancient Greece. Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature [excerpt]. What Aristotle refers to as the "vivid" emotionalexperience of tragedy becomes in Schlegel's formulation an explanation forthe emergence of Romantic rather than classicist or even Enlightenmenttemperament. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.