Understanding Drama

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Week 5 Discuss.

1) Spend some time with the website of the one-minute play festival found here:

http://www.oneminuteplayfestival.com -- check out some of the links to the one-minute plays that are featured in the festival. What do you notice? Another possiblity is to look up "one-minute plays" on YouTube and see what you find.

2) Now, write your own one-minute play using no fewer than two characters. Be sure to include pertinent stage directions.

3) Have fun! Don't worry about writing a master piece. Just work on putting together a one-page or one-minute play that features a couple worthwhile characters who have something to say! You're free to take complete liberty with this assignment.

4) Check out the "dialogue tips" handout under 'Course Materials' which will help you put your play into proper format.

5) 250 word minimum and 2 scholarly sources

Complete Section1200 words and 3 scholarly sources

Let's discuss the idea of the American hero regarding Death of a Salesman. The American idea of a tragic hero differs substantially from the Ancient Greek idea of the tragic hero and one's tragic flaw. How do you find value in reading about such American tragic heroes such as Willy Loman?

Be sure to support your ideas with details from the play as well as quoted passages. As always, make sure you use in-text citations and an end reference.

1.In what ways does Will Loman recognize (or fail to recognize) his own shortcomings? Why does this matter? Would you say that Willy Loman's lack of self-awareness is a major part of the tragedy?

2.What did you personally learn about human behavior from the historical aspects of the play and does this play's commentary on American consumerism resonate with what we see and experience in our society today?

3.Is Willy Loman completely responsible for what became of him and his keeping-up-with the Joneses obsession or can we also blame the social and cultural environment in which he lived?

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HUM​ ​104​ ​|​ ​Bethel​ ​University Instructor:​ ​MJohn agda​ Blumer ​Sokolowski,​ ​MFA Week​ ​V:​ ​Assignments​ ​#1​ ​-​ ​#3​ ​Assignment​ ​Guidelines​ ​and​ ​Grading​ ​Rubrics For​ ​our​ ​final​ ​unit,​ ​we​ ​explore​ ​the​ ​world​ ​of​ ​drama.​ ​To​ ​begin,​ ​read​ ​“Death​ ​of​ ​a​ ​Salesman”​ ​by Arthur​ ​Miller.​ ​Once​ ​you’ve​ ​read​ ​the​ ​play​ ​(hopefully​ ​twice!),​ ​look​ ​over​ ​the​ ​three​ ​COMPLETE questions.​ ​Read​ ​them​ ​several​ ​times​ ​so​ ​that​ ​you’re​ ​sure​ ​what​ ​each​ ​question​ ​is​ ​asking. These​ ​three​ ​reading​ ​questions​ ​will​ ​be​ ​evaluated​ ​according​ ​to​ ​the​ ​rubrics​ ​below,​ ​so​ ​please​ ​look the​ ​criteria​ ​over​ ​closely​ ​so​ ​that​ ​you’re​ ​clear​ ​on​ ​what​ ​the​ ​expectations​ ​are.​ ​For​ ​more​ ​detailed directions​ ​for​ ​each​ ​assignment,​ ​be​ ​sure​ ​to​ ​review​ ​the​ ​guidelines/directions​ ​listed​ ​under​ ​the “Complete”​ ​section. A​ ​couple​ ​key​ ​reminders: ● ● ● Be​ ​sure​ ​to​ ​support​ ​your​ ​responses​ ​to​ ​each​ ​question​ ​using​ ​not​ ​only​ ​details​ ​from​ ​the​ ​play, but​ ​quoted​ ​lines​ ​and​ ​quoted​ ​details.​​ ​Remember:​ ​the​ ​play​ ​is​ ​your​ ​PRIMARY​ ​source,​ ​so the​ ​more​ ​you​ ​can​ ​rely​ ​on​ ​it​ ​to​ ​develop​ ​your​ ​response,​ ​the​ ​stronger​ ​your​ ​answer. You​ ​are​ ​required​ ​to​ ​make​ ​use​ ​of​ ​no​ ​fewer​ ​than​ ​THREE​ ​academic/scholarly​ ​sources​ ​in this​ ​week’s​ ​Complete.​​ ​I​ ​recommend​ ​making​ ​use​ ​of​ ​at​ ​least​ ​ONE​ ​source​ ​per​ ​question. For​ ​each​ ​answer,​ ​be​ ​sure​ ​to​ ​cite​ ​the​ ​play​ ​and​ ​provide​ ​a​ ​reference​ ​as​ ​per​ ​MLA​ ​or​ ​APA. Remember:​ ​academic​ ​integrity​ ​is​ ​the​ ​goal! As​ ​always,​ ​let​ ​me​ ​know​ ​if​ ​you​ ​have​ ​any​ ​questions​ ​about​ ​the​ ​assignment​ ​expectations​ ​or​ ​grading criteria. Week​ ​II​ ​|​ ​Question​ ​1​ ​-​ ​3​ ​Grading​ ​Rubrics Question​ ​#1 /10​ ​-​ ​Content:​​ ​In​ ​400​ ​words,​ ​student​ ​provides​ ​a​ ​thorough​ ​and​ ​well-detailed​ ​response​ ​to​ ​the following​ ​questions:​ ​In​ ​what​ ​ways​ ​does​ ​the​ ​Willy​ ​Loman​ ​recognize​ ​his​ ​own​ ​shortcomings​ ​or doesn't​ ​he​ ​and​ ​why​ ​does​ ​this​ ​matter?​ ​Is​ ​this​ ​part​ ​of​ ​the​ ​tragedy,​ ​that​ ​is,​ ​Loman's​ ​lack​ ​of self-awareness? /10​ ​-​ ​Support:​​ ​Student​ ​supports​ ​his/her​ ​response​ ​with​ ​details​ ​from​ ​the​ ​play,​ ​including​ q ​ uoted passages​ ​that​ ​help​ ​to​ ​develop​ ​and​ ​support​ ​the​ ​student’s​ ​ideas.​ ​Student​ ​relies​ ​on​ ​at​ ​least​ ​ONE scholarly/academic​ ​source​ ​to​ ​support​ ​his/her​ ​ideas. /5​ ​-​ ​Grammar​ ​&​ ​formatting:​​ ​Student​ ​uses​ ​proper​ ​grammar,​ ​mechanics​ ​and​ ​spelling​ ​in​ ​his/her response,​ ​makes​ ​use​ ​of​ ​proper​ ​in-text​ ​citations​ ​(1​ ​point)​ ​and​ ​an​ ​end-reference​ ​(1​ ​point). TOTAL:​ ​/25 Question​ ​#2 /10​ ​-​ ​Content:​​ ​In​ ​400​ ​words,​ ​student​ ​provides​ ​a​ ​thorough​ ​and​ ​well-detailed​ ​response​ ​to​ ​the following​ ​questions:​ ​What​ ​did​ ​you​ ​personally​ ​learn​ ​about​ ​human​ ​behavior​ ​from​ ​the​ ​historical aspects​ ​of​ ​the​ ​play​ ​and​ ​does​ ​this​ ​play's​ ​commentary​ ​on​ ​American​ ​consumerism​ ​resonate​ ​with what​ ​we​ ​see​ ​and​ ​experience​ ​in​ ​our​ ​society​ ​today? /10​ ​-​ ​Support:​​ ​Student​ ​supports​ ​his/her​ ​response​ ​with​ ​details​ ​from​ ​the​ ​play,​ ​including​ q ​ uoted passages​ ​that​ ​help​ ​to​ ​develop​ ​and​ ​support​ ​the​ ​student’s​ ​ideas.​ ​Student​ ​relies​ ​on​ ​at​ ​least​ ​ONE scholarly/academic​ ​source​ ​to​ ​support​ ​his/her​ ​ideas. /5​ ​-​ ​Grammar​ ​&​ ​formatting:​​ ​Student​ ​uses​ ​proper​ ​grammar,​ ​mechanics​ ​and​ ​spelling​ ​in​ ​his/her response,​ ​makes​ ​use​ ​of​ ​proper​ ​in-text​ ​citations​ ​(1​ ​point)​ ​and​ ​an​ ​end-reference​ ​(1​ ​point). TOTAL:​ ​/25 Question​ ​#3 /10​ ​-​ ​Content:​​ ​In​ ​400​ ​words,​ ​student​ ​provides​ ​a​ ​thorough​ ​and​ ​well-detailed​ ​response​ ​to​ ​the following​ ​question:​ ​Is​ ​Willy​ ​Loman​ ​completely​ ​responsible​ ​for​ ​what​ ​became​ ​of​ ​him​ ​and​ ​his keeping-up-with​ ​the​ ​Jones'​ ​obsession​ ​or​ ​can​ ​we​ ​also​ ​blame​ ​the​ ​social​ ​and​ ​cultural​ ​environment in​ ​which​ ​he​ ​lived? /10​ ​-​ ​Support:​​ ​Student​ ​supports​ ​his/her​ ​response​ ​with​ ​details​ ​from​ ​the​ ​play,​ ​including​ q ​ uoted passages​ ​that​ ​help​ ​to​ ​develop​ ​and​ ​support​ ​the​ ​student’s​ ​ideas.​ ​Student​ ​relies​ ​on​ ​at​ ​least​ ​ONE scholarly/academic​ ​source​ ​to​ ​support​ ​his/her​ ​ideas. /5​ ​-​ ​Grammar​ ​&​ ​formatting:​​ ​Student​ ​uses​ ​proper​ ​grammar,​ ​mechanics​ ​and​ ​spelling​ ​in​ ​his/her response,​ ​makes​ ​use​ ​of​ ​proper​ ​in-text​ ​citations​ ​(1​ ​point)​ ​and​ ​an​ ​end-reference​ ​(1​ ​point). TOTAL:​ ​/25 HUM  104  |  BETHEL  UNIVERSITY   John Blumer INSTRUCTOR:  MAGDA  SOKOLOWSKI,  MFA   HOW  TO  WRITE  DIALOGUE     After  you’ve  read  through  this  week’s  plays,  your  task  is  to  write  your  own  one-­page  of   dialogue  or  better  yet,  a  one-­minute  play.       WHAT  IS  DIALOGUE?   When  it  comes  to  fiction  or  drama,  dialogue  is  several  things:   1. A  conversation  between  two  or  more  people.   2. Conversation  between  characters  in  a  drama  or  narrative.   3. The  lines  or  passages  in  a  script  that  are  intended  to  be  spoken.   4. A  literary  work  written  in  the  form  of  a  conversation     In  this  week’s  assignment,  you’re  interested  in  writing  a  dialogue  between  several  people.   In  other  words,  you  get  to  choose  the  characters  in  your  play  and  how  many  characters  you   want.  Who  knows,  maybe  you  even  feature  yourself  in  the  play!  :)     TEN  RULES  WHEN  IT  COMES  TO  WRITING  DIALOGUE:     1. Dialogue  needs  to  have  a  point.  It  has  to  move  the  story  along,  reflect  a  character’s   inner  character  and  conflicts,  expose  secrets,  goals,  and  wounds.  Often  in  dialogue,   it’s  what’s  not  said  that’s  important.   2. Contains  differing  points  of  view.  When  two  people  are  conversing,  their  dialogue   needs  to  reflect  their  characters  and  show  they  are  at  odds,  with  totally  different   motivations.  This  is  what  makes  dialogue  interesting.   3. Has  more  content  that  ordinary  conversation.  It’s  all  about  context.  Use  juicy  verbs,   edit  superfluous  words  and  keep  sentences  simple.  Reveal  complex  characters  with   simplicity.Again,  often  what’s  not  said  that  is  most  important  and  revealing.  Most   “real”  speech  contains  fragments,  “ums”  and  idioms.  Don’t  include  those.  Don’t  have   your  character  say  something  unless  it’s  pertinent  to  the  story  or  the  character.   4. Avoid  monologues.  This  is  as  true  in  dialogue  as  in  life.  Readers  will  get  bored.   Break  long  bouts  of  dialogue  with  some  action.  Get  a  character  to  pour  tea  or  clean   out  an  ear.  This  comes  back  to  #1.   5. Show  a  character’s  lack  of  self  understanding  in  his/her  dialogue.  Dig  into  the   subtext  of  the  dialogue  and  try  to  figure  out  what  it  is  that  you  as  the  author  knows,   but  that  the  character  doesn’t  know  about  him/herself.   6. Don’t  try  and  explain  things  in  dialogue.  None  of  us  like  listening  to  the  “know-­it-­all”   person  who  has  to  explain  everything  along  the  way.  Don’t  let  your  dialogue  or   characters  be  that  person  (unless  that  is  their  character).  Let  the  reader  have  some   fun  and  try  and  figure  it  out  by  themselves.   7. Use  dialogue  to  create  tension.  Dialogue  is  a  great  way  to  show  characters  in   crisis,  which  in  turns  shows  a  character’s  true  colors.  There  are  several  ways  to   create  tension  in  writing,  and  dialogue  is  one  of  the  better  ones.   8. Mix  up  the  speech  patterns  to  differentiate  characters.  One  character  might  talk  in   long  sentences,  another  in  one-­word  answers.  Listen  to  people  around  you  and  try   and  pick  up  ideas  for  differing  the  ways  people  speak  in  dialogue.  This  will  make   your  overall  text  more  interesting  to  read.   9. Study  the  rhythms  and  repetitions  of  authors  you  admire.  The  best  often  repeat   words  or  sounds,  and  use  rhythms  and  patterns  to  give  dialogue  interest.   10. Keep  dialogue  tags  simple  and  use  sparingly.  “He  said”  is  perfectly  fine.  Don’t  try   and  convey  meaning  in  a  dialogue  tag  by  writing  “He  said,  sadly.”  Make  your   dialogue  convey  the  character’s  sadness.  Also,  you  don’t  need  to  say  “he/she  said”   with  every  sentence  of  dialogue  if  it’s  clear  to  the  reader  who  is  speaking.  Take  out   the  extra  ones.     FINALLY,  A  NOTE  ON  PROPER  MECHANICS  IN  DIALOGUE:       When  you  revise  dialogue,  be  sure  to  punctuate  it  correctly  so  that  your  readers  can  see   who  is  talking  and  where  a  line  of  dialogue  begins  or  ends.  The  rules  for  using  quotation   marks,  commas,  and  end  marks  of  punctuation  are  listed  below.     ● Use  quotation  marks  before  and  after  a  character's  exact  words.  Place  a  period   inside  closing  quotation  marks.     e.g.,  "Peter  and  Esteban  are  joining  us."     ● Use  a  comma  to  set  off  the  speaker's  tag  (he  said)  from  the  beginning  of  a   quotation.  Place  the  comma  inside  closing  quotation  marks  when  the  speaker's  tag   follows  the  quotation.   e.g.,  Harry  said,  "Come  on,  Ray.  It'll  be  fun."                  "Let's  go,"  Gilda  said.     ● Use  quotation  marks  around  each  part  of  a  divided  quotation.  Remember  to  set  off   the  speaker's  tag  with  commas.   e.g.,    "I'm  not  sure,"  said  Ray,  "that  I  feel  like  it."     ● Place  a  question  mark  or  an  exclamation  point  inside  the  quotation  marks  when  it  is   part  of  the  quotation.   e.g.,      "When  will  we  be  back?"  Ray  asked.                        "Hooray!"  said  Debbi.     ● Place  a  question  mark  or  an  exclamation  point  outside  the  quotation  marks  when  it   is  not  part  of  the  quotation.   e.g.,  Did  I  hear  Ray  say,  "Okay"?                    I  can't  believe  he  said,  "Okay"!     ● Start  a  new  paragraph  when  you  move  from  one  speaker  to  another.   e.g.,  "How  long  a  hike  is  it?"  Ray  asked.  "I  don't  know  whether  I  have  the  energy."                      "I  think,"  said  Iris,  "that  it's  about  seven  miles  to  the  top."     ___________     Now,  go  back  to  the  plays  for  this  week  and  see  what  you  notice  about  how  dialogue  is   crafted.  Pay  attention  to  the  ten  rules  listed  above.  What  do  you  notice?  How  does  the   dialogue  resemble  real  speech  or  not?  Do  different  characters  sound  different?  Does  the   dialogue  advance  the  plot  of  the  play?         CHAPTER 25 UNDERSTANDING DRAMA B E Dramatic Literature N The distinctive appearance of a script, with N its divisions into acts and scenes, identifies drama as a unique form of literature. A play is written to be perE take on the roles of the characformed in front of an audience by actors who ters and who present the story through dialogue T and action. (An exception is a closet drama, which is meant to be read, not performed.) In fact, the term T which means “to view” or “to theater comes from the Greek word theasthai, see.” Thus, drama is different from novels, and short stories, which are meant to be read. B Origins of Modern Drama A R The dramatic presentations of ancient Greece developed out of religious B rites performed to honor gods or to mark the coming of spring. PlayA Sophocles (496–406 b.c.), and wrights such as Aeschylus (525–456 b.c.), Euripides (480?–406 b.c.) wrote plays to be performed and judged at comR petitions held during the yearly Dionysian festivals. Works were chosen by A of judges. To compete in the a selection board and evaluated by a panel The Ancient Greek Theater contest, writers had to submit three tragedies, which could be either based on a common theme or unrelated, and one comedy. Unfortunately, very few 2 of these ancient Greek plays survive today. The open-air, semicircular ancient Greek 8 theater, built into the side of a hill, looked much like a primitive version of a modern sports stadium. Some 8 Greek theaters, such as the Athenian theater, could seat almost seventeen thousand spectators. Sitting in tiered seats, 2 the audience would look down on the orchestra, or “dancing place,” occupied by the chorus—originally T the choragos) who danced and a group of men (led by an individual called chanted and later a group of onlookers who S commented on the drama. 802 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Origins of Modern Drama 803 B E N N E T . .), aT Greek settlement in what is now Turkey , Grand Theater at Ephesus (3rd century B C Da v e G . Ho u s e r/Do c u m e n ta ry Va l u e /Co rb i s Raised a few steps above the orchestra was a platform on which the B was a skene, or building, that origiactors performed. Behind this platform nally served as a resting place or dressing room. (The modern word scene A is derived from the Greek skene.) Behind the skene was a line of pillars R called a colonnade, which was covered by a roof. Actors used the skene for entrances and exits; beginning withBthe plays of Sophocles, painted backdrops were hung there. These backdrops, however, were most likely more A decorative than realistic. Historians believe that realistic props and scenery R Greek theater. Instead, the setting were probably absent from the ancient was suggested by the play’s dialogue, Aand the audience had to imagine the physical details of a scene. Two mechanical devices were used. One, a rolling cart or platform, was sometimes employed to introduce 2 action that had occurred offstage. For example, actors frozen in position could be rolled onto the roof of the skene to illustrate an event such as8the killing of Oedipus’s father, which occurred before the play began. Another 8 mechanical device, a small crane, was used to show gods ascending to or descending from heaven. Such 2 the myths that were celebrated at devices enabled playwrights to dramatize the Dionysian festivals. T The ancient Greek theater was designed to enhance acoustics. The S flat stone wall of the skene reflected the sound from the orchestra and the stage, and the curved shape of the amphitheater captured the sound, 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 804 Chapter 25 • Understanding Drama enabling the audience to hear the lines spoken by the actors. Each actor wore a stylized mask, or persona, to convey to the audience the personality traits of the particular character being portrayed—a king, a soldier, a wise old man, a young girl (female roles were played by men). The mouths of these masks were probably constructed so they amplified the voice and projected it into the audience. In addition, the actors wore kothorni, high shoes that elevated them above the stage, perhaps also helping to project their voices. Due to the excellent acoustics, audiences who see plays performed in these ancient theaters today B can hear clearly without the aid of microphones or speaker systems. E Because actors wore masks and because males played the parts of women and gods as well as men, acting methodsN in the ancient Greek theater were probably not realistic. In their masks, N high shoes, and full-length tunics (called chiton), actors could not hope to appear natural or to mimic the attiE tudes of everyday life. Instead, they probably recited their lines while standing in stylized poses, with emotions conveyed T more by gesture and tone than by action. Typically, three actors had all the speaking roles. One actor—the T protagonist—would play the central role and have the largest speaking part. , lines between them. Although Two other actors would divide the remaining other characters would come on and off the stage, they would usually not have speaking roles. B divided into five parts. The first Ancient Greek tragedies were typically part was the prologos, or prologue, in which A an actor gave the background or explanations that the audience needed to follow the rest of the drama. R entered and commented on Then came the párodos, in which the chorus the events presented in the prologue. B Following this were several episodia, or episodes, in which characters spoke to one another on the stage and A Alternating with episodes were developed the central conflict of the play. stasimon (choral odes), in which the chorus R commented on the exchanges that had taken place during the preceding episode. Frequently, the choral A which were recited or sung as odes were divided into strophes, or stanzas, the chorus moved across the orchestra in one direction, and antistrophes, which were recited as it moved in the opposite direction. (Interestingly, the 2 chorus stood between the audience and the actors, often functioning as an 8 social, and moral views of the additional audience, expressing the political, community.) The fifth part was the exodos, the last scene of the play, during 8 which the conflict was resolved and the actors left the stage. 2 as a variety of architectural and Using music, dance, and verse—as well technical innovations—the ancient Greek T theater was able to convey the traditional themes of tragedy. Thus, the Greek theater powerfully expressed S in which they first appeared: ideas that were central to the religious festivals the reverence for the cycles of life and death, the unavoidable dictates of the gods, and the inscrutable workings of fate. 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Origins of Modern Drama 805 The Elizabethan Theater The Elizabethan theater, influenced by the classical traditions of Roman and Greek dramatists, traces its roots back to local religious pageants performed at medieval festivals during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Town guilds—organizations of craftsmen who worked in the same profession— reenacted Old and New Testament stories: the fall of man, Noah and the flood, David and Goliath, and the crucifixion of Christ, for example. Church fathers encouraged these plays because B they brought the Bible to a largely illiterate audience. Sometimes these spectacles, called mystery plays, were E presented in the market square or on the church steps, and at other times actors appeared on movable stages or N wagons called pageants, which could be wheeled to a given location. (Some of these wagons were quite elaborate, N with trapdoors and pulleys and an upper tier that simulated heaven.) As mysE were performed in series over several tery plays became more popular, they days, presenting an entire cycle of aTholiday—the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ during Easter, for example. T , B A R B A R A 2 8 8 2 T S Performance of a mystery play Art Resource 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 806 Chapter 25 • Understanding Drama Related to mystery plays are morality plays, which developed in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Unlike mystery plays, which depict scenes from the Bible, morality plays allegorize the Christian way of life. Typically, characters representing various virtues and vices struggle or debate over the soul of man. Everyman (1500), the best known of these plays, dramatizes the good and bad qualities of Everyman and shows his struggle to determine what is of value to him as he journeys toward death. By the middle of the sixteenth century, mystery and morality plays had B for this decline was that myslost ground to a new secular drama. One reason tery and morality plays were associated with E Catholicism and consequently discouraged by the Anglican clergy. In addition, newly discovered plays of ancient Greece and Rome introduced aN dramatic tradition that supplanted the traditions of religious drama. English N plays that followed the classic model were sensational and bombastic, often dealing with murder, revenge, E and blood retribution. Appealing to privileged classes and commoners alike, these plays were extremely popular. (One T source estimates that in London, between 20,000 and 25,000 people attended performances each week.) T In spite of the popularity of the theater, actors and playwrights encountered a number of difficulties. First, they,faced opposition from city officials who were averse to theatrical presentations because they thought that the crowds attending these performances spread disease. Puritans opposed the theater because they thought plays wereBimmoral and sinful. Finally, some people attached to the royal court opposed A the theater because they thought that the playwrights undermined the authority of Queen Elizabeth by spreadR ing seditious ideas. As a result, during Elizabeth’s reign, performances were placed under the strict control of the Master B of Revels, a public official who had the power to censor plays (and did so with great regularity) and to grant A licenses for performances. Acting companies that wanted to put R on a performance had to obtain a license—possible only with the patronage of a powerful nobleman—and A by the queen. Despite these to perform the play in an area designated difficulties, a number of actors and playwrights gained a measure of financial independence by joining together and forming acting companies. These com2 panies of professional actors performed works such as Christopher Marlowe’s 8 Tragedy in tavern courtyards and Tamburlaine and Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish then eventually in permanent theaters. According to scholars, the structures 8 of the Elizabethan theater evolved from these tavern courtyards. 2 William Shakespeare’s plays were performed at the Globe Theatre (a corner of which was unearthed in December 1988). Although scholars do T not know the exact design of the original Globe, drawings from the period S The major difference between provide a good idea of its physical features. the Globe and today’s theaters is the multiple stages on which action could be performed. The Globe consisted of a large main stage that extended out 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Origins of Modern Drama 807 into the open-air yard where the groundlings, or common people, stood. Spectators who paid more sat on small stools in two or three levels of galleries that extended in front of and around the stage. (The theater could probably seat almost two thousand people at a performance.) Most of the play’s action occurred on the stage, which had no curtain and could be seen from three sides. Beneath the stage was a space called the hell, which could be reached when the floorboards were removed. This space enabled actors to “disappear” or descend into a hole or grave when the play called for such action. Above B which protected the actors from the the stage was a roof called the heavens, weather and contained ropes and pulleys E used to lower props or to create special effects. N alcove covered by a curtain that At the rear of the stage was a narrow could be open or closed. This curtain, Noften painted, functioned as a decorative rather than a realistic backdrop. The main function of this alcove was E to enable actors to hide or disappear when the script called for them to do so. Some Elizabethan theaters contained T a rear stage instead of an alcove. Because the rear stage was concealed by a curtain, props could be arranged T on it ahead of time. When the action on the rear stage was finished, the , would continue on the front stage. curtain would be closed and the action On either side of the rear stage was a door through which the actors could enter and exit the front stage. Above the rear stage was a curtained stage B as a balcony or as any other setting called the chamber, which functioned located above the action taking place A on the stage below. On either side of the chamber were casement windows, which actors could use when a play R leaning out a window or standing on called for a conversation with someone a balcony. Above the chamber was the B music gallery, a balcony that housed the musicians who provided musical interludes throughout the play (and A that doubled as a stage if the play required it). The huts, windows located above the music gallery, could be used R by characters playing lookouts or sentries. Because of the many acting sites, more than one action could take place A could stand in the towers of Hamlet’s simultaneously. For example, lookouts castle while Hamlet and Horatio walked the walls below. During Shakespeare’s time, the theater had many limitations that chal2 lenged the audience’s imagination. First, young boys—usually between the 8 women’s parts. In addition, there was ages of ten and twelve—played all the no artificial lighting, so plays had to be performed in daylight. Rain, wind, 8 or clouds could disrupt a performance or ruin an image—such as “the morn 2 in russet mantle clad”—that the audience was asked to imagine. Finally, because few sets and props were used, the audience often had to visualize T the high walls of a castle or the trees of a forest. The plays were performed S interludes that occurred at various without intermission, except for musical points. Thus, the experience of seeing one of Shakespeare’s plays staged in the Elizabethan theater was different from seeing it staged in a modern theater. 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 808 Chapter 25 • Understanding Drama B E N N E T T , B A R B A R A 2 8 8 2 The Globe Playhouse, 1599–1613; a conjectural reconstruction. From C. Walter T Theatre. New York: Norton, 1973. Hodges The Globe Restored: A Study of the Elizabethan Source: C .W . Hodges . Conjectural Reconstruction of the Globe Playhouse, 1965 . Pen & ink . S 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Origins of Modern Drama 809 B E N N E T T , Aerial view of the reconstructed Globe Theatre in London Source: ©Jason Hawkes/Corbis B A Today, a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre (above) stands on the south bank of the Thames River inRLondon. In the 1940s, the American actor Sam Wanamaker visited London B and was shocked to find nothing that commemorated the site of the original Globe. He eventually decided to A the Globe in its original location. try to raise enough money to reconstruct The Globe Playhouse Trust was founded R in the 1970s, but the actual construction of the new theater did not begin until the 1980s. After a number of setbacks—for example, the Trust ranAout of funds after the construction of a large underground “diaphragm” wall needed to keep out the river water—the project was finally completed. The first performance at the reconstructed Globe was given on June 14, 1996,2which would have been the late Sam Wanamaker’s 77th birthday. 8 8 2 Unlike the theaters of ancient Greece and Elizabethan England, T theaters—such as the Palais Royal, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century where the great French playwright S Molière presented many of his plays— The Modern Theater were covered by a roof, beautifully decorated, and illuminated by candles so that plays could be performed at night. The theater remained brightly lit 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 810 Chapter 25 • Understanding Drama even during performances, partly because there was no easy way to extinguish hundreds of candles and partly because people went to the theater as much to see each other as to see the play. A curtain opened and closed between acts, and the audience of about five hundred spectators sat in a long room and viewed the play on a picture-frame stage. This type of stage, which resembles the stages on which plays are performed today, contained the action within a proscenium arch that surrounded the opening through which the audience B seemed to take place in an viewed the performance. Thus, the action adjoining room with one of its walls cut E away. Painted scenery (some of it quite elaborate), intricately detailed costumes, and stage makeup were N commonplace, and for the first time women performed female roles. In addition, a complicated series of ropes,N pulleys, and cranks enabled stagehands to change scenery quickly, and sound-effects machines could give E audiences the impression that they were hearing a galloping horse or a raging thunderstorm. Because the theatersTwere small, audiences were relatively close to the stage, so actors could use subtle movements and facial T expressions to enhance their performances. , theater were quite basic. For Many of the first innovations in the example, the first stage lighting was produced by candles lining the front of the stage. This method of lighting was not only ineffective—actors were lit B fully illuminated—but also danfrom below and had to step forward to be gerous. Costumes and even entire theaters A could (and did) catch fire. Later, covered lanterns with reflectors provided better and safer lighting. In the R oxyhydrogen flame directed on a nineteenth century, a device that used an cylinder of lime created extremely bright Billumination that could, with the aid of a lens, be concentrated into a spotlight. (It is from this method of stage lighting that we get the expression to be A in the limelight.) Eventually, in the twentieth century,Relectric lights provided a dependable and safe way of lighting the stage. Electric spotlights, footlights, and A visible and enabled playwrights ceiling light bars made the actors clearly to create special effects. In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (p. 960), for example, lighting focuses attention on action in certain areas of the stage 2 while other areas are left in complete darkness. 8 innovations, such as electronic Along with electric lighting came other amplification. Microphones made it possible for actors to speak conversation8 ally and to avoid using unnaturally loud “stage diction” to project their voices to the rear of the theater. Microphones 2 placed at various points around the stage enabled actors and actresses to interact T naturally and to deliver their lines audibly even without facing the audience. More recently, small wireless S wires and the “dead spaces” left microphones have eliminated the unwieldy between upright or hanging microphones, allowing characters to move freely around the stage. 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Origins of Modern Drama 811 The true revolutions in staging came with the advent of realism in the middle of the nineteenth century. Until this time, scenery had been painted on canvas backdrops that trembled visibly, especially when they were intersected by doors through which actors and actresses entered. With realism came settings that were accurate down to the smallest detail. (Improved lighting, which revealed the inadequacies of painted backdrops, made such realistic stage settings necessary.) Backdrops were replaced by the box set, three flat panels arranged to form connected walls, with the fourth wall B of looking into a room. The room removed to give the audience the illusion itself was decorated with real furniture, E plants, and pictures on the walls; the door of one room might connect to another completely furnished room, or a window might open to a garden N filled with realistic foliage. In addition, new methods of changing scenery were N employed. Elevator stages, hydraulic lifts, and moving platforms enabled directors to make complicated changes E in scenery out of the audience’s view. During the late nineteenth and T early twentieth centuries, however, some playwrights reacted against what they saw as the excesses of realism. T They introduced surrealistic stage settings, in which color and scenery mirrored the uncontrolled images, of dreams, and expressionistic stage B A R B A R A 2 8 8 2 T Thrust-Stage Theater. Rendering of the thrust stage at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis. With seats on three sides of the stage area, the Sthrust stage and its background can assume many forms. Entrances can be made from the aisles, from the sides, through the stage floor, and from the back. Source: Alvis Upitis/Getty Images 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 812 Chapter 25 • Understanding Drama settings, in which costumes and scenery were exaggerated and distorted to reflect the workings of a troubled, even unbalanced mind. In addition, playwrights used lighting to create areas of light, shadow, and color that reinforced the themes of the play or reflected the emotions of the protagonist. Eugene O’Neill’s 1920 play The Emperor Jones, for example, used a series of expressionistic scenes to show the deteriorating mental state of the terrified protagonist. Sets in contemporary plays run the gamut from realistic to fantastic, B a production of Tennessee Wilfrom a detailed re-creation of a room in liams’s The Glass Menagerie (1945) to dreamlike sets for Eugene O’Neill’s E The Emperor Jones (1920) and Edward Albee’s The Sandbox (1959). Motorized devices, such as revolving turntables,Nand wagons—scenery mounted on wheels—make possible rapid changes of N scenery. The Broadway musical Les Misérables, for example, required scores of elaborate sets—Parisian slums, E barricades, walled gardens—to be shifted as the audience watched. A gigantic barricade constructed on stage at one T point in the play was later rotated to show the carnage that had taken place on both sides of a battle. Light, sound, T and smoke were used to heighten the impact of the scene. , down the barriers that separate Today, as dramatists attempt to break audiences from the action they are viewing, plays are not limited to the picture-frame stage; in fact, they are performed on many different kinds of B stage (pictured on the previous stages. Some plays take place on a thrust page), which has an area that projects A out into the audience. Other plays are performed on an arena stage, with the audience surrounding the actors. R theater in the round.) In addi(This kind of performance is often called tion, experiments have been done withBenvironmental staging, in which the stage surrounds the audience or several stages are situated at various locations throughout the audience. PlaysA may also be performed outdoors, in settings ranging from parks to city streets. R Some playwrights even try to blur the line that divides the audience from the stage by having actors moveA through or sit in the audience— or even by eliminating the stage entirely. For example, Tony ’n Tina’s Wedding, a participatory drama created in 1988 by the theater group Arti2 ficial Intelligence, takes place not in a theater but at a church where a 8 hall where the wedding recepwedding is performed and then at a catering tion is held. Throughout the play, the members of the audience function 8 as guests, joining in the wedding celebration and mingling with the actors, 2 who improvise freely. A more recent example of participatory T drama is Sleep No More, which takes place in a block of warehouses (which has been transformed into the S McKittrick Hotel) in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The play is a wordless production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Audience members, who must wear white Venetian carnival masks and remain silent at all times, are 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Origins of Modern Drama 813 B E N N E T Arena-Stage Theater. The arena theater at the Riverside Community Players in T the stage area, which may or may not be Riverside, California. The audience surrounds raised. Use of scenery is limited—perhaps to a single piece of scenery standing alone in , the middle of the stage. Source: Courtesy The Arena Theatre, Riverside Community Players, Riverside, CA B “hotel.” Once deposited, they are free taken by elevator to various floors of the to follow any of the actors, who appear A and disappear at will, or to explore the hotel’s many rooms. The action can be intense, with audience members chasRor up and down stairs to other floors of ing actors down dark, narrow hallways the hotel, and at times, being pulledB into the action of the play. A R A 2 8 8 2 T S Scene from the participatory drama Sleep No More Credit: Lucas Jackson/Reuters/Corbis 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 814 Chapter 25 • Understanding Drama Today, no single architectural form defines the theater. The modern stage is a flexible space suited to the many varieties of contemporary theatrical production. Defining Drama Dramatic works differ from other prose works in a number of fairly obvious ways. For one thing, plays look different on the page: generally, they are B divided into acts and scenes; they include stage directions that specify charE settings look like and how characters’ entrances and exits and describe what acters look and act; and they consist primarily of dialogue, lines spoken by the N characters. And, of course, plays are different from other prose works in that they are written not to be read but to be N performed in front of an audience. Unlike novels and short stories, plays E do not usually have narrators to tell the audience what a character is thinking or what happened in the T only what characters reveal. To past; for the most part, the audience knows compensate for the absence of a narrator, T playwrights can use monologues (extended speeches by one character), soliloquies (monologues in which a , alone on stage), or asides (brief character expresses private thoughts while comments by a character who reveals thoughts by speaking directly to the audience without being heard by the other characters). In addition to these Bcostumes, scenery, props, music, dramatic techniques, a play can also use lighting, and other techniques to enhance A its impact on the audience. The play that follows, Anton Chekhov’s The Brute (1888), is typical of R modern drama in many respects. A one-act play translated from Russian, it is essentially a struggle of wills betweenBtwo headstrong characters, a man and a woman, with action escalating through the characters’ increasingly A heated exchanges of dialogue. Stage directions briefly describe the setting— R announce the appearance of “the drawing room of a country house”—and various props. They also describe the major A characters’ appearances as well as their actions, gestures, and emotions. Because the play is a farce, it features broad physical comedy, asides, wild dramatic gestures, and elaborate figures of speech, all designed to enhance its comic 2 effect. Source: ©Bettmann/Corbis 8 ANTON CHEKHOV (1860–1904) is an important nineteenth-century Russian playwright and8 short story writer . He became a doctor and, as a young adult, supported the rest of his family after his father’s 2 bankruptcy . After his early adult years in Moscow, Chekhov spent the rest of his life in the Tcountry, moving to Yalta, a resort town in Crimea, for his health (he suffered from tuberculosis) . He continued to SMoscow Art Theatre, although he could not write plays, mostly for the supervise their production as he would have wished . His plays include The Seagull (1896), Uncle Vanya (1898), The Three Sisters (1901), and The Cherry Orchard (1904) . 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Glaspell: Trifles 867 A P Im a g e s SUSAN GLASPELL (1882–1948) was born in Davenport, Iowa, and graduated from Drake University in 1899 . First a reporter and then a freelance writer, she lived in Chicago (where she was part of the Chicago renaissance that included poet Carl Sandburg and novelist Theodore Dreiser) and later in Greenwich Village . Her works include two plays in addition to Trifles, The Verge (1921) and Alison’s House (1930), and several novels, including Fidelity (1915) and The Morning Is Near Us (1939) . With her husband, George B Cram Cook, she founded the Provincetown Players, which became theE staging ground for innovative plays by Eugene O’Neill, among others . N Players, beginning with Trifles, which she Glaspell herself wrote plays for the Provincetown created for the 1916 season although she hadN never previously written a drama . The play opened on August 8, 1916, with Glaspell and her husband in the cast . Glaspell said she wrote Trifles in one afternoon, sitting in the empty theaterE and looking at the bare stage: “After a time, the stage became a kitchen—a kitchen there all by itself .” She remembered a murder trial she had T covered in Iowa in her days as a reporter, and the story began to play itself out on the stage as she gazed . Throughout her revisions, she said,Tshe returned to look at the stage to see whether the events she was recording came to life on it . Although Glaspell later rewrote Trifles as a short , her most successful and memorable work . story called “A Jury of Her Peers,” the play remains Cultural Context One of the main themes of this play is the contrast between the sexes B In 1916, when Trifles was first produced, in terms of their roles, rights, and responsibilities . women were not allowed to serve on juriesA in most states . This circumstance was in accordance with other rights denied to women, including the right to vote, which was not ratified in all states until 1920 . Unable to participateR in the most basic civic functions, women largely discussed politics only among themselves and were relegated to positions of lesser status in B their personal and professional lives . A R Trifles A (1916) CHARACTERS George Henderson, county attorney 2 Henry Peters, sheriff Lewis Hale, a neighboring farmer 8 Mrs. Peters Mrs. Hale 8 SCENE 2 The kitchen in the now abandoned farmhouse of John Wright, a gloomy kitchen, T and left without having been put in order—unwashed pans under the sink, a loaf of bread outside the breadbox, a dish S towel on the table—other signs of incompleted work. At the rear the outer door opens and the Sheriff comes in followed 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 868 Chapter 27 • Plot by the County Attorney and Hale. The Sheriff and Hale are men in middle life, the County Attorney is a young man; all are much bundled up and go at once to the stove. They are followed by two women—the Sheriff’s wife first; she is a slight wiry woman, a thin nervous face. Mrs. Hale is larger and would ordinarily be called more comfortable looking, but she is disturbed now and looks fearfully about as she enters. The women have come in slowly, and stand close together near the door. 5 COUNTY ATTORNEY: (rubbing his hands) B This feels good. Come up to the fire, ladies. MRS. PETERS: (after taking a step forward)EI’m not—cold. SHERIFF: (unbuttoning his overcoat and stepping N away from the stove as if to mark the beginning of official business) Now, Mr. Hale, before we move N things about, you explain to Mr. Henderson just what you saw when you came here yesterday morning. E COUNTY ATTORNEY: By the way, has anything been moved? Are things T just as you left them yesterday? T When it dropped below zero last SHERIFF: (looking about) It’s just the same. night I thought I’d better send Frank out this morning to make a fire , for us—no use getting pneumonia with a big case on, but I told him not to touch anything except the stove—and you know Frank. COUNTY ATTORNEY: Somebody should B have been left here yesterday. A R B A R A 2 8 8 2 T S In this scene from the Provincetown Players’ 1917 production of Susan Glaspell’s Trifles Trifles, the three men discuss the crime while Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale look on. Source: ©Billy Rose Theatre Collection, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Astor, Lenox & Tilden Foundations 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Glaspell: Trifles 869 SHERIFF: Oh—yesterday. When I had to send Frank to Morris Center for that man who went crazy—I want you to know I had my hands full yesterday. I knew you could get back from Omaha by today and as long as I went over everything here myself— COUNTY ATTORNEY: Well, Mr. Hale, tell just what happened when you came here yesterday morning. HALE: Harry and I had started to town with a load of potatoes. We came along the road from my place and as I got here I said, “I’m going to see if I can’t get John Wright toB go in with me on a party telephone.” I spoke to Wright about it onceE before and he put me off, saying folks talked too much anyway, and all he asked was peace and quiet—I guess N himself; but I thought maybe if I you know about how much he talked went to the house and talked about N it before his wife, though I said to Harry that I didn’t know as what his wife wanted made much differE ence to John— COUNTY ATTORNEY: Let’s talk aboutTthat later, Mr. Hale. I do want to talk about that, but tell now just what happened when you got to the house. T HALE: I didn’t hear or see anything; I knocked at the door, and still it was , be up, it was past eight o’clock. all quiet inside. I knew they must So I knocked again, and I thought I heard somebody say, “Come in.” I wasn’t sure, I’m not sure yet, but I opened the door—this door (indicating the door by which the B two women are still standing) and there in that rocker—(pointing to it) sat A Mrs. Wright. 10 They all look at the rocker. R COUNTY ATTORNEY: What—was she Bdoing? HALE: She was rockin’ back and forth. She had her apron in her hand and A was kind of—pleating it. COUNTY ATTORNEY: And how did R she—look? HALE: Well, she looked queer. A COUNTY ATTORNEY: How do you mean—queer? 15 HALE: Well, as if she didn’t know what she was going to do next. And kind of done up. 2 COUNTY ATTORNEY: How did she seem to feel about your coming? 8 HALE: Why, I don’t think she minded—one way or other. She didn’t pay much attention. I said, “How do, Mrs. Wright, it’s cold, ain’t it?” And 8 she said, “Is it?”—and went on kind of pleating at her apron. Well, 2 to come up to the stove, or to set I was surprised; she didn’t ask me down, but just sat there, not even T looking at me, so I said, “I want to see John.” And then she—laughed. I guess you would call it a laugh. I thought of Harry and the teamSoutside, so I said a little sharp: “Can’t I see John?” “No,” she says, kind o’ dull like. “Ain’t he home?” says I. “Yes,” says she, “he’s home.” “Then why can’t I see him?” I asked her, 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 870 20 Chapter 27 • Plot out of patience. “’Cause he’s dead,” says she. “Dead?” says I. She just nodded her head, not getting a bit excited, but rockin’ back and forth. “Why—where is he?” says I, not knowing what to say. She just pointed upstairs—like that. (Himself pointing to the room above.) I got up, with the idea of going up there. I walked from there to here—then I says, “Why, what did he die of?” “He died of a rope round his neck,” says she, and just went on pleatin’ at her apron. Well, I went out and called Harry. I thought I might—need help. We went upstairs and there he B was lyin’— COUNTY ATTORNEY: I think I’d rather have E you go into that upstairs, where you can point it all out. Just go on now with the rest of the N story. HALE: Well, my first thought was to getN that rope off. It looked . . . (stops, his face twitches) . . . but Harry, he went up to him, and he said, “No, E he’s dead all right, and we’d better not touch anything.” So we went back down stairs. She was still sitting T that same way. “Has anybody been notified?” I asked. “No,” says she, unconcerned. “Who did this, T Mrs. Wright?” said Harry. He said it businesslike—and she stopped , she says. “You don’t know?” says pleatin’ of her apron. “I don’t know,” Harry. “No,” says she. “Weren’t you sleepin’ in the bed with him?” says Harry. “Yes,” says she, “but I was on the inside.” “Somebody B slipped a rope round his neck and strangled him and you didn’t wake up?” says Harry. “I didn’t wake up,”A she said after him. We must ’a looked as if we didn’t see how that could be, for after a minute she R to ask her more questions but said, “I sleep sound.” Harry was going I said maybe we ought to let her tellBher story first to the coroner, or the sheriff, so Harry went fast as he could to Rivers’ place, where A there’s a telephone. COUNTY ATTORNEY: And what did Mrs.RWright do when she knew that you had gone for the coroner? Aone over here (pointing to a small HALE: She moved from that chair to this chair in the corner) and just sat there with her hands held together and looking down. I got a feeling that I ought to make some conversation, 2 so I said I had come in to see if John wanted to put in a telephone, and at that she started to laugh, and8then she stopped and looked at me—scared. (The County Attorney, who has had his notebook out, makes 8 a note.) I dunno, maybe it wasn’t scared. I wouldn’t like to say it was. 2 came, and you, Mr. Peters, Soon Harry got back, and then Dr. Lloyd and so I guess that’s all I know that T you don’t. COUNTY ATTORNEY: (looking around) I guess we’ll go upstairs first—and S (To the Sheriff.) You’re conthen out to the barn and around there. vinced that there was nothing important here—nothing that would point to any motive. 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Glaspell: Trifles 871 SHERIFF: Nothing here but kitchen things. 25 The County Attorney, after again looking around the kitchen, opens the door of a cupboard closet. He gets up on a chair and looks on a shelf. Pulls his hand away, sticky. COUNTY ATTORNEY: Here’s a nice mess. The women draw nearer. B her fruit; it did freeze. (To the MRS. PETERS: (to the other woman) Oh, County Attorney.) She worried E about that when it turned so cold. She said the fire’d go out and her jars would break. N Held for murder and worryin’ SHERIFF: Well, can you beat the women! about her preserves. N COUNTY ATTORNEY: I guess before we’re through she may have something E more serious than preserves to worry about. HALE: Well, women are used to worrying T over trifles. 30 T The two women move a little closer together. , of a young politician) And yet, for COUNTY ATTORNEY: (with the gallantry all their worries, what would we do without the ladies? (The women do not unbend. He goes to the sink, takes a dipperful of water from the pail and pouring it into a basin, washes hisB hands. Starts to wipe them on the roller towel, turns it for a cleaner place.)ADirty towels! (Kicks his foot against the pans under the sink.) Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies? MRS. HALE: (stiffly) There’s a greatR deal of work to be done on a farm. COUNTY ATTORNEY: To be sure. And B yet (with a little bow to her) I know there are some Dickson county farmhouses which do not have such A roller towels. Ragain. He gives it a pull to expose its full length MRS. HALE: Those towels get dirty A awful quick. Men’s hands aren’t always as clean as they might be. COUNTY ATTORNEY: Ah, loyal to your sex, I see. But you and Mrs. Wright 2 were neighbors. I suppose you were friends, too. 8 seen much of her of late years. I’ve MRS. HALE: (shaking her head) I’ve not not been in this house—it’s more than a year. 8 COUNTY ATTORNEY: And why was that? You didn’t like her? 2 Farmers’ wives have their hands MRS. HALE: I liked her all well enough. full, Mr. Henderson. And then— T COUNTY ATTORNEY: Yes—? MRS. HALE: (looking about) It neverSseemed a very cheerful place. COUNTY ATTORNEY: No—it’s not cheerful. I shouldn’t say she had the homemaking instinct. 35 40 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 872 45 Chapter 27 • Plot MRS. HALE: Well, I don’t know as Wright had, either. COUNTY ATTORNEY: You mean that they didn’t get on very well? MRS. HALE: No, I don’t mean anything. But I don’t think a place’d be any cheerfuller for John Wright’s being in it. COUNTY ATTORNEY: I’d like to talk more of that a little later. I want to get the lay of things upstairs now. He goes to the left, where three steps lead to a stair door. B SHERIFF: I suppose anything Mrs. Peters does’ll be all right. She was to take E a few little things. We left in in some clothes for her, you know, and such a hurry yesterday. N COUNTY ATTORNEY: Yes, but I would like to see what you take, Mrs. N that might be of use to us. Peters, and keep an eye out for anything MRS. PETERS: Yes, Mr. Henderson. E The women listen to the men’s steps on the T stairs, then look about the kitchen. T into my kitchen, snooping MRS. HALE: I’d hate to have men coming around and criticizing. , She arranges the pans under sink which the County Attorney had shoved out of place. B 50 MRS. PETERS: Of course it’s no more than their duty. A MRS. HALE: Duty’s all right, but I guess that deputy sheriff that came out R of this on. (Gives the roller towel to make the fire might have got a little a pull.) Wish I’d thought of that sooner. B Seems mean to talk about her for not having things slicked up when she had to come away in such a A hurry. MRS. PETERS: (who has gone to a small table R in the left rear corner of the room, and lifted one end of a towel that covers a pan) She had bread set. Stands still. A MRS. HALE: (eyes fixed on a loaf of bread beside the breadbox, which is on a 2 low shelf at the other side of the room. Moves slowly toward it.) She was going to put this in there. (Picks up8loaf, then abruptly drops it. In a manner of returning to familiar things.) 8 It’s a shame about her fruit. I wonder if it’s all gone. (Gets up on the chair and looks.) I think there’s 2 Yes—here; (holding it toward some here that’s all right, Mrs. Peters. the window) this is cherries, too. (Looking T again.) I declare I believe that’s the only one. (Gets down, bottle in her hand. Goes to the sink and wipes it off on the outside.) She’ll feelSawful bad after all her hard work in the hot weather. I remember the afternoon I put up my cherries last summer. 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Glaspell: Trifles 873 She puts the bottle on the big kitchen table, center of the room. With a sigh, is about to sit down in the rocking-chair. Before she is seated realizes what chair it is; with a slow look at it, steps back. The chair which she has touched rocks back and forth. MRS. PETERS: Well, I must get those things from the front room closet. (She goes to the door at the right, but after looking into the other room, steps back.) You coming with me, Mrs. Hale? You could help me carry them. They go in the other room; reappear, Mrs. Peters carrying a dress and skirt, Mrs. Hale following with a pair of shoes. B MRS. PETERS: My, it’s cold in there.E 55 Nhurries to the stove. She puts the clothes on the big table, and N was close. I think maybe that’s MRS. HALE: (examining her skirt) Wright why she kept so much to herself. EShe didn’t even belong to the Ladies Aid. I suppose she felt she couldn’t do her part, and then you don’t T She used to wear pretty clothes and enjoy things when you feel shabby. be lively, when she was MinnieT Foster, one of the town girls singing in the choir. But that—oh, that was thirty years ago. This all you was to , take in? MRS. PETERS: She said she wanted an apron. Funny thing to want, for there isn’t much to get you dirty in jail, goodness knows. But I suppose B She said they was in the top drawer just to make her feel more natural. in this cupboard. Yes, here. AndAthen her little shawl that always hung behind the door. (Opens stair door and looks.) Yes, here it is. R B MRS. HALE: (abruptly moving toward her) Mrs. Peters? A MRS. PETERS: Yes, Mrs. Hale? MRS. HALE: Do you think she did it? R MRS. PETERS: (in a frightened voice) Oh, I don’t know. A MRS. HALE: Well, I don’t think she did. Asking for an apron and her little Quickly shuts door leading upstairs. shawl. Worrying about her fruit. MRS. PETERS: (starts to speak, glances up, where footsteps are heard in the 2 room above. In a low voice.) Mr. Peters says it looks bad for her. Mr. Henderson is awful sarcastic8in a speech and he’ll make fun of her sayin’ she didn’t wake up. 8 MRS. HALE: Well, I guess John Wright didn’t wake when they was slipping 2 that rope under his neck. MRS. PETERS: No, it’s strange. It must T have been done awful crafty and still. They say it was such a—funny way to kill a man, rigging it all up S like that. MRS. HALE: That’s just what Mr. Hale said. There was a gun in the house. He says that’s what he can’t understand. 60 65 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 874 70 Chapter 27 • Plot MRS. PETERS: Mr. Henderson said coming out that what was needed for the case was a motive; something to show anger, or—sudden feeling. MRS. HALE: (who is standing by the table) Well, I don’t see any signs of anger around here. (She puts her hand on the dish towel which lies on the table, stands looking down at table, one half of which is clean, the other half messy.) It’s wiped to here. (Makes a move as if to finish work, then turns and looks at loaf of bread outside the breadbox. Drops towel. In that voice of coming back to familiar things.) Wonder how they are finding things B red-up1 up there. You know, it upstairs. I hope she had it a little more seems kind of sneaking. Locking her E up in town and then coming out here and trying to get her own house to turn against her! MRS. PETERS: But Mrs. Hale, the law is N the law. MRS. HALE: I s’pose ’tis. (Unbuttoning her Ncoat.) Better loosen up your things, Mrs. Peters. You won’t feel them when you go out. E Mrs. Peters takes off her fur tippet, goes to hang it on hook at back of room, stands T looking at the under part of the small corner table. MRS. PETERS: She was piecing a quilt. T , She brings the large sewing basket and they look at the bright pieces. MRS. HALE: It’s log cabin pattern. Pretty, isn’t it? I wonder if she was goin’ B to quilt it or just knot it? A Footsteps have been heard coming down the stairs. The Sheriff enters followed by R Hale and the County Attorney. Bquilt it or just knot it! SHERIFF: They wonder if she was going to A R COUNTY ATTORNEY: (rubbing his hands over the stove) Frank’s fire didn’t do much up there, did it? Well, let’sA go out to the barn and get that The men laugh; the women look abashed. cleared up. The men go outside. 75 2 MRS. HALE: (resentfully) I don’t know as8there’s anything so strange, our takin’ up our time with little things while we’re waiting for them to 8 get the evidence. (She sits down at the big table smoothing out a block with decision.) I don’t see as it’s anything2 to laugh about. MRS. PETERS: (apologetically) Of course they’ve got awful important things T on their minds. S ● red-up: Spruced-up (slang) . 1 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Glaspell: Trifles 875 Pulls up a chair and joins Mrs. Hale at the table. MRS. HALE: (examining another block) Mrs. Peters, look at this one. Here, this is the one she was working on, and look at the sewing! All the rest of it has been so nice and even. And look at this! It’s all over the place! Why, it looks as if she didn’t know what she was about! After she has said this they look at each other, then start to glance back at the door. After an instant Mrs. Hale has pulled at a knot and ripped the sewing. B MRS. PETERS: Oh, what are you doing, Mrs. Hale? E MRS. HALE: (mildly) Just pulling out a stitch or two that’s not sewed very good. (Threading a needle.) Bad N sewing always made me fidgety. MRS. PETERS: (nervously) I don’t think N we ought to touch things. MRS. HALE: I’ll just finish up this end. (Suddenly stopping and leaning E forward.) Mrs. Peters? MRS. PETERS: Yes, Mrs. Hale? T MRS. HALE: What do you suppose she was so nervous about? MRS. PETERS: Oh—I don’t know. ITdon’t know as she was nervous. I sometimes sew awful queer when , I’m just tired. (Mrs. Hale starts to say something, looks at Mrs. Peters, then goes on sewing.) Well, I must get these things wrapped up. They may be through sooner than we think. (Putting apron and other things B together.) I wonder where I can find a piece of paper, and string. A MRS. HALE: In that cupboard, maybe. MRS. PETERS: (looking in cupboard) Why, R here’s a birdcage. (Holds it up.) Did she have a bird, Mrs. Hale? B MRS. HALE: Why, I don’t know whether she did or not—I’ve not been A around last year selling canaries here for so long. There was a man cheap, but I don’t know as she took R one; maybe she did. She used to sing real pretty herself. A funny to think of a bird here. But MRS. PETERS: (glancing around) Seems she must have had one, or why would she have a cage? I wonder what happened to it. MRS. HALE: I s’pose maybe the cat 2 got it. MRS. PETERS: No, she didn’t have a8cat. She’s got that feeling some people have about cats—being afraid of them. My cat got in her room and she 8 it out. was real upset and asked me to take MRS. HALE: My sister Bessie was like 2 that. Queer, ain’t it? MRS. PETERS: (examining the cage) Why, look at this door. It’s broke. One T hinge is pulled apart. MRS. HALE: (looking too) Looks asS if someone must have been rough with it. MRS. PETERS: Why, yes. 80 85 90 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 876 Chapter 27 • Plot B E N N E T T In this scene from a 2010 production of Susan Glaspell’s Trifles , Trifles, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale discuss the discovery of a birdcage. P ru d e n c e Ka tze B A MRS. HALE: I wish if they’re going to find any evidence they’d be about it. R I don’t like this place. MRS. PETERS: But I’m awful glad you came B with me, Mrs. Hale. It would be lonesome for me sitting here alone. A her sewing.) But I tell you MRS. HALE: It would, wouldn’t it? (Dropping what I do wish, Mrs. Peters. I wish IR had come over sometimes when she was here. I—(looking around the room)—wish I had. A busy, Mrs. Hale—your house MRS. PETERS: But of course you were awful She brings the cage forward and puts it on the table. 95 and your children. MRS. HALE: I could’ve come. I stayed away because it weren’t cheerful— 2 I—I’ve never liked this place. and that’s why I ought to have come. Maybe because it’s down in a hollow8and you don’t see the road. I dunno what it is but it’s a lonesome place and always was. I wish 8 I had come over to see Minnie Foster sometimes. I can see now— 2 T MRS. PETERS: Well, you mustn’t reproach yourself, Mrs. Hale. Somehow we just don’t see how it is with otherSfolks until—something comes up. Shakes her head. 100 MRS. HALE: Not having children makes less work—but it makes a quiet house, and Wright out to work all day, and no company when he did come in. Did you know John Wright, Mrs. Peters? 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Glaspell: T Trifles 877 MRS. PETERS: Not to know him; I’ve seen him in town. They say he was a good man. MRS. HALE: Yes—good; he didn’t drink, and kept his word as well as most, I guess, and paid his debts. But he was a hard man, Mrs. Peters. Just to pass the time of day with him—(Shivers.) Like a raw wind that gets to the bone. (Pauses, her eye falling on the cage.) I should think she would ’a wanted a bird. But what do you suppose went with it? MRS. PETERS: I don’t know, unless it got sick and died. B E MRS. HALE: You weren’t raised round here, were you? (Mrs. Peters shakes N her head.) You didn’t know—her? MRS. PETERS: Not till they broughtN her yesterday. MRS. HALE: She—come to think ofEit, she was kind of like a bird herself— real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and—fluttery. How—she— did—change. (Silence; then as ifT struck by a happy thought and relieved to get back to everyday things.) TellT you what, Mrs. Peters, why don’t you take the quilt in with you? It might take up her mind. MRS. PETERS: Why, I think that’s a,real nice idea, Mrs. Hale. There She reaches over and swings the broken door, swings it again. Both women watch it. 105 couldn’t possibly be any objection to it, could there? Now, just what would I take? I wonder if her patches are in here—and her things. B A MRS. HALE: Here’s some red. I expect this has got sewing things in it. R (Brings out a fancy box.) What a pretty box. Looks like something Bher scissors are in here. (Opens box. somebody would give you. Maybe Suddenly puts her hand to her nose.) A Why—(Mrs. Peters bends nearer, then turns her face away.) There’s something wrapped up in this piece of silk. R MRS. PETERS: Why, this isn’t her scissors. MRS. HALE: (lifting the silk) Oh, Mrs. APeters—it’s— They look in the sewing basket. 110 Mrs. Peters bends closer. MRS. PETERS: It’s the bird. 2 MRS. HALE: (jumping up) But, Mrs. Peters—look at it! Its neck! Look at its 8 neck! It’s all—other side to. 8 MRS. PETERS: Somebody—wrung—its—neck. 2 Their eyes meet. A look of growing comprehension, of horror. Steps are heard outside. Mrs. Hale slips the box under T quilt pieces, and sinks into her chair. Enter Sheriff and County Attorney. Mrs. Peters rises. S COUNTY ATTORNEY: (as one turning from serious things to little pleasantries) Well, ladies, have you decided whether she was going to quilt it or knot it? 115 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 878 Chapter 27 • Plot MRS. PETERS: We think she was going to—knot it. COUNTY ATTORNEY: Well, that’s interesting, I’m sure. (Seeing the birdcage.) Has the bird flown? MRS. HALE: (putting more quilt pieces over the box) We think the—cat got it. COUNTY ATTORNEY: (preoccupied) Is there a cat? Mrs. Hale glances in a quick covert way at Mrs. Peters. 120 MRS. PETERS: Well, not now. They’re superstitious, you know. They leave. B COUNTY ATTORNEY: (to Sheriff Peters, continuing an interrupted conversation) No sign at all of anyone havingEcome from the outside. Their own rope. Now let’s go up again and go over it piece by piece. (They start N upstairs.) It would have to have been someone who knew just the— N Mrs. Peters sits down. The two women sit there not looking at one another, but as Eholding back. When they talk now it if peering into something and at the same time is in the manner of feeling their way over strange T ground, as if afraid of what they are saying, but as if they can not help saying it. T 125 MRS. HALE: She liked the bird. She was going to bury it in that pretty box. MRS. PETERS: (in a whisper) When I was, a girl—my kitten—there was a boy took a hatchet, and before my eyes—and before I could get there—(Covers her face an instant.) If they hadn’t held me back I B would have—(catches herself, looks upstairs where steps are heard, falters A weakly)—hurt him. MRS. HALE: (with a slow look around her) I wonder how it would seem R never to have had any children around. (Pause.) No, Wright wouldn’t like the bird—a thing that sang. SheBused to sing. He killed that, too. MRS. PETERS: (moving uneasily) We don’t Aknow who killed the bird. MRS. HALE: I knew John Wright. MRS. PETERS: It was an awful thing wasR done in this house that night, Mrs. Hale. Killing a man while he slept, slipping a rope around his neck that A choked the life out of him. MRS. HALE: His neck. Choked the life out of him. Her hand goes out and rests on the birdcage.2 8 130 MRS. PETERS: (with rising voice) We don’t know who killed him. We don’t 8 know. MRS. HALE: (her own feeling not interrupted) 2 If there’d been years and years of nothing, then a bird to sing to you, it would be awful—still, after the T bird was still. MRS. PETERS: (something within her speaking) S I know what stillness is. When we homesteaded in Dakota, and my first baby died—after he was two years old, and me with no other then— 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Glaspell: Trifles 879 MRS. HALE: (moving) How soon do you suppose they’ll be through, looking for the evidence? MRS. PETERS: I know what stillness is. (Pulling herself back.) The law has got to punish crime, Mrs. Hale. MRS. HALE: (not as if answering that) I wish you’d seen Minnie Foster when she wore a white dress with blue ribbons and stood up there in the choir and sang. (A look around the room.) Oh, I wish I’d come over here once in a while! That was a crime! That was a crime! Who’s going to B punish that? MRS. PETERS: (looking upstairs) We E mustn’t—take on. MRS. HALE: I might have known she needed help! I know how things N queer, Mrs. Peters. We live close can be—for women. I tell you, it’s together and we live far apart. We N all go through the same things—it’s all just a different kind of the same thing. (Brushes her eyes; noticing the E bottle of fruit, reaches out for it.) If I was you I wouldn’t tell her her fruit was gone. Tell her it ain’t. Tell T her it’s all right. Take this in to prove it to her. She—she may never know whether it was broke or not. T MRS. PETERS: (takes the bottle, looks about for something to wrap it in; takes petticoat from the clothes brought ,from the other room, very nervously begins winding this around the bottle. In a false voice) My, it’s a good thing the men couldn’t hear us. Wouldn’t they just laugh! Getting all stirred up over a little thing like a—dead B canary. As if that could have anything to do with—with—wouldn’t they A laugh! 135 The men are heard coming down stairs.R MRS. HALE: (under her breath) Maybe B they would—maybe they wouldn’t. COUNTY ATTORNEY: No, Peters, it’s all perfectly clear except a reason for A doing it. But you know juries when it comes to women. If there was some R definite thing. Something to show—something to make a story about—a thing that would connect up with this strange way of doing it— A The women’s eyes meet for an instant. Enter Hale from outer door. HALE: Well, I’ve got the team around. 2 Pretty cold out there. COUNTY ATTORNEY: I’m going to stay here a while by myself. (To the Sheriff.) You can send Frank out for8me, can’t you? I want to go over everything. I’m not satisfied that we can’t 8 do better. SHERIFF: Do you want to see what Mrs. Peters is going to take in? 140 2 T Oh, I guess they’re S not very dangerous things the The County Attorney goes to the table, picks up the apron, laughs. COUNTY ATTORNEY: ladies have picked out. (Moves a few things about, disturbing the quilt pieces which cover the box. Steps back.) No, Mrs. Peters doesn’t need 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 880 145 Chapter 27 • Plot supervising. For that matter, a sheriff’s wife is married to the law. Ever think of it that way, Mrs. Peters? MRS. PETERS: Not—just that way. SHERIFF: (chuckling) Married to the law. (Moves toward the other room.) I just want you to come in here a minute, George. We ought to take a look at these windows. COUNTY ATTORNEY: (scoffingly) Oh, windows! SHERIFF: We’ll be right out, Mr. Hale. B Hale goes outside. The Sheriff follows the County Attorney into the other room. E looking intensely at Mrs. Peters, Then Mrs. Hale rises, hands tight together, whose eyes make a slow turn, finally meeting NMrs. Hale’s. A moment Mrs. Hale holds her, then her own eyes point the way to where the box is concealed. Suddenly Mrs. Peters throws back quilt pieces N and tries to put the box in the bag she is wearing. It is too big. She opens box, starts E to take bird out, cannot touch it, goes to pieces, stands there helpless. Sound of a knob turning in the other room. Mrs. Hale snatches the box and puts it in theTpocket of her big coat. Enter County Attorney and Sheriff. T COUNTY ATTORNEY: (facetiously) Well, Henry, at least we found out that she , was not going to quilt it. She was going to—what is it you call it, ladies? MRS. HALE: (her hand against her pocket) We call it—knot it, Mr. Henderson. B * A R Reading and Reacting 1. What key events have occurred before Bthe start of the play? Why do you suppose these events are not presented in the play itself? A 2. What are the “trifles” to which the title refers? How do these “trifles” advance the play’s plot? R 3. Glaspell’s short story version of Trifles is called “A Jury of Her Peers.” A Who are Mrs. Wright’s peers? What do you suppose the verdict would * * be if she were tried for her crime in 1916, when only men were permitted to serve on juries? If the trial were 2 held today, do you think a jury might reach a different verdict? What would your own verdict be? Do 8 do the right thing by concealing you think Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters the evidence? 8 4. Trifles is a one-act play, and all its action occurs in the Wrights’ kitchen. What do you see as the advantages 2 and disadvantages of this confined setting? T 5. All background information about Mrs. Wright is provided by Mrs. Hale. S of information? Explain. Do you consider her to be a reliable source 6. Mr. Hale’s summary of his conversation with Mrs. Wright is the reader’s only chance to hear her version of events. How might the play be different if Mrs. Wright appeared as a character? 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Ibsen: A Doll House 881 7. How does each of the following events advance the play’s action: the men’s departure from the kitchen, the discovery of the quilt pieces, the discovery of the dead bird? 8. What assumptions about women do the male characters make? In what ways do the female characters support or challenge these assumptions? 9. JOURNAL ENTRY In what sense is the process of making a quilt an appropriate metaphor for the plot of Trifles? 10. CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE In AmericanBDrama from the Colonial Period through World War I, Gary A. Richardson Esays that in Trifles, Glaspell developed a new structure for her action: N While action in the traditional sense is minimal, Glaspell is nevertheless able N wed the audience to their perspective, to rivet attention on the two women, and make a compelling case for the fairness of their actions. Existing on the E margins of their society, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale become emotional surrogates for the jailed Minnie Wright, T effectively exonerating her action as “justifiable homicide.” T Glaspell’s subject matter—the action Trifles is carefully crafted to match meanders, without a clearly delineated beginning, middle, or end. . . . , Exactly how does Glaspell “rivet attention on” Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters? In what sense is the play’s “meandering” structure “carefully crafted to B match Glaspell’s subject matter”? A Hulton Archive/Stringer/Getty Images Related Works: “I Stand Here Ironing” (p. 217), “Everyday Use” (p. 344), R “The Yellow Wallpaper” (p. 434), “Harlem” (p. 577), “Daddy” (p. 589), A Doll House (p. 881) B A R (1828–1906), Norway’s foremost dramatist, HENRIK IBSEN was born into Aa prosperous family; however, his father lost his fortune when Ibsen was six . When Ibsen was fifteen, he was apprenticed to an apothecary away from home and was permanently estranged 2 from his family . During his apprenticeship, he studied to enter the university and wrote plays . Although he did not 8 pass the university entrance exam, his second play, The Warrior’s Barrow (1850), was produced by the Christiania 8 Theatre in 1850 . He began a life in the theater, writing plays 2and serving as artistic director of a theatrical company . Disillusioned by the public’s lack of interest in theater, he left Norway, living with T 1864 and 1891 . By the time he returned his wife and son in Italy and Germany between to Norway, he was famous and revered . Ibsen’s S most notable plays include Brand (1865), Peer Gynt (1867), A Doll House (1879), Ghosts (1881), An Enemy of the People (1882), The Wild Duck (1884), Hedda Gabler (1890), and When We Dead Awaken (1899) . A Doll House marks the beginning of Ibsen’s successful realist period, during which he explored the ordinary lives of small-town people—in this case, writing what he called “a 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 882 Chapter 27 • Plot modern tragedy .” Ibsen based the play on a true story, which closely paralleled the main events of the play: a wife borrows money to finance a trip for an ailing husband, repayment is demanded, she forges a check and is discovered . (In the real-life story, however, the husband demanded a divorce, and the wife had a nervous breakdown and was committed to a mental institution .) The issue in A Doll House, he said, is that there are “two kinds of moral law, . . . one in man and a completely different one in woman . They do not understand each other . . . .” Nora and Helmer’s marriage is destroyed because they cannot comprehend or accept their differences . The play begins conventionally but does not fulfill the audience’s expectations for a tidy resolution; as a result, it was not a success when it was first performed . Nevertheless, the B publication of A Doll House made Ibsen internationally famous . E N than it treated children . Women could not vote, and they were not considered able to handle their own financial affairs . A woman could not borrow N money in her own name, and when she married, her finances were placed under the control of her husband . Moreover, working E outside the home was out of the question for a middle-class woman . So, if a woman were to leave her husband, she was not likely to have anyTway of supporting herself, and she would lose the custody of her children . At the time when A Doll House was first performed, most viewers were offended by the way Nora spoke toT her husband, and Ibsen was considered an anarchist for suggesting that a woman could leave her family in search of herself . However, , Ibsen argued that he was merely asking people to look at, and think about, the social structure Cultural Context During the nineteenth century, the law treated women only a little better they supported . B A Doll House A (1879) Translated by Rolf Fjelde R CHARACTERS B Krogstad, a bank clerk Torvald Helmer, a lawyer Nils Nora, his wife The A Helmers’ three small children Dr. Rank Anne-Marie, their nurse R a maid Mrs. Linde Helene, A Delivery Boy A The action takes place in Helmer’s residence. 2 8 A comfortable room, tastefully but not expensively furnished. A door to the right 8 to the left leads to Helmer’s study. in the back wall leads to the entryway; another Between these doors, a piano. Midway in 2 the left-hand wall a door, and further back a window. Near the window a round table with an armchair and a small T a door, and nearer the foreground a sofa. In the right-hand wall, toward the rear, porcelain stove with two armchairs and a rocking S chair beside it. Between the stove ACT 1 and the side door, a small table. Engravings on the walls. An étagère with china figures and other small art objects; a small bookcase with richly bound books; the floor carpeted; a fire burning in the stove. It is a winter day. 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Ibsen: A Doll House Act 1 883 A bell rings in the entryway; shortly after we hear the door being unlocked. Nora comes into the room, humming happily to herself; she is wearing street clothes and carries an armload of packages, which she puts down on the table to the right. She has left the hall door open; and through it a Delivery Boy is seen, holding a Christmas tree and a basket, which he gives to the Maid who let them in. NORA: Hide the tree well, Helene. The children mustn’t get a glimpse of it till this evening, after it’s trimmed. (To the Delivery Boy, taking out her purse.) How much? B DELIVERY BOY: Fifty, ma’am. E change. (The Boy thanks her and NORA: There’s a crown. No, keep the leaves. Nora shuts the door. She laughs N softly to herself while taking off her street things. Drawing a bag of macaroons from her pocket, she eats a couple, then steals over and listensN at her husband’s study door.) Yes, he’s home. (Hums again as she movesE to the table right.) HELMER: (from the study) Is that my little lark twittering out there? T NORA: (busy opening some packages) Yes, it is. T around? HELMER: Is that my squirrel rummaging NORA: Yes! , HELMER: When did my squirrel get in? NORA: Just now. (Putting the macaroon bag in her pocket and wiping her mouth.) Do come in, Torvald, and B see what I’ve bought. HELMER: Can’t be disturbed. (After a moment he opens the door and peers in, A that there? Has the little spendthrift pen in hand.) Bought, you say? All been out throwing money around R again? NORA: Oh, but Torvald, this year we really should let ourselves go a bit. B had to economize. It’s the first Christmas we haven’t HELMER: But you know we can’t goA squandering. NORA: Oh yes, Torvald, we can squander a little now. Can’t we? Just a R a big salary and are going to make tiny, wee bit. Now that you’ve got piles and piles of money. A HELMER: Yes—starting New Year’s. But then it’s a full three months till the raise comes through. NORA: Pooh! We can borrow that long. 2 HELMER: Nora! (Goes over and playfully takes her by the ear.) Are your scat8 terbrains off again? What if today I borrowed a thousand crowns, and 8 week, and then on New Year’s you squandered them over Christmas Eve a roof tile fell on my head, 2 and I lay there— NORA: (putting her hand on his mouth) Oh! Don’t say such things! T HELMER: Yes, but what if it happened—then what? NORA: If anything so awful happened, then it just wouldn’t matter if I had S debts or not. HELMER: Well, but the people I’d borrowed from? NORA: Them? Who cares about them! They’re strangers. 5 10 15 20 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 884 Chapter 27 • Plot B E N N E T T , B A Source: Nigel Norrington/ArenaPal/TopFoto/The R Image Works B HELMER: Nora, Nora, how like a woman! No, but seriously, Nora, you know A what I think about that. No debts! Never borrow! Something of freedom’s lost—and something of beauty, Rtoo—from a home that’s founded on borrowing and debt. We’ve made a brave stand up to now, the two A of us; and we’ll go right on like that the little while we have to. Scene from A Doll House with Toby Stephens (as Torvald Helmer) and Gillian Anderson (as Nora) at The Donmar Warehouse, London, UK in May 2009 25 NORA: (going toward the stove) Yes, whatever you say, Torvald. HELMER: (following her) Now, now, the little 2 lark’s wings mustn’t droop. Come on, don’t be a sulky squirrel. (Taking out his wallet.) Nora, guess 8 what I have here. NORA: (turning quickly) Money! 8 HELMER: There, see. (Hands her some notes.) Good grief, I know how costs go up in a house at Christmastime. 2 NORA: Ten—twenty—thirty—forty. Oh, T thank you, Torvald; I can manage no end on this. S HELMER: You really will have to. NORA: Oh yes, I promise I will! But come here so I can show you everything I bought. And so cheap! Look, new clothes for Ivar here—and a 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Ibsen: A Doll House Act 1 885 sword. Here a horse and a trumpet for Bob. And a doll and a doll’s bed here for Emmy; they’re nothing much, but she’ll tear them to bits in no time anyway. And here I have dress material and handkerchiefs for the maids. Old Anne-Marie really deserves something more. HELMER: And what’s in that package there? NORA: (with a cry) Torvald, no! You can’t see that till tonight! HELMER: I see. But tell me now, you little prodigal, what have you thought of for yourself? NORA: For myself? Oh, I don’t wantBanything at all. HELMER: Of course you do. Tell meE just what—within reason—you’d most like to have. NORA: I honestly don’t know. Oh, N listen, Torvald— HELMER: Well? N NORA: (fumbling at his coat buttons, without looking at him) If you want to E give me something, then maybe you could—you could— HELMER: Come on, out with it. T NORA: (hurriedly) You could give me money, Torvald. No more than T you think you can spare; then one of these days I’ll buy something , with it. HELMER: But Nora— NORA: Oh, please, Torvald darling, do that! I beg you, please. Then B paper on the Christmas tree. I could hang the bills in pretty gilt Wouldn’t that be fun? A HELMER: What are those little birds called that always fly through their R fortunes? NORA: Oh yes, spendthrifts; I knowB all that. But let’s do as I say, Torvald; then I’ll have time to decide what I really need most. That’s very senA sible, isn’t it? HELMER: (smiling) Yes, very—that is, Rif you actually hung onto the money I give you, and you actually used it to buy yourself something. But it A of foolish things, and then I only goes for the house and for all sorts have to lay out some more. NORA: Oh, but Torvald— 2 HELMER: Don’t deny it, my dear little Nora. (Putting his arm around her 8 they use up a frightful amount of waist.) Spendthrifts are sweet, but money. It’s incredible what it costs a man to feed such birds. 8 NORA: Oh, how can you say that! Really, I save everything I can. 2 Everything you can. But that’s HELMER: (laughing) Yes, that’s the truth. nothing at all. T NORA: (humming, with a smile of quiet satisfaction) Hm, if you only knew S have, Torvald. what expenses we larks and squirrels HELMER: You’re an odd little one. Exactly the way your father was. You’re never at a loss for scaring up money; but the moment you have it, it 30 35 40 45 50 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 886 55 60 65 70 75 Chapter 27 • Plot runs right out through your fingers; you never know what you’ve done with it. Well, one takes you as you are. It’s deep in your blood. Yes, these things are hereditary, Nora. NORA: Ah, I could wish I’d inherited many of Papa’s qualities. HELMER: And I couldn’t wish you anything but just what you are, my sweet little lark. But wait; it seems to me you have a very—what should I call it?—a very suspicious look today— NORA: I do? B in the eye. HELMER: You certainly do. Look me straight NORA: (looking at him) Well? E HELMER: (shaking an admonitory finger) Surely my sweet tooth hasn’t been running riot in town today, has she?N NORA: No. Why do you imagine that? N HELMER: My sweet tooth really didn’t make a little detour through the E confectioner’s? NORA: No, I assure you, Torvald— T HELMER: Hasn’t nibbled some pastry? T NORA: No, not at all. , or two? HELMER: Nor even munched a macaroon NORA: No, Torvald, I assure you, really— HELMER: There, there now. Of course I’m only joking. BI could never think of going NORA: (going to the table, right) You know against you. A HELMER: No, I understand that; and you have given me your word. (Going over to her.) Well, you keep your littleRChristmas secrets to yourself, Nora darling. I expect they’ll come to lightB this evening, when the tree is lit. NORA: Did you remember to ask Dr. Rank? A it’s assumed he’ll be dining with HELMER: No. But there’s no need for that; us. All the same, I’ll ask him when he R stops by here this morning. I’ve ordered some fine wine. Nora, you can’t imagine how I’m looking forA ward to this evening. NORA: So am I. And what fun for the children, Torvald! HELMER: Ah, it’s so gratifying to know that one’s gotten a safe, secure job, 2 and with a comfortable salary. It’s a great satisfaction, isn’t it? 8 NORA: Oh, it’s wonderful! HELMER: Remember last Christmas? Three whole weeks before, you shut 8 yourself in every evening till long after midnight, making flowers for the Christmas tree, and all the other2decorations to surprise us. Ugh, that was the dullest time I’ve ever lived T through. NORA: It wasn’t at all dull for me. HELMER: (smiling) But the outcome wasS pretty sorry, Nora. NORA: Oh, don’t tease me with that again. How could I help it that the cat came in and tore everything to shreds. 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Ibsen: A Doll House Act 1 887 HELMER: No, poor thing, you certainly couldn’t. You wanted so much to please us all, and that’s what counts. But it’s just as well that the hard times are past. NORA: Yes, it’s really wonderful. HELMER: Now I don’t have to sit here alone, boring myself, and you don’t have to tire your precious eyes and your fair little delicate hands— NORA: (clapping her hands) No, is it really true, Torvald, I don’t have to? Oh, how wonderfully lovely to hear! (Taking his arm.) Now I’ll tell you just how I’ve thought we shouldBplan things. Right after Christmas— (The doorbell rings.) Oh, the bell. E(Straightening the room up a bit.) Somebody would have to come. What a bore! Ndon’t forget. HELMER: I’m not at home to visitors, MAID: (from the hall doorway) Ma’am, N a lady to see you— NORA: All right, let her come in. E MAID: (to Helmer) And the doctor’s just come too. HELMER: Did he go right to my study? T MAID: Yes, he did. T Helmer goes into his room. The Maid shows in Mrs. Linde, dressed in traveling , clothes, and shuts the door after her. MRS. LINDE: (in a dispirited and somewhat hesitant voice) Hello, Nora. B NORA: (uncertain) Hello— MRS. LINDE: You don’t recognize me. A NORA: No, I don’t know—but wait, I think—(Exclaiming.) What! R Kristine! Is it really you? MRS. LINDE: Yes, it’s me. B NORA: Kristine! To think I didn’t recognize you. But then, how could I? A Kristine! (More quietly.) How you’ve changed, MRS. LINDE: Yes, no doubt I have. R In nine—ten long years. NORA: Is it so long since we met! Yes, it’s all of that. Oh, these last eight A me. And so now you’ve come in years have been a happy time, believe to town, too. Made the long trip in the winter. That took courage. MRS. LINDE: I just got here by ship this morning. 2 NORA: To enjoy yourself over Christmas, of course. Oh, how lovely! Yes, 8 take your coat off. You’re not still enjoy ourselves, we’ll do that. But cold? (Helping her.) There now, let’s get cozy here by the stove. No, the 8 easy chair there! I’ll take the rocker here. (Seizing her hands.) Yes, now you have your old look again; it2was only in that first moment. You’re a bit more pale, Kristine—and maybe T a bit thinner. MRS. LINDE: And much, much older, Nora. S tiny bit; not much at all. (Stopping NORA: Yes, perhaps a bit older; a tiny, short; suddenly serious.) Oh, but thoughtless me, to sit here, chattering away. Sweet, good Kristine, can you forgive me? 80 85 90 95 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 888 100 105 110 115 120 Chapter 27 • Plot MRS. LINDE: What do you mean, Nora? NORA: (softly) Poor Kristine, you’ve become a widow. MRS. LINDE: Yes, three years ago. NORA: Oh, I knew it, of course: I read it in the papers. Oh, Kristine, you must believe me; I often thought of writing you then, but I kept postponing it, and something always interfered. MRS. LINDE: Nora dear, I understand completely. NORA: No, it was awful of me, Kristine. You poor thing, how much you Byou nothing? must have gone through. And he left MRS. LINDE: No. E NORA: And no children? N MRS. LINDE: No. NORA: Nothing at all, then? N MRS. LINDE: Not even a sense of loss to feed on. E NORA: (looking incredulously at her) But Kristine, how could that be? MRS. LINDE: (smiling wearily and smoothing T her ...
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The Death of a Salesman
“The Death of a Salesman” follows the life of Willy Loman, a salesman with grand
dreams for both himself and his two children Happy and Biff. His character is however flawed in
different ways. Tragically, he fails to recognize his shortcomings which pile on to become his
downfall. His behavior and that of other characters teaches critical lessons on human behavior
and alludes to some of the behaviors observed in today’s society such as consumerism. The play
addresses such behavior by portraying some of the characters such as Happy and Willy Loman
as bearing the sole responsibility for their actions. By trying to keep up with the image he has
falsely created for himself, for instance, Willy Loman digs himself deeper into debt. This essay
explores Willy Loman’s lack of self-awareness, his responsibility for the tragedy which befalls
him, and derives lessons on human behavior from the historical aspects of the play while
evaluating the play’s commentary on American consumerism for relevance to today’s society.
Willy Loman’s Failure to recognize his Shortcomings
The first way in which Willy Loman fails to recognize his own shortcomings is in his
insistence that his son Biff follows in his footsteps. In the beginning, the relationship between
Willy and his son Biff is strained since Willy wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. Biff, on
the other hand, did not share in his father’s dreams for him, choosing instead to work on a farm.
In the first Act when Willy learns of Biff’s meeting with Oliver, he dismisses his son’s potential
in the business. It is only when Happy suggests a grand idea, which is seemingly implausible and
difficult, that Willy shows interest and even calls it a “one million-dollar idea” (Kirszen &
Mandell 994). By insisting that his son joins the business world, which he had long discovered
not to be as auspicious as he presented it to be, Willy Loman demonstrates the failure to
recognize his perennial failure to achieve the unrealistic dreams he set for himself and his sons.
He, therefore, lacks self-awareness and fails to recognize his tendency to follow unrealistic goals
as the source of his misery and misfortune which is a significant part of the tragedy since the
cause of his death is his belated recognition of his faults and failures which prompt him to
commit suicide.
The second way in which Willy fails to recognize his own shortcomings is in his measure
of success by wealth and the respect accorded to a person’s name rather than by the quality of
their relationships with the people close to them. He also values being well-liked and status
(Danqing 28-29). This fact is evident when towards the end of the play, Willy commits suicide to
provide financially for his family from his insurance instead of trying to come up with a solution
for his problems together with his family. Happy confirms this assertion in his statement at his
father’s requiem in which he angrily says that “He had no right to do that! There was ...


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