Research Articles Base: Drama

A SCHOOL WITHOUT A DRAMA IS A SCHOOL WITHOUT A SOUL – CRITICALLY DISCUSS THIS QUOTATION FROM THE SHA REPORT ON DRAMA IN SCHOOLS

A SCHOOL WITHOUT A DRAMA IS A SCHOOL WITHOUT A SOUL     Introduction             Drama has long been a popular learning approach in most British schools ( 2001, p. 16), and it is still growing to be one (‘ 2004, p. 20).  A participant in a drama engage in a process of expressing a variety of emotions.  It is as though a living spirit is confined within the body of an artist that pushes her or him to exude its living radiance.  They give life to real or imagined and dead or alive entities to convey a certain message and perception about existence.  This is the essence, in brief, of a drama.  This written piece is not tasked primarily to unfold merely the essence of a drama.  Rather, it is going to argue that schools are ought to have a drama in general.  This written piece is going to fortify the ground that – a school without a drama is a school without a soul.    What’s in a Drama?  “He who has never envied the vegetable has missed the human drama.”               According to the  (2003), a drama is to be construed as a kind of art, a sensible endeavor and a rational branch of learning (p. 4).   By a kind of art, it is a means of expression.  By a sensible endeavor, it forges a meaningful story.  By a rational branch of learning, it offers a frame of reference, in other words, a perspective.  All of which are directed towards human life processes and activities.  A drama is both a form of interpretation and reinterpretation to generate a meaningful understanding of the things that surround us.                In reality, every human endeavor generates a meaningful experience.  What sort of experience can students derive from a drama?  In the voice of  (2004), “The students learn to laugh.  They laugh at their mistakes when exhausted after rehearsing a scene five times in a row and still not getting it right.  And they laugh at each other when something funny happens.  They become less self-conscious and more aware of how they walk and talk and move.  Yes, drama allows people to learn lots of things.  Then there’s the story line, often involving intelligent arguments, conflict, difference of opinion, and resolution of problems.  Some dramatic plays are based on literary classics, teaching us about human suffering and love and generosity and sacrifice.  Yes, drama sometimes speaks to the mind, the heart and the soul, and the spirit.  It’s a little bit like real life (p.21).”    This author has vividly described the process a drama student is going through in producing a drama.  The drama student suffers from pain, failure and melancholy.  But in the end, he or she is able to taste the sweetness of happiness and success.  What matters the most is the personal growth and development that the drama brings.                In the book written by  (1991), its fundamental assumption is that “the creation of experience” is the end-goal of art (p. xiii).  In the eyes of this author, art (referring to the drama) gives an individual the chance to be in the shoes of another.  The artist is going through an experience of experiencing another’s experiences.  He or she is tasked to interpret that particular sensible undertaking.    A School with a Drama “Like theatre, drama in schools can unlock the use of imagination, intellect, empathy and courage.  Through it, ideas, responses and feelings can be expressed and communicated.  It carries the potential to challenge, to question and to bring about change”             A drama resounds the issues, experiences and interactions of humanity, and this constitutes its base.  Students engaged in this kind of art obtain are able to decently inquire on these concerns.  At the back of the drama is a learning process in which, they get to operate among themselves imaginatively and resolve problems not merely as individuals but as groups ( 2003, p. 7).  A drama is neither simply a kind of art nor a matter of role-playing.  Young pupils or teenage students alike, who are engaged in a drama, are passing through a stage of learning whereby they encounter thorns along their paths.  They have to seek among themselves the ways to internalize and externalize at the same time a certain role in order to act it out in the most sensible way possible.  Aside from this, there is a need for them to act as a group in order to portray the best situation in that drama.                Dramas need not to be associated only with plays in the strictest sense.  According to  (1982), expert instructors unconsciously employ drama in formal instruction settings (p. 13).  By the teacher’s simple act of assuming the other position, to a certain degree, it can be considered as a drama already.  The teacher is employing a dramaturgical approach as a learning process among her or his students.                What is in a formal institution of learning that utilizes a drama?  It is when the school is making the students undergo the underlying values of the drama.  First, the student, being a young member of the society by which he belongs to, visualizes in his mind a certain character that may or may not be in congruence to his very own being.  Second, they enter through an intrapersonal communication process.  The third step is they engage in an interpersonal communication process, i.e. with his friend(s), in order to capture their perceptions about what he is going through.  The spectators, on the other hand, are likewise experiencing a meaningful undertaking from the actor.  They identify, envisage, make remarks and assess his performances.  Lastly, and which this paper opts to quote, “the student is able to manipulate an object for the purpose of stimulating his imagination to figure out where he is, who he is, and what he’s doing (cited in 1982, p. 20).”                Such citation above describes the beautiful process that a pupil or student is or would be experiencing in a drama, being a parcel of the school curriculum.  It facilitates his personal growth.  This is more than just teaching them the existing values and beliefs in a plain one-way fashion.  They get to realize further those values and beliefs.  And, by having this as part of the school curriculum, is the school not inculcating to the students the value of recognition and respect for the individuals outside of them?  In this case, the drama proves to be a tractable way of socializing the young individual and citizen to harmonize with the rest of the world.                There are more accounts that further support the functionality of the drama in formal learning institutions.   (1999) perceives the drama to be a crucial learning methodology in the light of multiculturalism.  Drama pedagogy refers to a multiperspectival as well as holistic learning methodology that aims to awaken and pull out at the same time the intellectual, social, emotional, physical, moral, creative, communicative, and aesthetic capacities of students (cited in  1999).  Harley prescribes among the readers that drama pedagogy is the ship that will enable the world to sail in a sea of multiculturalism.  Other than this author, another by the family name of  (2003), proposes for an “interactive drama” to be employed in schools, which similarly with Hanley, for the reason that it is observed to be beneficial in pushing multiculturalism within schools.    What’s in a Soul?              In the viewpoint of religion and philosophy, it refers to a knowing “ethereal substance” that exists distinctively in a living being ( 2006).  This offers a neutral conception of a soul.  It simply answers the “what is”.   (2006) cites the definitions of soul as “the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life”.  These authors have also referred to the soul as the “human being”, and a “deep feeling or emotion”.    This one, on the other hand, has a position, and pushes further on what the soul does and/or what the soul does to the individual.                In this paper, the operational sense of a soul refers to that living force within that drives an individual to act in accordance with righteousness.  A person without a soul has always been assigned a negative meaning wherein he is said to be wicked; and so herein, it is being meant in the path of righteousness.  It causes the individual to awaken his emotions and set him in motion for a certain purpose.  In doing so, he may touch another individual or another soul to embark on the same journey.    A School without a Drama is a School without a Soul “Education is the leading of human souls to what is best, and making what is best out of them.”                 Having laid down the pertinent literatures above, this section has much reason to lay the basis behind the claim that a school without a drama is a school without a soul.                Drama makes the students to imagine by running through their emotions within their own selves.   is most likely saying that the drama has the capability to break free the soul of the person.  As reviewed above, the soul awakes the emotions within in order to make a person act.  If the school repudiates drama among its students, then the school repudiates the chance to awaken its students’ souls.  This is just on the basic level, the level of the individual.                It has been learned from the citation of  (1982) that the first step in staging a drama is to imagine a particular role in acting it out (p. 20), which is undeniably true.  It always starts with the person confronted with the question – how am I going to portray this character?  Because the drama is a matter of assuming particular roles, a school that recognizes a variety of roles or circumstances is a school with a soul.  It is a school with a soul because it triggers the act of touching another soul.                 (2003) has identified the following as the advantages behind an interactive drama in counseling: recognition and comprehension of others, others’ perspectives, and their objective view of others.  Although this author’s findings have a specific reference to counseling, what matters is the means that have lead to these aforestated ends.  Imagine now the case wherein the school hinders its students from these advantages.  A school that prevents its students from assuming the roles of others, thru the drama, is preventing its students to harmonize with their fellow students.  What a chaotic state this world would be!  It is going to be a world filled with soul-less humans, because of its primary learning institutions that harbored among its citizens disrespect toward each other.                In the review of literatures, it has been found out that most author-experts in the drama raise the point that the drama is a matter of problem solving.  As (2004) has uttered, the drama is “a little bit like real life” (p. 21).  The drama sets the individuals in motion.  This leads to the idea that the drama activates their souls.  Shifting to the schools, one of the reasons why schools exist is that it provides the students the necessary knowledge or pieces of information that is going to guide them in real life.  But this is not enough.  They may have the knowledge but not the driving force to make use of that knowledge.  It is thus of utmost importance for schools to include the drama in the curriculum.  Otherwise, a school without a drama is a school without a soul.                The drama has the capacity to make its participants recognize the stances by which the others stand.  In a world of multiculturalism, judging from the term alone, it is a condition wherein there is recognition of cultural diversity.  It is “a world of difference”, as how multiculturalists put it.  This paper has cited  who have advocated the drama as the vehicle of multiculturalism.  Tying this with the concept of the school, one way to look at the nature and/or objective of the school is for its students to generate an understanding of the world they are living in.  The school exists to be able to understand the present differences carried by the souls of this world.  As stated by the  (2003), a drama is to be construed as a kind of art, a sensible endeavor and a rational branch of learning.  The drama has the capacity to initiate the act of understanding the shoes that the others are wearing.  Therefore, it goes to show that a school without a drama is a school without a soul.                The previous paragraphs have shown how the school without a drama robs its students of awakening their soul.  And, from the individual level, the discussion has moved up to the level of the community or locality.  Actually, the discussion on multiculturalism can go even further to the level of the international.    The subsequent section is about to fortify the argument of this paper on the national level.                Most advocates stand in the view that the significance of drama in the formal institution of learning lies in its ability to alter the students in such a way that it is able to hone their dexterity in the particular social environment by which they belong.  This is an instance of a drama with a purpose – “drama for capability” or “drama for empowerment” – that molds the children being young members of their society and as its active citizens (1992, p. 45).  There is truly indeed more to learn from the drama.  The attitude or personality, emotional intelligence and social skills are being developed.  Apart from that, they become aware of the situations they are in.  They tend to carry out their attitude within the drama outside, in the real drama of life.                The aforementioned paragraph has tackled the politics behind the drama.  The drama has the capacity to trigger the burning passion within the actors and actresses alike.  It awakens their souls.  Eventually, they become active members of their own cultural group or nation.  Is it not this task falls mostly in the hands of the school?  In the case wherein the school departs from the (principles of) drama, what occurs is that it is not producing learned citizens who are capable of and passionate in transforming the nation for the better.    This section further concludes that a school without a drama is a school without a soul.    Conclusion             The drama is a kind of expression that sensibly interprets and reinterprets events.  The soul has been operationally defined as the living force within that drives an individual to act, in accordance with righteousness.  The drama has the capacity to unleash or awaken the soul of the individual.  On the individual level, students who are denied of the chance to express their emotion are denied of the chance to animate their souls.  On the local/community/international level, students, who are asked to refuse to recognize the individuals outside of their own selves, are directed to live in disrespect, absolute individualism and chaos.  On the level of the national, students, who have not went through the principles of drama, lack the passionate will to transform the real stage by which they act on.  The conclusion that can be derived through these arguments is that a school without a drama is a school without a soul.                References:   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

A SCHOOL WITHOUT A DRAMA IS A SCHOOL WITHOUT A SOUL – CRITICALLY DISCUSS THIS QUOTATION FROM THE SHA REPORT ON DRAMA IN SCHOOLS

A SCHOOL WITHOUT A DRAMA IS A SCHOOL WITHOUT A SOUL Introduction Drama has long been a popular learning approach in most B...

DRAMATIC DIALOGUE

Joshua and Angela are in their living room as Angela faces the audience and Joshua comfortably seated in the couch. Angela walks towards Joshua who is taking his coffee while reading the day’s paper.   Angela: (In a firm voice) And so, this is it. I never realized this will happen to us. What have I done for you to do this to me? Joshua: (Stands up and moves away from Angela) What are you talking about? Angela: Was I never a good wife? (Walks towards Joshua and face him) Joshua: (Starts to be irritated) Stop it! I am tired of your issues. Tired of messing around out here and getting no place. Angela: (Exasperated) What do you know about getting anyplace? I am the one who works from pay check to pay check in an empty job going nowhere. And you? Joshua: And that’s why you wanted me to stay in this house? Angela: (Calmly) That is not what I mean. I told you, Joshua, I am always a good wife. Joshua: And me? Am I not a good husband? Angela: Are you? With what you have done, I cannot answer your question. Joshua: Then, what is the fuzz all about? (Grabs Angela’s shoulders) Can you not get it? I am leaving you. (and turnaround his back) Angela: (Angela follows) Leaving me? Ahh… you can never do this to me! (Cold but firm tone) You, coward! Joshua: Watch your word, woman! Angela: Sure, just as you buried the memory and sacredness of our marriage as well as our children… your children! Leave us to go with your own path in a world that had no place for you and your woman. Joshua: Shut your wide mouth woman! Who do you think you are talking to? Angela: Joshua… the master of this house! Joshua: Haven’t you done enough damage?  Embarrassing my maleness? Are you not ashamed? A woman who lays claim to marriage? Angela: Marriage? You said marriage, Joshua? Yes, indeed we are married. But I raised our children and supported you, too without ever asking you for anything except to take responsibility of becoming a good father and husband for the family. But I see now, Joshua, you could never have helped me. It has taken too long for you to become a man. Joshua: I’ve heard enough. Woman! You will do no further damage. With the powers borne in me as a man, I will leave you for being like that. Angela: (Calmly but firmly) Joshua. You have no power over me. Here in this house, my bond is my love for the children. No knife, no matter how sharp can sever it. Now, look at you… a loser! Joshua: Away with you, woman. Out of my sight! (Walks away from Angela) Angela: (Angela follows) Where is your love? I am your wife. Can you not find the love we once have? What have you done with it? And tell me quick before I lose control of myself. Joshua: Hurt me? Your husband? Angela: You heard me. Joshua: (Mocking) How can you hurt your husband? Angela: And how can you hurt your wife? Joshua: Can you not get it? I do not love you any longer. Angela: (Starts to cry) How can you say that? Why are you saying that? Joshua: I do not deserve you. And you do not deserve me either. The marriage that we have is just for convenience. I am not happy being with you? Angela: (Slaps Joshua’s both side of his face) How dare you say that to me! I have done everything just to do the job that supposed to be done by you. I never complained. I never said anything against you! Is this all you’ve got to pay back? Joshua: I was never your partner; I am just your meager husband? Angela: Because you chose to be one. I gave you so many chances to prove that to me and this family. But what have you done? Joshua: What chance are you talking about? Leaving me in this house to stay and do nothing? Is that fair? Angela: Yes. I left you here in this house but I was expecting you to do something that will reciprocate my efforts. Will this make you less of a man? Joshua: Yes! You made me realize that I am indeed of no use. Angela: (now sobbing) Joshua: All these times, I never felt the love that you are telling me. Or even the marriage that you are claiming. But with Catherine, I am more than priceless. Angela: So, she is Catherine! That woman who replaced me in your life. Now, I finally knew her name. Joshua: Yes, Catherine made me realize my worth. How capable I am to make a person happy. With you, I never felt that. I am always insecure. Angela: Because you chose to be one. I told you. It was your choice! Joshua: No, Angela. It was yours. That is why I decided to leave you. Angela: Leave as if you do not have your children. Joshua: I am still their father. And I will always be. Angela: You are not their father when you choose to depart this house. Joshua: Why not? Angela: You choose to leave us. And that clearly means you are cutting the bond that you have with them. Joshua: That’s unfair! Angela: And who said you are fair? As their mother, I will never let you take them away from me. Joshua: I’ll see you in court! (As he faces back and moves out of the stage) Angela: (Runs towards the drawer of the side table, gets the gun and immediately points towards Joshua and shouts) Now, you go! Joshua: (Faces back and looked startled) You would shoot your own husband? Angela: Why not? (Appears to be out of her normal self) Joshua: Go on… Shoot me! (Extending his hand as if he welcomes the bullet to enter through his body) Angela: (Totally devastated as she walks closer to Joshua) Now, answer me. Do you love me? Joshua: (Appeared to be composed and firm yet cannot move in his place) No. I don’t love you any longer, you fool. (A gunshot will be heard and Joshua will be seen take hold of his chest while blood rushing out) Angela: (Crying and laughing alternately) So, you don’t love me, huh. Then, no one can ever have you but me… only me! Hahahahaha   LIGHTS OFF                             Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

DRAMATIC DIALOGUE

Joshua and Angela are in their living room as Angela faces the audience and Joshua comfortably seated in the couch. Angela walks towards ...

Metafiction, Hamlet and The Glass Menagerie

I.                  Introduction In a metadrama, a play manifests an additional implication within the play. It serves as a tool to provide additional insinuations to the total structure, form, and style conveyed in the play. The following discussions are going to analyze the use of metadrama in the case of two plays: Hamlet and the Glass Menagerie. The discussions made in this paper are to be based on the specific scenes of the said plays.        II.               Hamlet One of the more recognizable Shakespearean plays, the use of metadrama in this context has contributed mainly to the development of the storyline and imagery of the play as a whole. One must first recognize that Hamlet is a play concerning about the development of a would-be king along with the struggles from within himself and with his environment. It is depicts a series of events leading to the moment where the main character has learned how he would realize his destiny. The play highlights the performance of actors as actors themselves. This is especially true in the case of Hamlet when he feigned insanity right in the middle of the play. At this point, the audience is aware of the performance being done by Hamlet and his basic intentions of doing so. The use of such technique has provided a different approach where the audience realizes that they are watching a play within a play. This is similarly seen in the scene where the Italian play, “The Mousetrap“, was being portrayed by the characters. In itself, employing such acts provides the audience an image of lies and deceit on the part of Hamlet and illusion on the part of Claudius and Gertrude. Specifically, Hamlet used the play to seek the truth and build on it to establish his decided course of action. Moreover, the use of the play also highlights the illusion held by Claudius and Gertrude as they hold on to power which is ironically devoid of actual authority. In using metadrama within the play, the stage decidedly formed elaborate scenery. Moreover, along with this the said method has similarly triggered the use of intense imagery to convey meaning in the dialogues of the actors. Lines like “tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature” manifests the Shakespearean constant which alludes to greenery and lush foliage.        III.            The Glass Menagerie In the case of the play “Glass Menagerie,” the barrier between the actors and the audience is taken down as the narrator directly addressed the audience. This is the form of metadrama which Williams employed in this play. Specifically, the narrator’s actions in directly addressing the audience make the audience remember that they are watching a play, or rather an illusion of sorts. The prevailing theme really is seen by the inability of the characters of Tom and Amanda to carry out what they want to do because the established responsibilities that they have to accomplish. Throughout the play, the characters acquire a rather escapist attitude as seen in Amanda’s constant flashbacks to her youth and Tom’s constant visit in the movies and magician shows. These two instances represent the similar use of metadrama in the play. In these two instances, the characters portray how they tend to break away from the real world; with Laura constantly being enamored by the glass menageries and her dreams of grandeur while Tom’s constant fascination of fame and wealth. It is also the use of these metadrama that symbolisms in the play emerge. For Amanda, her constant blasts from the past insinuate the regrets of a person who has gone through life full of regrets and missteps. In the same way, Laura’s constant encounter with her glass menageries displays her fragility and her innocence which will essentially be destroyed as the play develops.  In taking these imageries and symbolism to greater meaning, one must place the context of these scenes appropriately. For instance, the rather exuberant and sometimes tumultuous ride that the characters are experiencing tends to reflect the 1940s where disorder is staple and an imminent war is brewing. Taking these into consideration, the state which these escapist attitudes manifested by the characters tend to make sense.   IV.           Conclusion The plays discussed above provided a picture on how metadrama affects the structure, form, and style of the play. On this discussion, it has been established that the method is apparently used in both classical and modern plays, both on which conveys considerable implications on the presentations of the play. It grants the audience the opportunity to recognize the imageries employed and the symbolisms used to convey their counterparts in the real world. In a sense, the use of metadrama in plays also highlights the escapist needs of the audience. The use of these methods trends to highlight to the audience that they are indeed watching a play, a transitory means of breaking away from their current state where responsibility, tasks, deadlines, and all that adult concerns leaves them even for just a few minutes.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Metafiction, Hamlet and The Glass Menagerie

I. Introduction In a metadrama, a play manifests an additional implication within the play. It serves as a t...

A SCHOOL WITHOUT A DRAMA IS A SCHOOL WITHOUT A SOUL

p class=”MsoNormal” align=”center” style=”text-align:center;line-height:200%”> A SCHOOL WITHOUT A DRAMA IS A SCHOOL WITHOUT A SOUL Introduction             Drama has long been a popular learning approach in most British schools (2001), and it is still growing to be one ( 2004).  A participant in a drama engages in a process of expressing a variety of emotions.  It is as though a living spirit is confined within the body of an artist that pushes her or him to exude its living radiance.  They give life to real or imagined and dead or alive entities to convey a certain message and perception about existence.  This is the essence, in brief, of a drama.               Basic skills like numerical calculation and reading are typically learned in school. As drama is conventionally conceived as an art form, the integration of art in learning basic skills in school seemed out of place. However, various authors have argued that art forms like music, dance and drama should not be considered as mere frills in effective education. (1998) for instance, defended basic skills and arts are two educational elements that are closely related. Furthermore, connecting both of these elements in the students’ education can lead to better educational achievement (1998). These raised points clearly express the support towards a growing belief that drama does adds soul to schools and education.   This written piece is not tasked primarily to unfold merely the essence of a drama.  Rather, it is going to argue that schools are ought to have a drama in general.  This paper aims to stress the principle that a school without a drama is a school without a soul. Within the discussion, the concept of drama as well as the soul is discussed. Finally, the different factors that enable drama to add soul in schools are cited and explained in detail.   What’s in a Drama?  “He who has never envied the vegetable has missed the human drama.”               According to the  (2003), a drama is to be construed as a kind of art, a sensible endeavor and a rational branch of learning ().   By a kind of art, it is a means of expression.  By a sensible endeavor, it forges a meaningful story.  By a rational branch of learning, it offers a frame of reference, in other words, a perspective.  All of which are directed towards human life processes and activities.  A drama is both a form of interpretation and reinterpretation to generate a meaningful understanding of the things that surround us.  Aside from being understood as a breathing art form, drama has also been defined as an intellectual discipline as well as a practical activity that utilize different theatrical elements. Feelings and imagination are the two prime requirements of this art form; through these, actors performing a drama can bring fictional characters to life (2003).   What’s in a Soul?              In the viewpoint of religion and philosophy, it refers to a knowing “ethereal substance” that exists distinctively in a living being ( 2006).  This offers a neutral conception of a soul. It simply answers the “what is”.  (2006) cites the definitions of soul as “the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life”. These authors have also referred to the soul as the “human being”, and a “deep feeling or emotion”. This one, on the other hand, has a position, and pushes further on what the soul does and/or what the soul does to the individual. In most religious beliefs like Islam and Christianity, the soul is often thought of as the spirit of God breathed into the human body. This is probably where the notion that God lives within us comes from. After death, the soul of the righteous then goes back and stays with the creator (2004).   From these definitions, the operational sense of a soul generally refers to that living force within that drives an individual to act in accordance with righteousness. A person without a soul has always been assigned a negative meaning wherein he is said to be wicked; and so herein, it is being meant in the path of righteousness. It causes the individual to awaken his emotions and set him in motion for a certain purpose. In doing so, he may touch another individual or another soul to embark on the same journey. The concept of the soul in general pertains to something that is right and good. Hence, saying that drama adds soul to school is synonymous to the understanding that drama brings out the best in schools. The succeeding sections identify the different capabilities of drama that make this outcome possible.   A School with a Drama “Like theatre, drama in schools can unlock the use of imagination, intellect, empathy and courage.  Through it, ideas, responses and feelings can be expressed and communicated.  It carries the potential to challenge, to question and to bring about change”               A drama resounds the issues, experiences and interactions of humanity, and this constitutes its base.  Students engaged in this kind of art obtain are able to decently inquire on these concerns.  At the back of the drama is a learning process in which, they get to operate among themselves imaginatively and resolve problems not merely as individuals but as groups (2003).  A drama is neither simply a kind of art nor a matter of role-playing.  Young pupils or teenage students alike, who are engaged in a drama, are passing through a stage of learning whereby they encounter thorns along their paths.  They have to seek among themselves the ways to internalize and externalize at the same time a certain role in order to act it out in the most sensible way possible.  Aside from this, there is a need for them to act as a group in order to portray the best situation in that drama.                Dramas need not to be associated only with plays in the strictest sense.  According to  (1982), expert instructors unconsciously employ drama in formal instruction settings ().  By the teacher’s simple act of assuming the other position, to a certain degree, it can be considered as a drama already.  The teacher is employing a dramaturgical approach as a learning process among her or his students. Through the integration of dramas in schools and education, students are able to learn several things about themselves and others, resulting to the development of children not only academically, but also social, emotionally and morally.   Personal Development             This effect of integrating drama in schools pertains to how the art form helps students understand their selves better. Dramas are able to draw out this essential development through its ability to generate meaningful experiences. As (2004) has explained:    “The students learn to laugh.  They laugh at their mistakes when exhausted after rehearsing a scene five times in a row and still not getting it right.  And they laugh at each other when something funny happens.  They become less self-conscious and more aware of how they walk and talk and move.  Yes, drama allows people to learn lots of things.  Then there’s the story line, often involving intelligent arguments, conflict, difference of opinion, and resolution of problems.  Some dramatic plays are based on literary classics, teaching us about human suffering and love and generosity and sacrifice.  Yes, drama sometimes speaks to the mind, the heart and the soul, and the spirit.  It’s a little bit like real life ().”      This author has vividly described the process a drama student is going through in producing a drama. The drama student suffers from pain, failure and melancholy. But in the end, he or she is able to taste the sweetness of happiness and success. What matters the most is the personal growth and development that the drama brings. From the author’s observation, the participation of students in a drama production is similar to experiencing human life. Day to day, individuals go through routines, new challenges and discoveries, learning, negative experiences as well as happy moments.   Despite the hard times, people manage to go on living by giving their all and doing what they can to overcome them. Similarly, dramas involve not only talent and skills but perseverance, discipline and responsibility. Without the combination of these essential elements, the members of the drama production will not be able to overcome the difficulties of performing. From this correlation it can be surmised that drama develops a person by teaching him or her to become a stronger and more capable individual.   In other literatures, the ability of dramas to generate meaningful experience for personal development is explained in a different angle. While (2004) focused the explanation of drama experience to the activities involved in producing a drama, (1991) view is more centered on the role of character portrayal in this art form. In the book written by  (1991), its fundamental assumption is that “the creation of experience” is the end-goal of art ().  In the eyes of this author, art (referring to the drama) gives an individual the chance to be in the shoes of another. The artist is going through an experience of experiencing another’s experiences. He or she is tasked to interpret that particular sensible undertaking.  Through this experience, personal development occurs as students become more open-minded and understanding individuals. Skill Enhancement             There are a number of skills that can be developed out of putting drama in schools. One of which is the improvement of the students’ ability to communicate effectively. According to  (1997), drama activities as well as dance experiences allow the students to generate feelings and express their ideas. As drama is a form of art performed using actions and speech, the language and communication abilities of the students are enhanced as well. Dramas also involve the use of various human senses; through this the students’ sensory recall and awareness are developed. The students’ sensory development in turn supports the development of their communication skills.  and  (2003) noted that drama is actually a multi-sensory form of art which enables participants to explore language’s many varieties. As the student read through the stories used in the drama, they use their different senses in order accurately portray a dramatic role. Their ability to communicate is then drawn out as drama teaches them how to connect senses with experience.               In other literatures, the development of the students’ communication abilities through drama has been related to its underlying values. First, the student, being a young member of the society by which he belongs to, visualizes in his mind a certain character that may or may not be in congruence to his very own being. Second, they enter through an intrapersonal communication process. The third step is they engage in an interpersonal communication process, i.e. with his friend(s), in order to capture their perceptions about what he is going through. The spectators, on the other hand, are likewise experiencing a meaningful undertaking from the actor.  They identify, envisage, make remarks and assess his performances.  Lastly, and which this paper opts to quote, “the student is able to manipulate an object for the purpose of stimulating his imagination to figure out where he is, who he is, and what he’s doing (1982).”                The citation above describes the beautiful process that a pupil or student is or would be experiencing in a drama, being a parcel of the school curriculum.  It facilitates his personal growth. This is more than just teaching them the existing values and beliefs in a plain one-way fashion. They get to realize further those values and beliefs.  And, by having this as part of the school curriculum, is the school not inculcating to the students the value of recognition and respect for the individuals outside of them?  In this case, the drama proves to be a tractable way of socializing the young individual and citizen to harmonize with the rest of the world.                         The (2003) also believes that drama helps in developing the students’ communication skills, mainly through language development. Dramas in general require effective communication, negotiation as well as self-assertion. Through these requirements, the students become more confident when speaking to other people or to an audience. As they play different characters and roles, the vocabulary of the students are also developed and extended.               Aside from communication skills, basic skills such as reading comprehension can also be enhanced through the integration of dramas in school. Programs such as Reading Comprehension through Drama were actually developed in support to the belief that drama has the ability to teach reading among students more effectively ( 2000). The relation of drama and learning basic skills such as reading has been explained in various literatures. For instance, the researches done by (1991a, 1991b) concluded that the inclusion of created images, termed as gestalt, helps in improving ones reading comprehension. The researcher suggested that visualizing scenes in a written material allows the reader to comprehend what he or she is reading more effectively. The conclusion of Bell is actually based on the theories of cognitive and developmental psychology where it has been indicated that imagery is an essential learning tool as well as an important element of memory.                (1991a) attempted to prove the connection of imagery to the improvement of reading comprehension by using a therapeutic instrument called the gestalt imagery language comprehension stimulation. The researcher administered this tool to students (aged 9-57) where a 4-hour therapy as a daily treatment was given. During the process, the researcher instructed the students create images or visuals based from a set of written words. With this technique, (1991a) concluded that the tests scores of the students in reading comprehension had increased significantly.               Other researches have supported this finding. In particular related studies have suggested that forming images to improve reading comprehension helps in enhancing an individual’s memory – an element which is essential in reading skills. As memory for visual details is greater as compared to written information, reading enhancement through images is then more effective. This has been confirmed further through empirical research. The study conducted by  (1967) for example, presented pictures in from of selected participants. Out of the total number of images presented, 98.5% had been correctly identified and recalled by the participants. However, when the pictures were changed into sentences, only 88.2% of the statements were identified correctly. From this finding, it is clear that it is indeed easier to remember images than written texts; if this will be applied to reading skill, image generation then enhances the reader’s memory, resulting to better comprehension.               Aside from creating images, other researchers noted that breaking down a story being read into smaller components also helps in improving reading comprehension (1990).  and  (1979) on the other hand noted that elaboration for better information processing is also a key to better reading skills. If all cited elements will be analyzed, the generation of images, the breakdown of written stories to components and the process of elaboration are all features of a drama. In order to deliver a dramatic role effectively, the actor must visualize the scene, character and setting. In order to make the production more organized, the dramatic story must be broken down into scenes. Finally, events in the drama must be elaborated by the actors in order for them to understand the emotions or feelings required in every scene. From these similarities, it becomes clear how drama can be used in instructing students in their reading classes. The development of the students’ literacy level was in fact verified by a research done by  and  (2004).               The  (2003) noted that one of the important contributions of drama in schools is the development of the students’ thinking abilities. Through drama, students are able to develop their information processing, reasoning and enquiry skills. Dramas also allow them to become more creative through the generation of ideas as well as application of imaginations. Participating in dramas also help students to be effective critics of ones and others’ work. By being drama participants, the talents of the students are developed. In turn, this enables them to know what will be good for a drama and what will not.               In dramas, the language literacy of the students is not only the ones developed. Through the development of the students’ communication and social skills, they learn how to work with other people and realize the value of teamwork. By working together in small or large groups, the creativity of the students is enhanced as they learn new things from their group mates. Dramas develop an individual’s empathy and flexibility, also known as emotional literacy. This development is not only useful for students while they are in school; once they enter the work sector, being emotionally literate will greatly assist them to overcome professional challenges related to working with other people ( 2003).   Understanding Cultures and the Issue of Racism             There are more accounts that further support the functionality of the drama in formal learning institutions. In particular, various literatures have noted that drama plays a significant role in increasing cultural awareness as well as understanding the issue of racism among students.  (1999) perceives the drama to be a crucial learning methodology in the light of multiculturalism.  Drama pedagogy refers to a multiperspectival as well as holistic learning methodology that aim to awaken and pull out at the same time the intellectual, social, emotional, physical, moral, creative, communicative, and aesthetic capacities of students (1999).  Harley prescribes among the readers that drama pedagogy is the ship that will enable the world to sail in a sea of multiculturalism.                The research done by  and  (2003) also proposed that drama, specifically interactive drama, should be integrated in schools so as to enable students to learn and appreciate the concept of multiculturalism. Interactive drama is an effective tool for learning culture and related issues as this allows actors and the audience to be in situations based on real life. Sexism, racism, ageism and heterosexism are some of the topics that can be tackled in drama presentations freely. The ability of interactive drama to teach cultural issues has been tested by the researchers by using counseling students. Through this experimentation, various positive impacts brought about by interactive drama were identified.               For instance, interactive drama allowed the student to view and portray character roles that are different from their own personality. Through this art form, students were able to realize their own biases and became more aware of individual differences. As counseling students would interact with different patients or clients in the future as a professional, this development through drama was then beneficial; in particular, the experimentation made them more competent when multiculturalism is concerned (2003). and  (1998) also noted that multicultural competence in people can be developed by exposing them to situations or characters different from their own. This on the other hand, can be acquired readily through drama.               By participating in interactive drama, student can be asked to perform the role of a racist or a sexist character. By means of playing a culturally insensitive character, student doing the role can get to experience how it feels to be oppressive. Through dramatic experience they become more aware of their own stereotypes and understand how this affects others. Students who play characters that are part of minority groups on the other hand, will understand more how it feels to be oppressed and belittled. All in all, discussing cultural issues in a drama increases the cross-cultural awareness not only of the actors but the audience as well. Using drama to increase cultural awareness is actually more effective compared to other means as the actors and audience are able to feel what the dramatic characters are feeling (Martin 1999). Doston and Tromski (2003) then noted that if interactive drama will be integrated in schools, cultural barriers would perhaps be reduced; moreover, as students become more aware of cultural differences, better interpersonal relations may perhaps be observed.             A School without a Drama is a School without a Soul “Education is the leading of human souls to what is best, and making what is best out of them.”               Having laid down the pertinent literatures above, this section has much reason to lay the basis behind the claim that a school without a drama is a school without a soul.                Drama makes the students to imagine by running through their emotions within their own selves.   is most likely saying that the drama has the capability to break free the soul of the person.  As reviewed above, the soul awakes the emotions within in order to make a person act.  If the school repudiates drama among its students, then the school repudiates the chance to awaken its students’ souls.  This is just on the basic level, the level of the individual.                It has been learned from the citation of (1982) that the first step in staging a drama is to imagine a particular role in acting it out (), which is undeniably true.  It always starts with the person confronted with the question – how am I going to portray this character?  Because the drama is a matter of assuming particular roles, a school that recognizes a variety of roles or circumstances is a school with a soul.  It is a school with a soul because it triggers the act of touching another soul.                 and  (2003) have identified the following as the advantages behind an interactive drama in counseling: recognition and comprehension of others, others’ perspectives, and their objective view of others.  Although the authors’ findings have a specific reference to counseling, what matters is the means that have lead to these aforestated ends.  Imagine now the case wherein the school hinders its students from these advantages.  A school that prevents its students from assuming the roles of others through drama is preventing its students to harmonize with others.  The world will likely be filled with soul-less humans.               In the review of literatures, it has been found out that most author-experts in the drama raise the point that the drama is a matter of problem solving.  As  (2004) has uttered, the drama is “a little bit like real life” ().  The drama sets the individuals in motion.  This leads to the idea that the drama activates their souls.  Shifting to the schools, one of the reasons why schools exist is that it provides the students the necessary knowledge or pieces of information that is going to guide them in real life.  But this is not enough.  They may have the knowledge but not the driving force to make use of that knowledge.  It is thus of utmost importance for schools to include the drama in the curriculum.  Otherwise, a school without a drama is a school without a soul.                The drama has the capacity to make its participants recognize the stances by which the others stand.  In a world of multiculturalism, judging from the term alone, it is a condition wherein there is recognition of cultural diversity.  It is “a world of difference”, as how multiculturalists put it.  This paper has cited Hanley as well as the work of Doston and Tromski who have advocated the drama as the vehicle of multiculturalism.  Tying this with the concept of the school, one way to look at the nature and/or objective of the school is for its students to generate an understanding of the world they are living in.  The school exists to be able to understand the present differences carried by the souls of this world.  As stated by the  (2003), a drama is to be construed as a kind of art, a sensible endeavor and a rational branch of learning.  The drama has the capacity to initiate the act of understanding the shoes that the others are wearing.  Therefore, it goes to show that a school without a drama is a school without a soul.              The previous paragraphs have shown how the school without a drama robs its students of awakening their soul.  And, from the individual level, the discussion has moved up to the level of the community or locality.  Actually, the discussion on multiculturalism can go even further to the level of the international.    The subsequent section is about to fortify the argument of this paper on the national level.                Most advocates stand in the view that the significance of drama in the formal institution of learning lies in its ability to alter the students in such a way that it is able to hone their dexterity in the particular social environment by which they belong.  This is an instance of a drama with a purpose – “drama for capability” or “drama for empowerment” – that molds the children being young members of their society and as its active citizens (1992).  There is truly indeed more to learn from the drama.  The attitude or personality, emotional intelligence and social skills are being developed.  Apart from that, they become aware of the situations they are in.  They tend to carry out their attitude within the drama outside, in the real drama of life.                The aforementioned paragraph has tackled the politics behind the drama.  The drama has the capacity to trigger the burning passion within the actors and actresses alike.  It awakens their souls.  Eventually, they become active members of their own cultural group or nation.  Is it not this task falls mostly in the hands of the school?  In the case wherein the school departs from the (principles of) drama, what occurs is that it is not producing learned citizens who are capable of and passionate in transforming the nation for the better. Dramas then give soul into schools as it brings out the best in people, particularly the students. Without drama, students will not be able to learn about themselves and the value of others; they will neither be able to enhance the skills that are inherently within them nor will they appreciate cultural differences. A school without drama will then just be a school of people who do not understand their selves and do not care for others.   Conclusion             The drama is a kind of expression that sensibly interprets and reinterprets events. The soul has been operationally defined as the living force within that drives an individual to act towards righteousness. Drama on the other hand has the capacity to unleash or awaken the soul of the individual. As discussed in this paper, a drama has several features that enable it to be the school environments’ soul. For instance, it has been noted that dramas allow students to develop as a person. By experiencing the difficulties of being in a drama, students learn to appreciate the finer things in life as well as overcome life’s difficult challenges. Dramas also result to the enhancement of the students’ different skills. This art form also allows the learning and appreciation of various cultural concepts. All in all, dramas help students by shaping them into better individuals. It has been said that a school without a drama is a school without a soul. As dramas have the ability to direct students towards righteousness, this form of art is indeed the schools’ soul-provider.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

A SCHOOL WITHOUT A DRAMA IS A SCHOOL WITHOUT A SOUL

p class=”MsoNormal” align=”center” style=”text-align:center;line-height:200%”> A SCHOOL WITHOUT A DRAMA IS A SCHOOL WITHOUT A...

Tragicomedy: A Doll’s House

Tragicomedy: A doll’s House   ‘A woman cannot be herself in modern society.’     Tragicomedy characterizes fictional literary masterpieces and theater plays that constitute both the aspects of a tragedy and that of a comedy. Tragedy is a form of drama that illustrates and portrays seriousness and dignity thus involving a fictional person who experienced failure due to another persona’s doing, flaw in the personality as well as conflict with characters that are of higher power like fate, law, gods and social norms and standards. Comedy in drama on the other hand, are works that when [publicly viewed solicit amusement among the audiences.  If tragedies result to devastation and other negative fate or catastrophe within a dramatic play, a comedy eludes happiness and other positive outlook from the story (wikipedia.com). However, there are dramas and plays that are characterized as tragicomedy in its combination of the aspects of devastation and happiness in a single story. Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is one of the popular tragicomedies that have been witnessed in the theater industry as a story that deal with serious issues with happy ending.   Speaking in relation to the era of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, women are considered to be mere subordinates to men. Women are treated with restrictions due to the existing culture that time. As stated by Ibsen, ‘a women cannot be herself in contemporary society’ because all the existing and operating laws are made by men and applied in a masculine point of view. For instance, in Nora and Torvald’s case, the traditional view of marriage during those times is the basis of their relationship as husband and wife. Marriage is very sacred and is characterized by the man (Torvald) as the master of the house and the woman (Nora) as just a mere wife. It is the duty of the man to serve as the head of the family where all major decisions are created and implemented according to his orders while the woman is just a follower and ought to obey the man’s decisions. As Nora claimed: “I’ve been your doll-wife just as at home I was Papa’s doll child” ().   Ibsen noted that during the Victorian era, women are subordinates. They are not free and liberated as the current women population. Again, this is attributed to the presence of laws of the land that were plotted by men and applied in their own patriarchal perspectives. As for the case of the Helmer’s, they did comply with the standards of society particularly on their setup in married life. However, Nora tried to seek liberty that prompted her to recognize her real situation as a “doll” that is trapped on a “doll’s house”. The couple did not change their marital setup because Torvald’s view was in congruence to the society they are mingling with. Still, Nora remained as the mere wife while Torvald, the master. Torvald believed that any act of female dominance is considered as “taboo” or a contradicting belief to the preexisting views.   Ibsen’s play open up the mind of people to the concept of freedom and gender equality. With the exposition of this play, the idea of feminism came profusely to serve as the moderating agent. Issues on gender such as biases, discrimination, and equality have always existed ever since the early ages. The recognition of this issue flared up the debate and the battle of sexes. Centuries ago, it has been a fact that men and women are defined as two totally different existent beings. But today, with the advent of contemporary ideologies on gender issues, the position of man and woman on the current society are no longer the same as before.   The above quotation is the underlying premise behind Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, one of the world’s most controversial, socially relevant and critically acclaimed plays. It apparently deals with motherhood and the context of marriage during the Victorian era, in which patriarchy is dominant in the society. The plot focuses on Torvald and Nora Helmer’s marriage while the controversy was centered when Nora decided to abandon her children and gain her freedom from his husband. Nora is the protagonist who served as the “doll” to Torvald’s “doll house” and was referred as his “squirrel” and little “starling”. All people are unique. It is the law of nature and the universe that every person is created differently in order to have a sense of identity. When one realizes that he/she differs from another, it only means that each living and thinking individual is one-of-a-kind and totally exceptional. The only thing that each one can do is to acknowledge such differences in a manner that will not discriminate or show arrogance against the other.   In this light, behind Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House portrayed the two meanings of tragicomedy. First, the play is a clear indication of a character’s downfall as brought about by the social norms and conditions that govern the lives of the people during the time and setting of the play.  Nora Helmer was beset in a community that does not uphold her ambitions and individual thinking. But her quest to freedom through the abandonment of her own family brought her happy ending, thus concluding a tragicomedy characteristic of the play. Lastly, Henrik Ibsen’s masterpiece successfully tackled serious issues regarding gender discrimination and the overly patriarchal society during the Victorian era highlighting the confounding social issues that restrict the relatively more meaningful existence of women that time. The play gave justice to women’s search for equality, independence and freedom putting into light significant social matter that is worthy of examination.         Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Tragicomedy: A Doll’s House

Tragicomedy: A doll’s House ‘A woman cannot be herself in modern society.’ Tragicomedy characterizes fictional literary maste...

Questions and Answers: Greek Drama

Questions and Answers: Greek Drama   Pity and Fear 1) We go to see movies and plays to entertain ourselves, to be able to appreciate or criticize art and the work of others, and somehow as our way of escaping the harshness of reality. Art functions for me as a way of expressing myself and exercising my freedom of expression. Yes, plays had a ritualistic function, for it is related to shamanism or animism, where shamans enter into a trance to be able to heal or exorcise spirits (‘ 2006). 2) Through tragedy, or the imitation of an action, which has serious implications, catharsis or purgation is being achieved, and this catharsis will be attained through a course of pity and fear (2006). 3) When one purges, then it means that he or she is trying to expel emotions from his or her emotional system ( 2006), and this can be option in relation to watching a tragic drama or play. 4) The play by entitled “The Death of a Salesman” causes us to face certain ideas in avoiding fear, for the play discusses the reality being encountered as a common person (2003). Despite the problems being experienced in the society, one can never regret the existence of hope, which enables us to disregard the feeling of fear. With hope, we can have the edge of fighting fear caused by the harshness of reality. 5) Pity or the ability to sympathize with others, in the context of Aristotle, can be applied in the play Hamlet by Shakespeare with the situation of Hamlet. Hamlet has no choice but to obey the plans of the people around him, so with this, he resorts to suicidal depression and obsessive anger ( 2006). We can extend our pity to him because we are also subjected to this kind of situation that sometimes, we have to do what others plan for us, even if we do not agree to it.   Greek Drama 1 & 2) It has been reported that between 600 and 200 BC, the ancient Athenians created a theatre culture whose form, technique and terminology have lasted two millennia, and created plays that are still considered among the greatest works of world drama (  2004). The drama or theatre in Ancient Greece developed from religious rites dating back to 1200 BC, wherein Greece was still inhabited by ‘primitive’ tribes. From this, a cult arose that venerated Dionysius, the god of fertility and procreation, and this cult, named the Cult of Dionysius, practices ritual celebrations, which may have included alcoholic intoxication, orgies, human and animal sacrifices, and hysterical rampages by women called maenads ( 2004). However, its most controversial practice involves uninhibited dancing and emotional displays that created an altered mental state known as ecstasis, which is related to the perception of theatre as a way of releasing powerful emotions through its ritual power (2004) 3) The term ‘orchestra’ means “dancing space” is a circular structure, where the chorus would dance, sing, and interact with other actors who were on the stage, and at its center is a thymele or altar for the worship of Dionysius. On the other hand, the term ‘theatron’ meaning “viewing place” is where the actor sat, and was usually part of hillside overlooking and wrapped around a large portion of the orchestra (2006). 4) The theatre attained its greatest height in the 5th century BC, for Pericles promoted and favored it with a series of practical and economic measures, and maintained the tradition according to which theater pieces served the moral and intellectual education of the people ( 2006). This represents the growth of democracy, for in the theater all audiences gather and unite for a single cause. Similarly, its process is the same with the concept of democracy, which aims to unite the people of Greece for a single cause. 5) The term chorus in ancient Greek drama originated from the singing of the dithyramb, or the hymn to the god Dionysius and became a true dramatic chorus when Thespis introduced the actor ( 2006), and was said to began as a part of a purely religious ceremony, lead off by the leader of a band of revelers, a group of dancers, dancing around an altar (2004). The chorus serves to accompany the actors with sounds, gestures, postures, costumes, and masks, to facilitate flowing actions and stage elements in bringing the play to life. It also serves to narrate, give opinions and keep the rhythm of the play ( 2006). 6) Since women were not allowed to participate in dramatic productions, male actors had to play their part, and for playing multiple roles, they had to use masks. Masks prevent the audience from identifying the face of any actor with one specific character in the play, and helped eliminate the physical absurdity of men mimicking women. The use of masks also enable the audience to identify the age, sex, and social ranks of the character they portray (2000).   7) In the play Antigone, Creon is a bad leader because he only uses his judgments in making decisions for his kingdom, and fails to listen to other opinions. He settles for what he believes, even if it is wrong, and because he was unable to undo his wrong deeds, his actions led to disaster and tragedy ( 2006). 8) Antigone’s character is complex, as she seems to change directions all throughout the play and is unpredictable. Her unpredictability makes her seem very hypocritical because she will say something and then turn on a dime and say the complete opposite. Her character is also heroic about her reasoning for attempting to bury her brother, and also shows her stubbornness (2004). Antigone knows that Creon is not strong enough to stand in her way, which shows that she is in total competence of the unlawfulness of her decision, and feels the law does not apply to her by challenging the king ( 2006).    9) Hamartia, a concept used by Aristotle to describe tragedy, a tragic flaw, or the fall of a noble man caused by some excess or mistake in behavior, not because of a willful violation of the god’s laws (2006). 10) Tragedies were designed to show the right and wrong paths in life, as were not simply plays with bad endings, but viewed as a form of ritual purification, Aristotle’s catharsis, which gives rise to pathos, or instructive suffering. They depict the life voyages of people who guided themselves or were guided by fate on their challenges in relation to society, life’s rules or simply fate (2004). 11) Medea was angered by Jason, for Jason left Medea, with the persuasion of King Creon to marry her daughter Glauce. Jason was said to have married Glauce, which caused Medea to kill her own two children by Jason. Fueled by a need for revenge, she sends Glauce a poisoned dress and crown that burn her to death, then Medea kills her two sons, namely Mermeros and Pheres, knowing it is the best way to hurt Jason ( 2006). 12) The purpose or essence of satire is aggression or criticism, and this is done because some things fall short of some standard, which the critic desires that it should reach. Its corrective purpose is expressed through a critical mode, which mocks or attacks those conditions needing information in the opinion of the satirist (1990). The play Lysistrata addresses the contribution that women could make to society and to policy making, but cannot do so because men are ignoring their views. Moreover, it shows the hurdling of public funds building and withholding sex from their husbands to secure peace and end the Peloponnesian War (2006). This shows and addresses the inequality of men and women in the Athenian society during the period.   Tragedy 1) The tragedy of Athens challenged its society, as it was able to expose and criticize or make use of satirical plays in order to demand change from the society. One of the forms of these plays include Lysistrata, which addresses the contribution that women could make to society and to policy making, but cannot do so because of their social status (2006). With the use of tragedies, the flaws of society are being criticized and given emphasis to be able to effect change. 2) The contribution of Athenian tragedy to empathy for outsiders is that it was able to give new perspectives to the outsiders regarding the situation of Athens in terms of its politics, society and economics. From these new perspectives, outsiders will be able to criticize and even make some actions to make the citizens of Athens aware of their situation and able to make some changes. 3) Recognition is this context is the acknowledgement of reality, and this occurs when Oedipus’ blind hope meets fate and is destroyed, and until the climactic moment of recognition that precipitates the death of hope, Oedipus wholeheartedly believes that he will succeed. Blind hope submits to fate at the moment of recognition when Oedipus learns that he has been working against himself and that his ambition and faith have become his undoing ( 2005). This happens when Oedipus learned that he is destined to murder his father and sleep with his mother, so he fled Corinth in his blind hope to outsmart fate with his cleverness and foresight. However, he travels unintentionally back to his birthplace in Thebes, where he murders his birth father and marries his birth mother (2005). 4) Reversal in this context is making actions, which contradicts the events that are supposed to happen. In the story of Oedipus Rex, this occurs when Oedipus tries to escape his fate by running away from his adopted parents in Corinth, and using his foresight and intelligence, he will be able to get away from his fate of sleeping with his mother and killing his father. 5) Yes, recognition is present in Death of a Salesman, for recognition or personal discovery is a crucial element of tragedy. In the requiem of the play, Biff had a hint of personal recognition, although Willy, Linda, and Hap never discovered the truth about themselves, and Biff realizes Willy had the wrong dreams. In accommodating the truth about his father, Biff is able to make a decision about his own future based on a realistic view of his potentials ( 1995). 6) The tragic flaw of Willy is in failing to question whether his dream is valid, for he believes and puts emphasis on the fact that being well liked will bring him to perfect success. This is not a dangerous dream; however, Willy adheres to this idea as if it is a lifesaver, refusing to give it up (2006). 7) It has been reported that Willy does not come to a full self-realization, and thus does not meet the definition of the tragic hero, for he is not of the noble stature, which is traditionally prerequisite of tragic heroes (2006). In essence, this play is not a pure tragedy in the classical sense, and Willy could be described as an anti-hero, for he lacks the nobility and high-mindedness expected of the traditionally distinguished tragic hero (2006). 8) Yes, catharsis is present in the play, such as the enactment of Willy’s suffering, fall, and partial enlightenment, which provokes a mixed response, and this mixed response is that anger and delight, indignation and sympathy, pity and fear, which is being described by Aristotle as catharsis (2003). Moreover, the tragic feeling is being evoked when we are in presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if needed, to secure one thing, which is his sense of personal dignity (2003).   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Questions and Answers: Greek Drama

Questions and Answers: Greek Drama Pity and Fear 1) We go to see movies and plays to entertain ourselves, to be able to appreciate o...