His Dark Materials - Book Report/Review Example

His Dark Materials Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Analysis of the Scenes from a Perspective of a and a Dramatist 4 Key Scenes Portraying the Theme and the Inner Meaning of the Play 5 Conclusion 7 Bibliography 8 Introduction Journey from innocence to experience is not just an integral part of human life but this formative issue of human psyche has appealed the authors of all ages and all times. Phillip Pullman’s trilogy, “His Dark Materials” is very subtle and an absolute blend of adventure for the children with a touch of sophisticated fantasy and excellent science fiction. This apparent fiction for kids has delved deep into the realm of human psyche and provides a good food for thought to its reader. The novel caters a well knit plot centering round its child protagonists, Lyra and Will and their episodical escapades to the parallel worlds, there by forming their trajectory to the world of experience from innocence. Nicholas Hytner, the artistic director of the National Theatre made the first reaction while learning about the idea of dramatizing “His Dark Materials” as “unstageable” but Nicholas Wright proved all his contentions wrong when the novel was dramatized and converted into one of the finest plays of the contemporary literature thereby making it more improved, revised and tightened. Analysis of the Scenes from a Perspective of a Writer and a Dramatist Phillip Pullman himself commented on the dramatization of his fantastic fiction as “How could it ever be made work on stage? Well, the answer, as Nicholas Wright discovered when he wrote the brilliant adaptation, is to keep Lyra and her quest in mind from the very beginning. Everything else – the daemons, the huge conflicts, the strange adventures in the strange worlds-all falls into place once that central truth is understood.” The very first thought, after giving a close inspection to the Phillip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials”, that comes to mind is that of an image where a tiny girl gets into a room which is forbidden for her and which she shouldn’t have entered. While hiding in that room, the girl overhears something which she hears at the approach of someone else that she shouldn’t have heard. On the other hand, Nicholas Wright commented on the novel which he adapted is helpful for the better understanding of the play: “When I first read ‘His Dark Materials’ I didn’t know that I would be asked to adapt it. I simply read it as every reader does” but very soon Wright understood that amid a moral fable designed in the pattern of ‘Paradise Lost’ and encapsulating myriads of juxtaposing themes within its periphery, “the action never stops!”. Key Scenes Portraying the Theme and the Inner Meaning of the Play “His Dark Materials” by Philip Pullman is all about the quest of Lyra and Will, the two protagonists of the play and their transition from the phase of innocence to the phase of experience. Throughout the play, Lyra and Will make a voyage from a world of innocence to the world of experience which set their world apart from the world of fantasy. The extensive morale element of the play transports the protagonists into the hard core pragmatic world of experience and launches the play into the paradigm of reality. Childhood is representative of innocence and adulthood represents experience. The play sets its audience into a voyage from innocence to experience. The following scenes are crucial for understanding of the play as well as for the journey that an audience is supposed to undertake while viewing this play. The opening scene of the play i.e. the Scene One of the Act One sets the ambience and prepares its audience for a journey and an unknown quest set forth. This scene not only prepares its audience to accept the world of imagination that one is about to travel through, but also is one of the key scenes helpful for the understanding of the character of Lyra and her motif or purpose in the play. This scene also provides their audiences good hints about the parallel worlds where our protagonists are very much unaware of where they are going to step in. The scene is also beneficial of understanding that the world of Will and Lyra are even set apart and both have a different world of their own. “His Dark Materials” is a story set in a dimension very much parallel to that of ‘Paradise Lost’ and in that same motif or pattern, one can very minutely notice that here too, in the garden if Eden, the hero meets with her heroine. In this case, it is Botanic Garden and they discuss about the changes that are occurring in their life. The mention of the clock striking twelve repeatedly sets the tone of a change apprehending and the very first scene of the play which is very similar to ‘Paradise Lost’ prepares its audience for a quest, a journey and a fall from grace and innocence. Like the opening scene, the ending scene is also quite important in any play and this adaptation of “His Dark Materials” by Nicholas Wright is not an exception in this regard. The ending scene is quite crucial for the understanding of the play. It sums up everything that a playwright wants to put forward during the trajectory of the play and in “His Dark Materials”, after a considerable struggle for the quest for the attainment of Lyra’s journey from innocence to experience, everything comes to an peaceful end and the play ends with reconciliation of themes, motifs and characters which are high on morale and are essential to incorporate in individual life. The play is a perfect end to the trilogy discarding predictability at every turn and perfectly blending the profound truth about life and sacrifice. Pullman’s increasing hostility towards religious authority and the realization of the divine light filled universe shown as Kabbalah along with the healing gift to Lyra and Will which purifies the soul of all the adult audience watching the play who are besmeared by a sense of deep loss at some point of time in life, constitutes the essence of the last scene and makes it very much integral to the design for the better understanding of the play. Another key scene central and crucial to the understanding of the play is the Scene One of the Act Two of the play. The play is circular in structure and it is worth noticing that just like the beginning scene of the play which is Act One Scene one, the Act two of the play also opens in the Botanic Garden but this time the very conversation in between the protagonists Lyra and Will, indicates their transformation. This scene is a key scene in understanding of the journey that Lyra and Will underwent and the transformation through their journey is poignant through this scene. In this very scene, Will and Lyra both are portrayed as the characters that are time tested and have already stepped into the realm of experience and Lyra’s statement makes it more inevitable. Will expresses Lyra that he has killed a man and heard the thwack of the head hitting the ground and is sure that the cops are behind him. Lyra replies, “There was what I wanted. And there was what you wanted. And there was what the grown-ups wanted, which was mostly completely different. But there was also something bigger than all of us put together” This statement reclaims that the protagonists have successfully stepped into the realm of time-tested experience and are in the world of their adulthood. Conclusion ‘His Dark Materials’ is one of the most determining and compelling modern works of fiction. The book is a matured blend of fiction and fantasy and is expertly crafted and exceptionally imaginative adventure story. The book and play is a daring morality fable and an extremely intellectual jigsaw puzzle crafted on the outline of Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’. The most fascinating part of the book is the emotional power that captivates its audience and renders an immense cardiac workout for its readers and audiences. Bibliography Wright, Nicholas & Pullman, Philip. His Dark Materials. Heinemann, 2005. Read More