Drama Imitates Reality Through Representation Rather Than Imitation - Essay Example

Drama imitates reality through representation rather than imitation 2006 Outline Introduction A. Definition of Tragedy B. Parts and Characteristic Features of Tragedy C. “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles D. “Fences” by August Wilson E. Reality representation in both tragedies Conclusions Description In this paper we will briefly overview the structure, language and characteristic features of two pieces of tragedy “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles and “Fences” by August Wilson. We will also analyze these plays with regard to the Aristotle’s “Poetics”. At the end we will drew conclusions about the representation of reality in these two tragedies. In this work we hypothesize that drama imitates reality through representation rather than imitation. For proving this hypothesis we will analyze two plays “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles and “Fences” by August Wilson. During the analysis we will look for evidences that can prove our original idea. We’ll overview the tragedies without retelling their plots and going into details. Both pieces of literature belong to the field of tragedy. Let’s briefly remind us of the main requirements to the tragedy proposed by the Aristotle in his famous “Poetics” and later by the representatives of the Enlightenment. According to Aristotle, tragedy is the imitation in dramatic form of an action which is serious and complete, with occurrences that evoke sympathy and fear /Aristotle, 1999/. Aristotle believes that the writer should use pleasant language that must fit the situation in which it is used. The main characters of a tragedy are noble and well-off people, performing noble actions. Aristotle also made a statement in his work “Poetics” that tragedy should lead to the catharsis of the audience when they experience and share emotions of the characters and sympathize to their suffering /Aristotle, 1999/. Enlightenment writers proposed that according to its structure tragedy should be composed of five acts and involve three main characters which should be noble and famous. The author should begin the tragedy in the middle of the action, make use of noble language and refrain from the scenes of horror on the stage. From the Aristotle times it was considered that the ideal piece of tragedy should consist of two main parts. They are complication and unraveling. Those incidents that are inessential to the development of the plot are mostly combined with of the action proper in order to mould the complication. So we can say that the complication is the whole amount of actions from the beginning to that part of the play where the course of events changes either for good or for bad. The unraveling then is all that remains. It begins with the end of the complication and extends to the end of the tragedy / Wikipedia/. According to the structure, language and characters, the Sophocles’s tragedy “Oedipus Rex” is considered among the best representatives. Aristotle himself named it among the best samples to follow. If we’ll try to uncover the main idea of the tragedy, we are to look back to the historical situation in Ancient Greece. The main features of ancient Greek life were belief in fate, divine laws, and predeterminence of life. In the Sophocles’s plays fate plays a very important and even overruling role. Without denying the free will of characters Sophocles proves that they cannot change the cosmic order. In order to live in the harmony people have to accept this order. If they resist they upset the balance and then will have to bear the consequences of one’s actions. People can’t resist their fate, it’s beyond their powers. In “Oedipus Rex” Sophocles explores the main theme of person’s fate and his/her character. We are sure that Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. But we also have no doubts that Oedipus’ own character makes him perform these actions. Because of his impulsiveness and hot temper Oedipus kills his own father after a mere quarrel / Wikipedia/. He could avoid the prophecy come true if he had taken it seriously and avoided having conflicts with older people. After he solves the riddle of Sphinx he marries the widow queen of Thebes, his mother making the next prophecy come true. So we can drive a conclusion that the main theme in “Oedipus Rex” is the unity of fate and character and person’s inability to resist his/her state / Wikipedia/. The main idea about human inability to resist his/her fate is the author’s one. It is not objective image of reality but rather a subjective representation of it. In order to persuade his reader/the audience to stick to this idea, the author tries to prove it by numerous examples. We may observe the presence of fate and destiny on the various levels in the play. Jocasta refuses to accept the truth of prophecies, and her attempts to dissuade Oedipus from continuing his actions and to sooth him only contribute to their common downfall. While trying to avert, she has ironically invited it. The second episode of “Oedipus Rex” presents culmination of the play. The first scene represents a confrontation between Creon and Oedipus and shows the contrast between Oedipus’s hot-hearted nature and Creon’s rationality and strong character that results in his patriotism, sincerity and sound judgment. The characters are so different that we may put in doubt the real existence of such traits of character. This antithesis is made for purpose. In this way the author wants to emphasize the Oedipus’s resistance and yet his impossibility to resist his fate. The second scene is prominent for Sophocles’s mastery of the psychology of the public. He uses the lyrical dialogue between Jocasta and Oedipus and involves the chorus in order to wave several scenes, without an intervening ode. The third scene represents the emotional peak of the play with the help of a dialogue between Oedipus and Jocasta. Jocasta’s attempts to calm Oedipus agitate the audience who is aware of the prophecy’s veracity. The plot of the play gets more gloomy and uncertain. Oedipus and Jocasta are both uncertain as well as the citizens of Thebes. Their faith is impaired and the harmony of the whole country is upset / Wikipedia/. We become the witnesses of the gloomy irony that trying to avert the disaster people only cause it. Irony has a wide range of meanings and is used to describe the difference between outward and true reality and to agitate the audience. We can differentiate among three types of irony: verbal irony, which presents the opposition of what is said from what is intended, dramatic irony that is the confrontation of the words of the character and the audience’s knowledge, and irony of situation – a contrast between what is seems to be and real situation, between what is expected and what really happens / Reuben, 2001/. The author’s use of dramatic irony ones more proves the fact that in the tragedy the main thing is to represent reality rather than imitate it. Oedipus’s ignorance of his father’s murder and marriage on his mother and awareness of the audience on the other hand present the dramatic irony. One of its examples is Oedipus’s demand to reveal the murderer on the beginning of the play. In fact, Oedipus doesn’t realize that cursing Laius’ murderer he actually curses himself. Another example of dramatic irony takes place when the old blind foreteller speaks to the king saying that though Oedipus can see, he is “blind” being unable to accept the truth and only when he turns blind he will realize the truth. We may see the irony in old Tiresias’s ability to see reality being actually blind. These examples of dramatic irony introduced pathos and forced the audience to sympathize with the ignorance of the main character / Reuben, 2001/. Though Oedipus is ill-fated and short-tempered we continue sympathizing him. This is mainly to the ability of the author which was later summered by Aristotle in his archetype of the protagonist. Oedipus continues to be a noble character. We sympathize with Oedipus realizing that he is simply not perfect. It is his hubris and eventual mistakes that lead his downfall. Oedipus misery seem not deserved as the punishment he bears is heavier that the crime itself. Though it arouses sadness and fear, says Aristotle, but sympathy and awe are achieved and thus a well performed tragedy never leaves the audience in depression but causes catharsis / Reuben, 2001/. If we look at another example of the tragedy – the modern work “Fences” by August Wilson, we may notice the shift in the whole notion of tragedy. The definition of tragedy also became less precise. First and the main change was the rejection of the rule stated by the Aristotle that worthy piece of tragedy can describe only people of high status and noble character. “Fences” by August Wilson depict ordinary black people and their family tragedy. Now the cause of the tragedy is shifted from hubris of the individual character to social institutions, fate now is viewed as predetermined not by gods as in classical Greek tragedy but by the will of authorities that influence the lives of ordinary people through policies./ Wright, 1969/. That’s why many artists now use the art of the tragedy to affect the social reality or change the political situation in the country. But according to Wilson’s own words he didn’t write particularly to effect political life. He describes himself as an artist though the themes which he raises are political in their nature as the main characters of his plays are black Americans. Though the whole notion of the tragedy underwent considerable changes the one thing that remained for sure is the author’s representation of reality. The main thing for Wilson is not a mere representation of reality, its precise copy. The author shapes reality, accustoms it to his own needs. He shapes and represents reality in his own way in order to be more expressive and in this way to influence the social reality. In “Fences” we see a garbage man. It is a person we see every day but whom we don’t notice. When we get acquainted with Troy’s life, we see that the life of black people is influenced by the same emotions – love, hatred, betrayal, responsibility. And this recognition influences the attitude of white people to black ones in the course of their lives. As to the language of the play, August confesses that he didn’t appreciate how black people talked but we the course of time he learnt to esteem his characters, he learnt to accept their language. We may see the allegoric notion of the fence. Fences was written by August Wilson in 1986 and it was awarded with the Pulitzer Prize in 1987. Wilson says that it in not the most favorite among his six plays that have reached Broadway. But, nevertheless, it is the most prominent. “Fences” depicts the life of a single black family in the late 1950s through 1965. The action presumably takes place in Pittsburgh though the author never states it directly. Though, the action and the whole story seem to be quite true to life, but some characters are over exaggerated. These suggests that the tragedy itself is the authors image of reality rather that its copy. The protagonist Troy Maxson is a garbage collector who is very proud of being able to keep his family together and to earn money for them. Troy tries to rebel and struggles for social justice but we doubt that this is possible. In this fight Troy accidentally builds fences between himself and family. August Wilson makes use of the irony, the dramatic irony lies in the fact that Troy has been offended by his fate and this negative experience effects how he deals with his son’s life, destroying his opportunity to succeed in life who gets an excellent opportunity to have a bright future in football. The main theme of “Fences” is insularity, the symbol of which is a fence built by Troy at Rose’s requests. The fence aimed to keep the family together and dive off the intruders; but, in fact, the fence in stead of protecting it divides the family. The fence’s true objective becomes obvious when Troy leaves Rose for the sake of other woman. According to Wilson’s own opinion “Fences” differs because of its structure and its wide appeal: “It’s an anomaly. It’s the odd man out. All my other plays are ensemble pieces, but “Fences” has a main character with the others revolving around him. It’s not my favorite, but it is the one that connects (with audiences)” / Kerkhoff/. These are the words of the critic: “The play’s strength is in its recognition factor. People recognize elements in the play. But every time I return to this play, it proves to be a good one. When you look at August’s plays as a whole, it will be ranked right up there with the rest of them” / Kerkhoff/. Troy is a very tragic character who in spite of his love and tenderness to the members of his family, who withdraws into himself and hurts the people dearest to him, his wife, Rose, and his youngest son, Cory, who wants to go to college on a football scholarship. Troy is a protagonist who has been disenchanted by everyone he has been close to during his whole life. The drama of his early age when he left home because his father violence caused his disability to treat people close to him and never gave anyone a possibility to succeed in life because he was selfish. In this perspective Troy is the antagonist in the story. The central conflict of the story is between Troy and Cory on the basis of different attitudes to life and different perspectives of Cory’s future. The spiritual contradiction becomes more apparent in Troy’s relationship with Alberta and his accidental admission of Gabriel to a mental institution. “Fences” has many moments which can be considered as climax, but the highest moral tension appears when Rose tells Troy that Alberta died having his baby, Raynell. Because of her compassion Rose decides to take Raynell as her own daughter and to leave her husband. We can notice that Troy, as well as other Wilson characters, have a particular vision of religion. This is also done purposely. Shannon states, “this cynical black man does not lay his burdens down at the church’s altar. As in the case with each of Wilson’s men, Christianity plays no role in Troy’s search for comfort and direction” /Shannon, 1999 /. Troy’s religion is baseball, nevertheless he doesn’t find comfort even in there. Troy eventually could find comfort in the blues. Shannon believes that, through the blues, Troy heals his spiritual wounds /Shannon, 1999 /. Even trying to save his marriage Troy uses baseball jargon to reveal his feelings and to calm himself just the way we use a prayer to God. Troy leaves his wife and his son away from his life by forcing them to perceive the life from his point of view. Troy’s relations with Gabriel are another example of Troy’s rejection of religion. He despises Gabriel, who is sure that he is the Archangel and, in fact, is proves to be the antagonist of Troy. Ignoring Gabriel Troy is refuses to accept Christianity /Shannon, 1999/. In spite of the fact that “Fences” belong to the modern tragedy, and it differs greatly from the classic pieces of tragedy, we can observe here the features of tragedy as viewed by Aristotle. It has a sad tragic ending, but nevertheless, it doesn’t leave the audience in frustration and fear but makes them think, inspires to change themselves and causes the catharsis. When we have a closer look at these dramas we will also notice one more peculiarity. Both of them seem to be quite true to life, but in both plays the authors do not copy reality or give its precise picture. It would be falsely to think that the authors only described the facts from the real life just as they were. In fact, we can see that authors introduce their own possible views of reality. The most important thing is the idea. For Sophocles the main idea is that mere mortals can’t change their destiny and contradict their fate. The main theme of the August Wilson’s drama is the ruined personal and family life caused by social injustice and prejudice-biased attitude to life. In order to represent these ideas the authors organize the play in a particular way. In stead of giving the audience all the facts from the real life they give only those, relevant to the theme of the play and supporting the main idea. The language is also selected and used particularly for these plays and aims to achieve some effect and support the authors’ main theses. The characters of the play are also not accidental. We can rarely come across such personalities in the real life. The authors re-present and re-shape their characters, polish some peculiar traits of characters. And this is also done in order to achieve some effect, strike or to amaze the audience or make the main characters more prominent with the help of subsidiary ones. So, all this proves the theses that ‘dramas imitate reality’ but this is not a mere imitation but rather interpretation or a possible view on the reality. References Aristotle. Poetics. (translated by Butcher, S.H (Samuel Henry), 1999 http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1974 retr. 20 March, 2006 Brunner, M. King Oedipus Retried. London: Rosenberg & Krasz, 2000. (Where to buy http://www.bestbookprice.co.uk/compare-book-price-code-095362191X.html) Wikipedia, Free Encyclopedia. Tragedy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy retr. 22 March, 2006 Kerkhoff, I. Contemporary American Drama. http://www.fb10.uni-bremen.de/anglistik/kerkhoff/ContempDrama/WilsonAugust.htm retr. 22 March, 2006 Reuben, P. Perspectives in American Literature. A Research and Reference Guide, 2001. California State University. http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/TABLE.HTML retr. 21 March, 2006 Shannon, S.G. The Good Christians Come and Gone: The Shifting Role of Christianity in August Wilson Plays. MELUS . Vol. 16, No. 3, Ethnic Theater (Autumn, 1989), pp. 127-142 (http://www.roanoke.edu/Library/AUGUST%20WILSON.htm) Wright, E.A. A PRIMER FOR PLAYGOERS. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1969. (In the library http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/ow/a2b5304aa5367ac2.html) Read More