Restoration Theatre - Case Study Example

SEXUAL POLITICS IN RESTORATION DRAMA The Restoration period was a period marked by dramatic assortment, modernization and viva The beginning of the seventeenth century was marked by a high degree of social, political as well as moral uprising whereby theatres were closed, churches were shut down and kings being beheaded. By the late seventeenth century several progressive developments were observed in the field of drama and theatre, such as the foray of women artists on stage and the changing tastes of the audience. This paper presents an analysis and discussion of the various perspectives on a range of selected plays including All for Love by John Dryden and David Vieth and The Country Wife by William Wycherley and Marvin Herrick amongst others. The Restoration drama was widely popular for its sexual explicitness in its sex comedies which gained wide spread popularity and acclaim especially owing to the introduction of first ever female actresses on stage. Prior to the foray of female actors on stage all the roles of the female actors were performed by males. In the later half of the seventeenth century there was observed an immense development in the field of drama and theatre and the choice of subjects which became bolder and devoid of sexual inhibitions. The Restoration Theater was highly influenced by huge social ambiguity, involving sex, gender and political might. The period post 1660s was characterized by the emergence of a sexual market place which includes prostitution and homosexuals and the same has been mentioned in the drama of that era with homosexuality, sadomasochism, voyeurism, libertinism, and prostitution were dominant themes. Such developments were met with widespread criticism and moral disfavor. The period saw the unrestrained misconduct of the royals including the kings which was often perceived as their dishonesty and disloyalty towards their own kingdom. Such promiscuous behavior which challenged the concept of masculinity was aptly interpreted in the drama (Owen, 1996). In All for love the author John Dryden, upraises the central character of the story as one who laments frequently, resists fights, and yet is marvelous and charming; while in Troilus and Cressida the author disparages the male character. However the portrayal of women in drama, suggested severe paradox. Although the onset of libertinism was perceived as a misogynistic philosophy and the one that consented to the desires of male rather than females, and comprehended women as prey, it opened up avenues that asserted sovereignty of expressing sexual desires. Women were given opportunities to become actresses and playwrights which is, even today, considered to be a significant progress of innate connotation in the field of theatre and drama. Such liberty wrongly interpreted the women to be sexually available and willing to compromise morally simply on account of their participation and association with theatre and public demonstration (Owen, 2002). Heroic drama and tragic comedy were amongst the most pioneering and dominant forms of Restoration theatre was often marked by a happy ending, the animated use of language, noble characters, elegant and aristocratic choice of subject matter that talked of gallant love, grace, reverence, magnanimous and careworn righteousness, warrior instincts and legendary heroism. The tragic / heroic drama was intended to be highly dramatic and magnanimous. The politics of heroic drama are depictive of constitutionalist tendency. The concept of sovereignty as perceived from Dryden’s perspective is suggestive of the fact that the pursuit of desire is persistently met with catastrophic consequences. The concept of ingrained values and alienation expresses the duplexity of our retort both - to the Restoration crisis as well as drama. The restoration drama entered a phase of insightful political involvement and the nature of such an involvement led to its shift in a remarkably influential manner owing to the simultaneous shift of the crisis to a next phase. There was a significant emergence of politically influenced adaptations of Shakespearean plays which sought to highlight the message against subversion. During the crisis, there was an upsurge in the development of sexual politics of drama which had already commenced by the foray of women on stage during the early restoration period (Owen, 1996). The themes that promoted Love interest were dominant and magnified in eminence and were increasingly adapted by the restoration adapters for instance, Edgar and Cordelia in Tate’s Lear. Youthful romance and infringed women were depicted in a melodramatic manner against the backdrop of political and unnatural environment. In case of heroic plays the central characters were depicted in two significantly distinct manners for instance as an effeminate prince in Buckingham’s The Rehearsal on one hand and as the distended and self obsessed Drawcansir. The politically unobtrusive heroes were increasingly portrayed as feminine and the distended characters were portrayed as villains which were highly symbolic of the developments taking place in the sentimentally acclaimed catastrophe of the eighteenth century. The dramatics in the eighteenth century increasingly resorted to use of old themes which were adapted in a new and improved manner. The tragic plays depicted the enduring relationship political and social relevance and the themes such as rape and sexual perversion were often used as synonyms for depicting agitation and republicanism (Owen, 1996). All for Love is by far considered to be one of Dryden’s greatest plays which is highly significant of its deviation from his usual style of writing which involves rhyming, heroic dramas and comedies. In All for Love Dryden has experimented with the affluence and elasticity offered by the blank verse tragedy. The play successfully acquires the “tour de force” in terms of neo classical harmony of time, place and action. Each act in the play concludes with a dramatic turnaround. For instance in Act I, Antony who is despondent on account of loss of his Roman honor at Actium and his perceived estrangement with his Egyptian love Cleopatra is influenced by Ventidius to regain his lost repute by waging a new battle. In Act II, which is addressed by Alexas and Cleopatry, Antony regains his love as well as his merit through his military victory. Act III is marked by the arrival of Dolabella and Octavia and the consequent recommitment of Antony to Roman values. Act IV, however succeeds in captivating the readers whereby Dryden brings forth the true identities of the main characters while Act V ends in death of Cleopatra and Antony (Dryden, Vieth, 1972). Dryden’s All for Love is depictive of a titanic esoteric might in which the Shakespearean elements of his sprawling play are yoked by aggression and savagery with a tightly bound concept of unity of the three protagonists (Dryden, Vieth, 1972). The technique of heroic drama is presented in a most distressing passage wherein Octavia pushes Antony’s children to him: “Ventidius. Was ever sight so moving? Emperor ! Dolabella. Friend! Octavia. Husband! Both Children. Father! Antony. I am vanquished. Take me, Octavia: take me, children; share me all. Embracing them.” (III. 362 – 364) The Country Wife by William Wycherley and Marvin Herrick, was a successful and immensely popular restoration comedies of all times. This play was largely perceived as a sex comedy and prior to this mostly the plays were restricted to political and satirical genres. However, certain prominent elements which dominated the heroic plays had subtle references in comedies as well. For instance the righteous characters of Alithea and Harcourt in The Country Wife and the protagonists in the sex comedy had uncanny resemblance to the profligate qualities of the distended lead characters which was characterized by overuse of expression, character and deeds. It is an anti feminist play that impediments the homosocial desires of its male characters at the cost of the relatively passive female characters. The Country Wife comes across as a play which has anti feminist connotations that impediments the homosocial desires of males at the cost of women who are relatively passive. For instance, the character of Horner who is lustful and deceitful is portrayed as one who manipulates the melancholy of the distressed and lonely wives, Pinchwife is depicted as sinful and extremely jealous while Sir Jasper is conceited and self assuming in designs and character. The opening dialog between Harcourt and Dorilant in Act 1 in the play is abundant with conformist clichés about women as objects of sexual desires that impede male fellowship. It is replete with incidences and plots that mock the social and structural format of the society of the seventeenth century. Although the characters in the comedy do not bear resemblance to the various virtues of the characters in the heroic plays such as idealism and self righteousness but they did however resemble them in terms of their over inflated egos as well as complete obligation towards personal and social impropriety (Wycherley, Herrick, 1970; Owen, 1972). Women characters in the comedy plays were portrayed as strong and played centrally dominant roles. However, according to certain critics the humor in the play The Country wife is largely sought at the expense of the women characters. The play has marriage as a central theme and explores their relationships, perception and verdicts on abuses as well as inequalities in marriage, the economic and legal status of women, as well as the general incongruity of love and social limitations, and the ties between freedom of choice and arranged marriage (Smyth, 2004, Pp.129). In a world governed by sexual the women in plays were portrayed as objects of desires and the pleasure in looking at the characters in the play was divided between the male and female characters whereby the female characters were projected as fantasies to be gazed at, by pronouncing and deliberate styling of their female figures which was intended to create a strong visual impact. The restoration drama expresses the radical indecisiveness of the portrayal of female characters especially in the light of political, intellectual and socio – economic shift in ideologies in the late seventeenth century. Restoration drama is overpowering in concepts that deal with issues involving gender identity, sexuality and oppression of women to a certain extent and a deeper insight into the political and social perceptions of people of those times which is incomparable even today. It stands out as an exemplary work of art which was drastically different from the genres of plays written and performed in those times in terms of both the use of language and the choice of subject matter. The manner of addressing radical questions and issues about the nature of men and women and their inter relationships and the gender issues that dominated that era. The Restoration drama is found to be intricately woven in the fabric of its social matrix in terms of both authorship as well as production and seeks to encounter the fictitious and overt dialogic interplay (Quinsey, 1996). References: Owen, S. J. (1996). Restoration Theatre and Crisis, Oxford University Press, 34 – 157. Owen, S. J. (2002). Perspectives of Restoration, Manchester University Press, Pp. 2 – 32. Dryden, J., Vieth, D. M., (1972). All for Love, University of Nebraska Press, Pp. 19 – 72 Wyscherley, W., Herrick, M. T. (1970). The Country Wife, Barron’s Educational Series. Smyth, A. (2004). A Pleasing Sinne: Drink and Conviviality in Seventeenth Century England, D S Brewer, Pp. 129 Quinsey, K. M. (1996). Broken Boundaries: Women and Feminism in Restoration Drama, University Press of Kentucky, Pp. 34 - 90 Read More