Reaveling the inner core
In 1930 Martha Graham formed her own dance company dismissing the classical form of modern dance and and replaced it with sharp, angular and sexually charged aesthetics. Her inspiration usually came from greek mythology, history, art or social commentary. (Martha Graham’s Legacy in Modern Dance History, 2011) Graham’s philosophy was to reveal the mans inner core, "I wanted to begin," she said, "not with characters or ideas but with movement…. I wanted significant movement. I did not want it to be beautiful or fluid. I wanted it to be fraught with inner meaning, with excitement and surge.” (Martha Graham, n.d.).Martha Graham uses unique and symbolic contemporary to manipulate elements of the contemporary dance. Through her technique it helps to communicate the the mans inner core, one being Jocosta in Night Journey. Night Journey choreographed by Martha Graham in 1894 explores and portrays the strength and struggles of female characters. In Night Journey rather than telling the story of Oedipus, the main male character, as written by Sophocles, Graham focused on the female perspective of Jocasta, mother, Queen and wife of Oedipus.(Dodge, 2007). Graham focuses on Jocasta the main protagonist who finds out that she has married her son, Oedipus. The dance begins at the moment of Jocasta’s suicide as she stand motionless on stage holding a thin rope between her hands. Night Journey becomes even more complex following her memories that haunt her whig inevitably lead her to her death. Martha Graham has skilfully choreographed symbolic representations and motifs to convey Jocasta's emotions of desperation, grief, pain, love and loss while also conveying the impending doom that is to become of Jocasta. She also ...
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...ks that encompasses and portrays both the strength and struggle of the protagonist Jocasta. Graham establishes and produces choreographic content which embody these qualities. The symbolism of ‘impending doom’ and ‘power’ were successfully portrayed through the use of Tiresias character itself. In which he portrayed unstoppable destiny through his commanding character, his reoccurring arabesques that indicated power in conjunction with the use of his staff. Whereas ‘the symbolism’ was effectively conveyed through the Jocosta’s rigid, strong and sharp movements in conjuction with the rope symbolically representing suicide and the link to Oedipus as son and lover. By the use of movement and non movement components, specifically the use of prop and costume, Graham successfully communicates her choreographic intent for Night Journey revealing the mans inner core.
There is no perfect character. Even the strongest character who seems invincible have a flaw. Whether it be a minor flaw or a major flaw. Sometimes, that flaw alone is can contribute towards a happy ending, or in other cases, it can lead to the character’s sorrow. Major character flaws are often seen in tragedies. In “Theseus’s Habitual Letter Entries” is my creative work directly inspired by Theseus by Edith Hamilton. It summarizes Theseus in a satirical way. Instead of illustrating the story from a third person point of view, it takes on a first person point of view by having the story formatted as a diary. The story includes what Theseus is thinking throughout his journey. And his thoughts follow a more contemporary language. This work reveals
Through these voyages certain parallels are drawn concerning Odysseus and Telemachos: the physical journeys, the mental preparations they have produced, and the resulting change in emotional makeup. These play an immense role in the way the story is set up, due to the purpose of each character's journey, their personal challenges, and the difficulties that surround them.
To begin comparing Euripides Medea and Ovid’s Metamorphoses Book 7, we need to look at three components: context, characters, and themes. Both Euripides and Ovid tell the story of Jason abandoning Medea for another woman; however, they do not always share a perspective on the female protagonist’s traits, behavior, and purpose. Euripides portrays a woman who reacts to discrimination by beginning a battle to gain revenge all who harmed her, which she is prepared to follow through with even if it means resorting to the most despicable methods. Ovid, on the other hand, tells of a much less severe figure whose modest goal is only to persuade Jason to return. Despite these written differences, both of their Medea’s create trouble by acting with emotions instead of with reason, and as a result, put themselves in undesirable situations. Euripides and Ovid present two different sets of motivations for Medea's behavior wh...
Because of our decision to expose the raw emotions of Euripides’ Medea in our rendition, the costumes will reflect the robust yet simple feelings of Medea. Our costumes convey the internal emotions of the characters throughout the play and adjust with each character’s circumstances. The colors of each character’s costume symbolize different feelings as well. For example, dark green is associated with greed, selfishness, and ambition while gold connects with riches and prestige.
Another major theme in the play is that characters are reluctant to tell the truth because they are afraid of the consequences. In the play there are several occasions when one or more characters don’t want to tell the truth because they are afraid of the consequences. For example, Jocasta says, “Stop- in the name of god, if you love your own life, call of this search! M...
In the written text, Shakespeare emphasis's the hidden reality through the use of dramatic techniques of imagery and symbolism. There is a constant use of light and dark imagery which is used by the protagonist , MAC...
The two writers in tragedy showed what many writers couldn’t throughout the Greek tragedian era. Sophocles, who wrote “Oedipus Rex”, portrayed Jocasta as a caring mother who soon turned into a wife of her own son, while Shakespeare, who wrote “Hamlet”, used the same Greek tragedian tools and portrayed Gertrude as a naïve mother who made one decision that separated her son, Hamlet, from her. Gertrude was similar to Jocasta in that both were naïve but protective of their own sons. However Jocasta was more aware of the actions she took, even after the prophecy was told.
The first character is Oedipa Maas and the reader cannot help but immediately think of Oedipus the King and the implications of that naming. As I read, I was on the alert for the characteristics of the Oedipus story. Although Oedipa does have a mystery to solve in the novel, I found I really could not relate her to Oedipus in any other way. And what does ‘Maas’ mean? Mass, as in a solid mass? Mass, as in the Catholic rite? Is Oedipa perhaps performing a rite of some kind? These questions plagued me as I read and by the conclusion of the story, I was no wiser.
“Lamentation” is a famous ballet dance choreographed by the eminent Martha Graham. Martha Graham is one of the first generation contemporary modern dancers known for her abstract movements that communicate emotions and feelings. Lamentation means to mourn or to express one’s deep grief. The dance “Lamentation” expresses Martha Graham’s individual pain and suffering during the Great Depression. During WWII, the nation greatly suffered a great despair of deaths, along with sufferings of no food or funds. Lamentation truly expresses the country’s struggle of despair and a search for hope.
Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994.
The book, Oedipus Rex, has a full range of characters. The colloquy, activity and motivation circle around the characters in the whole story. We find Oedipus Rex trying to get away, from home, to flee the prophecy. The prophecy states that he will kill his father and marry his mother. He also tries to clear up a murder of the old king. Oedipus marries a widow named Iokaste. He also gets advice from a seer named Teiresias. The purpose of this essay is to show the three positive and three negative qualities about these characters in direct and indirect characterization. I will find the qualities of Oedipus, Iokaste and Teiresias.
This paper aims to study two significant playwrights, Sophocles and Euripides, and compare their respective attitudes by examining their plays in respect to plot and character structures. To achieve this goal, the paper is organized into two main sections. In the first section, we provide a brief biography of both Sophocles and Euripides. The second and last section includes summaries of Sophocles’ Electra and Euripides’ Electra which were based on same essentials and give an opportunity to observe the differences of the playwrights. This section also includes the comparisons that are made by our observations about the plays.
The ineffaceable impression which Sophocles makes on us today and his imperishable position in the literature of the world are both due to his character-drawing. If we ask which of the men and women ofGreek tragedy have an independent life in the imagination apart from the stage and from the actual plot in which they appear, we must answer, ‘those created by Sophocles, above all others’ (36).
For centuries women have fought to obtain basic civil rights and today, they are still fighting to obtain equal rights. From the right to vote to their right to birth control, women have always been trying to assert their own independence in order to expand their freedom. While much progress has been made, there is still room for improvement. However, the evolution of women’s rights and the role of women is mirrored in literature and can be used to illustrate the progression throughout history. Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex is no different. Through the character Jocasta, Sophocles creates a counterpart to Oedipus and uses her to reveal the oppression of women by contrasting her and Oedipus’ relationships and reactions to the prophecy. Throughout the play Oedipus Rex, Sophocles illustrates Jocasta’s vulnerability and supportive nature in order to women as fragile, doting, and obedient wives and mothers to facilitate the necessity of self-assertion.
Jocasta was, unknowingly, at the heart of a tragic prophecy – her fate was to lose her husband at the hands of their own son, Oedipus, then later marry and bed that same son. Jocasta is dynamic, adding drama and intrigue to a story that has been read and performed for centuries. She is a noble queen, her husband’s elder, and expresses assurance in what she believes in -- whether it is her brother’s character in question, or in regards to Oedipus’s fears. Though she did die by her own hand, even her death held meaning and importance to the rest of the play. While Jocasta is not the protagonist of this play, she is at the heart of the shameful prophecy; without her, there would be no