A reunion scene, or scene of recognition, is a common plot device used by authors and playwrights by crafting a series of coincidental and random events that lead up to the reuniting of estranged loved ones. Typically, these reunion scenes involve mistaken identity, newly discovered birthright or accidents at sea that result in the characters to believe their beloved are deceased. As a playwright, Shakespeare used missed chances and coincidences to build upon each other, and staged and timed them, to bring forth an emotional, climactic reunion and provide a happy ending. In contrast, the reunion scene in the novel Pamela has Samuel Richardson, the author, giving authorial control to Mr. B to stage the reunion between Pamela and her father. This change in the reunion scene formula provides a platform from which Mr. B can launch and solidify his new public persona.
Reunion scenes or scenes of recognition are a common ending in comedic plays and are defined as:
“…characters with a previous relationship intersection in the space and time of the narrative world – but the most crucial component in its realization is a cognitive one. The crux of the plot is the discovery of the previous relationship by the coinciding characters – the recognition of identity.” (Dannenberg 408)
An author or playwright stages the reunion with several characters to witness the dramatic moment and the resulting happy ending and needs to be crafted thoughtfully and carefully:
“The staging of the act of recognition often involves the portrayal of intense emotional states which, in the overarching (as opposed to episodic) configuration of the coincidence plot, constitute a climax in the narrative. Moreover, prior to the actual recognition scene, the mere pro...
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...e for Pamela, he appears to be a generous and thoughtful man with an honorable nature thus reinforcing his transformation.
This is different than most reunion scenes or scenes of recognition, like that in The Comedy of Errors, where the reunion is the pinnacle of the story and wraps up the plot. The similarities of both are in the staging. Shakespeare does the staging himself with a slow introduction of characters and a build-up of emotion until the recognition happens. Richardson, the author, gives Mr. B the authorial control to do the staging of the reunion, for B’s own benefit. In each case, the reunion is witnessed by other characters and adds to the drama of the event. And, although the reunion between Pamela and her father is a happy one, it is only a moment in the novel, one that adds to B’s integrity and helps pave the path for his marriage to Pamela.
This one act play is solely about two people who used to be in a relationship, namely Vernon and Lucy. Vernon invited Lucy for a lunch at his place and prepared steak as their meal. The reason Vernon invited Lucy was because his hope for reconciliation and fulfillment for his sexual desires as a man. The scene begins
Literary theorist, Kenneth Burke, defined dramatistic explaination by the prescence of five key elements. This list of elements, now popularly known as Burke’s Pentad, can be used to asses human behavior as well as dicipher literary themes and motives. The five elements; agent, purpose, scene, act, and agency, have been found highly useful by performance study practitioners in translating texts into aesthetics. When systematically applying Burke’s Pentad to “Burn Your Maps,” a short story by Robyn Joy Leff published January 2002 of the Atlantic Monthly, the analyzer can realistically grasp the emotional and logical motivations and tones of the text. By doing so, the performer becomes an enlightened vessel for the message Leff wants to communicate. The Pentad can be described with simple questions like: Who? What? When? Where? How?, but asking the small questions should always lead to more in depth analysis of the element, and it should overall, explain the deeper question: Why?
It becomes a new work as she creates a story about liberation for Ginny and Rose. Two characters, who were for the most part neglected in Shakespeare’s, find their own inner peace outside of a life dominated by males. This modern twist adds a new layer to this work and helps form a separation from the play. With a new focus to Ginny and Rose, the readers see and sympathize their struggles with their father. Larry, at first glance a senile old man, is painted in a more sinister light. Ginny and Rose were not bad daughters. When they agreed to the division of the land, there may have been ulterior motives, but it is not simple enough to reduce them to bad daughters. Their actions were responses to the patriarchal environment that they were living in. Rose and Ginny end up escaping this system of patriarchy. They start by resisting their father’s demands and wishes. They seal the end of his reign when they win the lawsuit filed against them for the land. Following this lawsuit, “there could no reconciliation now” (Smiley 326). Larry’s system of patriarchy had fallen, and was damaged beyond repair. Larry’s fall from grace ended with a heart attack in the cereal aisle. A death that his two daughters did not care about. Ginny barely affords three sentences about his death in her narration of this story. An equally unglamorous
the main theme of the play. With out this scene in the play I don’t
end. This essay will further show how both stories shared similar endings, while at the same time
The scenes, which cover thirty years of the characters’ lives from eight to thirty-eight, each revolve around an injury that Doug has acquired through his accident prone life. The play progresses in five year intervals, jumping backwards and forwards, in a nonlinear progression. As they travel and run into each other’s lives, the two characters face new injuries. As the play progresses every five years, a new injury is added to one or both characters. Their lives intersect through these injuries, leading them to compare their wounds, both physical (Doug) and emotional (Kayleen), and drawing them closer together. With each new scene, old injuries and problems may have gotten better or resolved, but some became permanent. Yet, through these experiences, they are bonded together through bloodstains, cuts, and bandages.
Another link between these three characters is their family ties. They highly regard their elders, and consider the effects of the decisions they make on t...
The audience sees through staging and conversation between the two main characters that the communication of modern relationships
The Author begins the story by introducing the scene since it will have great significance in understanding the many symbolisms he will be using later. Some experts say that “Although there is a situation, there is no plot” (Henningfield, 2002).... ... middle of paper ... ...
... Amanda’s past inside Tom’s memory, removes the audience from the real world to the image and back, adding to the eerie atmosphere of the play.
Williams molds each of the family members in the play into emotional seclusion, “…inhabit[ing] a private world where the fundamental concern is with self-image,” illustrating the easiness of creating barriers and walls to live (Levy). Evidence of Levy’s analysis can be seen through Amanda’s delusional recollection of her popularity as a youth in the South. Exclaiming that she had “…received—¬seventeen!—gentlemen callers!” and telling countless stories about each caller, Amanda’s continuous tales of her adolescence fosters her perception of Laura (William 1. 1782). In Laura’s search for a gentleman caller, Amanda vi...
Memories seldom show reality as it occurs; instead, they exaggerate and emphasize the feelings of the event and forget the rest. [PP3] In Tennessee Williams’s “The Glass Menagerie,” the memories of Tom Wingfield are layered with symbols of how he wishes to be free from his current life and the slow realization that he will never truly be free from his ties to the very household that drug him down. The prime examples of the symbolism shown in this memory play are Tom’s trips to the movies, Jim as a character, and the extinguishing of the candles.
The main characters, Romeo and Juliet, from the play Romeo and Juliet, as well as Tony and Maria, from West Side Story, join together in astonishment of each other. In both stories the lovers are practically frozen in time, trying to take in their love for each other. Once they have gotten past the initial sight of each other they realized that their families would not approve of their love, but both sets of characters refused to end their love affairs. In both stories the lovers snuck around, hoping for a way for them to be together. The couples refused to let the things such as a last name or where they came from tear them apart, and were willing to go through anything to be
The play’s major conflict is the loneliness experienced by the two elderly sisters, after outliving most of their relatives. The minor conflict is the sisters setting up a tea party for the newspaper boy who is supposed to collect his pay, but instead skips over their house. The sisters also have another minor conflict about the name of a ship from their father’s voyage. Because both sisters are elderly, they cannot exactly remember the ships name or exact details, and both sisters believe their version of the story is the right one. Although it is a short drama narration, Betty Keller depicts the two sisters in great detail, introduces a few conflicts, and with the use of dialogue,
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” begins as many typical romantic stories. Two people are in love; in this case, Hermia and Lysander. But an obstacle stands in their way; in this case, Hermia’s father who wants Hermia to marry Demetrius. However, this is where this play begins to differ from all others. Shakespeare leads four crossed lovers, Hermia, Helena, Demetrius, and Lysander, through a winding path that somehow magically ends with everyone happily getting married. The pivotal aspect of this play is Shakespeare’s development of the different characters. In the drama enactment; a character’s appearance, personality, and character are used together to help unfold the story. Characters convey many different kinds of information through an art form called characterization. In the play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” William Shakespeare does an exceptional job of describing each of the four young lovers. Each one of the characters was given personality, whether distinct or vague, that set them apart from the other characters in the play. Through the actions of the different antagonists, Shakespeare reveals to the audience the different and distinct aspects of each character, including each character’s physical appearances, personality, and specific traits. One aspect that causes the four characters to differ is their physical appearance. While the author Shakespeare makes the appearance of Lysander and Demetrius having virtually indistinguishable physical and monetary figures, he comparatively makes the appearances of Hermia and Helena quite distinguishable, their names being the only thing that is remotely being similar between the two of them. Hermia’s physical appearance is described as having “blessed and attractive eyes,” (ACT ...