The University Playhouse’s performance of The Dispute displayed a conglomeration of Greek, Elizabethan, and French Neoclassical staging conventions. This comedy balanced out elements of presentational theatre and non-localized sets reminiscent of Greek theatre with representational theatre and localized sets resonant of Elizabethan theatre. The presence of elements of comedy, Farce, Satire, and the use of deus ex machina within the play utilized French Neoclassical staging conventions adopted from earlier Greek, Elizabethan, and Italian Renaissance conventions. In the following sections, I will discuss the reminiscence of these conventions embraced through this production of The Dispute.
In this performance of The Dispute, presentational and
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This is reminiscent of French Neoclassical comedy of manners which displayed portions of society with horrible manners and all around bad behavior. This is seen in the performance through the actions of the lovers towards one another. In one scene, one of the women hikes up her dress and chases the other around the stage in a ridiculous fashion. This is disgraceful decorum, another satirical element of French Neoclassical comedy.
Another element of French Neoclassical comedy is deus ex machina. It is present through the reappearance of Meslis and Dina at the end of the play after the lovers have betrayed one another. This use of deus ex machina is different from how the Greeks used deus ex machina. In Greek theatre, desus ex machina was a crane used to save a character. This occurred at the end of Medea when she escapes in a flying chariot that would have been carried offstage by this
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This production embraced more than just Greek and Elizabethan conventions, also incorporating elements of French Neoclassical comedy. It also demonstrated the survival of many elements of comedy, farce, and satire such as character types, repetition, derision, verbal wit, and slapstick. The production did not adhere to only one theatrical age, but it combined conventions from Greek, Elizabethan, and French Neoclassical
In the movie, the three main types of comedy I recognized were farce, parody, and satire. Farce is comedy designed to provoke the audience into simple, hearty laughter and often uses highly exaggerated or caricatured character types and puts them into improbable and ludicrous situations. It also makes use of broad verbal humor and physical horseplay. Some examples of farce in the movie are:
The stage performance of Chicago offered a spectacle that I expected before attending the show. I knew there was going to be scantly clad girls with dark makeup and saucy attitudes. The performers brought to life all that was raunchy in the entertainment business during the roaring twenties. The lifestyle in Chicago featured jazz, booze, sex and crime. More importantly, Chicago had beautiful, young women with the dream of having their own Vaudeville act. The two main female characters, Velma and Roxy were two such women hoping to capture the public's attention. The composition of the show is a metaphoric integration of Vaudeville type acts amongst the book scenes and diegetic musical numbers.
Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957.
Shakespeare, William, Louis B. Wright, and Virginia A. LaMar. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. New ed. New York: Washington Square Press, 1959. Print.
Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957.
In I Henry IV and II Henry IV, William Shakespeare brings together drama and comedy to create two of the most compelling history plays ever written. Many of Shakespeare's other works are nearly absolute in their adherence to either the comic or tragic traditions, but in the two Henry IV plays Shakespeare combines comedy and drama in ways that seem to bring a certain realism to his characters, and thus the plays. The present essay is an examination of the various and significant effects that Shakespeare's comedic scenes have on I Henry IV and II Henry IV. The Diversity of Society
Tragedies in the Greek and Renaissance theater were very effective in portraying the social and religious constraints that tainted society. Both playwrights, through the use of their ingenuity and vast literary knowledge were able to perfect and display such flawless spectacles. The differences and similarities between Greek tragedy and Renaissance tragedy, although vast, can be narrowed down to the audience. Greek and Renaissance theater targeted very different audiences that demanded a certain type of play in order to be entertained.
Snyder, Susan. "Beyond the Comedy: Othello" Modern Critical Interpretations, Othello Ed. Harold Bloom, Pub. Chelsea House New Haven CT 1987. (page 23-37)
Snyder, Susan. "Beyond the Comedy: Othello" Modern Critical Interpretations, Othello Ed. Harold Bloom, Pub. Chelsea House New Haven CT 1987.
As a Shakespearean tragedy represents a conflict which terminates in a catastrophe, any such tragedy may roughly be divided into three parts. The first of these sets forth or expounds the situation, or state of affairs, out of which the conflict arises; and it may, therefore, be called the Exposition. The second deals with the definite beginning, the growth and the vicissitudes of the conflict. It forms accordingly the bulk of the play, comprising the Second, Third and Fourth Acts, and usually a part of the First and a part of the Fifth. The final section of the tragedy shows the issue of the conflict in a catastrophe. (52)
Snyder, Susan. "Beyond the Comedy: Othello" Modern Critical Interpretations, Othello Ed. Harold Bloom, Pub. Chelsea House New Haven CT 1987.
Goldman, Michael. "'Romeo and Juiliet': The Meaning of the Theatrical Experience." Shakespeare and the Energies of Drama. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP. 1972. 33-44. Rpt.
Humor in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night In Twelfth Night we see different types of humour. There is the witty
Snyder, Susan. "Beyond the Comedy: Othello" Modern Critical Interpretations, Othello Ed. Harold Bloom, Pub. Chelsea House New Haven CT 1987.
Greek and Elizabethan theatre, while similar in some respects, had a few large differences. The Greeks believed in a certain unity of theme, which was prevalent throughout the production. Greek plays were often drawn from myth or of historical significance, so it seems that only ki...