英美戏剧选读

Drama,Selected Readings of English & American Drama,英美戏剧选读,An Introduction to drama,1. What Is Drama?,A drama is a work of literature or a composition which depicts life and human activity by means of presenting various actions of, and dialogues between a group of characters. And it is designed for theatrical presentation.,What Is Drama?,Origins of DramaThe word drama comes from the Greek verb dran, which means “to do.”The earliest known plays . . .were written around the fifth century B.C. produced for festivals to honor Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility,Two manifestations of a play,It is a literary work, an order of words on a page to be read. 作为文学文本的戏剧(2)It is a performance, an order of speeches and visual effects presented on a stage. 作为舞台表演的戏剧,2. Why do we study drama?,a. to learn what meaning others have made of life, b. to comprehend what it takes to produce a work of art, c. to glean some understanding of ourselves. Drama produces in a separate, aesthetic world, a moment of being for the audience to experience, while maintaining the detachment of a reflective observer.,To great playwrights, the theatre is a means of probing honestly and courageously for the meaning of life and mystery of existence .,All the worlds a stageAnd all the men and women merely playersThey have their exits and their entrancesAnd one man in his time plays many parts -William Shakespeare,That is why we must have a theatre, for above all, the theatre places man in the centre of the world. we must have a point of adventurous stillness, the quiet eye of the storm, from which to witness the age old revelation of a man challenging God in the working out of his fate. -Arthur Miller,How do we learn the plays?,1. Introduce the play. (characters, plot, themes, and most important of all what is your comments) = presentation 2. Watch the play. 3. Role-playing of chosen scenes. (everyone must take part in the activities in two plays)4. Discussion of the play if necessary.,The origin of western drama,The Western dramatic tradition has its origins in ancient Greece Greek tragedy, originated in the dithyramb at the Dionysia of 534 BC, the lead singer of the dithyramb, a man named Thespis(泰斯庇斯) , added to the chorus an actor with whom he carried on a dialogue.,The elements and Structure of Drama,Aristotle categorized drama into six elements in his “Poetics” in order of importance as he views themPlotCharacterThoughtDiction （语言）Music （唱段）Spectacle （戏景）,Plot(情节),the things that happened in the play and the ways in which those incidents connect Any plot of a dramatic work necessary has to do with conflict A play makes a progress from beginning, through middle, to end, or from exposition, through complication, to denouement.,Dramatic terms related to plot,ForeshadowingConflictRising actionClimaxFalling actionAnticlimax Catastrophe Subplot/double plot,Dramatic terms related to plot,Foreshadowing预示，铺垫Conflict 戏剧冲突Rising action 动作上行 The events of a dramatic or narrative plot preceding the climax. Climax 戏剧高潮Falling action 动作下行 the sequence of events that follow the climax and end in the resolution. Anticlimax 突降，反高潮Catastrophe 悲剧结尾Subplot/double plot 次要情节/双重情节,Like the plot of a story, the plot of a play involves characters who face a problem or conflict.,Climaxpoint of highest tension;action determines how the conflict will be resolved,Resolutionconflict is resolved;play ends,Complicationstension builds,Expositioncharacters and conflict are introduced,Conflict is a struggle or clash between opposing characters or forces. A conflict may develop . . .between characters who want different things or the same thingbetween a character and his or her circumstanceswithin a character who is torn by competing desires,expositioncomplicationdenouement,exposition(戏剧呈现): it sets the action in time and place and makes us acquainted with the characters; it reveals the situation they are in, initiates the conflict to be developed, and it may introduce foreshadowing to hint at the resolution. All these must be done clearly and quickly.,complication（深度推进和冲突复杂化）-develops the conflict initiated by the exposition, providing the conflict with its depth and breadth,point of attack 交锋点the rising action 上行的动作 Climax（turning point，reversal）高潮Anticlimax 突降，反高潮,denouement（resolution）,Ideally the denouement arises logically from the exposition and complication. Following the climax everything heads downward in falling action. Things fall into place, and the play heads toward the conclusion. Then its all over.,Character: any person appearing in a drama or narrative,Protagonist 主角Antagonist 反角Foil 陪衬人物Stock character/type character类型化人物,The rounded or three dimensional characters who are neither wholly good nor wholly evil, but wholly human are certainly the most convincing and rich characters.,Protagonist-the main character in a drama. This character is usually the most interesting and sympathetic and is the person involved in the conflict driving the plot.Antagonist-a character or force in conflict with the protagonist. The antagonist is often another character but may also be an intangible force such as nature or society. The dramatic conflict can also take the form of a struggle with the protagonists own character.,Foil-a character who, through difference or similarity, brings out a particular aspect of another character. Laertes, reacting to the death of his father, acts as a foil for Hamlet.Stock character- a stereotypical character type whose behavior, qualities, or beliefs conforms to familiar dramatic conventions.,Characters may be portrayed in 4 ways.,character is depicted by appearancecharacter is revealed by speechcharacter is established by actioncharacter may be revealed by what other say about him, and the way in which they react to him.,Thought,Thought refers to the reasoning aspect of drama, thought also concerns a plays theme which summarize the moral and indicated the symbolic meaning of the play as a whole.,Diction,The language of drama must be dynamic. Dialogue in a play must advance the actionDiscourse in drama must be clear since the language must be immediately understood by the listener.The dialogue must be interesting despite the need for simplicity and economyThe diction must be appropriate for the character and the situationGood dialogue in a play must be suited for oral expression,Music,Music refers to all of the auditory aspect of a play, including sound effects and the tonal pattern of the spoken word.,Spectacle 戏景,Spectacle refers to all of the visual aspects of productionscenery, lightening, costume, make-up, and the movement of the actor.The current accepted attitude is that the visual aspects of theatrical production is just to provide the psychological and physical environment and create the atmosphere for the play.,Genres of Drama 戏剧类型,TragedyComedyTragicomedyMelodramaProblem playFarce,A tragedy is a play that ends unhappily.,Tragedies pit human limitations against the larger forces of destiny.pit against :使与相斗;使与对抗,right and wrong,justice and injustice,life and death,Tragedy,Most classic Greek tragedies deal with serious, universal themes such as,The protagonist of most classical tragedies is a tragic hero. This hero,is noble and in many ways admirable,has a tragic flaw, a personal failing that leads to a tragic end,rebelliousness,jealousy,pride,Tragedy,In tragedy, the protagonist suffers intensely and perhaps dies, having exhausted all the possibilities of his life.The protagonist in tragedy must be human and cannot be a god. He must also be of a certain noble stature. Today, it means an element of human greatness beyond the ordinary. The action in tragedy is serious and important, and is often perception of a great mistake he has made, the protagonist is doomed, and we watch in awe as he moves towards that doom.,Tragedy,Tragedy is positive and optimistic in its view of the heights the human being can reach.,The protagonist must have within him the tragic flaw, the making of his own destruction. Whether you call it pride, arrogance, vanity or whatever, within the human psyche must rest the seeds of doom.Tragedy is an assertion of the greatness of man. It shows mans ability to rise to the height of human dignity in the face of an opposing force which he himself knows will finally destroy him. Tears that may be shed at the final catastrophe are not tears of sadness, but of compassion. by the end, when tranquility has been restored, the audience has gone through a kind of spiritual purgation, in the realization of how great the human being can be upon occasion.,A comedy is a play that ends happily. The plot usually centers on a romantic conflict.,boy meets girl,boy loses girl,boy wins girl,Comedy,The main characters in a comedy could be anyone:,nobility,servants,townspeople,Comedy,Comic complications always occur before the conflict is resolved.,In most cases, the play ends with a wedding.,Comedy,Comedy 喜剧,Comedy is a term broadly applied to a light, humorous play that ends happily. Comedy is a play that has a happy ending. Comedy often pictures life accurately and with shrewd insight but it does not picture it profoundly. It might show how amusing, how foolish, how illogical, people are but it does not go beyond this, and try, as tragedy does, to explain things basic and profound about the nature of man. We should not say that comedy is inferior to tragedy. It is a different genre and each genre has its own value and should be appreciated for what it is.,Tragedy VS Comedy,In tragedy, we are seldom aware of the commonplace of everyday living. Comedy lives in the very world that tragedy transcends. Comedy is the genre of plays that make us laugh at mans vices and follies. Comedy is most concerned with social man, while tragedy is most concerned with philosophical man.Comedy concentrates, not on mans destiny, but on his follies, foibles and vices. Frequently, comedy will exaggerate or distort these deviations for greater effect. Yet, for all its painting of mans failings, comedy is usually affirmative, leaving us pleased and gratified.,Tragicomedy 悲喜剧 (正剧),A type of drama that combines certain elements of both tragedy and comedy. The plays plot tends to be serious, leading to a terrible catastrophe, until an unexpected turn in events leads to a reversal of circumstance, and the story ends happily. Tragicomedy often employs a romantic, fast-moving plot dealing with love, jealousy, disguises treachery, intrigue and surprise, all moving toward a melodramatic resolution.,Melodrama 情节剧,A suspenseful play filled with situations that just appeal excessively to the audiences emotion. Justice triumphs in a happy ending: the good characters (completely virtuous) are rewarded and the bad characters (thoroughly villainous) are punished.Like farce, melodrama pays almost no attention to human values, but its object is to give a thrill instead of a laugh.,Problem Play 社会问题剧,Drama of social criticism discusses social, economic, or political problems by means of a play. Ibsen易卜生 is notable writer of problem play.,Farce 滑稽剧，笑剧,When comedy involves ridiculous or hilarious complications without regard for human values, it becomes farce.,Fantasy 幻想剧,A play sometimes, but not always, in comic spirit in which the author gives free reign to his fantasy, allowing things to happen without regard to reality.,When you read a play, remember that it is meant to be performed for an audience.,Performance of a Play,Performance of a Play,Theater artists includeActorsDirectorsLighting techniciansStage crew,Stages can have many different sizes and layouts.,“Thrust” stage,Setting the Stage,The stage extends into the viewing area.,The audience surrounds the stage on three sides.,“In the round” stage is surrounded by an audience on all sides.,Setting the Stage,Proscenium stage舞台前部装置,Setting the Stage,The playing area extends behind an opening called a “proscenium arch.”,The audience sits on one side looking into the action.,upstage,downstage,stage left,stage right,Setting the Stage,Stages in Shakespeares time were thrust stages.,Scene design transforms a bare stage into the world of the play. Scene design consists of,props,sets,costumes,lighting,Setting the Stage,A stages set might be,realistic and detailed,Setting the Stage,abstract and minimal,A lighting director skillfully uses light to change the mood and appearance of the set.,Setting the Stage,The costume director works with the director to design the actors costumes.,Like sets, costumes can be,detailed,minimal,Setting the Stage,Props (short for properties) are items that the characters carry or handle onstage.,The person in charge of props must make sure that the right props are available to the actors at the right moments.,Setting the Stage,The characters speech may take any of the following forms.,The Characters,King：But now，my cousin Hamlet，and my son HamletAside: A little more than kin，and less than kind! King：How is it that the clouds still hang on you? Hamlet：Not so，my lord. I am too much ithe sun. 梁实秋的译文如下： 王：现在，我的侄子哈姆雷特，也是我的儿子， 哈【旁白】：比侄子是亲些，可是还算不得儿子。 王：怎么，你脸上还是罩着一层愁云？ 哈：不是的，陛下；我受的阳光太多了。,Marc Antony delivers a well-known monologue to the people of Rome in Shakespeares Julius Caesar. You probably know how it starts:Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.The evil that men do lives after them;The good is oft interred with their bones:So let it be with Caesar. (etc.) A monologue might be delivered to an audience within a play, as it is with Antonys speech, or it might be delivered directly to the audience sitting in the theater and watching the play.,In a play, a character delivering a soliloquy talks to herself thinking out loud, as it were so that the audience better understands what is happening to the character internally.The most well-known soliloquy in the English language appears in Act III, Scene 1 of Hamlet:To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortuneOr to take arms against a sea of troubles,And by opposing end them? (etc.),Finally, a play needs an audience to,experience the performance,understand the story,respond to the characters,The Audience,Like the plot of a story, the plot of a play involves characters who face a problem or conflict.,Climaxpoint of highest tension;action determines how the conflict will be resolved,Resolutionconflict is resolved;play ends,Complicationstension builds,Expositioncharacters and conflict are introduced,What is Hamlet about?,Centuries of debateT. S. Eliot: “Certainly an artistic failure”,Its about a man called on to exact revenge for the murder of his father.Problems:The murderer is a king.The source of the information is a ghost.The revenge must be honorable.,Key characters,Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Horatio, Laertes, Polonius, Ophelia,5 Acts,1. Exposition:2. Rising action:3. Climax:4. Falling action:5. Resolution:,5 Acts,1. Exposition: Ghost orders revenge2. Rising action: Hamlet acts mad3. Climax: Hamlet does things (puts on a play, berates his mother, kills Polonius)4. Falling action: Events conspire against Hamlet while he sails to England 5. Resolution: Hamlet kills king, dies.,Drama in ancient Greece,Panoramic view of the theatre of ancient Greece,Blueprint,Masks,The Three Major Greek Playwrights,Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides,Aeschylus (523-456 B.C.E.),Wrote the oldest Greek playsthe father of tragedy.“Prometheus Bound被俘的普罗米修斯Persians波斯人the only trilogy, the Oresteia. （ Agamemnon, 阿伽门农 Libation Bearers奠酒人, and Eumenides报仇神 His most noteworthy contribution to the theatre is the addition of a second actor. Prior to Aeschylus, only one actor had been used to plays multiple roles. While the two actors still played multiple roles, Aeschylus addition of the second actor allowed for dialogue between characters.,He is also thought to be the first of the Greek dramatists to directly involve the chorus in the action of the play.He is noted for his vivid character portrayal and majestic poetry.,Sophocles,Sophocles is the author of plays like Oedipus the King and Electra and Antigone. He contributed greatly to tragic art. He added a third actor and decreased the size of the chorus. Sophocles has had a strong impact on European literature. Some of his plots were taken over and adopted by later writers. The Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freuds term “the Oedipus complex” was also derived from Sophocless play.,Oedipus Rex 俄狄浦斯王,在古希腊神话中有这么一个预言：底比斯王的新生儿（也就是俄狄浦斯），有一天将会杀死他的父亲而与他的母亲结婚。底比斯王对这个预言感到震惊万分，于是下令把婴儿丢弃在山上。但是有个牧羊人发现了他，把他送给邻国的国王当儿子。俄狄浦斯并不知道自己真正的父母是谁。长大后他做了许多英雄事迹，赢得伊俄卡斯忒女王为妻。后来国家瘟疫流行，他才知道，多年前他杀掉的一个旅行者是他的父亲，而现在和自己同床共枕的是自己的亲母亲。俄狄浦斯王羞怒不已，他弄瞎了双眼，离开底比斯，独自流浪去了。,Euripides,Euripides was the most unique of the three great tragedians. He was the first tragedian to meld tragedy with comic elements to create tragicomedies Euripides wrote mainly about women in such plays as Andromache安德洛马刻, Medea美狄亚, and Trojan Women特洛伊妇女 . He was more of a realist than Aeschylus and Sophocles, concerned with conflicts. His characters are less heroic, more like ordinary people. He may be called the first writer of “problem plays”. He was a friend of Socrates and the intellectuals, but the people who flocked the performances often found him disturbing.,The Survey of the English Drama Development,1. From the beginning to Shakespeare The tenth century: the church service , the earliest English dramatic form The fourteenth century: Miracle or Mystery plays (biblical histories) (1300-1450) 奇迹剧 (The York, The Chester, The Wakefield, The Coventry）Morality play (religious drama) late fourteenth道德剧（Everyman） The late fifteenth century, early sixteenth century:Interlude 幕间幽默短剧The end of sixteenth century (the period of transition)Classical drama (comedy