A student guide to play analysis / David Rush.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rush, David, 1940-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Drama--Explication.

Drama.

Physical Description:

xiv, 299 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, [2005]

Summary:

With the skills of a playwright, the vision of a producer, and the wisdom of an experienced teacher, David Rush offers a fresh and innovative guide to interpreting drama in A Student Guide to Play Analysis, the first undergraduate teaching tool to address postmodern drama in addition to classic and modern. Covering a wide gamut of texts and genres, this far-reaching and user-friendly volume is easily paired with most anthologies of plays and is accessible even to those without a literary background.

Contending that there are no right or wrong answers in play analysis, Rush emphasizes the importance of students developing insights of their own. Rush clarifies the concepts of plot, character, and language, advancing Aristotle's concept of the Four Causes as a method for approaching a play through various critical windows. He describes the essential difference between a story and a play, outlines four ways of looking at plays, and then takes up the typical structural devices of a well-made play, four primary genres and their hybrids, and numerous styles, from expressionism to postmodernism. For each subject, he defines critical norms and analyzes plays common to the canon. A Student Guide to Play Analysis draws on thoughtful examinations of such dramas as The Cherry Orchard, Fences, A Doll's House, The Glass Menagerie, and The Emperor Jones. Each chapter ends with a list of questions that will guide students in further study.

Contents:

Introduction: How to Look at a Play 1

The Four Causes 3

A Case in Point 12

You're the Expert 15

Questioning the Play 16

Part 1 Structural Components 19

1 What Is a Play? 21

Play Versus Story 21

What Kind of Story Makes a Play? 23

What Is a Dramatic Action? 23

The Nature of Change: Its Four Levels 26

The Six Elements of a Play 31

Questioning the Play 34

2 Plot: The Beginning 35

A Plot by Definition 35

Dramatic Action: An Overview 38

The Beginning 40

Questioning the Play 50

3 Plot: The Middle, the Ending, and Other Matters 52

The Middle 52

The Ending 62

What about Other Kinds of Structures? 63

Questioning the Play 66

4 Characters 68

The Literal Aspect 68

The Functional Aspect 70

The Connotative (or Symbolic) Aspect 75

Questioning the Play 77

5 Language 79

Language as a Set of Codes 79

Words as Symbols of Meaning 79

Words as Euphonics 83

Questioning the Play 92

Part 2 Genres 95

6 Classic Tragedy 99

What Is the Mood of a Classic Tragedy? 99

What Sort of World or Society Forms the Setting? 100

What Typical Plot Pattern Does a Classic Tragedy Follow? 100

What Characters Appear in a Classic Tragedy? 105

What Kinds of Tragedy Are There? 110

Questioning the Play 111

7 Classic Comedy 113

What Is the Mood of a Classic Comedy? 113

What Sort of World or Society Forms the Setting? 115

What Typical Plots Does a Classic Comedy Have? 117

What Characters Appear in a Classic Comedy? 124

What Is "Funny"? Sources of Laughter 126

What Kinds of Comedy Are There? 134

Questioning the Play 137

8 Melodrama 140

What Is the Mood of a Melodrama? 142

What Is the World of a Melodrama? 142

What Typical Plot Patterns Does a Melodrama Use? 143

What Sort of Characters Are Typical? 148

Questioning the Play 153

9 Farce 155

What Is the Mood of a Farce? 156

What Is the World of a Farce? 157

What Typical Plots Appear in a Farce? 158

What Sort of Characters Appear in Farce? 167

Questioning the Play 170

10 Alternate Genres 172

Drama 172

Tragicomedy: The Work of Chekov 174

Classifying Subgenres 178

Questioning the Play 182

Part 3 Styles 183

11 Realism 191

What Are the Concerns of the Author? 195

What Is the Point of View of the Author? 196

How Comprehensible Is the World? 196

How Is the Plot Constructed? 197

What Is the Substance/Texture of the Characters? 199

What Is the Setting? 199

How Is Language Used? 201

What Is the Form? 202

How Does Realism Define the World? 203

Questioning the Play 203

12 Symbolism 205

What Are the Concerns of the Author? 207

What Is the Point of View of the Author? 209

How Comprehensible Is the World? 209

How Is the Plot Constructed? 209

What Is the Substance/Texture of the Characters? 210

What Is the Setting? 211

How Is Language Used? 212

What Is the Form? 215

How Does Symbolism Define the World? 215

Questioning the Play 215

13 Expressionism 216

What Are the Concerns of the Author? 218

What Is the Point of View of the Author? 219

How Comprehensible Is the World? 220

How Is the Plot Constructed? 221

What Is the Substance/Texture of the Characters? 225

What Is the Setting? 226

How Is Language Used? 226

What Is the Form? 228

How Does Expressionism Define the World? 228

Questioning the Play 229

14 Theater of the Absurd 230

What Are the Concerns of the Author? 232

What Is the Point of View of the Author? 235

How Comprehensible Is the World? 235

How Is the Plot Constructed? 236

What Is the Substance/Texture of the Characters? 237

What Is the Setting? 237

How Is Language Used? 238

What Is the Form? 240

How Does Theater of the Absurd Define the World? 240

Questioning the Play 240

15 Epic Theater 242

What Are the Concerns of the Author? 244

What Are the Alienation Effects of Production? 248

What Alienation Effects Appear in the Text? 249

How Does Epic Theater Define the World? 258

Questioning the Play 258

16 Postmodernism 260

The Assumptions of Liberal Humanism 260

The Assumptions of Postmodernism 262

Characteristics of Postmodern Plays 265

How Does Postmodernism Define the World? 276

Questioning the Play 277.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

0809326086

0809326094

OCLC:

57311980