Drama and Such

Unlike dance, I recently come to a great appreciation for drama. Until 2 years ago, my attitude towards plays was the same as most boys my age: “It’s acting without explosions and special effects. So what’s the point?” However that all changed when I went to see 12 Angry Men with my dad. It was awesome! The dialogue was intelligently written, the characters were interesting, and the presence of live, breathing actors on stage rather than pixilated actors really made an impression on me. Then, last summer I went to see Les Miserables in St. George, and was blown away. I even pirated a copy of the soundtrack! (I hadn’t signed the Honor Code at that point in my life). Therefore, I was not at all surprised that reading about drama in our textbook was quite interesting to me. I found the topic of catharsis to be particularly interesting. Catharsis is the purging of emotions (typically negative) by experiencing them vicariously through a play or movie. The play Oedipus is a perfect example of catharsis. By watching the play, our fear of the unknown may be purged. No matter what happens to us, it can never be as bad as what happened to Oedipus right?  

Unless you’re this kid I guess.

I also found the dramatic analysis of Romeo and Juliet to be interesting. I especially liked the analysis of symbols and motifs. The analysis points out that there is a love/death or womb/tomb motif all through the play. Juliet herself says “My grave is like to be my death bed.” Death and love are tied together in dialogue throughout the play, and are intertwined at the ending when Romeo and Juliet commit suicide for love. The book says that them committing suicide for love in the catacombs was a paradoxical tension aligning the womb (source of life) and the tomb (symbol of death). I say it was really just a more sophisticated way of saying what modern day t-shirt companies have told me:

And that’s probably why I’m not a critic.

I also found it interesting that plays were used by the Greeks as a sort of morality tale. Characters would have a certain tragic flaw, and this flaw would eventually lead to their downfall, providing a lesson of sorts. That seems to be a pretty effective method of teaching. For example, Oedipus’s tragic flaw was his obsessive pursuit for self knowledge. After watching this obsession lead Oedipus to have sex with his mom and gouge his eyes out, I think most Greeks probably got the point. Founding out about things such as catharsis and the use of drama as a tool for increasing morality or proving a point has really made me greater appreciate an art form I already had a great deal of respect for.