“What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out?”
Both Oedipus the King by Sophocles and The Wild Duck by Ibsen are key examples of being drama but life with the full bits cut out. There is nothing dull about either one of these plays. Both use tension between the characters such as in Ibsen when Gregers is talking to his father Werle on page 132 in act 1, it says “Gregers. Oh, there are reasons. Listen, tell me—the time when you developed such warmth for your old friend’s son—wasn’t that just when he was planning to marry?
Werle. How the devil—how, after so many years, do you expect me--?” As we can see, there is this obvious tension between Gregers and his father Werle. This conflict between the two is one of the many examples of how The Wild Duck, is an example of “drama but life with the dull bits cut out”. There is nothing dull about this passage. Gregers is hinting at an affair that Werle had with one of the servants, that is not something that should be taken lightly. This tension could potentially lead to a dangerous conflict, adding to this drama. In Oedpus the King, there are also prime examples of this drama. Such as when Oedipus is trying to get the prophecy from Teiresias the prophet. It says
“OEDIPUS
Monster! thy silence would incense a flint.
Will nothing loose thy tongue? Can nothing melt thee,
Or shake thy dogged taciturnity?
TEIRESIAS
Thou blam'st my mood and seest not thine own
Wherewith thou art mated; no, thou taxest me.
OEDIPUS
And who could stay his choler when he heard
How insolently thou dost flout the State?”
Monster! thy silence would incense a flint.
Will nothing loose thy tongue? Can nothing melt thee,
Or shake thy dogged taciturnity?
TEIRESIAS
Thou blam'st my mood and seest not thine own
Wherewith thou art mated; no, thou taxest me.
OEDIPUS
And who could stay his choler when he heard
How insolently thou dost flout the State?”
Ibsen and Sophocles are very similar in how they cut out dull bits, or add a sort of “flavor” if you will to their plays. Both add scenes with tension in them to heighten the audience’s senses. In this passage, Sophocles’ diction and context creates this tension. With such words as “monster”, “flint”, “loose”, “shake”, and “dogged”. These are only a few examples of how Sophocles’ diction and context creates this tension, and this is how the statement “What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out?” is applicable in these plays.
On the bottom of page 149, what does Ekdal mean by hunting? What is he truly hunting for?
On the top of page 155, what does Greger’s mean by wanting to be a really fantastic, clever dog?
Good examples. Shows how the plays consist of constant "action" and an interesting plot.
ReplyDeleteNice. The quotes are highly relevant and make comparing the two plays very easy. Questions also add to your concept, good work.
ReplyDeleteGood quotes and comparison, but I think you overlooked something that puts this whole "cut out" idea at a midpoint. For the most part, Ibsen actually uses the dull parts to express important information to the audience in a format of which they are more accustomed, that they can relate to. So I think that to an extent the playwright can manipulate "dull" moments to be key parts of the rising action or even the climax.
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