This is a seriously wonderful gif set.
I have reblogged it like three times before or something but I do not even care, I will reblog it again.
feels
Love this, but I would like to see Adelaide and Wilf there as well.
top five non canon pairings from your favourite universes. then an english essay please :P
Doing these pairings in no order. But five is a bit unfair isn’t it? xD
To name just a few… Pairings aren’t just romantic are they…
Gwen Cooper/Rhys Williams. T.
The Tenth Doctor/Donna Noble. DW.
Amy Pond/Rory Williams (Pond). DW.
The Eleventh Doctor/River Song. DW.
Legolas/Gimli. LOTR
Han Solo/Leia. SW
Sherlock/John. S
Arya/Eddard. GoT
Katniss/Peeta. HG
Joker/Harley. B
Have fun…
Consider and evaluate the different ways in which the writers of your chosen texts use theatrical devices, including scenery, stage-craft and symbolism, to dramatize conflict surrounding families.
In your response you should:
Critically compare the use of language techniques and literary devices.
Comment upon and evaluate the contribution made by the contextual factors to your understanding of your chosen texts.
Both Miller and Ibsen use a range of theatrical devices that portray the image of wealth and success to the audience, and these devices heighten the family conflict within both plays. The use of scenery is important for both plays as it allows the audience to make an expectation of the characters and their status. Miller’s ‘All My Sons’, written in 1947, expresses the impact of the Second World War on America, and how many made money from it to be able to live the idyllic ‘American Dream’. Miller creates a wealthy looking home immediately on stage, which reflected typical American suburban homes which were developed after World War Two, and this causes the Kellers to appear successful and also attacks the post-war society, as Miller comments on how it is because of the war that many became successful. Miller’s message was controversial for the original post-war audiences and this message and the conflicts within the play were heightened by the theatrical devices used. Similarly, Ibsen’s ‘A Dolls House’ reflects the Norwegian society in the 19th century through the use of theatrical devices. As well as Miller, Ibsen uses these devices to dramatize the conflict on stage and uses symbolism to reinforce the idea of a patriarchal society in which Nora is trapped within. ‘A Dolls House’ is set in a bourgeois society, and Ibsen strongly comments upon the flaws within this society, most prominently the flaws in marriage and the false image of happiness. These flaws Ibsen comments upon were highly controversial for the original patriarchal audience. Through the use of scenery, stage-craft and symbolism, both playwrights were able to portray their controversial views in a clear and effective way.
In both plays openings, the playwrights describe the setting in detail. Ibsen describes a room in the stage directions as being ‘pleasant, tastefully but not expensively refurnished’, reflecting the middle classes’ comfort, this including Nora and Torvald, in their bourgeois society. The audience are lead to believe that Nora is happy with her life due to her ‘comfortable’ surroundings and life style, however such descriptions of the set may contradict this. The room has ‘many doors’, which may suggest that they live in a wealthy apartment, however this also symbolises Torvald’s patriarchal power over Nora as many of the doors, such as Torvald’s office, always remain closed to her. Nora expresses her feelings about being controlled within her house and life towards the play’s climax stating ‘I have been performing tricks for you Torvald’, this also showing how Nora wants this life with Torvald to end, as she speaks in the past tense. This feeling of inequality leads to conflict further on within the play, and the idea of the doors being representative of a cage for Nora becomes apparent when she leaves Torvald at the end of the play by slamming the front door, becoming free of her expectations of society. The idea that Nora is trapped within her house and lifestyle would have been expected by the original audience as a woman was suppose to be at home with the children, however for a modern audience the marriage may be viewed as forced and superficial, and they may see the conflict Nora creates within the play being just and deserved. The setting described by Ibsen enhances the control Helmer has over Nora. Similarly, the setting of All My Sons gives suggestion to the conflict within the play. Firstly, the Keller’s household is described as being ‘two stories’ high, suggesting that it is a rich property, being in ‘suburbia’ supports this, and with George’s arrival in Act 2, his anger at the Kellers, mainly Joe, is heightened because of this continued success because of the war and his father’s imprisonment, as they are still living in the suburban luxury he remembered, George stating ‘nothing’s changed’. However, in contrast to this, Miller also describes ‘closely planted poplars’ surrounding the garden that ‘cut off the view’, reflecting how Joe and Kate wish to hide their success due to the fear that the truth about Joe’s lies could be revealed to their neighbours, and these poplars show how they want to keep their status and relationships together. As well as this, Ann comments ‘the poplars got thick’, suggesting that Miller is trying to show how the Kellers have much more to hide after the war. The arrival of the play’s catalyst George causes the majority of conflict to happen, as he knows the truth and if bringing the truth to the house and it is this truth that causes Keller to take his own life in the play’s climax. Miller also opens his play and character’s conversations around Larry’s fallen tree, and this shows the early conflict of the play between Chris and Joe as they argue whether they should stop Kate from believing Larry is still alive, Chris stating ‘why do we allow her to go on believing?’. The fallen tree also juxtaposes itself from the rest of the set as it does not fit in with the suburban house and garden, suggesting that Miller wanted the impact of the Second World War to cast a shadow over the ‘American Dream’ by showing the audience that it came with a price. Both playwrights have used the set of their plays to either cause or enhance the conflict between characters and families. Ibsen uses it to further show Nora’s feeling of being trapped and owned by Torvald and society, whereas Miller uses it as a direct cause of arguments between George and the Kellers and between Joe and Chris.
Both playwrights have written their plays in the style of naturalism, which allow the conflict on stage to be portrayed in a realistic way. For the original audiences, this is what was expected at the theatre and the controversial views of both playwrights will have been strongly shown through this style. Miller uses very detailed stage directions to show the relationships between characters. Miller has written stage directions for Kate to show her anxiety of her suburban life to be destroyed by the truth, ‘clasping her hands’ ‘trying to control herself’, and with these directions shown on stage Miller has effectively shown Kate’s fear of losing her lifestyle. These detailed stage directions add another layer to the play and through the use of Miller’s directions to body language and visual signs, conflict between the characters can be seen without the need for dialogue. For example, George is described as being ‘on the edge of his self-restraint’ suggesting that he stands rigidly showing his uneasiness in the Keller’s household as he knows the truth about Joe. Miller also uses repetition within his stage directions to enhance the importance of what he wanted to portray to his audience, for example during the argument between Chris and Joe over the faulty machine parts, the stage directions for Chris constantly show his anger for every line- ‘deadly’ ‘unyielding’, making the conflict between the two to become more noticeable. As well as this, the use of adverbial phrases such as ‘laughs tiredly’ show the detail Miller uses to show the conflict between his characters, in this case showing how Sue’s annoyance with Jim. Similarly, Ibsen uses stage directions to help the audience see the characters in the way he visualised them when writing them, reflecting the naturalistic style of the play. Ibsen’s directions are very detailed, directing every move however slight it may seem. An example of this is after Krogstad visits Nora for the first time, and the directions clearly display Nora’s anxiety- ‘she starts to busy herself by tiding the children’s clothes, but soon stops’ and ‘she begins to busily decorate the tree’ are an example of how Ibsen uses stage directions to add more depth to the performance, as they showed how Nora is having to keep herself busy to distract herself away from her fears of Torvald finding out. Both playwrights use detailed stage directions to similar effects, these being to make the performance as realistic as possible.
The use of symbolism is apparent within both plays. Miller uses two strong images at the start of ‘All My Sons’ which foreshadow the plot, these being Bert’s belief in the jail and Larry’s tree. Firstly, Miller uses the jail as a way to show how Joe believes that he has charmed his neighbourhood, as he is playing a game with Bert, so they would not uncover his crimes which would have put him in prison. Miller uses Kate’s reaction to show the audience that all is not as it seems due to her ‘furiously’ telling Joe that there ‘is no jail here’, suggesting that she is worried that this game may resurface the truth about Joe and destroy their ‘American Dream’. As well as this, Larry’s tree shows the different ways in which the Keller family are dealing with Larry’s death. As the tree is struck by lightning, Miller allows his characters to view this event in different ways, whereas Kate believes that as it is the destruction of his memorial, it means that there is no use for it as Larry is still alive. However Chris sees it as proof that Larry has died, and even chops the remaining trunk down to try and remove the memory of Larry in the house so he would be allowed to marry Ann without his mother believing she is ‘Larry’s girl’. The tree is also a constant reminder to the post-war society that the US prosperity came with a heavy price which should not be forgotten. The use of symbolism in Ibsen’s ‘A Dolls House’ are very visual for the audience, an example of this would be Nora dancing the Tarantella. The original purpose of the Tarantella dance was a way in which some believed you could extract poison from the body by dancing to a fast tempo, and when Nora dances this to the two male characters, Torvald and Doctor Rank, Ibsen shows how Nora wants to remove the poison of being a wife and a mother in this patriarchal society, and this foreshadows how she releases her anger at Torvald in the final scenes of the play. The original audience would have seen Nora’s dance initially as innocent, however Ibsen uses the anger of the dance to reflect Nora’s anger at the patriarchal society of Norway, and this would have shocked the audience. As well as this, Ibsen shows Nora’s dishonesty at the start of the play, as she tells Torvald that she has not bought any macaroons, and although this event is almost trivial, Ibsen uses it to reflect Nora’s dishonesty by taking out an illegal loan and to foreshadow Nora’s future lies within the play. Dishonesty from a wife would have been heavily frowned upon by Ibsen’s society, with the loan being illegal. Both playwrights use visual symbolism as it is clearly seen by their audiences, and both playwrights also use letters as symbolism. Whereas Miller uses Larry’s letter to close the play and as its denouement as it reveals that Larry has died and that he would ‘kill’ Joe if he could, this resulting in Joe committing suicide, Ibsen’s letter, addressed from Krogstad, is constant throughout a lot of the play as it sits in the letterbox, showing how Ibsen wanted the audience to feel as though the plays revelation could happen at any time.
Overall, both playwrights have clearly used stagecraft effectively to foreshadow events within the plays, to reflect their attitudes and to have a strong effect on their audiences. With Miller using the stage layout, with Larry’s tree ‘downstage’ in clear view, and the portrayal of Joe, he is able to question the audience whether the ‘American Dream’ is fair after millions have suffered and died after the Second World War. With the Keller’s easy life-style, Miller is able to immediately spark conflict from George, and with Larry overshadowing the whole play, Chris is constantly at war with his mother to marry Ann. Ibsen uses all aspects of stagecraft to show male dominance in his society, and likewise to Miller, he questions his audience whether it is wrong for a woman to be as independent as a man. All of these devices show how Nora has had enough with her caged lifestyle and foreshadow her conflict with her husband Torvad at the end of the play. In conclusion, the playwrights have used stagecraft to clearly heighten and represent the family conflict within their plays.
