Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons^™

Sati In Philadelphia: The Widow(S) Of Malabar, Jeffrey H. Richards

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Phenomenology Of Nonidentity And Theatrical Presence In M. Butterfly, William S. Haney Ii

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

David Henry Hwang’s postmodernist play M. Butterfly, abounds with alienation devices for deconstructing the notion of a unified subject. This essay, however, seeks to challenge the assumed poststructuralist vantage-point that the self and the metaphysics of presence are illusory by exploring what holds the play's identities together as dynamic matrices that function coherently within their discursive contexts. How tenable is the constructivist claim that our shifting subject positions designated by power relations are self-sustaining, that the self does not in fact extend beyond the material tokens of narrative conventions and discursive fields? Even if performers and audience can shift …

Animation Studies, Disciplinarity And Discursivity, Paul Ward

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

Addressing how knowledge grows, develops and fits together is arguably one of the most testing tasks facing scholars. In a world where knowledge is increasingly viewed as a commodity -- and the teaching of that knowledge is often done in an instrumentalist fashion -- we need to come to a fuller understanding of how knowledge areas inter-relate. Such a mapping needs to move beyond simplistic models of disciplinarity (and its bolted-together variants, such as interdisciplinarity, multidisciplinarity, and the like) and explore the ways that a wide range of people in an equally diverse set of contexts might constitute …

“A Midsummer Night's Dream”: A Director's Notebook, Natasha Bunnell

Institute for the Humanities Theses

This manuscript is an analysis of artistic growth as well as an attempt to document the creative process during this stage of growth. The production herein discussed was an excerpted version of A Midsummer Night's Dream ; however, the process of conceiving and staging the piece was identical to the process of producing an interpretation of the complete text. It is difficult to document all aspects of the theatre artist's creative process in writing and still photographs, thus, I have only included what I consider to be the most straightforward and significant elements for illustrating and analyzing the conclusions drawn: …

On Alan Moore And Eddie Campbell's From Hell (1996) And The Hughes Brothers' From Hell, Rodney Sharkey

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

Allen and Albert Hughes' film version of From Hell is visually striking and strong on memorable images. For those who enjoy attending films based on graphic novels they have read, the first framed shot of a London skyline beneath a scarlet sky is superbly reminiscent of the menacing and yet enticing comic world of the novel. Moreover, the film develops its theme visually as well as narratively; the impulse behind the ripper murders is chillingly realized in some ensemble scenes at the Royal College of Physicians and police barracks where single female victims are counter-pointed against a metaphorical …

Making Sense Of Matter In Deleuze's Conception Of Cinema Language, Roger Dawkins

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

Writing in the 1960s and early 1970s, Christian Metz's work on the cinema favoured systematic exactitude, and was concerned with uprooting film theory from what he saw as the generalized approach of the early twentieth century (Andrews 213). Metz thought that a more scientific approach to the cinema was to be found with the question of language, and although this question was metaphorically present since the 1920s [1], Metz was the first to apply modern linguistic models to this problem (Guzzetti 292). What resulted was a methodology of analysis based on the formalism inherent to …

Brecht's Influence On The Modern British Theater With A Special Focus On Edward Bond's The War Plays, Amal Abdelrazek

English Theses & Dissertations

This thesis traces the development and impact of Brecht's dramatic art on the modem British theatre. The first chapter discusses and defines the main themes and dramaturgical concepts that characterize Brechtian theatre. The second chapter describes Brecht's reception in England. It articulates the relationship between Brecht and the British theatre since it began in 1933 when Brecht's play Anna Anna (later called The Seven Deadly Sins) was performed at the Savoy Theatre. This chapter also demonstrates the kinds of changes Brecht introduced into British dramatic art, using key British playwrights as examples--John Arden, Howard Brenton, and Caryl Churchill. The Brechtian …

Revolution, Song Lyrics By John Lennon And Paul Mccartney Playscript, Leroy C. Boyd Iii

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Revolution is a two-act play inspired by the works of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, formerly of the rock and roll music quartet known as The Beatles. Originally meant for a production, the play studies the lack of respect people have for the performing arts. It also examines the negative stereotypes that society places upon people who are actively involved within the arts and humanities.

The selection of songs from the Lennon-McCartney catalogue are synthesized with an original story line. The songs will reflect the feelings of a particular character at the time of a vocal performance.

"Wretched, Bloody, And Usurping Boar"? An Evaluation Of The Historicity Of Shakespeare's Richard Iii, Kathryn Kiff

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Shakespeare's portrait of Richard III as a diabolical monster was based on the hostile accounts fashioned about him during the Tudor regime. Sir Thomas More's Richard III established the definitive image of Richard as the deformed tyrant who usurped the throne and murdered his nephews. This was the portrait that Shakespeare inherited from the sixteenth-century writers who incorporated More's account into their chronicles. This thesis examines Shakespeare's portrayal of Richard and the chronicle sources upon which he drew in order to show how Shakespeare's portrait of Richard developed. Although Richard was not the evil character presented in Shakespeare's play, it …

An Analysis Of Byron's Attempt To Reform The English Stage Through His Venetian Plays, Linda J. Fuller

English Theses & Dissertations

No abstract.

The Uses Of Processions In Shakespeare's Plays, William F. Sodini

English Theses & Dissertations

No abstract.

John Skelton's Satire Of The Burial Rites Of The Roman Church In "Philip Sparrow", Jean M. Regone

English Theses & Dissertations

No abstract.

Concepts Of Suffering In King Lear, Emma Jean Westcot

English Theses & Dissertations

No abstract.

The Stage Yankee In The Plays Of Eugene O'Neill, Sue Farquharson Law

English Theses & Dissertations

No abstract.

The Function Of Some Comic Elements In The Wakefield Plays In The Towneley Cycle, Frances E. Whitehall

English Theses & Dissertations

No abstract.

Falstaff, A Product Of Historical And Moral Traditions, Emily Stacy Apelt

English Theses & Dissertations

No abstract.

Thomas Shadwell: The Sentimental Characteristics Of His Comedies, Ramona Hartley Hamby

English Theses & Dissertations

No abstract.

The Hobbesian Villain In Dryden's Heroic Plays, Margaret Norman Simmons

English Theses & Dissertations

No abstract.