A Student Guide to Play Analysis / Edition 3

by David Rush Estate

Overview

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. The process is twofold: understand the critical terms that are used to define various parts and then apply these to a particular play. 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, The Good Woman of Setzuan, Fences, The Little Foxes, A Doll House, The Glass Menagerie, and The Emperor Jones. Each chapter ends with a list of questions that will guide students in further study.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780809326099
Publisher:	Southern Illinois University Press
Publication date:	06/02/2005
Edition description:	1st Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

David Rush is an associate professor of theatre at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he has taught play analysis for over ten years. Named 2002 Playwriting Teacher of the Year by the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, Rush is a Resident Writer Emeritus of the Chicago Dramatists and an ensemble member at the Stage Left Theater in Chicago. He has written over twenty plays and musicals, including the productions Cuttings (2003), Prairie Lights (2002), and Police Deaf Near Far (2000), Dapples & Grays (1994), and Leander Stillwell (1992).

Table of Contents

	Preface	xiii
	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
	Background	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
	Background	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
	Background	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
	Background	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
	Background	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
	Background	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
	Glossary	281
	Index	287

Editorial Reviews

This is the most comprehensive text on script analysis, perfect for the entry-level undergraduate course in the field. Rush covers a tremendous amount of ground. His command of the whole dramatic bag is amazing.”—Paul C. Castagno, author of New Playwriting Strategies: A Language-Based Approach to Playwriting

From the Publisher