Essay on Aim
"The aim of theatre should be to give pleasure and not to make men better, but to make them happy." - Harold Hobson
In response to the quote above by Harold Hobson, I don't think theatre should be just about entertainment. Therefore, I disagree with Hobson on this issue but out of respect of course.
Theatre in Britain has in a way been a political arena ever since the Edwardian period. It is without doubt that the writer's and playwrights have "passed on" their ideas of politics through their creative works in their plays. Though they did not make it as obvious as it should be, the message that lies within their plays are rather more subliminal. The use of comedy eases out the serious issues that the playwright's wanted to tell the world. Approaching the year 1914, Britain may have seemed to be in prosperity but in reality the rich are getting richer and the poor even poorer. There were great conflicts amongst the working class. Furthermore, the issue of the women's rights also started to stir up around 1914 which led to the Women's Suffragette's Movement. Britain was clouded with problems but nevertheless they still had plays to watch. Thanks to the writer I am about to introduce, people actually were aware of what is going on and hopefully got the idea that the writer intended for them to get.
__________________________________________________________In response to the quote above by Harold Hobson, I don't think theatre should be just about entertainment. Therefore, I disagree with Hobson on this issue but out of respect of course.
Theatre in Britain has in a way been a political arena ever since the Edwardian period. It is without doubt that the writer's and playwrights have "passed on" their ideas of politics through their creative works in their plays. Though they did not make it as obvious as it should be, the message that lies within their plays are rather more subliminal. The use of comedy eases out the serious issues that the playwright's wanted to tell the world. Approaching the year 1914, Britain may have seemed to be in prosperity but in reality the rich are getting richer and the poor even poorer. There were great conflicts amongst the working class. Furthermore, the issue of the women's rights also started to stir up around 1914 which led to the Women's Suffragette's Movement. Britain was clouded with problems but nevertheless they still had plays to watch. Thanks to the writer I am about to introduce, people actually were aware of what is going on and hopefully got the idea that the writer intended for them to get.
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George Bernard Shaw, the author of the play Pygmalion or later changed into a musical and was known as "My Fair Lady" wrote about those social issues that troubled Britain. Throughout his play, he shows the audience two important things. He shows Britain as it is and how Britain ought to be. "Britain as it is" is showed at the beginning of the play where there are men of high class who seem to control the whole world and a poor uneducated flower girl who hangs around those high class places just to make a pence or two. We are then exposed to the fact that that poor flower girl wasn't able to make her decision at all in the beginning of the play. She was just plain arrogant, uneducated and uncultured. However, the second half of the play shows the transformation of the flower girl into becoming a well-mannered, well-educated and well-cultured dame through the good works of education which was offered by one of the high class men. I believe Shaw was trying to convey to the audience that through education one could make something out of oneself. We could change our destiny from poor to not so poor to wealth. Education gives us the ability to think correctly and with the correct way of thinking, we could achieve anything.
You may laugh at the play with it's comedy but you also might be enlightened about the facts that education changes one's life, one has the right to choose their destiny and another thing we get from this is that all people are equal. Entertaining or Edutaining? I believe we become better people from watching Shaw's Pygmalion.
Later in the course, we were introduced to Noel Coward who is the master of comedy and music. During Coward's time, it was a time of depression both in the economy and the people's well being. It was the effect of war on people. People were dying and suffering from the wounds of war and it was just not a time for laughs. However, Coward was sympathetic to the situation and to human life. He then wrote a play called "Blithe Spirit." The story is about a man, Charles, who was once married to his lovely wife, Elvira, but then she dies young. So Charles remarries to his second wife, Ruth. Charles is a writer and wanted to write a book about mediums. He therefore, invites his friends and a Madame Arcati who is a medium for dinner. Charles wanted to prove that all the hocus pocus of Arcati was really just an act and a hoax but he later found out that Arcati is no joke when he sees the spirit of his first wife Elvira. Elvira doesn't like Ruth and tries to get rid of her. She successful does. However, Ruth's spirits appears before Elvira for revenge but then both Elvira and Ruth wanted Charles for themselves so they decided to devise a plan in order to get Charles killed so that he could live with both of them happily ever after. Both Ruth and Elvira succeeded.
The story basically talks about the death of this and that person. However, what Coward is trying to say to his audience is that death is okay. Death is something which all of us must face at the end. It is the inevitable. None of us humans can escape death. However, with Coward's farch comedy in the dialogue it comforts the audience about the issue of death and makes it look okay to die. It tells the audience that when we die, we move on to a better place but the spirits will always be with us.
Entertaining or Edutaining? Death is a serious issue. One just does not walk into a theatre and sit back on a play like this and come out with nothing. We come out with a comforting thought that maybe death isn't all that horrific. It's pure entertaining with morals. It's unique and Coward is absolutely a genius for having thought of it.
Last but not least, we have Samuel Beckett whom I mentioned last but should have mentioned before. However, I think Beckett was born at a wrong time. His timing wasn't right that's why I mentioned him last. The reason behind this is because his play "Waiting for Godot" is like a Christian Allegory although Beckett denies it isn't. Godot symbolizes death. "Waiting for Godot" is like we are all waiting for death. In the process of our waiting, we tend to entertain ourselves just to kill time. Gogo says at one point that "we always find things to do". I believe it is so true that we humans always find something to do. Whether it's of great importance or not, we still have something to do. It is shown rather clearly in the play that Gogo and Didi have absolutely nothing important to do but to waste time. Their daily activities are routine. They fight, make up, fight again and it goes on and on. The play also suggests that time is an illusion. It is the human mind that believes that we are all on a journey through time. Beckett also stresses but I think he's just trying to be modest that he's not a philosopher, he does not want to lure us into believing anything and that the play means what it means.
The meaning of this play to me is very philosophical. I don't know if it's because I like to dwell on my thoughts but it really reflects on the human way of life. We do walk around in circles like Gogo and Didi, we do meet strange people along our lives like Pozzo and Lucky, we do see the violence in our society and yes we do see death of other people. Should we be scared? The play does not say but it gives us a drive to better our lives than just to sit around and do nothing.
"The aim of theatre should be to give pleasure and not to make men better, but to make them happy." - Harold Hobson
In response to the quote above by Harold Hobson, I object. Theatre should enlighten us about life and society as well as fascinate us with its creativity.
George Bernard Shaw, the author of the play Pygmalion or later changed into a musical and was known as "My Fair Lady" wrote about those social issues that troubled Britain. Throughout his play, he shows the audience two important things. He shows Britain as it is and how Britain ought to be. "Britain as it is" is showed at the beginning of the play where there are men of high class who seem to control the whole world and a poor uneducated flower girl who hangs around those high class places just to make a pence or two. We are then exposed to the fact that that poor flower girl wasn't able to make her decision at all in the beginning of the play. She was just plain arrogant, uneducated and uncultured. However, the second half of the play shows the transformation of the flower girl into becoming a well-mannered, well-educated and well-cultured dame through the good works of education which was offered by one of the high class men. I believe Shaw was trying to convey to the audience that through education one could make something out of oneself. We could change our destiny from poor to not so poor to wealth. Education gives us the ability to think correctly and with the correct way of thinking, we could achieve anything.
You may laugh at the play with it's comedy but you also might be enlightened about the facts that education changes one's life, one has the right to choose their destiny and another thing we get from this is that all people are equal. Entertaining or Edutaining? I believe we become better people from watching Shaw's Pygmalion.
Later in the course, we were introduced to Noel Coward who is the master of comedy and music. During Coward's time, it was a time of depression both in the economy and the people's well being. It was the effect of war on people. People were dying and suffering from the wounds of war and it was just not a time for laughs. However, Coward was sympathetic to the situation and to human life. He then wrote a play called "Blithe Spirit." The story is about a man, Charles, who was once married to his lovely wife, Elvira, but then she dies young. So Charles remarries to his second wife, Ruth. Charles is a writer and wanted to write a book about mediums. He therefore, invites his friends and a Madame Arcati who is a medium for dinner. Charles wanted to prove that all the hocus pocus of Arcati was really just an act and a hoax but he later found out that Arcati is no joke when he sees the spirit of his first wife Elvira. Elvira doesn't like Ruth and tries to get rid of her. She successful does. However, Ruth's spirits appears before Elvira for revenge but then both Elvira and Ruth wanted Charles for themselves so they decided to devise a plan in order to get Charles killed so that he could live with both of them happily ever after. Both Ruth and Elvira succeeded.
The story basically talks about the death of this and that person. However, what Coward is trying to say to his audience is that death is okay. Death is something which all of us must face at the end. It is the inevitable. None of us humans can escape death. However, with Coward's farch comedy in the dialogue it comforts the audience about the issue of death and makes it look okay to die. It tells the audience that when we die, we move on to a better place but the spirits will always be with us.
Entertaining or Edutaining? Death is a serious issue. One just does not walk into a theatre and sit back on a play like this and come out with nothing. We come out with a comforting thought that maybe death isn't all that horrific. It's pure entertaining with morals. It's unique and Coward is absolutely a genius for having thought of it.
Last but not least, we have Samuel Beckett whom I mentioned last but should have mentioned before. However, I think Beckett was born at a wrong time. His timing wasn't right that's why I mentioned him last. The reason behind this is because his play "Waiting for Godot" is like a Christian Allegory although Beckett denies it isn't. Godot symbolizes death. "Waiting for Godot" is like we are all waiting for death. In the process of our waiting, we tend to entertain ourselves just to kill time. Gogo says at one point that "we always find things to do". I believe it is so true that we humans always find something to do. Whether it's of great importance or not, we still have something to do. It is shown rather clearly in the play that Gogo and Didi have absolutely nothing important to do but to waste time. Their daily activities are routine. They fight, make up, fight again and it goes on and on. The play also suggests that time is an illusion. It is the human mind that believes that we are all on a journey through time. Beckett also stresses but I think he's just trying to be modest that he's not a philosopher, he does not want to lure us into believing anything and that the play means what it means.
The meaning of this play to me is very philosophical. I don't know if it's because I like to dwell on my thoughts but it really reflects on the human way of life. We do walk around in circles like Gogo and Didi, we do meet strange people along our lives like Pozzo and Lucky, we do see the violence in our society and yes we do see death of other people. Should we be scared? The play does not say but it gives us a drive to better our lives than just to sit around and do nothing.
"The aim of theatre should be to give pleasure and not to make men better, but to make them happy." - Harold Hobson
In response to the quote above by Harold Hobson, I object. Theatre should enlighten us about life and society as well as fascinate us with its creativity.
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Warning!!! All free online essays, sample essays and essay examples on the Aim topics are plagiarized and cannot be completely used in your school, college or university education.
If you need a custom essay, dissertation, thesis, term paper or research paper on your topic, EffectivePapers.com will write your papers from scratch. We work with experienced PhD and Master's freelance writers to help you with writing any academic papers in any subject! We guarantee each customer great quality and no plagiarism!
___________________________________________________________
Warning!!! All free online essays, sample essays and essay examples on the Aim topics are plagiarized and cannot be completely used in your school, college or university education.
If you need a custom essay, dissertation, thesis, term paper or research paper on your topic, EffectivePapers.com will write your papers from scratch. We work with experienced PhD and Master's freelance writers to help you with writing any academic papers in any subject! We guarantee each customer great quality and no plagiarism!
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