Truth and Order in Ionesco's Bald Soprano
Any sense of order, of sense itself, is shattered and constantly questioned by Eugene Ionesco in his play "The Bald Soprano". A serious challenge is made against an absolute notion of truth. Characters throughout the play, however, continue to struggle to maintain and share a unified and orderly existence. Empiricism is espoused by several characters. They submit that life experience is all that is necessary to establish unshakable order and thus, truth. Mrs. Smith states, "Truth is never found in books, only in life" (29). While this empirical debate underscores the need for an unmediated knowledge of truth, Ionesco simultaneously undermines empiricism as a viable method of attaining it. On a basic level, order diminishes, deteriorates, and virtually disintegrates as the play proceeds.
Empiricism is essentially deductive in nature; a logical premise is established from direct sensory experience. This method calls into question even the most commonplace assumptions. Nothing is accepted as given without sufficient proof. In this manner ordinary events like tying one's shoe or reading the newspaper in the subway are made to seem extraordinary. Each otherwise mundane experience contains a new vitality. Mr. Martin exclaims, "One sees things even more extraordinary every day, when one walks around" (22). The characters seem to lack a certain sense of familiarity (or boredom, perhaps) with such mundane events. Each experience, regardless of size or scope, force the characters to constantly remain in the process of reevaluating and refining the most basic assumptions upon which their lives are based. Mrs. Smith's incessant externalized inner monologue at the open...
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...le isolated statements cease to be intelligible. Ionesco's language late in the play is a language of non sequitirs and nonsense. Far from articulating a unified notion of truth, language unleashes the capacity to express a cacophony of voices and viewpoints. Unequivocal statements of any sort become virtually impossible because the power to negate them is embedded in the fabric of language itself. Ironically, as the play reaches its seemingly chaotic crescendo, Ionesco himself seems to submit to some vaguely cyclical notion of order. The dialogue of the players disintegrates and then reintegrates into a single sentence, thus allowing the play to begin again with new faces, but undoubtedly the same dramatic dénouement.
Works Cited
Ionesco, Eugene. "The Bald Soprano." Four Plays by Eugene Ionesco. Trans. Donald M. Allen. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1958.
Eight Men Speak by Oscar Ryan et al presents a variety of epic devices employed throughout its composition. We see “the essential truth in every word of these six acts”(Foreword 5) come to life in this thought provoking presentation of didactic literature. Through the use of Epic Drama we see the effects of our corrupt government as it is brought into perspective using the epic devices of using the audience as active participants, using narration rather than action , and political engagement. These epic devices play a key role in portraying the didactic message of the play. The play causes the reader not only to be a present member of the audience, but to have presence of mind as well; to not only hear what the characters are saying, but to take initiative if they wish to see change.
to uphold its image of being the 'land of the free' and was not able
It was difficult for me to find many parallels between this play and the works that we studied in Canadian Literature because this play does not follow a plot line and does not include many elements that could be relatable to the works we studied. It also does not relate to the themes that were emphasized in our course. However, I found the close analysis of the final scene of a play, acted out forty- three different times to be reflective of the close analysis’ we have done many times in class with poetry and prose. It was interesting to watch these close analysis’ to understand all of the possible interactions these characters could have had. It led me to question the endings of the works that ...
king. In scene 2 act 2 we are shown Macbeth in a state of shock and
Beatrice is a woman who is very witty and does not believe that a husband is the right life path for her. She and Benedick argue with each other about marriage. To validate her point Beatrice says, “I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me” (I.i.129). This shows that Beatrice is outspoken because she is saying that she would rather hear a dog bark over and over again and be annoyed at a crow than hear “a man swear he loves” her. Beatrice is not fitting the standards because she is very independent and does not feel like she needs a mad to be happy. As the story progresses, Beatrice disobeys traditional society by saying she doesn’t need a man and that she would publicly attack someone like a man. As Claudio publicly humiliates Hero, Beatrice is furious and says, "O, that I were a man! What, bear her in hand until they come to take hands, and then, with public accusations, undercover slander, unmitigated rancor- O god, that I were a man! I would eat his heart in the marketplace” (IV.i.317). Beatrice is saying that if she were a man, she would fight. She would kill him with “slander” and “rancor” if she were a “man”. Beatrice would violently “eat his heart in the marketplace” Beatrice wants to hurt Claudio and it angers her that as a woman, she can not defend her cousin for what Claudio did. This defies the gender expectation of a Renaissance woman because as
This paper contains 237 words of teacher’s comments. What one perceives is influenced by one’s environment. The setting and commentary surrounding events changes our perception of them. Any innocent gesture can be perceived in the wrong way with enough persuading from someone else. Even if someone has total faith in another person's innocence, they can be persuaded to doubt them through the twisting of events. Once just a small amount of doubt has been planted, it influences the way everything else is seen. This occurs throughout the play, Othello. In this play, Iago influences Othello's perception of events through speeches and lies, making him doubt Desdemona's fidelity. Iago uses his talent of manipulating events to exact his revenge on Othello. Iago's twisting of events in Othello's mind leads to the downfall of Othello as planned, but because he fails to twist Emilia's perception as well, he facilitates his own eventual downfall.
Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994.
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“Where Id is, there ego shall be” (Freud, S.S. 1932). This is particularly relevant for the play Othello by William Shakespeare. In Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality, he stated that the human psyche is a tripartite model composed of three elements. This psychoanalytic theory is extremely applicable to the Othello. The three main characters of this text of Othello have a remarkable resemblance to Freud’s analysis of human psyche, despite the fact that these two texts were written in different eras. Furthermore, the setting of Othello is also congruent with the concept of the human mind as a known and predictable conscious part and an unknown and sinister unconscious mind. Overall, Othello mirrors Freud’s psychoanalytical criticism concepts almost exactly. However, there are some facets of this text which refute Freudian Psychoanalysis.
...d of the play who goes against order, or their given role of society is deemed unnatural. This becomes problematic because of the constraints it places on the acceptable of any change in society. Forgiveness and love are not attainable within this worldview.
Othello’s speech to Brabantio and the Duke in Act 1, Scene 3 is of major importance in describing Othello’s personality. This long speech, found in lines 149 to 196, shows Othello for the first time as a person with depth and less as a soldier. This speech is important to the book as a whole because it is a testimony to the strength of the love between Othello and Desdemona, which will later play a major role in the plot. It is also one of the first times that we see Othello trying to influence his audience with his words. The speech given by Othello is intended to convince Brabantio that Desdemona is with him willfully, and not by “spells and medicines bought of montebanks” (line 74).
The Ideas of Hell and Purgatory "Hell has probably caused more personal anxiety and distress than any other Christian belief. Hell has also motivated many Christians to follow the Great Commission and attempt to convert the world to Christianity" ("Various Views of Hell: As seen by Conservative Christians"). The word "hell" derives from the Pagan Norse Queen of the Underworld, Hel. When Christianity first evolved, the church taught that nearly everyone descended to this similar place to earth after dying.
During the play there are several Sililoquies where lago simply speaks to himself to give the audience a better understanding. In the next few paragraphs we will look at a few from him.
Stepping outside, I instantly notice the fresh, wet scent of earth. As I continue walking, I willingly allow the sprinkling droplets to envelop my entire body. My shoes are soon soaked; with each step I take, I feel a puddle of water move beneath my feet. The rain hurls itself violently on the dark, slippery pavement. My hair is dripping with ice-cold raindrops which plummet to the earth with every movement I make. The numbing effect of the icy downpour is finally setting in. Fierce thunder clouds sneak into the murderous sky and flashing lightning strikes begin. The rain falls faster and heavier. My feet move quickly as I run down the road. I rush into my house and proceed to stare out the window and observe the vicious storm that is only beginning. The weather has the uncanny ability to promptly change a mood. Rain holds several emotions that could be considered polar opposites; they range from cleansing to depression, love to anger, and life to death.
“Although works of the theater of the absurd, particularly Beckett’s, are often comical, their underlying premises are wholly serious: the epistemological principle of uncertainty and the inability in the modern age to find a coherent system of meaning, order, or purpose by which to understand our existence and by which to live” (Hutchings 28).