Journal Prompt #7:
A dramatist often creates a gap between what the audience knows and what the characters know. With reference to at least two plays, discuss how and to what effect dramatists have used this technique.
Response:
A great deal of dramatic irony can by found in Lorca's Blood Wedding as well as in Ibsen's Wild Duck. In both plays there are gaps between what the audience knows and what the characters know. Although both plays focus on single plot lines, there are parts that break away for characters speaking with one another, but not informing everyone of the same information. When this happens conflict often occurs due to being misinformed and not knowing how to deal with it, or mistake one's words for something completely different.
Blood Wedding focuses on the preparation for the Bride's wedding day. Although all of the characters are preparing for the wedding, they discuss different information with one another. Taking the first scene of the first act, the Bridegroom's Mother is telling her son that she finds the Bride to be a bit "off". In front of the Bride she appears kind to her and says she is of the best, but the audience knows that she sees the Bride as a bad influence. This foreshadows the Bride's later action of running away, though the Bride does not know anyone suspects that of her. Another "side conversation" in the story is among Leonardo's family, discussing his past with the Bride. The Bride's family is unaware of what happened in the past, creating tension for the audience when Leonardo arrives, but the Bride's family thinks nothing of it. For the audience to have over-compassing knowledge of everyone in the play allows for shifts in tone to be visible, while if the audience only knew part of the story, it would not be as prominent.
As stated in an earlier journal, there is also dramatic irony in The Wild Duck as the play splits in perspectives of Hjalmar and Hedvig. Hedvig is unaware of why her father does not want to be around her and sees it as her fault and something she can solve, while the audience knows something bad will become of her not knowing. As expected, the dramatic irony comes into play and leads to the climax of the story when Hjalmar and Gina find Hedvig dead. The dramatic irony is an essential role in the play, creating tragedy.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The Wild Duck - Journal #4
Comments:
Isabel H.: I would agree with saying that the character traits are important to Oedipus, though disagree and say the the plot is essential. The plot of Oedipus gives an overall feeling of the story with a clear beginning, middle, and ending. When performed, it can be expected that everyone already understands the story, and therefore the meaning. The way the characters are presented just add to the performance.
Isabella L.: The formality issue dealing with Hjalmar and Gina is quite insightful and something I hadn't thought of. I can see how that affects the reputation of the family, as well as the closeness between Hedvig and her father. The symbolism you mentioned earlier is interesting. I am wondering why a dog would be the cause of pain and suffering, though. Anyway, your unique ideas are awesome as usual!
Maddie B.: Wow, what an interesting comparison! I like how you were able to contrast a play from the past and a book that focuses on the future. Both of them have conflicting ideas, but still relate to the human experience. The difference in views also shows how different people can be because I am sure Sophocles did not represent the same views as everyone else. Contrasting the two completely different themes really shows how different people are.
Isabel H.: I would agree with saying that the character traits are important to Oedipus, though disagree and say the the plot is essential. The plot of Oedipus gives an overall feeling of the story with a clear beginning, middle, and ending. When performed, it can be expected that everyone already understands the story, and therefore the meaning. The way the characters are presented just add to the performance.
Isabella L.: The formality issue dealing with Hjalmar and Gina is quite insightful and something I hadn't thought of. I can see how that affects the reputation of the family, as well as the closeness between Hedvig and her father. The symbolism you mentioned earlier is interesting. I am wondering why a dog would be the cause of pain and suffering, though. Anyway, your unique ideas are awesome as usual!
Maddie B.: Wow, what an interesting comparison! I like how you were able to contrast a play from the past and a book that focuses on the future. Both of them have conflicting ideas, but still relate to the human experience. The difference in views also shows how different people can be because I am sure Sophocles did not represent the same views as everyone else. Contrasting the two completely different themes really shows how different people are.
The Wild Duck - Journal #3
Journal Prompt #6:
Narrative structure: How has the plot (not the story) been constructed? Are there parts? Is the plot circular? Subplots? How important/effective is the ending? Has everything been revealed by the end or are there unanswered questions? Does this matter? What period of time has been covered? Is time important?
Response:
The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen has been constructed in an interesting manner. The plot seems to focus directly on the Ekdal family, but it breaks off into separate parts, such as Hedvig's perspective as well as Hjalmar's point of view. By doing this Ibsen creates dramatic irony, such as in the scene where Hjalmar finds out Gina's past relations and Hedvig is not around. Hedvig is confused to why her father does not want to speak with her and only knows what has been shared when he is around her, which is the wild duck. The dramatic irony caused by the division of plots leads to conflict, and ultimately the tragedy of the story.
The only subplots explored in the story deals with Gregers and Old Werle, and Old Ekdal and Old Werle. The significance of the conflicts involved with these are that they eventually tie together and cause conflict for the rest of the play. The smaller conflicts actually snowball into a larger one later on.
The ending of the play is essential to tying everything together, but at the same time I feel it did not effectively close the story. The denouement as they find Hedvig dead shows the tragedy that has occurred by the breaking apart of families, but at the same time nothing is resolved. The story leaves the families still in conflict, which might be to show the importance of the tragic aspects of the play. Questions are still unanswered, such as: Whose child is Hedvig? Will Gregers make up with his father? Do Mrs. Sorby and Gina have the same future lay ahead of them from that point? All of the questions are left unanswered, though they do not have great significance to the themes of the story. The main aspect of the story if the relationship between the Ekdals, which means that questions can not be answered and still have a semi-fulfilling ending.
The time covered seems to only be a few days, and I feel it does not have a strong effect on the story. The only thing it shows is that chaos was able to release itself in a very short amount of time.
Narrative structure: How has the plot (not the story) been constructed? Are there parts? Is the plot circular? Subplots? How important/effective is the ending? Has everything been revealed by the end or are there unanswered questions? Does this matter? What period of time has been covered? Is time important?
Response:
The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen has been constructed in an interesting manner. The plot seems to focus directly on the Ekdal family, but it breaks off into separate parts, such as Hedvig's perspective as well as Hjalmar's point of view. By doing this Ibsen creates dramatic irony, such as in the scene where Hjalmar finds out Gina's past relations and Hedvig is not around. Hedvig is confused to why her father does not want to speak with her and only knows what has been shared when he is around her, which is the wild duck. The dramatic irony caused by the division of plots leads to conflict, and ultimately the tragedy of the story.
The only subplots explored in the story deals with Gregers and Old Werle, and Old Ekdal and Old Werle. The significance of the conflicts involved with these are that they eventually tie together and cause conflict for the rest of the play. The smaller conflicts actually snowball into a larger one later on.
The ending of the play is essential to tying everything together, but at the same time I feel it did not effectively close the story. The denouement as they find Hedvig dead shows the tragedy that has occurred by the breaking apart of families, but at the same time nothing is resolved. The story leaves the families still in conflict, which might be to show the importance of the tragic aspects of the play. Questions are still unanswered, such as: Whose child is Hedvig? Will Gregers make up with his father? Do Mrs. Sorby and Gina have the same future lay ahead of them from that point? All of the questions are left unanswered, though they do not have great significance to the themes of the story. The main aspect of the story if the relationship between the Ekdals, which means that questions can not be answered and still have a semi-fulfilling ending.
The time covered seems to only be a few days, and I feel it does not have a strong effect on the story. The only thing it shows is that chaos was able to release itself in a very short amount of time.
The Wild Duck - Journal #2
Journal Prompt # 5:
"What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out?" To what extent do you find this statement applicable in at least two plays you have studied?
Response:
In The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen and in Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca the quote "What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out?" fit them perfectly. Both plays focus on a highlight of a group of people's lives, which happens to be a dramatic happening. Although they discuss life as a whole, the plays would not be what they are unless the focus point was on a tragic aspect of their lives. The Wild Duck takes the lowest point in the Ekdals' lives, while the Bride's family in Blood Wedding faces a similar situation.
The Ekdals' story revolves around the drama created by society as well as their own family. Lingering resentment is first mentioned in the story through Old Ekdal's troubles with Old Werle. The drama of the past is carried through to show how the Werles' once betrayed the Ekdals' and foreshadows it happening again. Drama also occurs among the families in Ibsen's play. Greggers disagrees with his father, which leads him to causing drama rekindle as he moves in with the Ekdals. That drama then carries over to the Ekdal family when Gina reveals her past relation with Old Werle. It upsets the balance of the Ekdal family as Hjalmar overreacts, upsetting not only himself, but his daughter and wife as well. The rising action eventually leads to the climax of the drama as Hedvig accidentally kills herself. The Ekdal family may not have always had drama in their life, but these dramatic moments become the center of the play.
Similarly, the drama found in Blood Wedding is created through the families. While life seems to go about as normal, the Bride's reactions to the wedding foreshadow the drama that lie ahead. The gossip that the Bridegroom's Mother speaks of begins the rising action of the drama. Leonardo's appearance in causes the Bride to act out from her daily life and ruin the wedding by running away. This high point of drama, just as in The Wild Duck, becomes the most notable part of the book. It is the part that the audience realizes drama is the key aspect, rather than just following the Bride's life. In both plays Ibsen and Lorca are able to create scenes of drama that overtake the lives of the characters.
"What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out?" To what extent do you find this statement applicable in at least two plays you have studied?
Response:
In The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen and in Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca the quote "What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out?" fit them perfectly. Both plays focus on a highlight of a group of people's lives, which happens to be a dramatic happening. Although they discuss life as a whole, the plays would not be what they are unless the focus point was on a tragic aspect of their lives. The Wild Duck takes the lowest point in the Ekdals' lives, while the Bride's family in Blood Wedding faces a similar situation.
The Ekdals' story revolves around the drama created by society as well as their own family. Lingering resentment is first mentioned in the story through Old Ekdal's troubles with Old Werle. The drama of the past is carried through to show how the Werles' once betrayed the Ekdals' and foreshadows it happening again. Drama also occurs among the families in Ibsen's play. Greggers disagrees with his father, which leads him to causing drama rekindle as he moves in with the Ekdals. That drama then carries over to the Ekdal family when Gina reveals her past relation with Old Werle. It upsets the balance of the Ekdal family as Hjalmar overreacts, upsetting not only himself, but his daughter and wife as well. The rising action eventually leads to the climax of the drama as Hedvig accidentally kills herself. The Ekdal family may not have always had drama in their life, but these dramatic moments become the center of the play.
Similarly, the drama found in Blood Wedding is created through the families. While life seems to go about as normal, the Bride's reactions to the wedding foreshadow the drama that lie ahead. The gossip that the Bridegroom's Mother speaks of begins the rising action of the drama. Leonardo's appearance in causes the Bride to act out from her daily life and ruin the wedding by running away. This high point of drama, just as in The Wild Duck, becomes the most notable part of the book. It is the part that the audience realizes drama is the key aspect, rather than just following the Bride's life. In both plays Ibsen and Lorca are able to create scenes of drama that overtake the lives of the characters.
The Wild Duck - Journal #1
Journal Prompt #4:
Diary entries from any of the characters
Response:
Diary entries from any of the characters
Response:
January 10th, 1882
The bitter cold gets to me a little more, night by night. The dead of winter is never a pleasant time, especially when I have a household to keep warm and fed. At least the rent from Rellings and Molvik allow us to have a little extra money for winter clothing. It sure would be nice to live in the comfort that the Werles do. Tonight I went to a dinner party and, my, the food was delicious. I can not remember the last time I had pheasant so moist; then again, I can not recall the last time I had any pheasant.
The wealthy have it so nice. Even with my best clothes, I felt out of place. I suppose my career as a photographer does not bring in as much money as a banker would, but I certainly feel it keeps my family closer together. As I was speaking with Greggers tonight I could not help but notice the strong tension between him and his father. Although I have never been keen on Old Werle after what he did to my father, Greggers is a bright young soul. They seem to have quite different opinions on how one another should act. Could it be that wealth does that to people? I have heard my father say that again and again, but I find it rubbish.
Still, I find my family to be the most worth of my possession. I have a lovely wife who is willing to put up with my job, and a beautiful daughter who is my pride and joy. If it were not for these two I do not know how I would make it through. They put up with all of my nonsense when I am tired, and are always willing to make my day better. Just hearing Hedvig laugh takes the pain out of a bad day. I see her with her books, and sometimes I am envious. Although I have never found books worth my while, she tells me of the lands she explores through the stories. Ah, to be young again. Her spirit is something she certainly does not get from me, though I am positive our love is genetic.
The darn wind keeps blowing through the cracks in the window... I must go to sleep before I fall asleep from the cold.
With all respect,
Hjalmar Ekdal
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