A Student Guide to Play Analysis

By: David Rush

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Paperback | 30 June 2005 | Edition Number 3

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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.

Industry Reviews

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

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Arts & Entertainment Acting & Theatre Studies Language & Linguistics Reference, Dictionaries & Guides Creative Writing & Creative Writing Guides Literature, Poetry & Plays History & Criticism of Literature Literary Studies of Plays & Playwrights Literary Theory Education Philosophy & Theory of Education

Preface	p. xiii
Introduction: How to Look at a Play	p. 1
The Four Causes	p. 3
A Case in Point	p. 12
You're the Expert	p. 15
Questioning the Play	p. 16
Structural Components	p. 19
What Is a Play?	p. 21
Play Versus Story	p. 21
What Kind of Story Makes a Play?	p. 23
What Is a Dramatic Action?	p. 23
The Nature of Change: Its Four Levels	p. 26
The Six Elements of a Play	p. 31
Questioning the Play	p. 34
Plot: The Beginning	p. 35
A Plot by Definition	p. 35
Dramatic Action: An Overview	p. 38
The Beginning	p. 40
Questioning the Play	p. 50
Plot: The Middle, the Ending, and Other Matters	p. 52
The Middle	p. 52
The Ending	p. 62
What about Other Kinds of Structures?	p. 63
Questioning the Play	p. 66
Characters	p. 68
The Literal Aspect	p. 68
The Functional Aspect	p. 70
The Connotative (or Symbolic) Aspect	p. 75
Questioning the Play	p. 77
Language	p. 79
Language as a Set of Codes	p. 79
Words as Symbols of Meaning	p. 79
Words as Euphonics	p. 83
Questioning the Play	p. 92
Genres	p. 95
Classic Tragedy	p. 99
What Is the Mood of a Classic Tragedy?	p. 99
What Sort of World or Society Forms the Setting?	p. 100
What Typical Plot Pattern Does a Classic Tragedy Follow?	p. 100
What Characters Appear in a Classic Tragedy?	p. 105
What Kinds of Tragedy Are There?	p. 110
Questioning the Play	p. 111
Classic Comedy	p. 113
What Is the Mood of a Classic Comedy?	p. 113
What Sort of World or Society Forms the Setting?	p. 115
What Typical Plots Does a Classic Comedy Have?	p. 117
What Characters Appear in a Classic Comedy?	p. 124
What Is "Funny"? Sources of Laughter	p. 126
What Kinds of Comedy Are There?	p. 134
Questioning the Play	p. 137
Melodrama	p. 140
What Is the Mood of a Melodrama?	p. 142
What Is the World of a Melodrama?	p. 142
What Typical Plot Patterns Does a Melodrama Use?	p. 143
What Sort of Characters Are Typical?	p. 148
Questioning the Play	p. 153
Farce	p. 155
What Is the Mood of a Farce?	p. 156
What Is the World of a Farce?	p. 157
What Typical Plots Appear in a Farce?	p. 158
What Sort of Characters Appear in Farce?	p. 167
Questioning the Play	p. 170
Alternate Genres	p. 172
Drama	p. 172
Tragicomedy: The Work of Chekov	p. 174
Classifying Subgenres	p. 178
Questioning the Play	p. 182
Styles	p. 183
Realism	p. 191
Background	p. 191
What Are the Concerns of the Author?	p. 195
What Is the Point of View of the Author?	p. 196
How Comprehensible Is the World?	p. 196
How Is the Plot Constructed?	p. 197
What Is the Substance/Texture of the Characters?	p. 199
What Is the Setting?	p. 199
How Is Language Used?	p. 201
What Is the Form?	p. 202
How Does Realism Define the World?	p. 203
Questioning the Play	p. 203
Symbolism	p. 205
Background	p. 205
What Are the Concerns of the Author?	p. 207
What Is the Point of View of the Author?	p. 209
How Comprehensible Is the World?	p. 209
How Is the Plot Constructed?	p. 209
What Is the Substance/Texture of the Characters?	p. 210
What Is the Setting?	p. 211
How Is Language Used?	p. 212
What Is the Form?	p. 215
How Does Symbolism Define the World?	p. 215
Questioning the Play	p. 215
Expressionism	p. 216
Background	p. 216
What Are the Concerns of the Author?	p. 218
What Is the Point of View of the Author?	p. 219
How Comprehensible Is the World?	p. 220
How Is the Plot Constructed?	p. 221
What Is the Substance/Texture of the Characters?	p. 225
What Is the Setting?	p. 226
How Is Language Used?	p. 226
What Is the Form?	p. 228
How Does Expressionism Define the World?	p. 228
Questioning the Play	p. 229
Theater of the Absurd	p. 230
Background	p. 230
What Are the Concerns of the Author?	p. 232
What Is the Point of View of the Author?	p. 235
How Comprehensible Is the World?	p. 235
How Is the Plot Constructed?	p. 236
What Is the Substance/Texture of the Characters?	p. 237
What Is the Setting?	p. 237
How Is Language Used?	p. 238
What Is the Form?	p. 240
How Does Theater of the Absurd Define the World?	p. 240
Questioning the Play	p. 240
Epic Theater	p. 242
Background	p. 242
What Are the Concerns of the Author?	p. 244
What Are the Alienation Effects of Production?	p. 248
What Alienation Effects Appear in the Text?	p. 249
How Does Epic Theater Define the World?	p. 258
Questioning the Play	p. 258
Postmodernism	p. 260
Background	p. 260
The Assumptions of Liberal Humanism	p. 260
The Assumptions of Postmodernism	p. 262
Characteristics of Postmodern Plays	p. 265
How Does Postmodernism Define the World?	p. 276
Questioning the Play	p. 277
Glossary	p. 281
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A Student Guide to Play Analysis

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