+1 862 207 3288 melodramatic narratives
Topic: To what extent is the victimisation of the hero or heroine key to the dynamics of melodramatic narratives ?
• Quotations. If you quote word for word from another source (published or unpublished) always use quotation marks and cite the source. – don’t forget page number VERY VERY IMPORTANT
QUESTION: To what extent is the victimizations of the hero or heroine key to the dynamics of melodramatic narratives ?
Plays I’ll be looking into and making comparisons :
C.H. Hazelwood, Lady Audley’s Secret (Royal Victoria, 1863)
Leopold Lewis, The Bells (Lyceum, 1872)
Here is the plays you need to read
Play number one : Lady Audley’s Secret http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/ladyadly.htm
Play Number Two : The Bells ( need email to be able to send it to you)
In order to send you the other short play that you need it’s a must you need to send me you’re email so I can send you pic of it as it’s the only way I could provide you the play – The Bells
You could write about the acting
There’s a lot of writing on the actor who played Mathias (Henry Irving is he’s name) how he distinguished his acting skills as Mathias
In “The Bells” the audience knows quite quickly what’s going on in act 1
But no one else knows no one else finds out which makes it different to other melodrama plays.
French play called “The Polish Jew” it was translated by Leopold Lewis.
Melodrama was born in France
The play was changed because of different English traditions in theatre. The new play incorporates those traditions.
Most successful soap operas are “Coronation Street” and “East Enders”
They are very focused on lower class, domestic the lives of ordinary people.
You can make references to earlier plays that would be good to see.
The earlier periods villains were much easier to see make a distinction of that.
You’re thinking about this relationship between the villain and the victim
A lot of people have argued that the villain is the key character. So the question is sort of asking you to consider how important the victim is in this relationship between the villain and the victim.
What you should say is earlier in the century it was much clearer who was the villain and who was the victim.
For example “Luke the laborer”, “ A Tale of Mystery “ like in “ a Tale Of Mystery – Gromaldi is the villain and Francisco is the victim.
Francesco was an archetypal melodramatic victim- he’s innocent, cant speak for him self, he’s defenseless but by the time you get to Matthias (The Bells) it’s very different.
In this essay point out who’s the victim whose heroin and who we sympathies for.
When you first start writing just focus on the victim (often the heroin or the hero is the victim) just focus on the 2 plays and their relationship to victimhood who is the victim and who is the perpetrator.
Write down an analysis of both plays and relations to the question about victim what they have in common and who are the victims
After you have written what they have in common
You can say there is more then one victim you can ask question like who is the audience’s sympathy with? There are different levels of victimhood but whom does the audience feel sorry for? Who is the victim and who’s persecuting the victim think about that and making that comparison between the 2 plays but also saying if you go back to the David Mayer essay you’ll find he gives quite a clear narrative of the way it develops through the century – SAY THIS RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE ESSAY
You should take a paragraph from both plays / QUOTES
Books
1. Michael R. Booth, English Melodrama (London: Jenkins, 1965)
2. Peter Brooks, The Melodramatic Imagination (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976)
3. Elaine Hadley, Melodramatic Tactics (California: Stanford University Press, 1995)
4. Victor Glasstone, Victorian and Edwardian Theatres: An Architectural and Social Survey (London: Thames and Hudson, 1975)
5. Jane Moody, Illegitimate Theatre in London, 1770-1840 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000)
6. Frank Rahill, The World of Melodrama (London: University Park, 1967)
7. Ben Singer, Melodrama and Modernity (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001)
8. R. W. Southern, The Victorian Theatre: A Pictorial Survey (Newtion Abbot: David & Charles, 1970)
9. Russell Jackson ed., Victorian Theatre: The Theatre in Its Time ( New York: New Amsterdam, 1994)
Lady Audleys Secret
Written: 25th may 1863, CH Hazlewood
Quotes of interest:
"Woman be strange creatures" Luke, pg.1
"If I call her a wax doll, my father is wax itself, for she can mould him any way she pleases" Alicia, pg.116
"A woman in love is never expected to have any reason at all" pg.118
Starts with Phoebe and her cousin Luke talking about running away together and Luke tempting her to steel her masters jewellery to pay for land. (Seems like it is not frowned upon to be with your cousin). Luke is mischievous, trouble maker. Phoebe is not wanting to marry Luke but is bound to him after making a promise to her dead mother.
Michael Audley is a 70 year old man his Lady Audley is only 24. It is the day of his birthday and a huge party is being thrown in his honour.
Alicia is Mr Audleys daughter she is a similar age to Lady Audley and they do not seem to get along to we’ll.
Michael and Lady Audley seem to be very much in love and she is not after his money as some people would think.
Robert Audley and good friend George Talboys enter. George’s recently lost his wife whilst he was away on duty for his country. Robert is yet to meet his new mother.
Turns out that George’s wife did not disappear at all but actually married Mr Audley. He has suddenly found this out at the birthday party. She married for money after all.
Suddenly she panics and tries to bribe him with money to keep the secret to himself but he declines her offer. She suddenly sees an opportunity to escape this situation and kills George and pushes him down a well. Luke sees all but no one knows this.
Months pass and no one knows anything about the death until Luke meets Lady Audley and threatens her with his secret.
Robert Suspects lady Audley also. She manages to turn mr Audley against him and has him sent away so she is not threatened any more.
Luke arrives back at his and Phoebes place totally pissed bragging about a secret he knows. Robert turns up at the house and asks to stay the night so he is not to far away from his home. He spends time trying to get Luke to tell his secret.
Suddenly Lady Audley arrives too and tries to talk to Luke but he is asleep. She sets the house on fire whilst Phoebe is away and leaves both Robert and Luke to die.
news comes that Micheal is taken ill and has died.
George comes back into scene to reveal he is not dead and nor is Luke or Robert. She is now seen as a murderer and everything is explained.
Hero: As we’ll as being the victim I feel Robert was also the hero in the play. Even at his lowest point he kept his head up and pursued his gut instinct and carried on investigated the disappearance of his best friend.
The bells
1871, written by Leopald Lewis
Hands and Catherine are sat in a pub. Drink seems to be talked about allot throughout the play. In the text when laughing is taking place, he he he is used to describe it. Seems like a strange way to write it like texting language almost. (New age).
Everyone has met in the bar and Christian arrives out of the snow. Walter begins to tell a story about how when it was last snowing like this 15 years ago a Jew arrived at the pub and was found dead the next day.
Mathias arrives, Annette’s father! He starts to feel strange after hearing the story and people decide to leave. He starts to hear bells ringing and suddenly he sees an image of the Jew. (A ghostly figure).
The next day is the wedding of Christian and Annette. Hearing bells again at the wedding Mathias starts to feel strange again. In the pub after the wedding he tells everyone to leave him alone. He sleeps.
Suddenly he is seen in a court being accused of the murder of the Jew. He is put to sleep by a "mesmerism", in his sleep he admits to the murder.
He is awoken and is sentenced to death by hanging.
It then jumps back to the wedding where Mathias is thought to be dreaming. Christian tries to talk to him but he is in a trance like state and cannot hear.
He is clutching at his own neck saying " cut the rope, cut the rope". He falls to his knees and dies.
victim I think is Mathias.. He seems to be under some sort of trance which he has no idea about and ends up costing him his own life. There is no escape for him.
Hero: trying to find a hero in the play is hard, I guess the only hero is Christian. When Mathias is dying at the end he is the one who tries to help him out and save his life.
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