Strindberg's cosmos in 'A Dream Play': medieval or modern
Article Abstract:
The key themes of August Strindberg's 'A Dream Play' are what justice and suffering mean in a world where God appears to be absent at the same time that he is always there in every aspect of what he has created. The elements and flowers represent this world and serve a didactic function. The arguments for Strindberg's modernism are many, but there are also arguments for his use of medieval elements. His depiction of a medieval cosmos organized along a vertical axis and his version of a medieval war of the elements are examples. Strindberg felt more at home with those who recognized a spiritual element in life than with strict scientific evolutionists.
Publication Name: Comparative Drama
Subject: Literature/writing
ISSN: 0010-4078
Year: 1996
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Speaking sweat: emblems in the plays of John Ford
Article Abstract:
Playwright John Ford employed symbolic imagery that was initially explored in his poems 'Christ's Bloody Sweat,' 'The Golden Mean' and 'A Line of Life.' in which he regularly used images of bodily liquids such as blood and sweat to refer to suffering. His later works refer to the emblems found in symbol references published in his time, including images of animals as metaphors for unruly or beneficient creatures. Body parts are also used in his plays to symbolize the whole persons. This use of symbolism allowed Renaissance audiences to interpret the stage action according to accepted conventions of their time.
Publication Name: Comparative Drama
Subject: Literature/writing
ISSN: 0010-4078
Year: 1995
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