Stephanie Gamarra 3^rd Paper

November 30, 2005

Group: A

In this third paper, we’re going to define the meaning of realism and its evolution in English theatre.

To begin with, realism is a very important topic that has to do with the likeliness of life (Wikipedia encyclopedia). This movement was introduced to society in 1850. This term, or this new way of representing theatre was introduced in a way to make it useful for society. The purpose was to convert the non-fictitious and meaningless theatre into reality by making the audience comprehend the reality in an enjoyable, interactive and interesting way.

Realism was first represented as a simple term, but later on realism was separated into different branches that could be categorized in the following way: realism in international relations, realism in politics, realism in philosophy, and realism in visual arts and literature, etc. ( Wikipedia encyclopedia) These types of realism can be seen throughout the English plays during this time.

Realism can’t be mentioned without mentioning the father of modern realistic drama, Henrik Ibsen, (¨Henrik Ibsen ¨http://www.english.emory.edu/DRAMA/ibsenpage.html¨/ 11th.Jan.2006). Ibsen was best known as a revolutionary playwright and a modernist, due to the fact that Ibsen broke with the traditional plays and introduced a new emphasis of importance in the contemporary world. His goal was to seek that the audience, (the middle class) searched for the truth, and in order to do this, Ibsen attacked the institutions of the middle-class to force them to see that life is more complex than it seems. For example, in his famous play, "A Doll’s House", we can clearly see his intentions in how realism is represented which he represents through his characters and the language used in his play. (*)

In general, realism is represented in many ways. For example, we can see realism represented the language that was spoken, which is common to the everyday speak in the English society, as we can see in this particular play by Ibsen. Another aspect of realism that we can see in this play is the main topic of the play and the situation in which the characters are submitted. The argument of the play represents a common middle class married couple that has problems, due to the fact that the husband wants to control his wife and by this, he treats her like a doll, although at the end of the play Nora slams the door and leaves her husband. This argument in this particular play is typical problem that can be seen in any married couple of the middle class.(*)

In my opinion, Ibsen is very much like the Irish author, O’Casey who was the first to write about and English working class, although in his case, the audience didn’t accept this realism that was seen in his plays, and due to this riots took place.

Other writers of realism are, George B. Shaw and Anton Chekhov. Shaw was also known for the realism that he represented in his plays, but unlike Ibsen, his plays were much more offensive to the audience due to his witty humor in which he made fun of society. Chekhov on the other hand, was best known for his poetic expiration, symbolism, and compelling psychological reality: this made his plays very symbolic. (**)

In conclusion, this likeliness of like, (wikipedia encyclopedia) "realism" was a revolutionary movement that until today is used, for example in films, TV series, etc. This realism in these particular entertainments in our society has changed and become very popular and I think it’s very important for spectators to relate to the reality and learn to comprehend our world.

1- http://www.english.emory.edu/DRAMA/ibsenpage.html (*)

2- http://www.english.emory.edu/DRAMA/Realism.html

4- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteenth_century_theatre

5- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realist