英语国家概况Drama.docx

英语国家概况Drama.docx

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英语国家概况Drama

AmericanLiterature:

Drama

I

INTRODUCTION

AmericanLiterature:

Drama, literature intendedforperformance,writtenbyAmericansintheEnglishlanguage.AmericandramabeginsintheAmericancoloniesinthe17thcenturyandcontinuestothepresent.SeealsoDramaandDramaticArts.

Most American plays ofthe18thand19thcenturiesstronglyreflectedBritishinfluence.Infact,noNewYorkCitytheaterseasonpresentedmoreAmericanplaysthanBritishplaysuntil1910.Thereasonsbehindthisphenomenonarecomplex,butacommonlanguageandthereadyavailabilityofBritishplaysandBritishactorsofferthemostobviousexplanation.

Although the British repertorydominatedtheAmericanstageforsolong,AmericandramahadbeguntodivergefromBritishdramabythetimeofAndrewJackson’spresidency,from1828to1836.Britishplays,whichtypicallyreflectedtheattitudesandmannersoftheupperclasses,werebytheninconflictwithmoreegalitarianAmericanvalues.Despitethisgrowingdivergence,Britishactors,theatermanagers,andplayscontinuedtocrosstheAtlanticOceanwithregularity,andmostAmericanplayscopiedBritishmodelsuntiltheearly20thcentury.ForthisreasonsomecriticsclaimthatAmericandramawasnotbornuntiltheendofWorldWarI（1914-1918）.

By the end of the 19thcenturyAmericandramawasmovingsteadilytowardrealism,illuminatingtheroughorseamysideoflifeandcreatingmorebelievablecharacters.Realismremainedthedominanttrendofthe20thcenturyinbothcomediesandtragedies.AmericandramaachievedinternationalrecognitionwiththepsychologicalrealismofplaysbyEugeneO’Neillandtheirsearinginvestigationofcharacters’innerlives.Asthecenturyadvanced,thenumberoftopicsconsideredsuitablefordramabroadenedtoencompassrace,gender,sexuality,anddeath.

II

BEGINNINGS:

1600SAND1700S

Because settlement wassparseandlivingconditionswerearduousintheAmericancolonies,littletheatricalactivitytookplacebeforethemid-18thcentury.Thefirst-knownEnglish-languageplayfromthecolonies,YeBareandYeCubb（1665）,islost.Theplay’sexistenceisknownasaresultofthecontroversyitarousedintheVirginiaColony,wherealawsuitwasfiledtopreventtheplayfromopening.SeveralcolonieshadpassedantitheaterlawsbasedonaPuritanbeliefthattheseventhoftheTenCommandmentsprohibiteddancingandstageplays.

The oldest surviving AmericanplayisAndroborusbyRobertHunter（1714）.Hunter,theNewYorkColony’sgovernor,publishedthecartoonishplayasanattackonhispoliticalenemies,despiteNewYork’santitheaterlaw.Intendedforareadingpublicratherthanaviewingaudience,itestablishedatraditionofpoliticalsatirethatbecamecommonfareinAmericandramaofthe1700s.

Before more American playshadappeared,acompanyofBritishprofessionalactorsestablishedatouringcircuitinthe1750swithanall-Britishrepertory.Bytheearly1760sthisgroupwasknownasTheAmericanCompanyandAmericanwritersoccasionallysubmittedplaystotheactors,thoughfewwereproduced.Butin1767TheAmericanCompanystagedThePrinceofParthia,atragedybyThomasGodfrey,inPhiladelphia.ThisisusuallyconsideredthefirstprofessionalproductionofaplaywrittenbyanAmerican.TheplayitselfisindistinguishablefromimitationsoftheworksofEnglishdramatistWilliamShakespearethataboundedinBritaininthelate1700sandearly1800s.

During the American Revolution（1775-1783）,mostprofessionalactorsmovedtoJamaica.Satiricalplayswerewrittenaspropagandaduringthewar,eithersupportingBritishcontrolofthecoloniesorattackingit.Britishsoldierspresentedsomeofthepro-Britishplays.Fewotherplayswereperformedduringthewaryears,althoughtheywerewidelyreadandrecited.TheBattleofBrooklyn（1776）,whichwaspro-Britishandwrittenanonymously,presentedrebelgenerals,includingGeorgeWashington,asdrunks,lechers,andcowards.TheBlockade（1775）,writtenbyBritishGeneralJohnBurgoyne,wasperformedinBritish-occupiedBoston.Theplay’sridiculeofAmericansoldierswassubsequentlyburlesquedinTheBlockheads;ortheAffrightedOfficers（1776）,writtenbyananonymousplaywrightidentifiedonlyasapatriot.TheBlockheadsdepictsBritishsoldiersassoterrifiedoftheAmericansthattheysoilthemselvesratherthangooutsidetousethelatrine.MercyOtisWarren,whocreatedseveralbitingsatiresoftheBritish,mayhavewrittenTheBlockheadsaswell.SheremainedthestrongestAmericandramaticvoiceoftheRevolutionandchampionedtherebelcauseinTheGroup（1775）,aplaythatdescribesBritain,calledBlunderland,asamotherwhoeatsherownchildren.ThePatriots（1775?

）,aplaybyRobertMunford,wasunusualinitsappealforaneutralstanceanditsattacksonbothsidesfortheirintolerance.

By the mid-1780s professionalactorsweretouringinAmericaagain.In1787,whentheConstitutionoftheUnitedStateswasbeingwritten,RoyallTylerwroteTheContrast,thefinestAmericanplayofthe18thcentury.Thisfive-actcomedyowesmuchtoTheSchoolforScandal（1777）byBritishplaywrightRichardSheridan.LikeSheridan’splay,TheContrastisacomedyofmannersthatsatirizesthecustomsoftheupperclasses.ItcomparesBritishandAmericanfashionsandvaluesandultimatelysideswithwhatitseesasAmericancandorandpatriotismoverBritishduplicityandartificiality.AmasterfulelementoftheplayistheYankeecharacterJonathan,whosehonestinnocencestandsinstarkcontrasttotherumor-mongeringandgossipingoftheplay’sBritishcharactersandtheAmericancharacterswhoemulatethem.

The 1700s also saw thefirstAmericanplaywrittenbyawomanreachtheprofessionalstage.ThemelodramaticcomedySlavesinAlgiers（1794）bySusannaRowsonreflectstroublesatthattimewithpiratesalongNorthAfrica’sBarbaryCoastwhointerferedwithshippingandranawhiteslavetradethatinvolvedsellinggirlsandwomenintoprostitution.Althoughthevillainwastreatedcomically,theconflictandresolutioninthisplayindicatedamovetowardmelodrama,aformofdramathatbecameextremelypopularinthe19thcentury.

III

NATIONHOOD:

THE1800S

American plays, whilestillaminority,begantoappearinthetheaterrepertoryinthe19thcentury.AlthoughAmericanplayswerestillstyledafterBritishmodels,theirsubjectmattercametobebasedonspecificallyAmericanincidentsorthemes.IntheUnitedStatesasinBritain,manyplaysreflectedtheinfluenceofromanticism,aEuropeanliteraryandartisticmovement.Melodrama,withitsoutpouringsofemotion,wasthemostprevalentdramaticforminthe19thcentury.Gothicmelodramas,whichemphasizedhorror,mystery,andthesupernatural,andmelodramaswithtragicendingsappearedregularlyinAmericantheatersfromthe1790son—inmanycasesadaptedortranslatedfromGerman,French,andBritishplays.

A

AmericanThemes

The first prolific writerofmelodramaswasWilliamDunlap,whoalsotranslatedseveralGermanplaysforproductionintheUnitedStates.DunlapadaptedRevolutionaryWarhistoryinAndré（1798）,afictionalizedaccountofthefinaldaysofBritishspyMajorJohnAndré.In1803Dunlapreshapedtheplayasamusical,GloryofColumbia,inwhichGeorgeWashingtoniselevatedtodivinestatus.Itwasanearlyexampleofspectacledominatingdramaticcontent.DunlaptookspectacleevenfurtherinATriptoNiagara（1828）bymakingtheplay’spurposetheduplicationofscenicwondersthattheaudiencewouldrecognize,suchasNiagaraFalls.

Replication of local color,asinATriptoNiagara,becamethenormin19th-centuryAmericanmelodramaandencompasseddetailsofscenery,dialects,andgesturesrepresentativeofspecificlocations;contemporaryslang;andhistoricalincidents.AnearlyexampleisSheWouldBeaSoldier（1819）byMordecaiNoah.TheplaydepictsthemilitaryspectacleoftheWarof1812betweentheUnitedStatesandBritainandfeaturesaheroinewhodisguisesherselfasasoldiertohelptheAmericancauseandjointhemansheloves.

Although American dramaofthe19thcenturyusuallyfollowedEuropeanmodels,itssubjectmatteroftencamefromspecificallyAmericansituations.Superstition（1824）,aromantictragedybyJamesNelsonBarker,forexample,wassetinNewEnglandof1675.ItdiscussedconflictsbetweenNativeAmericansandwhitesettlers,Britishinterferenceinlocalaffairs,Puritanxenophobia（fearanddislikeofforeigners）,andtheideaofwitchcraft.Superstition,inwhichtheheroistriedandexecutedforwitchcraft,wasthefirstofmanyAmericanplaystoexplorethemesofisolationism,bigotry,andintolerance.

Barker’s The Indian Princess（1808）wasthefirstprofessionallyproducedplaytoexploreNativeAmericancharactersandthemes.IttoldthestoryofPocahontas,aNativeAmericanwhomarriedanEnglishcolonist.Avogueforso-calledIndianplaysbeganinthe1820sandcontinuedthroughthe1840s.WhilethePocahontasstorywaspopularintheseplays,themostfamoussuchdramawasMetamora,orTheLastoftheWampanoags（1829）byJohnAugustusStone.ItwaswrittenasavehicleforAmericanactorEdwinForrest,whobeganin1828toofferannualawardsfornewplaysonAmericanthemesandgaveMetamorafirstprize.ThismelodramawastypicalofmostIndianplaysinitssettinginanearlierperiodoffrontierhistory（the1670s）anditscharacterizationoftheNativeAmericanhero.Metamorawasviewedasnaturalbutuncivilized—thatis,livinginharmonywithnaturebutunfamiliarwithwhatEuropeansettlerssawascivilizedways.TheplayputforthsentimentsinharmonywithwhitevaluesandendedwithMetamora’sinevitabledeathastherep