20世纪文学课件Equus

1、Peter ShafferEquusBy Lumi, Leon, Jones, LouisPeter Shaffer an English Playwrightborn on May 15, 1926, in Liverpool, England.worked in the Chislet coal mine in 1944 to 1947.attended Trinity College inCambridge and majored in history and received a B.A in1950. was awarded the prestigious honorary titl

2、e of Commander, Order of the British Empire in 1987.Gained English knighthood in 2001. SourceImage sourceBevin Boys source From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaBevin Boys were young British men conscripted to work in the coal mines of the United Kingdom, from December 1943 until the end of World War

3、 II. Chosen at random from among the conscripts, nearly 48,000 Bevin Boys performed vital but largely unrecognised service in the coal mines, many not being released until years after the war. 1951- 1954 worked a variety of jobs: at Doubledays Book Shop An airline terminal Grand Central Station Lord

4、 and Taylors department store New York Public Library. 1951 under the pseudonym Peter Antony, penned The Woman in the Wardrobe (1st detective novel)1952 How Doth the Little Crocodile? 1955 Withered Murder Peter Shaffers Famous Works Five Finger Exercise (1958)The Private Ear (1962; filmed 1966 )The

5、Public Eye (1962; filmed 1972) Black Comedy (1965) The Royal hunt of the Sun (1964) Shriving (1970) Equus (1973) Amadaus (1979)Yonadab (1985)Lettice and Lovgge (1987)The Gift of the Gorgon (1992) sourcesourcesourcePeter ShafferPlays for Television The Salt Land (1955)Balance of Terror (1957)A screen

6、playThe Lord of the Files (1963) Plays for Radio Whom Do I Have the Honour of Addressing? (1989)sourceThree plays presented at the National Theatre Five Finger ExerciseShriving EquusSourcePeter Shaffers Equushas proved a sensational triumph both in London and New York, where it was awarded the Tony

7、Award for the Best Play, 1975. sourceImage sourcesourcesourceSourcePlotSummary:Martin Dysart, a psychiatrist, had a case about a seventeen-year-old boy named Alan Strang who savagely blinded six horses in a stable in Hampshire, England. Dysart started the investigation with all kinds of counseling s

8、kills including hypnosis. As Dysart exposes the truth behind the boys demons, he finds himself face-to-face with his own. PlotMartin Dysart started to recall this case from the very beginning, after he saw Alan and Nugget. He was confused.PlotAlan blinded six horses. Hesther, the magistrate, convinc

9、ed others to bring Alan to Dysart for treatment instead of to prison. Alan didnt cooperate with Dysart at first, but just kept singing commercial songs. Dysart had a dream about carvingchildren that night after he saw Alan. “I part the flaps, the other two then study the pattern Its this unique tale

10、nt for carving that has got me where I am.” (216)PlotDysart tried to find the reason Alan blinded the horses so he visited Alans parents. He found that the father Frank was an atheist (Communist even), yet the mother Dora, a Catholic. They had many conflicts beneath the “harmonious” surface.Frank:“S

11、he thinks she married beneath her.” (225)“its the Bible thats responsible for all this.”“Bloody religion its our only real problem in this house” (226) Dora: “sex is not just a biological matter, but spiritual as well. That if God willed, he would fall in love one day” (227)Education?Frank: “She doe

12、snt care if he can hardly write his own name, and she a school teacher that was. Just as long as hes happy, she says” (225)Dora: “I dont believe in interfering too much with children” (237)Love?Dora: “the boys hurt!”; ”Frank, hes bleeding!” (233)and Frank ignored her.Dora: “How is he, by the way?” (

13、237)Shifting the blame onto others Dora: “Whatevers happened has happened because of Alan.”“If you knew GodYou would know Devil. The Devils there” (270)PlotPlotAlan had nightmare and cried about Ek“. Dysart played a game with Alan. Alan then described his experience about meet and ride a horse for t

14、he first time.But Alans exultancy was suddenly interrupted by his parents.Frank: “Come down at once. Right this moment.”(233) Damsel in distress, Castle, Horse, Prince Charming.PlotAlan: “All the power going any way you wanted Then suddenly I was on the ground, where Dad pulled me. I could have bash

15、ed him” (240)“I wish I was a cowboy. Theyre free. They just swing up and then its miles of grass I bet all cowboys are orphans! I bet they are!” (241)Our Lord on his way to Calvary A horse looking over a gatePlotFrank came to visit Dysart and told him about Alans strange ritual.Dysart: “Why is Equus

16、 in chains?”Alan: “For the sins of the world.”(258)PlotACT I 15 18Alan told Dysart how he started to work in stableAlan asked Dysart about his marriage and annoyed him; the room became Dysarts torture chamber.Dysart and Hesther argued about what is normal.ACT I 19 21Dysart gave Alan a hypnosis and r

17、ealized his ceremony and his HAHA.PlotACT II 22 25Conflict about Worship, Passion and Pain in Dysarts head.Dysart: “Can you think of anything worse one can do to anybody than take away their worship?” (272)Dysart: “But that boy has known a passion more ferocious than I have felt in any second of my

18、life I envy it.”Hesther: “You cant.”(274)PlotACT II 26 34Dysart gave Alan Truth Drug, and Alan started to talk about Jill, the night they got out, how he met his father, and how they went to the stable. Alan acted out what happened that night.ACT II 35Dysarts confession.Dysart: “Passion, you see, ca

19、n be destroyed by a doctor. It cannot be created.” (300)“I need more desperately than my children need me a way of seeing in the dark.” (301)PlotCharactersMartin Dysart, a psychiatristAlan StrangFrank Strang, his fatherDora Strang, his motherHesther Salomon, a magistrateJill MasonHarry Dalton, a sta

20、ble ownerA Young HorsemanHorsesPatientDoctorCatholicAtheistCharactersMartin Dysart: In this play, he played the role of a psychiatrist, trying to cure the seventeen-year-old young man, Alan. Like Alan, the protagonist, in the beginning of this play, Dysart also acted like the readers considering Ala

21、ns behavior “abnormal.” However, later on Dysart found Alans strange behavior, in fact, came from passion and essentiality which could not be found in Dysart himself. The relationship between Martin and his wife were indifferent because they didnt have good sex and no children. The doctor tried to c

22、onceal this “abnormal” secret behind his “normal” job. So he had become jealous of Alan Strangs passion. Besides, the doctor thought his trying to cure Alan may also destroy the young mans original passion. Alan Strang: He is one of the main characters in this play. Alan, at his childhood, was const

23、antly driven into religious thoughts by his mother and forbidden to watch TV because of his father. His mother told him the story about Jesus Christs suffering for human beings, and he attached the picture of the story on the wall of his bedroom. When his father tore it off the wall because of the q

24、uarrel with Dora about religion, Alan went into hysterical crying for days without stopping. Later, given the photo of a horse, Alan finally stopped crying. Besides, at the age of six, one day when Alan was building a sandcastle on a beach, he met a horseman and climbed onto the horseback. From then

25、 on, he had passionately loved horses, which affected his sexual aptitude and caused his blinding six horses. In addition, Alans last name, Strang, was quite similar to the word, strange, and this might be the hint of his strange behavior.Characters Frank Strang: Frank was Alans father, and he was a

26、n atheist. He forbade Alan from watching TV, and he sometimes argued with his pious wife on some religious matters. The opposite attitudes to religion caused the loveless atmosphere of this family, and he went to the theater to watch adult movies.Characters Dora Strang: Dora was Alans mother, and sh

27、e was a religious person. She used to tell stories in the Bible to Alan when he was just a child, and the content of the story was about Jesus Christs suffering to death. Alans father considered it a bloody religion, and the doctor also considered that Dora should take responsibility for Alans extre

28、me behavior. However, Dora said that Alans terrible behavior was caused by Devil. What she said becomes an irony because she was a “faithful” religious woman, and she was obviously trying to put the blame on devils.CharactersHesther Salomon: She asked Dr. Dysart to cure Alans eccentric “illness” in

29、psychiatry. She treated the young man with the view different from the society. Her intuition told her that Alan was suffering and needed help, so what she thought was curing Alan, not just putting him into jail.Harry Dalton: He was Alans boss, who represented the view of society. He insisted on put

30、ting Alan into jail because he thought Alan abnormal. Both Harry and Hesther thought Alan was not in his right mind; however, Hesther treated him with sympathy, but Harry with resentment. CharactersHorseman: At the age of six, Alan saw a man riding a horse on the beach. The horseman invited Alan to

31、ride the horse. When sitting on the horseback, Alan got the wonderful feeling that he had never had before, and Alan felt that he had escaped from his fathers restriction. The horseman could be regarded as Alans savior in spirit.Jill Mason: She was Alans coworker. Once she brought Alan to watch adul

32、t movie in a theater, where he saw his father. Besides, she wanted to have sex with Alan in the stable, but he was impotent just because he felt that he betrayed his Equus. Besides, Alan felt the horses were staring at him through the shut door, and then he couldnt stand the guilt and blinded all of

33、 them. So Jill could be regarded as the fuse of this terrible incident. CharactersThemeThe play is mainly about the concept of normality.What is “normal”?For example: The Normal is the good smile in a childs eyes” but also as “the dead stare in a million adults”. (257) Horses: Godslave“Why is Equus

34、in chains?” and “For the sins of the world.”(258)“Equus, my Godslavewe ride against them all.”(265)The chains relate back to the picture of Jesus on his way to Calvary that was replaced by the picture of the horse. Stable: Equus temple“ Holy of Holies.”(259)“Hes a mean bugger! Ride- or fall! Thats S

35、traw Law.”(259)This relates to Christianity. Jesus was born in a stable in the straw. SymbolTelly (TV): dangerous drug“Its a dangerous drug.” (219)“You sit in front of that thing long enough,like most of the population.” (219)“Mindless violence! Mindless jokes!.” (220)“What did you do last night?. W

36、atched telly.” (244)Mask: priest“Im a chief priest holding a sharp knife.” and “the sacrifice is a herd of children.” (216)“Carving up children.” (228)“Passion, you see, can be destroyed by a doctor. It cannot be created.” (300)SymbolPeter Shaffer uses a chorus to make sounds described as the Equus

37、noise. “Suddenly I heard this noise.”(230)The Equus noise is first heard in the beach scene when Alan has his first encounter with a horse. “Chorus makes a warning hum.”(290)It is described a warning hum and is showing that Equus is watching what Alan is doing and disapproves. ChorusThe theme of rel

38、igion explored in Equus One of the major themes in Peter Shaffers play Equus is religion, or more specifically religious worship, and its importance to the emotional and mental well being of man. This theme is explored through several characters throughout the play and as the play progresses it beco

39、mes clear it is worship, and through that passion, what everything in the end comes down to. “The King ride out on Equus, mightiest of horses AMEN!”(265266) The midnight ride is a sacramental means of identification with a Christ who trample his enemies. Several phantasms which haunt the boys mind a

40、re blended in skillful gradation: hostilities, self-punishment, erotic desire and religious needs. The prepositional phrase “on you” becomes “in you” and leads to direct transcend: “I want to BE you forever and foreverAmen.” The boy wants to transcend both himself and time. The repeated phrase “one

41、person” accentuates the search for ontological security. The play is a quest for being.Midnight Ride“Religion is the opium of the people?” (221)“especially when I hear her whispering that Bible to him hour after hour, up there in his room.” (225) “It can mark anyone for life, that kind of thing.” (2

42、26) Many of the phrases that Alan has taken and used in his religion are connected with the Christian religion that Dora believes so devoutly in. The issue of the influences of the parents on a child“Come on, Trojan- bear me away!” (232)“Bear you away. Two shall be one.” (259)The bearing away phrase

43、 seems to originate from the time when Alan was riding Trojan on the beach and the horseman said to make Trojan go faster all you have to say is bear me away. This phrase also suggests bearing away from the normal world and arriving in a world of passion and Equus religion. “I used to have to read h

44、im the same book over and over, all about horse.” (222)When Alan was younger, Dora told him that when Christian cavalry first appeared in the New World, the pagans thought that horse and rider were one person, even a God. These events from Alans past are links and have had a great influence on him.

45、Many of these links appear to originate from things his mother had said to him about religion, clearly demonstrating the power of the role and influences of a parent on a child.“The Hosts of Jodhpur. The Hosts of Bowler and Gymkhana. All those who show him off for their vanity.Tie rosettes on his he

46、ad for their vanity!” (265) Alans interest in horses may have also had been sparked by his mother and her horsy side of the family. This shows that Alan has taken these views from Frank who has strong views against upper-class riff-raff and the world of equitation. Alan seems to be confused by his p

47、arents divided views on religion, horses and sex. However, it can be argued that this is not Alans parents fault as at the end of the day it is Alan himself who takes his parents views and chooses to use them on his own religion. WORKSHOP ON BASIC COUNSELLING SKILLS sourceEmpathy - the counselor mus

48、t concentrate on understanding how the client sees the world and feels about it, and must be able to show the client that she has this understanding.Acceptance - the counselor must be able to show the client that she/he accepts the client as someone of worth, that she/he values the client unconditionally as a person, even if she disapproves of the clients behavior.Genuineness - the counselor must be really there in the relationship, not pretending to be someone she/he isnt, not saying one thing and meaning