دوشنبه ۲۶ شهریور ۰۳ | ۱۸:۵۹ ۸ بازديد
ls and consonants have the
same values as in ordinary life and where delivery makes clear the
author's meaning within the text he has written, respecting grammar
and punctuation. It was vocal tricks that Molière detested.
Between 1657 and 1707 three major works appeared on declamation in
tragedy, describing the tone of voice, the dynamic level and the pitch
appropriate to the kind of writing (introduction, narration, exhortation,
conclusion) or the emotion to be conveyed. In general, they are a
reworking of the definitions provided by Cicero and Quintilian. They
do, however, represent the kind of informed opinion of the period and
the standards by which actors were judged.
At its worst, this could turn acting into a mere mechanical exercise. A
script could be analysed in terms of its stylistic features and the emotions
it described and the appropriate style of delivery would be produced in
conformity with the rules. Great actors could, of course, make their own
personality shine through the mechanics. The rules were a boon to the
mediocre.
Gesture was little discussed, and then in terms close to Quintilian and
only in terms of oratory. It was considered subordinate to the word.
Tragicomedy and comedy, free from the constraints of neoclassical
tragedy, offered much more scope for stage action and byplay, partic-
ularly for plays written in prose. Molière, the only one of the three great
dramatists to be a working professional, exploited these possibilities to
the full and, while he was able in his more serious comedies, such as Le
Misanthrope, to conform to notions of tragic form, in plays such as Les
fourberies de Scapin he was able to draw on the improvised performances
of the Italian companies so popular with Parisian audiences. While the
works of Corneille and Racine can be spoken, the plays of Molière
demand to be staged.
Just as there were typical forms (tragedy, comedy) and typical char-
acters (hero, villain, old man, servant) so there were typical costumes
and headdresses that enabled an audience to know what kind or
category they were dealing with and, more important, what should be
the category of their response. Actors in tragedy found themselves more
and more constrained. Costumes became more and more elaborate, and
40
3: DECLAMATION
wigs and helmets, so heavy, so tall, so stuffed with plumes they hardly
dared move their heads.
Actors were, despite the many formal constraints, confronted with
the task of creating fully rounded, individual characters. While Molière's
comedies might deal in types, derived from classical drama – miser,
misanthrope, hypochondriac – they were fully individualised and
demanded individualised performances. This required great psycho-
logical depth, particularly for an audience greatly involved in the
dissection of human behaviour and motives. In seventeenth-century
literature, two works stand out: the Maxims of La Rochefoucauld and
the Characters of La Bruyere. La Rochefoucauld's Maxims are mordant,
merciless and savage. La Bruyere's Characters offer in eight sections an
overview of society and of personal behaviour – the arts, the court, the
town, the quirks and qualities of individuals.
Neoclassical drama might be 'Aristotelian' in form, but unlike Greek
tragedy its primary focus was not on the action, as Aristotle had insisted,
but on individual human dilemmas. It was the people, trapped in a
dilemma, political, religio
same values as in ordinary life and where delivery makes clear the
author's meaning within the text he has written, respecting grammar
and punctuation. It was vocal tricks that Molière detested.
Between 1657 and 1707 three major works appeared on declamation in
tragedy, describing the tone of voice, the dynamic level and the pitch
appropriate to the kind of writing (introduction, narration, exhortation,
conclusion) or the emotion to be conveyed. In general, they are a
reworking of the definitions provided by Cicero and Quintilian. They
do, however, represent the kind of informed opinion of the period and
the standards by which actors were judged.
At its worst, this could turn acting into a mere mechanical exercise. A
script could be analysed in terms of its stylistic features and the emotions
it described and the appropriate style of delivery would be produced in
conformity with the rules. Great actors could, of course, make their own
personality shine through the mechanics. The rules were a boon to the
mediocre.
Gesture was little discussed, and then in terms close to Quintilian and
only in terms of oratory. It was considered subordinate to the word.
Tragicomedy and comedy, free from the constraints of neoclassical
tragedy, offered much more scope for stage action and byplay, partic-
ularly for plays written in prose. Molière, the only one of the three great
dramatists to be a working professional, exploited these possibilities to
the full and, while he was able in his more serious comedies, such as Le
Misanthrope, to conform to notions of tragic form, in plays such as Les
fourberies de Scapin he was able to draw on the improvised performances
of the Italian companies so popular with Parisian audiences. While the
works of Corneille and Racine can be spoken, the plays of Molière
demand to be staged.
Just as there were typical forms (tragedy, comedy) and typical char-
acters (hero, villain, old man, servant) so there were typical costumes
and headdresses that enabled an audience to know what kind or
category they were dealing with and, more important, what should be
the category of their response. Actors in tragedy found themselves more
and more constrained. Costumes became more and more elaborate, and
40
wigs and helmets, so heavy, so tall, so stuffed with plumes they hardly
dared move their heads.
Actors were, despite the many formal constraints, confronted with
the task of creating fully rounded, individual characters. While Molière's
comedies might deal in types, derived from classical drama – miser,
misanthrope, hypochondriac – they were fully individualised and
demanded individualised performances. This required great psycho-
logical depth, particularly for an audience greatly involved in the
dissection of human behaviour and motives. In seventeenth-century
literature, two works stand out: the Maxims of La Rochefoucauld and
the Characters of La Bruyere. La Rochefoucauld's Maxims are mordant,
merciless and savage. La Bruyere's Characters offer in eight sections an
overview of society and of personal behaviour – the arts, the court, the
town, the quirks and qualities of individuals.
Neoclassical drama might be 'Aristotelian' in form, but unlike Greek
tragedy its primary focus was not on the action, as Aristotle had insisted,
but on individual human dilemmas. It was the people, trapped in a
dilemma, political, religio
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