London Central Secondary School - Golden Glimpses Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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Q2 Tl-IEREVIEXX! Battle Royal f Dorothy Philli ps p A Play . . . One Act . . . l-Wo Scenes QBased on My Last Duchessuj Scene I. g CENE-QA magnificent' reception room in the ancient palace of the duchy of Ferrara, pan- elled walls, rich hangings, stately paintings, graceful furniture. ' Duke-fpacing up and down the thickly carpeted floor 'and speaking aloudj-It must be done. This shall not continue. I am proud, but my pride is justified, my anger righteous. I will speak to her. fPulls a silken cord hanging nearbyj. CTO the servantj-Ask Her Grace to come to the library. The Duchess fa tall, graceful woman, young, beautiful, aristocratic, enters. Her eyes reflect a deep sorrowj-My lord wishes something? Duke-My lady, give attention to what I am about to' say to you. I am not jealous, but I forbid you to treat other people of lesser rank in the same manner that you treat me. VVoman, have you no pride, no sense of social rank? Duchess ftossing her head angrilyj-My lord, may I remind you that you are addressing an equal, not a menial. You have no right, no cause to speak thus. I shall hear no more! Cturns to leavej. Duke-Stop! You forget, my dear, that I am the Duke of Ferrara! I can have you punished for disobeying me. Yesterday that fawning fool, Gio- vanni, broke a cherry bough in the orchard for you. You thanked him, graciously, smiled on him, blushed and were delighted. Duchess-Giovanni is a polite, charming lad,' and he displays better manners than my lord. I shall continue to thank men for the kindnesses which I receive gratefully. Duke-Are you trying to set your wit to mine, to make excuses? :lllllll f v Illlllll I iilllllll t , l .isa gases I f ' A I I I 2 ::::i f if lie: I li I 1 I v--- I 2 a l. gl ! -. '11, . C .f--1 X555 I I sl gi A l I ILSJD fd? x X I I W ll gy , ll NS. ,. .-'U' I Q ' . ' l 'BID YOU G-ooo 21-'ifgfvffva Dun-4 v Pfnuff: Duchess-I could be quite empty-headed and still match my lord in intelligence. I make excuses to no one. Duke-Silence! Bah! you rank my priceless gift of a nine hundred years old name with any- body's gift! You show more true affection and take more delight in the white mule than you do in me! Duchess-If you had some of the endearing qualities of the mule I should think better of you. As for your gift of a name, I prefer politeness, kindness, consideration, and love to any empty meaningless name! Duke-Woman, you insult my family! It is unforgivable. Why, may I ask, were you so gra- cious to that penniless pauper, Fra Pandolf? The mere painting of a portrait could scarcely fill you so with joy, nor could my presence be the sole cause. No doubt, he complimented you, and, foolish creature, you thought it was courtesy and cause enough for joy. I command you to behave as a lady of rank. Be distant, cold with inferiors, and reserve your graciousness for your lord alone. This is no humble request, it is a command! Duchess-My lord, I shall act, henceforth, exactly as I desire. You shall not control my behaviour. My estimation of the Duke of Ferrara has been considerably lowered. I bid you good evening. QExitj. The Duke stands astonishedg suddenly, he leaves the room and his harsh voice is heard talking to the servants outside. Scene II. Scene-same, three months later. The Duke and Duchess seated before the massive fireplace. Duke-Madam, I warned you, I commanded. You disregarded all my decrees. Your attitude and behaviour pass all bounds. You smiled on me, the selfsame smiles you bestowed on the stable boys. You are unbearablejand I am forced to condemn you to death in the same manner as I condemn all who refuse to obey. Duchess fturning pale-speaking slowlyj - You condemn me to death for that reason ? fpassion- atelyl. You would murder me because I am gra- cious, polite, kind and democratic! You are intol- erable. I should have died soon, anyway. You are the type that causes any human, sensitive nature to wither. In fact, I prefer death to a life spent in misery with you! . Duke Cstanding upj-Enough! In a quarter- hour your executioners will be here. Prepare your- self for death. A ' I I Continued on Page 94

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THE REVIEW Q3 N X my it 0,6 L . X-XG: 4,1-'fig XXX.- Editor - - - Margaret Prior .L R CTING is a means by which man can express himself. In the classical plays the effect aimed at by writers of both tragedy and comedy was that of contrast with ordinary daily life. The ancient Grecian arts reflected the sanity and freedom of their lives, and all human exper- iences were a source of material to great artists. The Greeks, because of their hatred of moral and political chaos, developed their drama until it was a beautiful and orderly proportioned thing. Their best tragedies show wonderful skill in construction and the characters are few but Hnely developed by interaction one with another. All plays, whether tragic or comic, originated from simple and prim- itive material. Tragedy, it is thought, developed from a chorus lamenting some dead hero, and comedy from the festivals at changing seasons or marriage ceremonies. Since music expressed a sensation which had no outlet in words and recalled an emotion of the past, the Greeks made use of a chorus, thus in their drama introducing rhythm and tone. Usually the chorus developed a leader who was called the actor and he performed the part of characters outside the chorus. Aeschylus then introduced another actor, thus making two and they took the important parts in spoken dialogue, reducing the prominence of the chorus and introducing a dramatic element. The Greek theatre was an out of door or open air theatreg the only shelter provided being for the actors. Tiers of semicircular stone seats arranged around a flat central place or orchestra were often cut out from the side of a hill, so that beyond the actors' shelter, natural scenery was beheld. Trees and sky, sometimes a line of distant hills formed a real background for the play. The actors them- selves had to be tall, and much emphasis was given to their parts in the forms of masked fixed expres- sions, to convey to their audiences their character. The traditions of a Greek play were lost in the Middle Ages. The subjects for drama were al- most entirely dictated by the Christian Church, and Old Testament history furnished the main subjects. It was not forgotten, however, that classical drama had existed and an exception, a most remarkable writer of this time, was a nun, Roswitha, who wrote six comedies imitating a Latin writer. A new type of drama was introduced in the fifteenth century called interludes, which were short dramas of a farcical nature intended to be given in the pauses of great banquets and were often per- formed in the halls or courtyards of large houses throughout the country. Soon the schools took up the drama and students of Oxford and Cambridge gave short interludes for their own amusement. The coming of the renaissance found the actors using historical and legendary plots. Drama became so prominent that theatres were built in London. The first of these, built by Burbage, was an open air theatre in the form of a square with stalls for the nobles. Very little scenery was used, a good deal being left to the imagination of the audience. Queen Elizabeth surrounded herself with actors from Oxford and Cambridge and school children were also brought to perform before her. In her reign the great genius Shakespeare became evident as he produced play after play in London. Tragedy in the latter half of the seventeenth century always ended with a crisis and if it had other interests in it beside that of conflict it was called tragi-comic. Comedy tried to show exper- iences of life that the audience knew to be true. Musical interludes were also popular. The French at this time introduced a change of scene by draw- ing back a curtain, folding screens were painted to represent doors and walls. Even some had trees and sky, temples and columns painted on them, and the stages were lighted with lanterns instead of footlights, which came into use later on. In the 18th century a democratic change took place in drama. The play was for the people and reflected the joys and sorrows of the ordinary man. The theatre began to use more elaborate stage effects and scenery and it was a little more realistic and lifelike. The players entered from doors at the sides, came up well to the front of the stage near the footlights which were now used. Their exits and entrances were made more quickly and arranged to keep the play going smoothly.