Equus by Peter Shaffer 1973 Royal National Theatre Is Passion a Worthwhile Price to Pay? With its minimalistic set design‚ small cast‚ and a stage with nearly no lighting‚ Peter Shaffer’s play Equus relies heavily on a masterfully written script to spread its message with the audience. The play is “neither great theatre nor bad psychology‚ but it has elements of both” (Witham). With the assistance of the character Martin Dysart‚ a child psychologist‚ the play analyzes the parental‚ religious
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The play “Bacchae” was written by Euripides and first published in 1896‚ it was later translated by Henry Hart Milman in 1997. The play “Equus” was written by Peter Shaffer in 1973. The Bacchae is about a god who is struggling to be recognized as a god. However‚ Equus is about a boy who is struggling to find god. Both plays show how religion can change people by modifying their beliefs. Euripides and Shaffer both draw their ideas from ancient traditions through the element of religion by rituals
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Equus‚ a play by Peter Shaffer‚ written in 1973 was performed on Forbes Center Stage by James Madison University students. It introduced actors- Chris Consaul‚ Noah Heie- allowing them to perform complex roles full of emotion. The playwrights inspiration originated from a friends recount of a story heard at a most recent dinner party in London; a young man who blinded 26 horses with a spike. This story was enough to fascinate Peter Shaffer in constructing a play around it. Alan Strang‚ a unstable
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Equus is as complex as the human mind. Exploring psychological questions such as what does it mean to be normal‚ and should individuality be sacrificed for the sake of normality? Whilst propelling a mystery‚ crime story‚ and a psychological thriller‚ Peter Shaffer’s Equus examines the minds of a young stable boy who has blinded several horses and the aging psychiatrist asked to "cure" him. But would a "cure" really normalize the teenager? A seventeen year old boy‚ Alan is brought to a psychiatric
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Crucible’ and Equus’ follow when religious faith turns into religious mania. How far does the two text attempt to present a more positive attitude to a life lived in faith? The plays ‘Equus’ and ‘The Crucible’ both explore the positive aspects of religion and its damaging qualities. The critic Mitchel Hay suggests that ‘The parental‚ adolescent and professional conflicts exhibited by Peter Shaffer’s Equus need not be disruptive. They can be fed into a crucible of growth.’ The plays reflect the situations
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In Equus‚ Shaffer uses Dysart’s monologue to explore whether it is better to rehabilitate or incarcerate children whom commit crimes‚ while in Border Crossing‚ Barker uses dialogue. Shaffer uses Dysart’s opening monologue to show that while rehabilitation seems more effective than incarceration‚ it can leave people with no worship or imagination. Dysart states that ‘[he’s] officiating at some... ritual sacrifice… the sacrifice is a herd of children‚’ indicating that Dysart knows that although he
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Diego Avelar Psychology Mini Paper #3 Nov. 19th‚ 2013 Dr. Kenneth Anich The movie Equus by Peter Shaffer is psychological thriller‚ in which Freudian psychology is vividly portrayed; Self-Defense Mechanisms‚ interpretations of dreams‚ the pleasure principle‚ and death drive (Thanatos). The main character‚ 17-year-old Alan Strang‚ is sent to psychiatrist Martin Dysart‚ after he gouges out the eyes of 6 horses. Throughout the movie‚ Dysart struggles with the possibility of curing Alan‚ stripping
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Peter Shaffer’s Equus is neither great theatre nor bad psychology‚ but it has elements of both. It is an exhilarating play: a remarkable blend of delayed exposition and theatrical effect‚ of melodrama and circus‚ which has inspired huge ticket sales and adoring critical reviews. And it is that increasingly rare serious drama which capitalizes on lurid events while maintaining a devotion to ‘‘ideas.’’ Yet‚ in spite of its wide popular acclaim‚ Equus is difficult to sort out even when all the clues
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Equus Peter Shaffer Online Information For the online version of BookRags’ Equus Premium Study Guide‚ including complete copyright information‚ please visit: http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-equus/ Copyright Information ©2000-2007 BookRags‚ Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The following sections of this BookRags Premium Study Guide is offprint from Gale’s For Students Series: Presenting Analysis‚ Context‚ and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction‚ Author Biography‚ Plot Summary‚ Characters
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Existentialism The term existentialism has been applied to the human subject in all aspects of the individual. Through the ideas of existentialism‚ philosophers have looked at the existence of the human being. An existential attitude of the world is one of confusion and belief in a meaningless world. The beliefs of existentialism came about as a complete change from the beliefs of periods like the Romantic period. This philosophical view of life came about in the 19th century. These ideas
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