What Is Realism
W HAT IS REALISM? WAS ITS ARRIVAL GOOD FOR THEATRE?Realism is the movement toward representing reality as it is, in art. Realistic drama is an attempt to portray life on stage, a movement away from the conventional melodramas and sentimental comedies of the 1700s. It is expressed in theatre through the use of symbolism, character development, stage setting and storyline and is exemplified in plays such as Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House and Anton Chekhov's The Three Sisters. The arrival of realism was indeed good for theatre as it promoted greater audience involvement and raised awareness of contemporary social and moral issues. It also provided and continues to provide a medium through which playwrights can express their views about societal values, attitudes and morals.A Doll's House is the tragedy of a Norwegian housewife who is compelled to challenge law, society and her husband's value system. It can be clearly recognized as a realistic problem drama, for it is a case where the individual is in opposition to a hostile society. Ibsen's sympathy with the feminine cause has been praised and criticized; as he requires the audience to judge the words and actions of the characters in order to reassess the values
" Thus, audiences can sympathize and identify with characters, as these traits are reflective of certain aspects of the human condition. Chekhov tends to portray people who are perpetually unsatisfied, such as Olga; "I felt my youth and energy draining away, drop by drop each day. In Act III, Torvald ignores his wife's plea for forgiveness in order to make a moral judgement: "You've killed my happiness. Only one thing grows stronger and stronger, a certain longing. This is a fitting account of Anton Chekhov's plays, for they tend to show the stagnant, helpless quality of Russian society in the late C19th. Quite evident in The Three Sisters, when Tuzenbakh illustrates realism; "The suffering we see around us these days - and there's plenty of it - is at least a sign that society has reached a certain moral level. Here, Ibsen shows us he has worked in depth with the psychology of the characters, giving them a sense of complexity and realism. " Hence, while the portrayal of life here seemed 'gloomy and pessimestic', it was still good for theatre in that it presented issues which audiences could identify with. I can change-"; much after Nora confronts him: "Sit here, Torvald. This is reflective of Chekhov's realistic character work, where people dream to improve their lives, but most fail.
Common topics in this essay:
Sisters Tuzenbakh,
Doll's House,
Act III,
IV Chekhov,
III Nora,
There's Ibsen,
THEATRE Realism,
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social moral issues,
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act ii,
promoted audience involvement,
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Acceptance Essays
