Drama shows us that those who control language dictate the events of the play Essays

Drama shows us that those who control language dictate the events of the play Essays Drama shows us that those who control language dictate the events of the play Essay Drama shows us that those who control language dictate the events of the play Essay The Tempest written by William Shakespeare and Translations written by Brian Friel both look at how those who control language can dictate events. Despite the disparity of context, both plays share many core themes and explore the importance of language and how it can be used as a means of control. Both plays show linguistic hegemony, and demonstrate how one language can take dominance and displace another and how language can be stigmatised, so that it becomes dirtied and debased. In The Tempest, Calibans original language is belittled to gabble and babble by a Eurocentric Miranda. While in Translations Lanceys snobbish attitude to the townspeople and his use of circumlocutory beaurocratic jargon exposes his personal discomfort at being with foreign civilians. Prospero is in control of language within the Tempest, he is the most educated and he also has magical powers. Throughout the play Prospero uses language to coerce characters to do what he wants; his linguistic and magical aut hority is used to dictate the events of the play. Prospero foregrounds the plays fictionality my charm the magicalism of art, and he becomes almost a scriptwriter within the play by drawing attention to the illusory nature of art. In Translations it is the colonisers who control language, however it is the townspeople who dictate the events of the play. The English use language as an act of cultural and linguistic imperialism, the Irish respond in different ways to the occupation of their homeland. Friel explores the relationship between the colonised and the colonisers; by retaliating the people of Baele Beag reassert control over their own destiny and dictate the events of the play: Hugh and Jimmy Jack use mental power, Manus and the Donnelly Twins choose physical power, whereas Owen and Maire choose reasoning power. Similarly in The Tempest, Shakespeares characters also try to regain control over the events of the play, Ariel uses reasoning power, and Caliban uses physical power and at times mental power. Throughout The Tempest, Prospero appears to be fully in control of the events of the play. He uses language to persuade the audience of this, he refers to his plans as my art and my project. An omniscient Prospero appears to have charted what will happen from the beginning of the play, he is the author of everyones destiny. In Ron Daniels production of The Tempest Prospero is portrayed as an actor-manager rather than a colonialist, so that the play becomes metatheatre. Shakespeares characterisation of Prospero, is of someone with great skill and dexterity when dealing with other characters in the play, Prospero is good at manipulating people to do what he wants, this is analogous to Translations were the English are very good at manipulating the Irish into speaking English. The language Prospero uses with Ariel is very cunning, and their duologues are very contractual. In Act One, Scene Two we see Ariel compose a mini-rebellion against Prospero, albeit a short one, Prospero quickly r eminds Ariel of the cruelty of his former master, Sycorax who had trapped Ariel in a split pine tree. Prosperos proficient use of language is emphasised Thou my slave,/ as thou reportst thyself, was then her servant Prospero uses reason to persuade Ariel that It was mine art which liberated him from the torment/To lay upon the damned. Prospero promotes himself from a coloniser to a liberator and uses linguistic power to convince Ariel. From a dramatic point of view Prosperos understanding of language convinces Ariel to remain loyal. Translations also shows how blurred the line is between coloniser and liberator. Translations is set in the 19th century, however it is very much to do with the situation in Ireland in recent times, throughout the 1980s there were violent clashes between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, British intervention was viewed as liberation by the Northern Irish but as Colonisation by the Republic of Ireland. From a modern perspective, it can be compared with the response to the Iraqi Crisis by the British public, the West has come under allot of crit icism with regard to its true intentions for invading Iraq. Friels characterisation of Hugh and Manus personal relationship can be seen as parallel to the English and Irish political relationship, Manus exploitation by Hugh reflects the political exploitation of the Irish by the English. Like the British, Hugh can be viewed as an autocratic and tyrannous. In addition Hugh also uses language to control events. Hugh is negligent teacher, he refuses to teach Maire to speak English when she asks, he simply ignores her We have been diverted- diverto. Hugh allows his personal feelings towards the English obstruct his students from fulfilling their potential, he prefers to teach them the classical languages of Latin and Greek which Maire informs him is a barrier to modern progress. This view was advocated by Daniel OConnell, whom Hugh ignorantly reduces to a little Kerry politician. Friels characterisation of Hugh of someone who is historically blinkered; he needs Dutch courage and escapism to avoid the truth. The stage directions describe Hugh prod ucing a flask of whisky Hugh then precedes to toss it back, Hugh is intoxicating himself, a parallel might be drawn to Jimmy jack who is similarly intoxicated by the classics. It can be argued therefore that Friel depicts Hugh as using language to confine his students, for language will empower people such as Maire and will give her access to all forms of knowledge. It is notable that Shakespeares depiction of Caliban towards Prospero is completely different. Prospero uses verbal abuse and invectives as form of discipline to reassert his authority, he refers to Caliban as a hag seed, a son of a witch, Prospero also uses his magical language to coerce Caliban Here comes a spirit of his, and to torment me from a dramatic point of view, Caliban is shown as powerless and defenceless in the wrath of Prosperos fury. Prospero uses language to commune with the spirits and he bidem to persecute Caliban, like in Translations language is used to control and penalize. In some productions, Caliban has been interpreted as a representation of the indigenous populations of colonised countries. In Aime Cesaires rewriting of The Tempest Une Tempete, published in 1968 amidst the Black civil rights movement known as the Negritude, we see a different spin on the play. The colonizer and the colonized can be compared to slavery, and the relationship between the slave and the master. Cesaires Prospero is shown as a slave-driving exploiter. Caliban is changed from Shakespeares ignorant savage to a black colonized native whose language and culture have been displaced by Prosperos; Ariel is even played by a mulatto so as to bridge the gap between the two. From a modern post-colonialist perspective, Prospero, the coloniser, sees the importance of language as a device used to control, for if Caliban speaks Prosperos language, effectively Prosperos can shape Caliban. In Translations, the English colonisers also use language as a device control the Irish. The introduction of free education of the English national schools shows the tactics employed by the English to transform Ireland from a predominantly Gaelic-speaking nation to an English-speaking nation. Education and language are used so that Irish history and culture would be written in English, and fundamentally shaped by the British. At the end of the The Tempest Prospero breaks the suspension of disbelief Our revels now are ended he draws attention to the fictional status of the play. Prospero renounces his power, now my charms are all oerthrown. It can be said that Prosperos loss of power empowers the audience, we see a social role reversal and the subversion of social hierarchy, this is a convention of a comedy, it is now Prospero who is confined, indicated by the use of a second person plural, and this confuses the equilibrium. From a narrative point of view the audience as a magician emerges by your spell, this completes the role reversal. In the end it is the audience who dictate the events of the play with the help of your good hands. The fact that Translations expresses Irish characters in the English language shows that translation of some kind is possible, from a modern perspective we see that a hybrid in the used of Hiberno-English this confirms Hughs view We must learn to make them our own.