What is a summary analysis and how can you make yours good. Ive always been really fascinated with the play equus, from which ive performed a monologue several times. Dutton as dysart in equus, as directed by brad mays in may 1979 in baltimore. Im currently studying equus and another play for my extended essay for the ib diploma, and trying to answer the question as to why we as humans are constantly drawn to fictional characters who have a capacity for evil, through literature etc. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of equus by peter shaffer. Thesis related to the impact or effect of the book. He is depicted in the play as an ordinary person who has fantasies of leaving his office and heading to greece, where he dreams that his life would be exciting. We see that alan departs from normalcy as he gets deeper into his passion for worshiping equus. Within northrop fryes theories, the play equus suggests that it follows the outline of a quest. I would also like to add in how equus fits in to fryes theory.
Deb bennett explains how to see a horse from the inside out to determine his capabilities and limitations. This study guide consists of approximately 30 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of equus. Adrian burke scanned by naruchan proofread by tigger 2 longman 3 contents the writer on writing introduction structure and form the role of psychiatry characterisation passion and religion critical reaction to the play the writing of equus reading log authors note on the book authors notes on the play equus. Aug 09, 2015 equus and other kinds of academic papers in our essays database at many essays.
The multileveled subjects with which shaffer works confront each other as thesis and antithesis working towards a tentative synthesis. Analysis of equus by peter shaffer 1214 words 5 pages. Builder 6 document and then transfer the document to write. It depicts a psychiatrists fascination with a disturbed teenagers mythopoeic obsession with horses. In a spotlight stands alan strang, a lean boy of seventeen, in sweater and jeans. The play is in two acts, the first consisting of twentyone. Like christ, equus must first suffer in order to bring salvation. A book analysis paper describes factual and personal information regarding a literature work in a short essay form. Sep 21, 2011 hi, ive just read your commentary and it appears your really passionate about equus, and id be really interested to hear your opinion. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in equus, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Join stageagent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Selfconsciously staging itself in the psychotherapy sessions of a disturbed young man, peter shaffers equus is a shocking exploration of the limits of faith, of the intersecting worlds of the sacred and profane, and of the paltry value of a mundane life, published in. Equus is a drama play by peter shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses shaffer was inspired to write equus when he heard of a crime involving a 17yearold who blinded six horses in a small town in suffolk.
With its minimalistic set design, small cast, and a stage with nearly no lighting, peter shaffers play equus relies heavily on a masterfully written script to spread its message with the audience. Alan will be saved, he says, by riding away on equusthe horse can thus be interpreted as alans escape from the pressures of his family life and modern society. Most of the action takes place in this hospitalspecifically in psychiatrist martin dysart s office. Equus by rhonda parrish is a book full of short stories about horses, unicorns and other horse like creatures. Existential authenticity in character, setting, and. He was the one who requested for his children to be taught in the english language for his country to be modernized. Equus, by peter shaffer is a good example that relates to the courses theme.
The evolution of the horse, a mammal of the family equidae, occurred over a geologic time scale of 50 million years, transforming the small, dogsized, forestdwelling eohippus into the modern horse. The themes of equus are primitive and elemental worship, passion, and bestiality, psychosexual masturbation, sexual frustration, and confusion, contemporary professional burnout and the. Equus is the dramatization of a psychologically damaged young man, alan, who, for no known reason, blinded six horses with a hoof pick at the stables he worked at. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of equus by peter shaffer. King mongkut king mongkut is an imposing ruler of siam, thailand. Equus by peter shaffer meet your next favorite book. Alans pose represents a contour of great tenderness. Equus, drama in two acts by peter shaffer, produced and published in 1973. Learn by example and become a better writer with kibins suite of essay help services. Equus, a play by peter shaffer, is a twisted tale of a boys affixation with horses as his god and the complications he deals with about sex, religion and life.
Equus essayswhat influence do alans parents have on his personality. He set out to construct a fictional account of what might. Equus study guide contains a biography of peter shaffer, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. In an outline for a book analysis that reads, chapter 1. Equus summary equus is a 1974 tony awardwinning play written by peter schaffer and published in 1973. Martin dysart is a psychiatrist in a mental hospital. Equus is a play by peter shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses. Louis rafael tordecillas characters major characters. It was actually one of the monologues i used to audition for elons program. When alan goes back to the time he was twelve, looking at the picture of equus, dysart asks him questions about the stable. For your reference, we provided these equus quotes with page numbers using the following version of the book. Equus is a drama play by peter shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses.
He stabs the eyes of six horses, blinding them, because he thinks they are watching him. Analysis of the play equus essay equus by peter shaffer 1973 royal national theatre is passion a worthwhile price to pay. Alan also envisions himself as a king, on the godhead equus, both destroying their enemies. Equus play project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Equus by rhonda parrish meet your next favorite book. Equus summary supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.
Equus is a 1973 play by english playwright peter shaffer. In an outline for a book analysis that reads, chapter 1 characters setting conflict characters setting confli get the answers you need, now. Among his plays, the salt land 1954, equus 1973 which won shaffer the 1975 tony award for best play as well as the new york drama critics circle award, amadeus 1979 which won the evening standard drama award and the theatre critics award for the london production. The author analyzes peter shaffers play equus, story of a young man severely troubled by his religious inclinations and, as a result, committed a crime against the studentshare our website is a unique platform where students can share their papers in a matter of giving an example of the work to be done. Equus, a play in two acts, is set in rokesby psychiatric hospital in southern england. However, as characters in dysarts office discuss and reconstruct past events in the life of alan strang, the plays central character, they play out these events as full scenes, oscillating between. Analysis of peter shaffers play equus essay example topics. After committing a heinous act against several horses the boy, alan, is brought to a hospital where he meets dysart.
Selfconsciously staging itself in the psychotherapy sessions of a disturbed young man, peter shaffers equus is a shocking exploration of the limits of faith, of the intersecting worlds of the sacred and profane, and of the paltry value of a mundane life, published in penguin modern classics. This allows you to show your response exactly where an important part of the story is. From the play entitled equus it can be seen that both alans mother, dora strang and his father, frank strang do have an active influence on their sons personality. Martin dysart to get to the root of the problems affecting neurotic seventeen yearold alan strang, who has blinded six horses with a pick at the stable where he works. It depicts a psychiatrists fascination with a disturbed teenagers mythopoeic obsession with horses the drama unfolds through the eyes of martin dysart, a psychiatrist and an amateur mythologist, who narrates the events of his rehabilitation of alan strang, a 17yearold stable boy who has been. Equus is a 1974 tony awardwinning play written by peter schaffer and published in 1973.
However, as characters in dysarts office discuss and reconstruct past events in the life of alan strang. The action takes place after the event in the hospital which the courts have remanded alan, and while the crime is central to the play, the play revolves around the character of the. I would rate it 35 stars as i feel many of the stories need some more development or background in order to catch the readers attention. For alan, equus lives in all horses and is chained because of the sins of the world equus 38. Please note any company or person who infringes any rules set out in the code of conduct summary will be legally prosecuted and immediately removed from the equusbook website permanently. Sophocles oedipus the king doesnt simply depict a man who discovers, to his horror, that he is powerless to direct his own life.
You, however, can and should give away the spoilers of your novel or articlethe instructor has most. He is depicted in the play as an ordinary person who has fantasies of leaving his office and heading. Equus essay martin dysart, in the play equus, is a child psychiatrist who tries to heal alan after he commits the barbaric act of blinding six horses. Jun 25, 2018 a book analysis paper describes factual and personal information regarding a literature work in a short essay form. Being great fans of everything equestrian we believe that the community deserves a dedicated website to buy and sell everything horse or pony related. You can use it to combine analysis and summary by underlining the text in the book and writing a short analysis in the margins. Most of the action takes place in this hospitalspecifically in psychiatrist martin dysarts office. Dysarts character analysis in peter shaffers play equus.
Paleozoologists have been able to piece together a more complete outline of the evolutionary lineage of the modern horse than of any other animal. Socrates, plato, and aristotle wrote and taught in athens, and their ideas gave birth to western philosophy. The site also provides members of the equestrian community with all the latest news and information on upcoming events. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Many people annotate directly in the margins of a book. In oedipus the king, are human beings presented as prisoners of fate. Equus summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Peter shaffers play, duly enshrined as one of the decades best, benefited from the limitations of the stage in telling its story of a strange young man driven to blind six horses. In the reading equus, alan strang commits a horrible crime. The stable is the temple of equus where alan washes and brushes him.
It gives readers some plot points hopefully without giving away spoilers and interprets those in a broader context for a potential audience of moviegoers. Equus plot summary, character breakdowns, context and analysis, and performance video clips. It is not realistic in that it includes flashbacks performed onstage like a movie. The equusbook brand has been trademarked globally and is the intellectual property of equusbook united kingdom. However, as characters in dysarts office discuss and reconstruct past events in the life of alan strang, the plays central character, they play out these events as full scenes, oscillating between the past and present. An analysis of the character martin dysart in the play equus.
The play equus presents a series of dialectics, opposing forces in dramatic tension. Sep 12, 2019 analysis of derived equini, including taxa referred to equus, haringtonhippus, dinohippus, astrohippus, hippidion, and boreohippidion. The stage design given by shaffer is quite novel, using a central raised platform, circular and revolving, together with two benches on either side and, in the background, a row of seats for the chorus representing the god equus. Peter shaffers equus is the painful story of a conflicted young man who is suppressed by societys. The blinding of horses is something that works a great deal better as stage symbolism than as cinematic fact, and thats one of the several things wrong with the way equus has been brought to the screen. Equus is a troubling play about a psychiatrists struggle to understand the passionately conceived but torturous personal mythology of alan, a disturbed adolescent. Equus is a 1973 play by peter shaffer about a young stableboy who is driven to madness by his emotional pain, insecurity, and his inability to face his past in a rational manner. Rather, the play offers an example of how individual human beings can find ways to assert their independence within the limits determined by their destiny. Analysis of peter shaffers play equus essay example. The drama unfolds through the eyes of martin dysart, a psychiatrist and an amateur mythologist, who narrates the events of. The athens sophocles knew was a small place a polis, one of the selfgoverning citystates on the greek peninsula but it held within it the emerging life of democracy, philosophy, and theater. He begins with a monologue in which he outlines the case of 17yearold alan strang, who blinded six horses. Comparitive analysis of power and control in equus and gattaca.
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