The rise of the psychological play
Vanessa Dodd
August 16, 2024 DOI: 10.4324/9781003344469-11 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Case report |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that modernist plays covertly expressed waking consciousness and dream plays overtly mirrored dreaming consciousness through radical departures from conventional dramatic tropes. |
Abstract
This chapter outlines the rise of the performance of consciousness in play texts from the Middle Ages onwards, focusing on the key art movement of the 19th century of symbolism which concurred with the rise of the psychological sciences and a renewed interest in dreams. It explores how radical departures from the conventional tropes of the drama and storytelling facilitated the covert expression of waking consciousness in the modernist play, and overt mirroring of dreaming consciousness in the dream play, using Strindberg’s A Dream Play as a case study.