Compare the way that
strong emotions are presented in the two extracts of Sarah Kane’s “Phaedra’s
Love” (1996) and Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights” (1847).
Although these texts were written almost 150 years apart,
they are both successful in portraying the way in which people of all periods
have expressed their ideas and feelings through use of strong emotions and
language. The extract that I have chosen to support this in Kane’s play “Phaedra’s
Love” is scene 3 where Phaedra is expressing her love for her step-son
Hippolytus to her daughter Strophe. In this scene there are convincing examples
of the way that one portrays strong emotions of love and despair through
speech. The extract that I believe likewise presents strong emotions in
Bronte’s novel “Wuthering Heights” is from page 104-105. Here, Catherine is
troubling over who she should marry- Heathcliff or Edgar, showing her emotion
through strong language.
From the very beginning of scene 3 in “Phaedra’s Love”, the
audience is highly aware of the level of strong emotion Phaedra has been
supressing up to this point. The introduction of the scene provides clear
evidence of this through the sentence “Go away fuck off don’t touch me don’t
talk to me stay with me”. Through use of swearwords, Kane is breaking the
expectations linked with “feminine” characteristics, and encouraging Phaedra to
breach the social norms. The idea of Phaedra possessing extreme emotions is
supported by the way in which she changes her mind halfway through the sentence
and has decided that she after all needs Strophe to listen to her. This
inconsistency of thought is a common characteristic of one who is distressed
and worried about a problem, as it shows they are not thinking rationally.
Similarly in Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights”, Catherine portrays her strong
emotions through use of romantic and dramatised language, which is
characteristic of the Romantic period in which it is set. “Mine […] and
Linton’s (soul) is as different as a moonbeam from lightening, or frost from
fire”. Unlike Kane, Bronte makes use of more poetic and subtle language to
express the character’s strong emotions, where Kane focuses on the depiction of
blunt and straight feelings through rude and shocking language.
In terms of subject matter, the strong emotions expressed in
Bronte’s novel can be closely compared with that of Kane’s play. In this
extract, Nelly Dean, though encouraging Catherine to decide for herself whether
or not she should marry Edgar, is hinting that Heathcliff would be a better
choice. “Have you considered how you’ll
bear the separation (from Heathcliff), and how he’ll bear to be quite deserted
in the world?”. Here, Nelly Dean is presented as the voice of reason in order
to control the strong and drastic emotions that Catherine holds. Similarly in scene 3 of Kane’s play, Strophe
is likewise presented as the voice of reason to control Phaedra from doing anything
that she may regret. When Phaedra says “There’s
a thing between us, an awesome fucking thing, can you feel it?” Strophe replies
with “No”. She also advises Phaedra “Why
don’t you have an affair, get your mind off him”. Both these two extracts
suggest the idea that strong emotions are counter-productive and need to be
controlled.
In comparison, Kane’s “Phaedra’s Love” could be compared to
Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” in the way that it presents the idea of
strong emotions through language. When Tom Buchanan is faced with the
possibility of losing his wife Daisy, to Gatsby, he has difficulty compressing
these strong emotions. This is shown by the way that he outrageously says “next
thing they’ll go overboard and have intermarriage between black and white”
after the thought of Gatsby being able to take Daisy away from him without any
moral dilemma. This links to Phaedra’s use of shocking phrases such as “I think
I’ll crack open I want him so much” about her own step son.
Bronte’s use of language to express strong emotion is
similar to that of the poet John Donne. In his poem “The Anniversary” he
describes “a love increased there above, when bodies to their graves, souls
from their graves remove” to show how love can contain such strong emotions in
itself that not even death can break it. This poetic language is likewise used
in Bronte’s novel to depict her strong feelings of love for Heathcliff:
“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same”.
Isabella Fleming
Well done Isabella, good work! You focus well on the question and arrive at perceptive conclusions through a close analysis of language. I particularly liked your idea that ‘inconsistency of thought is a common characteristic of one who is distressed and worried about a problem, as it shows they are not thinking rationally’. This is perceptive analysis and a striking similarity between the two texts; you could use this in your introduction to create an argument.
ReplyDeleteTo improve: rather than telling the reader what you are going to do in your introduction, create an argument. Start analysing and comparing the texts immediately. Are there any significant similarities or differences in the way the writers present strong emotions? Creating an argument in the introduction gives your essay a focus and gives you a purpose for the rest of the essay which is to develop the argument you have created.
Also, try to write about structure. For example, in these texts, you could write about where strong emotions lead the characters - i.e. to death!
Rewrite your introduction and focus on trying to create an argument.