20th century-isms: Expressionalism Flashcards
1
Q
Expressionalism:
ORIGIN & DECADE
A
Germany
End and post WW1
[1914-1918]
2
Q
Expressionalism:
HISTORICAL /POLITICAL EVENTS
A
WW1- Angry revolt against realism and mechanised, dehumanised life of man
3
Q
Expressionalism:
THEATRICAL TRENDS /PRACTICES
A
- Expressionalism is attempt to discover technique & method that’ll express what dramatist imagines inner reality of his drama to be
- Dramatist attempts to show not objective but subjective emotions & responses that objects and events awaken in them.
- Large & elaborate sets
- Drama of social protest
4
Q
Expressionalism:
RESPONSE TO 20TH CENTURY CONTEXT
A
- Used sarcasm and satire to attack ^ing industrialisation and materialism
- Reaction against comfortable, unthinking, uncaring and ^ingly mechanised society
5
Q
Expressionalism:
WORLDVIEW
A
- Dissatisfaction with authority
- There is no such thing as absolute truth
- Conveyed chaos through darkly violent images that reflected state of mind of both artist and society
6
Q
Expressionalism:
KEY FEATURES
A
- Distortion of reality for emotional effect
- Expression of intense emotion
- Dramatisation of spiritual awakening and sufferings of protagonists + dramatisation against middle class values & established authority
7
Q
Expressionalism:
PURPOSE
A
- Subjective Reality
- Episodic structure
- Directing structure = pictorial
- Dialogue = exaggerated, highly emotional
- Free use of language
8
Q
Expressionalism:
PRACTIONERS
A
- Georg Kaiser
- Ernst Toller
- Eugene O’Neil
