Equus Flashcards
Quotes on Light and darkness (4)
“Darkness. Silence.”
“[The light gets warmer.]”…making the steel gleam in the light.]”
“[…the light changes to cold-…]” (in Hesther presence light)
[a fierce spotlight on horse and ride] (emphasis on how religion is central to Alan)
“I stand in the dark with a pick in my hand, striking at heads”
Quotes on Parenting affecting Alans psychology (10)
“who won’t allow you to watch television”
“it’s a swiz.” / “it’s a fucking swiz”
“That sex is not just a biological matter but spiritual as well.
“he was my little Alan, and then the Devil came.”
“like father like son”
“She knows more than you.” ( Oedipus Complex)
“They’ve always been as thick as thieves. I can’t say I entirely approve” (conflict)
“Bloody religion – it’s our only real problem in this house. (conflict)
“she drills into the boy behind my back” (metaphor and conflict)
“Nosey parker! Just like Dad!” (Oedipus complex)
Quotes on Normality vs Abnormality (12)
“Ashamed”
“the boy should be in prison”
“The normal is the good smile in a child’s eyes – all right. It is also the dead stare in a million adults.”
“I’m going to make you well, I promise you.”
“a fifteen-year-old schizophrenic…Normal, really”
“the most shocking case” (supperalitive)
“most people are going to be disgusted by the whole thing”
“doing any social good at all”
“he’s always been a weird lad.
“a loony”
“I can’t speak of things like that, Doctor. It’s not in my nature.”
“KILL ME!” (modern issue)
Quotes on Restricting freedom (3)
“its chained mouth”
“the bit”
“There is now, in my mouth, this sharp chain. And it never comes out.”
Quotes on Religion and Passion (10)
‘Religion is the opium of the masses” (marxist)
“take my sins. Eat them for my sake”
“Can you think of anything worse one can do to anybody than take away their Worship?”
“the core of his life”
“I see you. I see you. Always! Everywhere! Forever!”
“some immensely important ritual” (Dysart)
“That sex is not just a biological matter but spiritual as well.”
“ashamed”
“it was sexy”
“beat himself” (absolute devotion and passion)
Quotes on Psychoanalysis (8)
“I’m desperate”
“I’m a chief priest”
“some immensely important ritual”
“behind the mask”
“doing any social good at all”
“Trojan.” (subconscious)
“ashamed”
“They do not halt at the rail, but invade the square.” (staging structure)
Dysart and his lack of passion (12)
“a herd of children” (Metaphor for his lack of)
“doing any social good at all”
“professional menopause” (Link to lack of kids aswell)
“the job is unworthy”
“Are you married?”
“Do you fuck her?” “He knew exactly what questions to try.”
“the lowest sperm count you can find”
“utterly worshipless”
“Can you think of anything worse one can do to anybody than take away their worship?”
“that boy has known a passion more ferocious than I have felt in any second of my life.”
“I’m jealous”
“There is now, in my mouth, this sharp chain. And it never comes out.”
Symbolism in Equus
Hoof pick
Horses
The bit
Equus
When Written:
* Where Written:
* When Published:
* Literary Period:
* Genre:
* Setting:
* Climax:
* Point of View:
When Written: 1973
* Where Written: England
* When Published: 1973
* Literary Period: Modern
* Genre: Drama
* Setting: The present. Most of the action takes place in Rokesby
Psychiatric Hospital in southern England.
* Climax: Alan Strang is unable to have sex with Jill Mason, and
blinds the horses in Harry Dalton’s stable
* Point of View: Martin Dysart
Summarise Dysart
A psychiatrist at Rokesby Psychiatric Hospital
who takes on Alan Strang’s case. Dysart is devoted to his work and generally admired for his skill as a psychiatrist, but
throughout the play voices his ambivalence about the true
purpose of psychiatry and the way that it often ends up
eliminating true passion in an effort to force people into a
narrow interpretation of what’s normal. Alan’s case greatly
unsettles Dysart, and forces him to reevaluate the value of his
practice, to reflect on his own marriage and the lack of passion
in it, and his daily life.
Summarise Alan
An intense teenage boy, age 17, with a deep
connection to religion, who blinds six horses one night in Harry
Dalton’s stable. He is the son of Frank and Dora Strang. Up
until the crime, Alan worked a job that he hated at an appliance
store and spent weekends in Dalton’s stable, grooming the
horses. Sent to psychiatrist Martin Dysart for treatment, Alan
slowly discloses details about his repressed childhood and his
fascination with horses. He eventually reveals the secret rituals
he practices in praise of Equus, the horse-god he has invented.
Summarise Frank
Alan Strang’s father, a devoted atheist, and a
hardworking, “self-improving” man. Frank’s strict and
sometimes-explosive nature is the main source of tension in the
Strang household. In addition, his atheism often comes into
conflict with the religious feeling of his wife Dora and son Alan.
Though Frank seems to be an exceedingly disciplined and rigid
person, his own vices – and needs – are revealed when he is
seen at the same pornography theater to which Jill Mason
takes Alan.
Summarise Dora
Alan Strang’s mother. A devout Christian and an
indulgent parent, Dora brought up her son by telling him Bible
stories and secretly allowing him to watch television, an activity
her husband, Frank Strang, forbade. She is heartbroken by
Alan’s crime, but believes that neither she nor Frank is to blame
for his bizarre behavior.
Summarise Hesther
Hesther Salomon – A magistrate who convinces the court to
send Alan Strang to get psychiatric treatment instead of going
to prison. She is also Martin Dysart’s close friend and
confidante.
Summarise Jill
An employee at Harry Dalton’s stable. A kind and
free-spirited person, she meets Alan Strang at the appliance
store where he works, recognizes that he is often watching the
horses at the stable, and gets him the job working weekends at
the stable. Jill takes a liking to Alan, and eventually takes him on
a date to a pornography theater and then back to the stable for
sex. Alan’s failure to have sex with Jill is the catalyst for his
crime against the horses.
(representative of a “normal” teen
