France 18th and early 19th Century

Question 1

Who/ was a significant name in the genre of Tragedy? Why

Answer 1

Voltaire; tried to break awat from the NeoClassic Model, wanted to be more dramatically inventive

Question 2

What was Voltaire’s real name?

Answer 2

Francois Marie Arouet

Question 3

Who was a significant name in the genre of Comedy? Why?

Answer 3

Pierre Marivaux; “Marivaudage” tem to describe elegant writing, style of Marivaux

Question 4

Denis Diderot

Answer 4

1. Sentimental Comedy
2. Domestic Tragedy or Drama Bourgeois
   - works that would relate to the middle class, dealt with family situations
3. Other significant ideas that anticipated 19th c. theatre
   - “The Paradox of Acting” (1839), article that stressed the imprtance of technque to remain emotionally detached form character
   - 4th wall
   - acting technique

Question 5

how did the french revolution affect theatre in france?

Answer 5

it stymied dramatic creativity

Question 6

Boulevard Theatre

Answer 6

• post revolution, turn of century
  1. melodrama - combo of music and drama
  2. Guilbert de Bixero court 1773-1844
• melodrama sets foundation for Romantic Drama

Question 7

First great romantic drama

Answer 7

Victor Hugo’s “Hernani”

Question 8

Characteristics of Melodrama

Answer 8

1. emphasized strict moral judgement (no ambiguity between good and evil, black and white)
   -ending easily understood by audience
2. action is simple
3. stock characters
4. comic relief provided by servant/companion to principal characters
5. thrives on suspense
   (sensation scenes)
6. complete reversal at the end
   - just retribution
   - good rewarded, bad punished

Question 9

Romantic Drama (characteristics)

Answer 9

1. 5 act structure
2. avoid happy endings
3. elevated more dignified language
   - Victor Hugo, “Preface to Cromwell” Romantic manifesto, characteristics of the new art form

Question 10

What was Victor Hugo’s “Preface to Cromwell”?

Answer 10

Romantic manifesto, established characteristics of the new art form

Question 11

Where did the impetus for Romantic Drama come from?

Answer 11

German “Sturm und Drang”

Question 12

What is “Sturm und Drang”?

Answer 12

chronicled by Mme. De Stalle, the “Storm and Stress” movement, and provoked the debate over the relative merits of neo-Classicism and Romanticism among intellecutals