Stage Directions and Greek Tragedy

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Similarly to Death of a Salesman the audience in A Streetcar Named Desire is also able to see all the rooms of the house which allows for an ever growing sense of immersion.

Although these plays are from a modern era, they are however fundamentally linked with ancient Greek tragedies. Greek tragedies revolve partly around a main hero who is subject to his predetermined destiny, a destiny that this hero is unable to escape. One may see this same phenomenon exist in the universe of Streetcar and Salesman. Blanche’s past in a way has determined the outcome of her future. She is destined to be in perpetual conflict with men. Willy similarly, due to various reasons that revolve around flaws in the American dream, is equally restrained to an everlasting circle of poverty and remorse which ultimately leads to his demise emotional or otherwise.

When considering Greek Tragedies one must also pay close attention to the Dionysian and Apollonian philosophies put forward by the German philosopher Nietzsche on the subject of art and in this case tragedies. In essence Nietzsche explains the content of all great tragedy is based on the tension created by the interplay between the Apollonian and Dionysian ideals. On one side the Dionysian theory is made up of chaos that appeals to the emotions and the instincts whereas Apollonian theory is based on reason and logical thinking. These two ideals can be imagined to be linked with the fundamental temperaments that make up the human mind: chaos and logic.

Chaos and order are two very prominent themes that are evoked within these two plays.

On one hand one may see a kind of serenity that prevails with the existence of family and friendships no matter how hostile they may seem, present in both the plays. On the other hand the audience is presented with complete and utter chaos that is summoned by the presence of hostility between characters. The idea of chaos, in these plays anyways, does seem to be more present than the serenity. This could be a metaphor that shows the inner turmoil of the heroes or even of man in general, an essence of turmoil that far surpasses the power of inner peace, an instinct for self-immolation and ultimately the demise of others.

And finally one may evoke the very traditional idea of catharsis that is the by-product of Greek tragedies, but also in these two modern plays. By exposing the audience to various aspects of the human psyche and thus to what it may lead to, the observers would thus become more educated on the matter and thus be of a more enlightened manner when confronted with similar situations, in order to ultimately become better human beings.

As this essay is brought to a close, the fundamentals of stage directions in any play are to create a well organised universe within the literary work in which an audience is able to converse with on an emotional level. These plays are equally similar to Greek tragedies in a sense that they are based upon the same principles that are based on the human psyche and inescapable destiny.

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