Theatrical conditions

Abstract

ANY CRITICAL ACCOUNT of a play ought to begin, I believe, with some consideration of the theatrical conventions that obtained when it was first produced. I shall begin there, and then examine the way in which the play’s structure is inscribed in the consciousness of the characters, paying attention to devices of interruption, defamiliarisation and linguistic play. The thrust of my argument will be to demonstrate the amount of ethical awareness the play generates — awareness that is, contrary to the opinion of many critics, shared in part by the hero — although I shall be arguing equally that experience of the play does not generate a moral conclusion.