Conflict

[Dramatic conflict is] the spectacle of the will striving toward a goal, and conscious of the means which it employs. -- Ferdinand Brunetiere

Conflict is the heart of drama.

The Greek word agon means "contest" or "struggle," and could be applied to a sporting event or a debate. (Compare protagonist and antagonist.)

Brunetiere describes several different kinds of conflict:

• the individual vs. fatality (that is, a fight for survival)
• the individual vs. social law (justice, morality, etc.)
• the individual vs. another person
• the individual vs. himself
• the individual vs. "the ambitions, the interests, the prejudices, the folly, the malevolence of those who surround him"

See also: "Crisis vs. Conflict"

• Ferdinand Bruneti�re. The Law of the Drama. Trans. Philip M. Hayden. New York: Columbia University, 1914.
• Lawson, John Howard. Theory and Technique of Playwrighting. New York: Hill and Wang, 1969. Reprint. Putnam, 1936.

RRRR (Read, React, Respond, Reflect)

For EL250, a four-step process that helps you prepare for a productive class discussion using the SHU weblog system.

Read the assigned text, react by posting an agenda item (see glossary) to your weblog, respond to 2-4 items posted by your peers, and reflect on the experience in a 200-word informal essay (see "reflection paper" in the glossary).

The process of reading, reacting, responding, and reflecting is part of all critical thinking and writing. In our online community, we will practice, in an informal manner, the intellectual activity that goes into the production of a college-level research paper.

While your agenda items and lengthier reflections should be a little more formal, when you leave comments, don't worry too much about typos or grammatical mistakes. Feel free to use :) and LOL if you like.

Reflection Paper

For EL250, a reflection paper (see example) is an informal written statement that demonstrates that you are coming to class prepared to do your part to advance the discussion of a reading. (It's the fourth "R" in the "RRRR" sequence.)

You may post it on your weblog, if you wish.

Your 200-word reflection should include a direct quotation from and several specific references to the assignged text. It should also refer to a specific statement made by at least one of your peers (emphasizing how that peer's opinion differs from or modifies your own).

Bring a printout to class. (I might not always collect it, but I'd like you to be able to consult it if called upon.)

Requirements

1. Include at least one direct quotation from the assigned reading.
2. Engage critically and intellectually with that quotation.
3. Refer by name to at least one peer whose online reaction differs from or modifies yours (a simple "I agree with Sally" isn't what I'm looking for).
4. Length: about 200 words (not counting quotations).

On a given discussion day, I may ask you to trade reading reflections and discuss them in small groups. I may call on you and ask you to read your response paper aloud. I might collect them, but only read half. I might not collect them at all.

Punctuation and grammar are not terribly important in a response paper, and neither is finding the "right" interpretation. I'm simply interested in evidence that you are keeping up on the readings and thinking about them before you come to class.

The Portfolio assignment will ask you to post on your weblog an expanded version of one of the agenda items (yours or a peer's). If you put a little extra work into your reflection now, you'll have less work to do later when you compile your portfolio.

You can think of your reflection paper as potentially focusing on knowledge, analysis, and a position statement (thesis).

Knowledge

What facts or details must the reader know in order to understand this passage? (Is the play a comedy or a tragedy? Does the setting (time and place) of the scene affect our understanding? What does a search of the internet tell you about the playwright, the setting, or some of the things the characters talk about? Do any terms we have recently encountered help you make sense of what the dramatist is attempting? If you were teaching this text to your peers, what would they have to know first in order to understand it? What do you want to know more about?)

Analysis

What cultural or ethical issues does this passage illustrate? What social justice principles seem to apply here? If you see symbolism in the play, or a political message, or something confusing, break it down into parts. What is the conflict? How does the protagonist change? Where is the turning point? What does the playwright conceal from the audience at the beginning? What has the audience learned by the end of the play?

Position Statement (Thesis)

Based on the details and analysis that you have provided so far, do you see some unifying question? Identify an issue, take a stand, and be prepared to invite the class to weigh in.

Simple yes/no questions rarely spark much discussion. Neither would:

This author uses a lot of symbolism. [List of symbols goes here.] Do you agree that this author uses a lot of symbolism?

The above example is shallow. It does not invite debate or demonstrate college-level analytical skills.

Try instead:

"Heart in the Ground" is not really about gender. The initial action suggests it will be a play about marital conflict, but the symbolism suggests the play is, instead, a celebration of nature.

See: Reading Response -- Sample

Reflection Paper

For EL250, a reflection paper (see example) is an informal written statement that demonstrates that you are coming to class prepared to do your part to advance the discussion of a reading. (It's the fourth "R" in the "RRRR" sequence.)

You may post it on your weblog, if you wish.

Your 200-word reflection should include a direct quotation from and several specific references to the assignged text. It should also refer to a specific statement made by at least one of your peers (emphasizing how that peer's opinion differs from or modifies your own).

Bring a printout to class. (I might not always collect it, but I'd like you to be able to consult it if called upon.)

Requirements

1. Include at least one direct quotation from the assigned reading.
2. Engage critically and intellectually with that quotation.
3. Refer by name to at least one peer whose online reaction differs from or modifies yours (a simple "I agree with Sally" isn't what I'm looking for).
4. Length: about 200 words (not counting quotations).

On a given discussion day, I may ask you to trade reading reflections and discuss them in small groups. I may call on you and ask you to read your response paper aloud. I might collect them, but only read half. I might not collect them at all.

Punctuation and grammar are not terribly important in a response paper, and neither is finding the "right" interpretation. I'm simply interested in evidence that you are keeping up on the readings and thinking about them before you come to class.

The Portfolio assignment will ask you to post on your weblog an expanded version of one of the agenda items (yours or a peer's). If you put a little extra work into your reflection now, you'll have less work to do later when you compile your portfolio.

You can think of your reflection paper as potentially focusing on knowledge, analysis, and a position statement (thesis).

Knowledge

What facts or details must the reader know in order to understand this passage? (Is the play a comedy or a tragedy? Does the setting (time and place) of the scene affect our understanding? What does a search of the internet tell you about the playwright, the setting, or some of the things the characters talk about? Do any terms we have recently encountered help you make sense of what the dramatist is attempting? If you were teaching this text to your peers, what would they have to know first in order to understand it? What do you want to know more about?)

Analysis

What cultural or ethical issues does this passage illustrate? What social justice principles seem to apply here? If you see symbolism in the play, or a political message, or something confusing, break it down into parts. What is the conflict? How does the protagonist change? Where is the turning point? What does the playwright conceal from the audience at the beginning? What has the audience learned by the end of the play?

Position Statement (Thesis)

Based on the details and analysis that you have provided so far, do you see some unifying question? Identify an issue, take a stand, and be prepared to invite the class to weigh in.

Simple yes/no questions rarely spark much discussion. Neither would:

This author uses a lot of symbolism. [List of symbols goes here.] Do you agree that this author uses a lot of symbolism?

The above example is shallow. It does not invite debate or demonstrate college-level analytical skills.

Try instead:

"Heart in the Ground" is not really about gender. The initial action suggests it will be a play about marital conflict, but the symbolism suggests the play is, instead, a celebration of nature.

See: Reading Response -- Sample

Close Reading

A close reading is a careful, thorough, sustained examination of the words that make up a text. (It's the first "R" in the "RRRR" sequence.)

A close reading is really a re-reading. You look closely at it.

1. You will probably want to read your text once through fairly quickly, highlighting unfamiliar words or puzzling details (or marking them with sticky notes, if you're reading a library book).
2. Go back and look more carefully at the places you marked. Did the ending explain some of the things you initially found puzzling? Do you see any recurring patterns?
3. Once you have a sense of what you think is important, go through the text again, this time searching specifically for more of whatever caught your eye.
4. Once you have identified the details that you find interesting, you should come up with a thesis -- a non-obvious claim, supported with direct quotations from the material you are studying. (It is not enough merely to write down a list of isolated observations, in the order they popped into your head.)

When you write a close reading, you should assume that your reader is not only familiar with the text you are examining, but has a copy of it within reach.

Generally speaking, the author of a close reading does not retell the plot. Neither is it necessary to profile the characters, give advice to the playwright, or share your personal musings. Neither does a close reading use a literary work to make general claims about the outside world -- ("racism is bad" or "women have come a long way").

What does a close reading do?

It might look closely at a monologue or brief scene, such as Hamlet's encounter with his father's ghost, and analyze the explicit plot points and the subtle foreshadowing contained in that scene. It might examine all the kinds of containers that appear in "Heart in the Ground," or a particular theme, such as the traditional gender roles seen in the play.

What words did the author choose, what do they mean, and what function do they serve? In what ways is word order and grammatical structure significant? (One character might speak only a few words at a time, but grunt a lot; another may ramble. Talk like Yoda, another character might.)

See also:

Getting an A on an English Paper

That means reading every word: it's not enough to have a vague sense of the plot. Maybe that sounds obvious, but few people pay serious attention to the words that make up every work of literature. Remember, English papers aren't about the real world; they're about representations of the world in language. Words are all we have to work with, and you have to pay attention to them. -- Jack Lynch

How to Do a Close Reading

We need more evidence, so we go back to the text--the whole essay now, not just this one passage--and look for additional clues. And as we proceed in this way, paying close attention to the evidence, asking questions, formulating interpretations, we engage in a process that is central to essay writing and to the whole academic enterprise: in other words, we reason toward our own ideas. --Patricia Kain

Catholic Social Teaching (CST)

Principles, once internalized, lead to something. They prompt activity, impel motion, direct choices. A principled person always has a place to stand, knows where he or she is coming from and likely to end up. Principles always lead the person who possesses them somewhere, for some purpose, to do something, or choose not to. -- William J. Byron, "Ten Building Blocks of Catholic Social Teaching"

One can read a novel or a poem alone, and one can create it alone. The same is not true of drama. Of all the art forms, drama is the most social. The very word "drama" comes from a Greek word that means "doing." We experience the theater communally, so it seems natural that the theater speaks about social issues.

Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is a body of principles, informed by religious tradition and centuries of historical experience, but directed towards establishing a just society for all people, whether Catholic or not.

Among the values promoted by CST are the principles of the dignity of the human person ("It is not what you do or what you have that gives you a claim on respect; it is simply being human that establishes your dignity," says Byron), and the principle of the common good ("the social conditions that allow people to reach their full human potential and to realize their human dignity").

• Drama is the most social of the art forms.
• The public nature of drama demands audiences to make moral judgments.
• Drama has deep religious roots, born through Greek worship services from 2500 years ago, and reappearing about 900 years ago an extension of the Mass (a ritual in which a priest re-enacts the words and actions of Jesus at the Last Supper).

Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is a collection of philosophical and moral principles that examine how human beings relate to each other in a just society. It is an extension of Christ's command to feed the hungry and clothe the naked.

For us, the plays will always be the main subject, and CST will be one of several tools we will use to examine the plays. The plays will be written by Protestants, Jews, the non-religious, and a pagan, in addition to Catholics. We will look at some plays that the pope would probably dislike, and some that the pope would love.

You won't be expected to be able to apply every principle of CST to every play on the syllabus. Your grade won't depend on how "Catholic" your answers are.

Every play ever written says something about humanity, and all religious thought describes human attempts to define ourselves in relationship to the universe, I hope that CST will be a productive guide to finding deeper meaning in dramatic literature, because CST invites... no, expects people to bring a well-informed conscience to bear on the important ethical issues of the day. Drama is a means for exploring many of the same questions. Under what circumstances is the death penalty acceptable? Under what conditions is war or insurrection justified? What is a just minimum wage?

We will absorb CST principles a few at a time, as the issues come up during class discussions. There will be some supplementary reading. Later in the term, you will write an exercise that asks you to apply some principle of Catholic Social Teaching to one or more of the plays we have read so far this term.

Terms for A Doll's House

Empathy
Sympathy
Raisonneur
Confidante

Agenda Item

For EL250, a brief quotation from the assigned text, together with a non-obvious question or observation, that you will be prepared to talk about if called on in class. Post it at least 24 hours before the class discussion. (It's part of "React," the second "R" in the RRRR sequence.)

For each assigned reading, leave about two to four comments responding to other people's agenda items. The best comments will be supported with page numpers or direct quotations from the works we are studying.

Return later, in order to see whether anyone has responded to your own comment, and continue the discussion.

Print out your agenda item shortly before class. (I may not always collect it, but having it in class with you will help you remember what you wrote about.)

For extra participation points, try to get a conversation going. Test out ideas, acknowledge when a peer has changed your mind, quote from the books in order to challenge (politely) your peers' claims, and quote from the books in order to support your own claims when challenged.