Wild Duck Journal #3

Letter written by Gregers to a friend back in the mine

All hear is just as I left it, may father has done his work well. All the city looks to him as the honorable man and to his ex-partner Ekdal they shower blame and disgust. My father tries to pretend like the past had not happened, he greats me with open arms but all I see are claws made of lies. With my cooperation he would be able to put the past behind him completely and move into a second marriage without suspicion. I turned down his offer, he may find comfort on his pedestal of descite but I will not join him. I will never forget the pain he caused my mother and I plan to do everything I can to keep it from happening again. Hjalmar is a poor fool who has been blinded by my fathers money and favors. He does not see that while he may appear to support him out of good will, it is only to cover his own back. I will bring Hjalmar into the light and show him the true face of my father, the face that only I can see.

Wild Duck Journal #2

I think that the plot should always be valued over style. While the style of great plays may change over time, the plot remains almost the same. The plot of tragedies from many eras share a basic set of characteristics that allows them to move an audience. The play Oedipus could be done in many styles and the plot could remain relatively untouched. This is also the case with The Wild Duck, it show that while styles may change, the plots stay. In essence the style is mealy rapping paper to make the plot inside seem more familiar to the reader or audience member.

Wild Duck Journal #1

"What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out" This statement is the pure definition of what drama is. All good tragedy and even comedy is based on real life. Its ability to draw us in with a situation in life that we may not have experienced personally but definably can recognize as a part of the human experience. But drama is not just observing the boring parts but rather those that are most intense. In Oedipus and Wild Duck the play focuses on the most important and emotionally charged points of the play and neglects to give to much time to past events. It focuses on moments were the charters go through struggle and not when they are at peace.

Oedipus Journal #4

Diary entry by Jocasta

The truth, that is what I fear now. That my husband should discover his true origin, that the when he thought he was running away from his fate he was in truth running towards it. Oh curse the day that I did not see to it that he was dead, for surely he will wish it on himself soon enough. Oh my poor husband, you have no idea how much the truth can hurt, how it takes the apperance of a flower only to stab at you with thorns. I have chosen that I cannot live in this world of truth. It piles on pain after pain though people still urn for it.

Oedipus Journal #3

In Oedipus as well as Romeo and Juliet, physical actions by the characters on the stage are extremely important. With out movement on the stage the play would seem dull and dead. In the real world most human communication is nonverbal and so it is only fitting that this ratio is repeated on the stage. In both plays the characters use their bodies as a way to communicate their emotions. As a character first steps on the stage, the audience immediately looks at his posture, gait, and facial expressions to get an idea of what kind of character he/she is. These physical actions are not spelled out in the script and it is up to the director and actors to bring life to the words they are given. Both Oedipus and Romeo and Juliet display extremely intense emotions and the reader can almost see the physical movement of the characters on the stage.

Oedipus Journal #2

In a moments of intensity in Oedipus characters breakout into long monologues. This is a common feature in both Greek and Shakspearian plays. In Oedipus we find that Oedipus' original claims of innocence are not entirely true and calls into question his reliability as a character. In his long monologue he confesses to his wife that he came upon and killed a group of travelers that may have been his predecessor Laius. This moment is a big step in the plot because it is the first time Oedipus mentions any fault on his part. The long monologue also catches a reader visually as it stands out from the rest of the text.

Oedipus Journal #1

The point of view for Oedipus is third person narrated by the traditional "Greek Chorus". This stays constant throughout the play. The Chorus is put in place to keep the audience informed about the stories progress so they are very reliable. The reader gets to know the characters through their actions. With the part I read there is no insight given about the characters and the reader is expected to make their own conclusions. The character of Oedipus is presended as a strong leader but the way he speaks makes us suspicious of his activities. He seems over eager to find the killer of his predecessor almost as if he is trying to hide something. When the priest is finally convinced to tell who is responsible and points the blame at Oedipus the king is outraged. The writer wants us to distrust Oedipus and side with the wise priest.