garylancs

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ECO-BLOG

ISSUE #5 – JULY 2024

LITERATURE AND ECO-SCIENCE COLLIDE IN LINDA HOGAN’S ‘SOLAR STORMS’…

HYDROELECTRICITY HAS LONG BEEN A CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECT. IN A WORLD DESPERATE FOR CLEAN POWER, HYDRO TICKS MANY OF THE BOXES.

THIS BLOG WILL LOOK AT THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF HYDRO ELECTRICITY.

WE WILL ALSO TAKE A LOOK AT LINDA HOGAN’S  1995 ECO-NOVEL ‘SOLAR STORMS’.

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Linda Hogan is a member of the Chickasaw Nation; she was the first ever Chickasaw Writer in Residence in 2009. Hogan is a poet, novelist, playwright, essayist, academic and climate activist. As an indigenous American she is ideally placed to commentate on the environmental impact of the Hydroelectric Industry as indigenous Americans’ are among the most affected. A short history of the realities of Hogan’s novel follows.

The indigenous people of North America have been subjected to various forms of tyranny for more than 500 years. This persecution coincided with the arrival of European settlers in the late 15th century. The loss of life is staggering; In the event now known as ‘The Trail of Tears’, 60,000 native Americans, the five civilised tribes, were ethnically cleansed by the US government between 1830 and 1850. This forced displacement was the biggest ‘land grab’ in history. Indigenous Americans now face other issues around their lands, communities and beliefs, one of them is the construction of hydroelectric dams, and the deliberate flooding of the dam basin. A subject which ties in neatly with the novel ‘Solar Storms’.

Though we thankfully live in more enlightened times, the persecution of indigenous Americans continues in the United States, albeit on a smaller scale. One of the main reasons for this since the early 20th century is the hydroelectric industry. What follows the construction of a Hydroelectric power station is the deliberate flooding of the basin and the land which once existed below it. This deliberate act of flooding often submerges land sacred to the inhabitants and their community, often these are ancient burial grounds. Importantly, the flooding also causes huge damage to the surrounding ecosystems.

Linda Hogan’s 1995 novel ‘Solar Storms’ takes a multi-faceted story and uses this narrative to explore the impact of hydroelectric dam construction on the community and the environment. The novel is very much a story  which mainly focuses on generations of female characters. The story is crosses over many themes, it is a coming-of-age story, a suspense story and a love story. It deals with familial separation and reconciliation. The narrative covers family, community, loss, despair and triumph. It is, however, a literary novel in every sense, the language used by Hogan is both lyrical and poetic. The descriptive prose is captivating and beautiful.

The book follows the story of 17-year-old Angela Jensen, and her return home from years of foster care. Angela was originally from a beautiful island community on the border of Canada and Minnesota, Fur Island. The story also makes use of a community further north, Adam’s Rib. Adam’s Rib has a rich, diverse history, initially inhabited by the Cree tribe, the settlement has always had a history of being predominately inhabited by women, women who lived hard lives, earning a living helping French fur trappers and hunters. The overzealous trappers and others in the community eventually exhausted the resources, as the land around Adam’s Rib became infertile and barren, most people left to find more fertile lands, leaving the women and children behind. These women called themselves ‘The ‘Abandoned Ones’. Angela eventually finds her paternal great-grandmother, Agnes Iron.

As the story progresses, Angela discovers much more about her biological family. Angela discovers that her mother was a woman called Hannah Wing, a redheaded woman who is described as a ‘vengeful and mean woman’…Angela has red hair and also has a facial disfigurement, scarring on one side of her face. Angela is told that her mother caused these scars by biting her on the face.

As the story progresses, Hogan introduces a multitude of new characters, many of them are strong, fierce females which befits the locations history. Hogan then turns the story arc toward the direction which fits the subject of this blog, the building of a hydroelectric dam. Angela becomes strongly connected with the community, nature and tradition, she feels happy and that she belongs, she has a particular affinity with nature. Angela forms a close relationship with a woman called Bush, a former friend of her mothers, and moves in with her. Two men visit Bush and inform her of plans to build a hydroelectric facility up north on ‘Fat-Eaters’ land. Angela, Bush, Agnes and Agnes’s mother Dora-Rouge decide to make the trip together to investigate the rumours. Dora-Rouge wants to die in the area as her ancestors are from there, Agnes wishes to say goodbye to her mother. The women are faced with many challenges on the journey, on crossing the mighty Se Nay River Dora-Rouge makes a pact with the river, her life for a safe crossing, however, it is Agnes her daughter who loses her life.  On arrival at the fat-eaters land, Angela finally meets her mother Hannah Wing who is close to death and shows no interest in Angela. Angela also discovers she has a 7-month-old sister, Angela takes her with her and names her Aurora. The women have meetings with the town’s people, the younger and older generations of the tribe, the younger ones plan to resolve the situation using violence.  After almost a year the group finally learn they have been successful in stopping the facility. Angela marries a man called Tommy and they raise her sister Aurora in accordance with traditional native American customs and knowledge.

The James Bay Hydro-Quebec Development, the inspiration for the hydroelectric facility. ‘Solar Storms’. The real-life inspiration for Linda Hogan’s story was located in James Bay. James Bay is a territory located close to the border of the US and Canada. The location is populated by people of the Cree and Inuit nations. These Native American’s living was based upon fishing, hunting and trapping. A Canadian electric company began construction of the project in 1971 without any official permission. The project, called the La Grande River Project, faced immediate, fierce opposition by the Cree and Inuit people. The electricity generated was to be sold to the US to provide electricity to the State of New York. The project diverted several rivers in the area and ultimately flooded the land on which the Cree and Inuit people depended  on for their living. As well as the socio-economic impact, the project resulted in widespread mercury poisoning. As a result of this methyl mercury entered the food chain. Downstream form the La Grande Project two out of three people had a high level of mercury in their bodies. Some people had twenty times the ‘acceptable’ level of mercury in their blood. The projects infrastructure also had a huge impact on the area. Due to the project, 940 miles of new roads were constructed. Fifteen work camps were built, along with five new airports. A union was formed between six of the tribes in the area. The Mistassini Cree, the Waswanipi Cree, the East Main Cree and the Northern Quebec Inuit Association organised protests, political pressure groups and campaign groups. The case finally reached the courts in 1976 and a deal was signed to halt further projects and discuss financial compensation. The plant continues to function today.

Below is an image showing the areas of land deliberately flooded by the plant at James Bay. The areas flooded are in brown.

Hydroelectricity – The Positives.

Linda Hogan’s ‘Solar Storm’s’ provides some of the brutal realities of the industry. Hogan skilfully highlights the negative social, ecological and financial impact of hydroelectric facilities, whilst delivering her message wrapped in a cloak of beautiful, haunting prose, a mask of an expertly plotted narrative. It would be remiss of us to ignore the positives of hydroelectric power, so here we go…

Hydroelectricity is very flexible. The power source for the facilities is a plentiful and powerful supply of water. Hydroelectric power can easily be adapted to changing demands, hydro-turbines have start up times of only a few minutes. To bring a hibernating system up to full power takes less than ten minutes, much quicker than fossil fuel or nuclear power.

The energy generated is of a high value. The storage of water which supplies the energy to produce electricity comes at a staggeringly low cost when compared to conventional methods like fossil fuel.

In 2021 the IEA (International Energy Agency) estimated that “the reservoirs of all existing conventional hydropower plants combined can store a total of 1,500 terawatt hours of electrical energy in just one full cycle”…That’s an astonishing 1,500 trillion watts of power! 1 Terawatt can power 10 billion, 100-watt light bulbs at the same time! Add to that the fact that hydroelectric plants have long, low-cost economic lives. Plants have an estimated life of 50 to 100 years; the plants are mostly automated, so personnel costs are relatively low, the same applies to maintenance costs.

Finally, and probably the biggest consideration in a time of global warming is the fact that the CO2 emissions are low. As hydroelectric plants do not use conventional fuel, the generation of power produces zero carbon dioxide. The only CO2 emissions are produced during construction. The process also produces no emissions of sulphur dioxide or nitrogen dioxides.

The decision is a difficult one, a balancing act between lower emissions or ecological and human damage. The world has an ever-increasing thirst for power; All of our fancy tech and gadgets need power…the internet…Light and warmth…Hospitals and schools, it’s a mind-blowing conundrum, only you can decide. If you wish to read further on these matters, I will be supplying several links to expand the subject matter covered in this blog, Enjoy!

Finally, back to Linda Hogan and ‘Solar Storms’.

Hogan tackles the issue with great skill, the novel never preaches, it gives you the facts and allows you to make your own decision. The fact that the facts are within a beautifully written, elegant and thoughtful piece of writing is just a bonus. The fact that hydroelectric plants rely on a supply of strong, running water may compound the issue. The indigenous people of the US, and indeed elsewhere, situated their communities near such places, to supply water and food in clean, pleasant environment.

To end I would like to include a quote from the introduction of the textbook ‘Ecolinguistics’ by Arran Stibbe…Charles Eisenstein, the American educator, author and speaker wrote,

“Stories bear tremendous creative power. Through them we coordinate human activity, focus attention and intention, define roles, identify what is important and even what is real”… A statement which undoubtedly  applies to Linda Hogan’s ‘Solar Storms’…

Thank you for reading this blog post!

* Selected extracts from ‘Solar Storms’ by Linda Hogan *

“ Walking. I am listening to a deeper way. Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands…” (Angela Jensen, p154 ).

“Tears have a purpose. They are what we carry of the ocean, and perhaps we must become the sea, give ourselves to it, if we are to be transformed…” (Agnes iron, p210).

“Something beautiful lives inside us. You will see. Just believe it. You will see…” ( p351 ).

“Late one day as I built a fire. I saw Bush out in the smooth water. Like a dark-headed otter, she surfaced for a few moments only to slip down the cold surface and disappear. I watched for her to surface again. She was at home in the water, an element given shape by what contained it. She was the water…”  (Angela Jensen, p182).

Further Reading and Useful Links.

 Literature -

www.lindahoganwriter.com

www.chickasaw.net

www.theguardian.com/books/2020/feb/12/top-10-books-of-eco-fiction

News Articles –

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/09/indigenous-land-flooded-by-dams-study-colonial-settler

www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/aug/09/hydroelectric-dams-tribal-people

www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/trail-of-tears

Hydroelectric Energy –

www.energy.gov/eere/water/hydropower-basics

www.hydropower.org

www.britannica.com/science/hydroelectric-power

www.education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/hydroelectric-energy/

Reference list

Encyclopedia Britannica (2018) hydroelectric power | Definition & Facts. In: Encyclopædia Britannica. [online] Available online: https://www.britannica.com/science/hydroelectric-power [Accessed 3 Jul. 2024].

GOV.UK (2013) Harnessing hydroelectric power. GOV.UK. Available online: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/harnessing-hydroelectric-power [Accessed 9 Jul. 2024].

Hogan, L. (1995) Solar storms. New York: Scribner.

Lakhani, N. (2023) More than 1m acres of Indigenous land flooded by dams, new study finds. The Guardian. [online] 9 Aug. Available online: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/09/indigenous-land-flooded-dams-study-colonial-settler [Accessed 16 Jul. 2024].

Le Saux, K. (2024) James Bay Hydroelectric Project on the La Grande River | WeBuild Group. webuildgroup. Available online: https://www.webuildgroup.com/en/projects/dams-hydroelectric-plants/james-bay-hydroelectric-project-on-the-la-grande-river/ [Accessed 16 Jul. 2024].

National Geographic Society (2023) Hydroelectric Energy. education.nationalgeographic.org. Available online: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/hydroelectric-energy/ [Accessed 16 Jul. 2024].

Randell, H. and Curley, A. (2023) Dams and tribal land loss in the United States. Environmental Research Letters, 18(9), 094001–094001.

River, C. (2017) The Trail of Tears. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.

Simmonds, R. (2020) A Brief History of Energy-Hydro Power. www.dyballassociates.co.uk. Available online: https://www.dyballassociates.co.uk/a-brief-history-of-energy-hydro-power-dyball-associates [Accessed 16 Jul. 2024].

Stibbe, A. (2015) Ecolinguistics. Routledge.

US Department Of Energy (2014) Hydropower Basics. Energy.gov. Available online: https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/hydropower-basics [Accessed 16 Jul. 2024].

Vidal, J. and editor, environment (2010) Hydroelectric dams pose threat to tribal peoples, report warns. The Guardian. [online] 8 Aug. Available online: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/aug/09/hydroelectric-dams-tribal-people [Accessed 16 Jul. 2024].

[garylancs]

Groundbreaking Theatre or Much Ado About Nothing?

Exploring Joe Hill-Gibbins 2015 Adaption of William Shakespeare’s ‘Measure for Measure’ at the Young Vic Theatre.

William Shakespeare’s ‘Measure for Measure’ is believed to have been written in 1603 and first performed in 1604. The play is most described as a comedy, however, much of the material in the play is dark and controversial. The play is set in Vienna during the renaissance period amid a time of great decadence and hedonism. Duke Vincentio uses a false trip abroad to remove himself from governing his city-state, deputising a member of his administration to enforce the law in a stricter manner and to see how Angelo reacts with the people. The duke disguises himself as a character called Friar Lodowick and insinuates himself into the plot by using this alter-ego to interact with the other characters. Angelo is a morally corrupt man who seizes the opportunity to extort a sexual relationship with a young novice called Isabella. Angelo does this by blackmailing Isabella and falsely offering to commute a death sentence on her brother, Claudio. 

For more information about the life of William Shakespeare and his body of work please visit the following website, www.shakespeare.org.uk .

Joe Hill-Gibbins is a 47-year-old British theatre and opera director. Hill-Gibbins trained at the Royal Court Theatre from 2002. In 2004 he became a Trainee Associate Director. In 2006 he joined the staff of the Young Vic Theatre as a director. (www.joehillgibbins.com)  This blog will be looking more closely at his 2015 adaption of ‘Measure for Measure’ at the Young Vic.

As we previously mentioned, Vienna during the 1600’s was a place of excess. The most important trading location in Europe, if not the world, it created great wealth for practitioners of commerce. Vienna became a lawless place, a Catholic city which was the home of hundreds of brothels and gambling establishments, residents of the city largely ignored the laws of the Dukedom, and it became a breeding ground for organised crime. (Draudt, 2005). Indeed, Hill-Gibbins adaption includes many flamboyant gangsters. 

The above facts possibly explain Hill-Gibbins approach to his 2015 adaption. The staging is dominated by bright neon lighting. The set is populated throughout by blow-up sex dolls and phallic imagery. The cast includes brash pimps amongst clerics and the virtuous. Modern rap music is included in the production’s soundtrack. This approach, though unsubtle, is in harmony with the historical situation of the time. Please feel free to visit the following webpage for a series of stunning pre-production pictures of the Young Vic adaption. www.joehillgibbins.com/measure. 

The Young Vic promotional material describes it best:  “ Joe Hill-Gibbins tackles Shakespeare’s dark comedy in his peerless, audacious style. Whorehouses and nunneries, betrothals and beheadings – Welcome to Vienna!”… The website contains many reviews, and most are positive – ‘There are no half-measures in Joe Hill-Gibbins radical version…’, amongst many others, these can be viewed on by clicking on the link below the  plays promotional picture above, please take the time to look at these remarkable pre-production pictures.

The production certainly captures the attention, bright, garish and loud! Hill-Gibbins tends to follow Shakespeare’s narrative closely, only the costumes and settings change. Described as a ‘Madcap arch provocateur’ by Sunday Times, did Hill-Gibbins produce a tour-de-force or did he miss opportunities? Though produced in a changing world and at just two years before the emergence of the ‘Me Too’ movement, is a production which contains such blatant patriarchal abuse still acceptable? Perhaps only the theatre goer can answer. I think the production did manage to convey the core message of the play. The patriarchal imbalance, the trickery surrounding the three main characters, Isabella, Duke Vincenzio and Angelo were fully represented and the performances by the actors were remarkable. The trickery engaged in by all the main characters is integral to the narrative. The fact that some of the events, such as the ‘Bed trick’ for example, bring an element of farce into the production. The comedic elements are essential, if it were not for these lighter moments, I cannot imagine how anyone could define this play as a comedy. This play is as much about deceit as anything else. From Act one to the final curtain, the characters are constantly trying to deceive each other, it is intrinsically embedded in Shakespeare’s plotting. I think Hill-Gibbins covered this aspect well. Without characters traits such as hypocrisy and self-righteousness the play would be weaker and less engaging for the audience.

The cast are excellent, especially when you consider the number of props they must deal with as they convey their performance. Zubin Varla plays The Duke and Paul Ready plays Angelo. I would like to give praise to Romola Garai who plays Isabella. Garai plays Isabella in a quiet, innocent manner, this innocence and makes her role believable and true to Shakespeare’s original concept. Ms Garai received rave reviews for her performance, and rightly so. Garai’s Isabella, in her naivety, provide the perfect foil to the patriarchal and sometimes menacing roles of Duke Vincentio and Angelo. The production is heavy on religious iconography and Garai’s thoughtful portrayal is a beautiful example of religious suffering and sacrifice. The cast in its entirety are very good, it is impossible to imagine how difficult the set design is until you see it. The cast must be applauded for not losing their concentration, or indeed, their footing!

Hill-Gibbins dilemma is an obvious one, how much can one change a work which flowed from the pen of the man who is widely regarded as the greatest wordsmith in history? The fact that this 2015 production remained so close to Shakespeare’s work is admirable. The cast were all very good which obviously helped.  As with all art, theatre is open to our personal interpretation, there are no right or wrong answers. Bearing this in mind I can only give you my opinion, please feel free to disagree or disregard it. The ending is excellent and redeems much of the gimmicky feel of the set and staging. In the final tableau Garai’s Isabella looks totally broken at the duke’s proposals and the nightmarish thought of being ‘shackled’ to him for the rest of her life. Duke Vincentio lines the characters up in pairs and everyone looks appalled at the culmination of the plot, this is perhaps a nod to the disgraceful behaviour of the men in this play.

I found the production visually entertaining but overstimulating. The constant presence of sexual imagery and sex toys were a distraction throughout the production, the set was designed by Miriam Beuther. I almost felt sorry for the cast as they navigated their way through it all! It was overkill for me, akin to cracking a nut with a sledgehammer. I felt that Mr Hill-Gibbins underestimated the intelligence of the audience. I was tempted to shout ‘It’s a  Viennese of Sodom and  Gomorrah, I get it !’ On a positive note, I was pleased that Hill-Gibbins left in the famous silences of the play, on the matter of the dukes’ proposals to Isabella I felt that Hill-Gibbins retained this important part of the story. The use of neon lighting and signage reminded me of more of 1960’s Soho than renaissance Vienna.

I hope the above picture from the production gives a visual representation of Isabella’s silent acceptance of her plight. I also believe that the message surrounding Isabella’s hopelessness is captured in the image. I feel that the concept of ‘Deux Ex Machina’ from ancient Greek theatre is notable, the power of the duke seems almost God-like. I think that despite all the neon and props, Hill-Gibbins certainly captured the imbalance of power between men and women as Shakespeare would have hoped, but perhaps it would have been improved with a little less visual metaphor. I was left with the impression that Hill-Gibbins was unsure about what he wanted to achieve with this adaption, and this was apparent in the finished work.  I feel that the quality of the acting was overshadowed at times by the visual imagery employed by Beuther’s set design. 

Finally, Isabella has some memorable lines, non-more so than this:

‘But man, proud man, 

Dressed in little brief authority,

Most ignorant of what he’s most assured.

His glassy essence, like an angry ape

Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven.

As makes the angels weep’.

Isabella, Act 2,scene 2, 146-151.

Further Reading.

Please click on this link to read a modern piece on the topic of shame in ‘Measure for Measure’, ‘The power of shame, why ‘Measure for Measure’ is more relevant than ever.

www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/oct/27/measure-for-measure-shakespeare-young-vic-globe 

Click on the link below for some remarkable pre-production pictures of Joe Hill-Gibbins 2015 production of William Shakespeare’s ‘Measure for Measure’.

www.joehillgibbins.com/measure 

Click on the link below to see some reviews of Joe Hill-Gibbins production of William Shakespeare’s ‘Measure for Measure’.

www.youngvic.org/whats-on/measure-for-measure

[garylancs]

Fourteen Lines

A Poetry Blog.

The 12th century Italian renaissance poet and scholar Francesco Petrarca is widely accepted to be the first poet to use the form, commonly known as The Petrarchan Sonnet. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/sonnet#:~:text=The%20Petrarchan%20sonnet%2C%20perfected%20by,sestet)%20rhyming%20CDCDCD%20or%20CDECDE.

Thomas Wyatt, an admirer of Petrarca, is credited with adopting the sonnet in England in the early 16th century, rhyming ABBA ABBA. The rhyme scheme of the sestet ( the final six lines of a fourteen line Petrarchan sonnet) varies: common variants are CDC CDC or CDE CDE. The ‘classic’ English or Shakespearean sonnet contains a sestet sub-divided into a third quatrain (typically EFEF) and a couplet, together this formed the classic three quatrains and a couplet. www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/shakespeareansonnet

The traditional sonnet is fourteen lines of iambic pentameter linked by an intricate rhyme scheme. Iambic pentameter refers to the poem’s rhythm; basically, each line of the poem has ten syllables, and every other syllable is stressed. 

 The traditional sonnet usually ends with a rhyming couplet such as.

“ So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”

There are four primary types of sonnets:

Petrarchan Shakespearean Spenserian and Miltonic

Edmund Spenser was an English poet in Elizabethan times, he is considered one of the greatest poets in the English language. John Milton was an English poet and renowned intellectual, also on the Elizabethan era.

We have covered the Petrachan and Shakespearean sonnets earlier in this blog, if you wish to learn more about Spenser and Milton, please follow the embedded links. https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Biography_of_Edmund_Spenser.html?id=fUx_EAAAQBAJ#v=onepage&q=edmund% 

Images – Copyright WikiMedia.Com

Prior to the Elizabethan age, many sonnets revolved around religion and worship. Shakespeare dramatically changed this fashion, he wrote poetry about emotions such as lust, misogyny, and infidelity.

William Shakespeare, born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon was a renowned English poet, playwright, and actor. The prolific writer was active during the Elizabethan and Jacobean period. The period is also known as the English Renaissance or Early Modern Period. Shakespeare is arguably England’s most famous writer. https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/william-shakespeare/william-shakespeare-biography/

Wendy Cope OBE was born on the 21st of July 1945. Cope has currently had five collections of adult poetry published, as well as two collections of children’s poetry. Cope is one of the most acclaimed poets writing in English, though she writes traditional poetry she is perhaps best known as a ‘comic poet’. https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/wendy-cope

Image; Copyright ‘The Guardian’ 2016.

Let us look at two well known ‘past and present’ sonnets:  Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 22’ followed by Wendy Cope’s ‘On Sonnet 22’.

Sonnet 22 – William Shakespeare (1609).

My glass shall not persuade me I am old,

So long as youth and thou are of one date,

But when in thee time’s furrows I behold,

Then look I death my days should expiate.

For all that beauty that doth cover thee

Is but the seemly raiment of my heart,

Which in thy breast doth live, as thine in me;

How can I then be elder than thou art?

O, therefore, love, be of myself so wary

As I, not for myself, but for thee will,

Bearing thy heart, which I will keep so chary

As tender nurse her babe from faring ill.

   ��  Presume not on thy heart when mine is slain;

      Thou gav’st me thine not to give back again.

On Sonnet 22- Wendy Cope (2018).

My glass can’t quite persuade me I am old-

In that respect my ageing eyes are kind-

But when I see a photograph, I’m told

The dismal truth: I’ve left my youth behind.

And when I try to get up from a chair

My knees remind me they are past their best.

The burden they have carried everywhere

I heavier now. No wonder they protest.

Arthritic fingers, problematic neck,

Sometimes causing mild to moderate pain,

Could well persuade me I’m an ancient wreck

But here’s what helps me to feel young again.

My love, who fell for me long ago,

Still loves me just as much, and tells me so.

‘Sonnet 22’ is written in iambic pentameter; the rhyme scheme conforms to the pattern ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

‘On Sonnet 22’ is written in the classic style of the Shakespearean sonnet, the rhyme scheme is identical to ‘Sonnet 22’, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

It is obvious that Cope’s sonnet is a homage to Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 22’. Both write about youth, love and the ageing process. Shakespeare is probably alluding to ‘the fair youth’, a young man who Shakespeare wrote several sonnets for. Sonnet 22 is quite a sombre sonnet, the writer warns that if the lover breaks the writer’s heart, then his heart will also be broken. Interestingly the line in which he warns of the broken hearts is known as a ‘Volta’, the Italian term for ’turn’. The volta signifies a turn of thought or argument in a sonnet. In the Petrarchan sonnet the volta commonly occurs between the octave and the sestet. In a Shakesperean sonnet it is normally before the finale couplet. The Volta was, and still is a commonly used literary device.

Unlike ‘Sonnet 22’ by Shakespeare, Wendy Cope employs a lighter, warmer tone with ‘On Sonnet 22’. The speaker is clearly talking about her own ageing process, she suggests she can convince herself she is ageing well in front of a mirror, however, when confronted with a photograph the truth hits home, talking about her physical health, her joints, the pain she suffers, calling herself ‘An ancient wreck’. The final couplet differs from Shakespeare’s couplet. The volta used in Sonnet 22 is absent in Cope’s sonnet, in ‘Sonnet 22’ the volta conveys a sad sentiment.

Cope ends ‘On Sonnet 22’ with a warm, self-satisfied couplet, congratulating herself that she is still in love, illustrated by the compliments of her partner. Cope has respected the original work, shown by retaining Shakespeare’s original rhyme scheme and style, Cope however has created a warmer emphasis.

[garylancs]

Discussing ‘ A Doll’s House’ by Henrik Ibsen.

Image: Wikimedia, 2017.

‘A Doll’s House’ is arguably Henrik Ibsen’s most famous and celebrated play. First performed in 1879 the play shocked, horrified and delighted in equal measure. Written in the middle period of Ibsen’s writing career, ‘A Dolls House’ is the most famous of the writers ‘social’ or ‘problem’ plays. What was highly innovative about ‘A Doll’s House’ was the importance Ibsen placed on the stage setting and the highly detailed description of the setting, each piece of furniture and even the ornamentation is described in intricate detail, also determining the exact position of each item on the stage as follows; ‘A comfortably and tastefully, but not expensively furnished room. Backstage right a door leads to the hall, backstage left, another door to Helmer’s study. Between these two doors stands a piano. In the middle of the left-hand wall is a door, with a window down-stage of it. Near the window, a round table with armchairs and a small sofa. In the right-hand wall, slightly upstage, is a door; downstage of this, against the same wall, a stove lined with porcelain tiles, with a couple of armchairs and a rocking chair in front of it. Between the stove and the side door is a small table. Engravings on the wall. A what-not with china and other bric-a-brac; a small bookcase with leather-bound books. A carpet on the floor; a fire in the stove. A wintry day.’ By using such detailed stage directions, Ibsen foregrounded the stage setting because he wanted his middle-class audience to realise that the set was a mirror image of their homes, and lives, they were coming to watch a drama which was effectively set in their own homes. The predominant style of the time was melodrama, by this radical shift from melodramas spectacular staging, Ibsen was making a huge and often shocking statement to the audience by saying this is your lifestyle, this play is about people like you!

The play belongs to the school of theatrical naturalism or naturalistic drama,  more often referred to as Ibsen’s ‘Social plays.’ Theatrical naturalism began to appear in Scandinavia and France, it then spread to Germany, Britain, Russia, and the United States and began to influence drama in the 1880s through to the 1890s. It became the modern approach to drama at this time and represented a move away from the previously popular melodramas. The themes used in ‘A Doll’s House’ explain the importance of Ibsen’s painstaking attention to detail in his stage setting, they create a claustrophobic atmosphere which is reflected in Nora’s marriage to Helmer. Naturalism attempted to mirror ordinary life, and to highlight contemporary social issues. Most importantly, the genre wished to show the flaws in ordinary humans. Ibsen’s depiction of women aimed to project a more realistic and contemporary point of view, his depiction of Nora attracted a huge amount of both praise and criticism on its release. The ending was so controversial that in Germany the ending was altered, Nora taking her children with her when she left. (https://doi.org/10.1080/15021866.2017.1324359 ).

Returning to Ibsen’s stage directions, the first scene is incredibly precise and detailed. It is obvious that Ibsen felt that such intricate stage settings were incredibly important in ‘A Doll’s House.’  The first line of the play, ‘…Room furnished comfortably…’ gives the theatregoer the impression that the Helmer’s are a comfortable, middle-class family, in other words a family with a great deal in common with the audience. The play is structured tightly in one room, perhaps Ibsen was suggesting the restrictions placed not only on Nora but on women of the time. It could also hint at the claustrophobic nature of the relationship between Nora and Helmer.

Image: Wikimedia Commons – A Doll’s House (6940143319).jpg

It seems quite probable that the highly detailed stage directions are a tool Ibsen consciously  used to depict the women of the time and their struggles for identity, both inside and outside of marriage. The nature of the stage setting, rather than being pedantic, show Ibsen realised the importance of such detail, to garner the understanding of his audience.

Image: Mihaela Bodlovic, 2022.

‘A Doll’s House’ continues to be popular to this day and it is often performed with its original stage setting and direction. The play has also been performed in ways which move away from Ibsen’s original vision. A recent version starring Jessica Chastain has been performed at the Hudson Theatre in New in New York ( https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/mar/09/a-dolls-house-review-jessica-chastain-broadway. ). It is minimalist in stage direction when compared to the original, however, the story remains as powerful and innovative as it did in the late 19th century.

‘A Doll’s House’ – Examining Act One.

Image: ‘Life in Norway,’ 1964.

The cast consists of Helmer Torvald a lawyer, Nora Torvald his wife, Dr Rank, Mrs Linde, Nils Krogstad, Anne-Marie a nurse, Helen a maid, a porter, and the Helmers three small children. All the action takes place in the Helmers’ apartment.

‘A Doll’s House’ is performed in three acts, I am sure everyone has their favourite, mine is Act One and particularly the opening scene and the interaction between Nora and Helmer which we will take a closer look at. The scene interests me for a number of reasons, it presages the conflict between Nora and Helmer, however, Ibsen does this in a very clever way by portraying Nora as a ‘Spend-thrift,’ a frivolous woman who lies easily to her husband and a woman whose main interest in life is the pursuit of money. Helmer on the other hand is depicted as a sensible, sober, and conservative man who struggles to control his wife’s spending. Ibsen skilfully weaves their interaction with each other and then slowly reveals the true nature of their relationship which people who are familiar with the play know, is one of conflict and identity. The play is set a few days before Christmas and commences with Nora returning from a shopping trip with her children. The dialogue between Helmer and Nora soon turns to the topic of money. Nora is initially portrayed as a selfish, self-obsessed character, desperate to get her hands on ‘Helmers money’ by any means, the dialogue even portrays her as a liar due to concealing her purchase of a few macaroons. In the opening dialogue between Nora and Helmer the subject matter soon turns to money, Helmer using endearing terms to describe his wife such as ‘ Is that my skylark twittering out there?’ and ‘Is that my squirrel rustling?’ As the dialogue continues Helmer uses increasingly firm language when lecturing Nora about matters of finance, though he tries to diffuse this by his use of endearments. Nora questions her husband in this scene and the conversation is once again skilfully engineered by Ibsen to portray Nora as an avaricious woman. The dialogue comes close to conflict between the characters, but both draw back from it.

Anyone who is familiar with the play knows that the initial assessment of Nora is completely wrong. Nora is a selfless, intelligent, strong, and loyal woman, this is revealed as the reasons for her pursuit of the money become apparent. Helmer, initially seen as the ‘victim’ of Nora’s avarice is revealed to be a coercively controlling man, he is desperate for social status and to use a modern term, ‘gaslights’ Nora at every opportunity, a passive-aggressive man. The way he deals with the conflict surrounding the loan, which was beneficial to him, reveal him as a weak character, willing to sacrifice his wife rather than damage his social status. Everything which occurs later is hinted at in this early stunning scene, even though it is not revealed fully until Act three, culminating in the famous ‘Door slamming’ finale. Ibsen was roundly criticised on the plays release, especially for the fact that Nora left her children behind. The public found this hard to countenance and critics dismissed the play as a ‘Feminist tract.’ The play was shocking for its time, but surely Ibsen wanted this reaction. In hindsight Ibsen was years, perhaps centuries ahead of his time by highlighting such matters as coercive control, misogyny, and a woman’s place in society, how fragile it was for a woman when navigating marriage, family, and her place in society. For me, none of this is better highlighted than in that early scene and dialogue from the play. The play questioned a woman’s place in society by exploring the conflict in a marriage and the issues of identity a woman of this time had to consider. If you are not familiar with the play you should read it or watch a performance now, you will be surprised how a play first performed a hundred and forty years ago is as powerful and relevant today. If you wish to learn more about Henrik Ibsen and his life and works, please visit this website at the ‘Norwegian Ibsen Company - https://www.norwegianibsencompany.com/henrik-ibsen/

Image: Ventura County Star,2016. (Nora and Helmer.)

Bibliography:

Bryony Lavery, Howard, N., Tonje Gotschalken and Henrik Ibsen (2004) A doll’s house. London: Oberon Books Ltd.

Feng, R. (2023) The Minimalist Remodeling of ‘A Doll’s House’. Frieze. Available online: https://www.frieze.com/article/dolls-house-review-2023 [Accessed 10 Apr. 2023].

Henrik Ibsen (1879) A Doll’s House. S.L.: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama.

Ibsen, H. and Watts, P. (2003) A doll’s house and other plays. London: Penguin Books.

Janss, C. (2017) When Nora Stayed: More Light on the German Ending. Ibsen Studies, [online] 17(1), 3–27. Available online: https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/65456/IbsenStudies%2bNoraStayed%2bAccepted%2bManuscript.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y.

Oladipo, G. (2023) A Doll’s House review – Jessica Chastain captivates in minimalist revival. The Guardian. [online] 10 Mar. Available online: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/mar/09/a-dolls-house-review-jessica-chastain-broadway.