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James Bridie - Clown and Philosopher (Hardcover, Reprint 2016)
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James Bridie - Clown and Philosopher (Hardcover, Reprint 2016)
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This critical analysis of twelve of the plays of James Bridie
(1885-1951) illustrates that throughout Bridie's work there exists
a philosophical continuity which can be traced through three stages
of moral awareness and which when recognized goes far in defining
Bridie's genius. Bridie, as the study attempts to show, was
essentially a moralist, and his plays are in a special sense
morality plays; thus his original use of religious myth is
explored, particularly his use of the myth of the fall from
innocence. Bridie's first play, The Switchback uses the myth of
Adam's temptation and fall to tell the story of a Scottish
physician's struggle to meet both self and social responsibilities.
Four other plays, Tobias and the Angel, The Girl Who Did Not Want
to Go to Kuala Lampur, Marriage Is No Joke, and The Black Eye,
again deal with the Fall, this time with innocent Adams who remain
oblivious of the demons tempting them to leave their particular
Garden of Eden. The discussion of Tobias also introduces Bridie's
use of the Prodigal Son story. The disillusionment of experienced
Adams is studied in the late plays; the disillusioned Adam of the
last Play, The Baikie Charivari, seems to be a modern-day Pontius
Pilate. Aside from exploring the mythical content of the plays,
Helen L. Luyben defends Bridie as a craftsman against accusations
that he was a bungler. She maintains that the structure of the
plays is not diffuse but carefully plotted, as is apparent in the
conscious use of myth (supported by a metaphysical use of language)
and in the common structural techniques found throughout the plays.
As Bridie's morality goes beyond the limits of logic, so his
structure disregards the limitations of realistic drama, demanding
dramatic forms-farce and fantasy-which will encompass the illogical
and portray a higher reality than the realistic form. Thus his
language operates both on a literal and poetic plane. Finally,
Bridie's moral affinity with Shaw and Ibsen is explored, not with
the intention of tracing literal borrowing, but to clarify Bridie's
philosophical and dramatic intention.
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