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The Role of Suspense in Dramatic Comedy Jean Furniss Goodine

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The Role of Suspense in Dramatic Comedy Jean Furniss Goodine University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Spring 1977 THE ROLE OF SUSPENSE IN DRAMATIC COMEDY JEAN FURNISS GOODINE Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation GOODINE, JEAN FURNISS, "THE ROLE OF SUSPENSE IN DRAMATIC COMEDY" (1977). Doctoral Dissertations. 1155. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/1155 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This material was produced from a microfilm copy of the original document. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the original submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or patterns which may appear on this reproduction. 1. The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Page(s)". If it was possible to obtain the missing page{s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting thru an image and duplicating adjacent pages to insure you complete continuity. 2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a large round black mark, it is an indication that the photographer suspected that the copy may have moved during exposure and thus cause a blurred image. You will find a good image of the page in the adjacent frame. 3. 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University Microfilms International 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 USA St. John's Road, Tyler’s Green High Wycombe, Bucks. England HP10 8HR I I 77-23,641 GOODINE, Jean Furniss, 1947- THE ROLE OF SUSPENSE IN DRAMATIC COMEDY. University of New Hampshire, Ph.D., 1977 Literature, comparative Xerox University Microfilmst Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 @ 1977 JEAN FURNISS GOODINE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THE ROLE OF SUSPENSE IN DRAMATIC COMEDY by JEAN GOODINE M. A., Yale University, 1971 A THESIS Submitted to the University of New Hampshire In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate School Department of English May, 1977 This thesis has been examined and approved. Thesis director, Robert Hapgood, Prof. of English Terence Logan, Asso<J Prof. of English Anthpny Caldwell, Asso~. Prof. of English <- ______ //yU. __________ David P^agVdson," ^so. ProfEr^trf^grama f t ohn Rouman, Asso. Prof. of Classics e!3 ./&) ft 77 TABLE OF CONTENTS A B S T R A C T ........................................ iv I. THE NATURE OF COMIC SU S P E N S E ........... 1 II. THE BIRDS: SUSPENSE FROM INTERRUPTION ......... 24 III. SHAKESPEARE'S COMEDIES: SUSPENSE FROM KNOWLEDGE AND INSIGHT .......................... 46 IV. VOLPONE AND BARTHOLOMEW FAIR: THE PREDICTABILITY OF VICE AND FO L L Y .......... 90 V. G. B. SHAW AND INSTRUCTIONS IN FORESIGHT .. 131 VI. THE CHERRY ORCHARD: SUSPENSE FROM PASSIVITY . 165 VII. CONCLUSION: THE REASSURANCE OF COMIC SUSPENSE . 196 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................... 214 APPENDIX ....................................... 240 111 ABSTRACT THE ROLE OP SUSPENSE IN DRAMATIC COMEDY by JEAN GOODINE This study proposes that successful comic plots generate a special suspense. The comic playwright at the outset of the action provides the audience with information which both allows us to guess what the out­ come will be, and stirs a desire for that resolution. A character confronts events with actions which may be misguided and cause his disappointment; the audience's involvement, our responses and anticipations are proven correct. Surprises may upset the audience's equilibrium from time to time, but in the end our expectations are fulfilled and, as if at our behest, the desired resolution is achieved. The purpose of this study will be to illus­ trate how suspense reinforces the comic theme of the power of man in selected dramas, some using a conventional plot which tells a story, and others employing a non-linear or "contextual" plot, in which exploration of a condition replaces progressive action. Aristophanes's The Birds, discussed in chapter one, has a contextual plot which presents a situation and examines its consequences. The chain of cause and effect iv does not unite the various episodes, and events may sur­ prise both the audience and the protagonist. Peisthe- taerus is able to overcome all unexpected challenges and the audience is encouraged at the beginning to share his confidence, and thus to predict and enjoy his triumphs. The second chapter explores Shakespeare's use of suspense in the linear plot. In Much Ado About Nothing, events are governed by planning and the audience can anticipate actions by being privy to the secret schemes. Our expectations are never disappointed and all intentions are declared and fulfilled. In All's Well That Ends Well, this comic suspense collapses. Expectations are frustrated because the audience is often ignorant of the protagonists' projects, and we become so disenchanted with the characters that the resolution does not delight. The Winter's Tale matches the greatest disappointment of the audience's expectations when Leontes rejects the oracle, with the most rewarding fulfillment of our hopes. In the final act, the audience is encouraged to look forward to the miraculous, but we hardly dare to anticipate the conclusion. The next two chapters investigate plays by Jonson and Shaw, both of whom wrote linear and contextual plots. In Volpone and Bartholomew Fair, characters can control their victims' behavior by manipulating their expectations and exploiting their appetites. Pull power belongs only to the audience, however, which can see all the characters' fixations and thus can anticipate events. Shaw's Arms v and the Man focuses attention more on the characters' personalities than their plans. Once the characters achieve the audience's insight, they realize that they can determine events, and the play reaches its happy ending. In Heartbreak House, the characters fail because they never try to control events. The audience can see the folly of their passivity and thus does not share in their defeat. The characters in Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard are disappointed not because they are evil or stupid, but because they are ordinary people. Suspense, however, reasserts the power of man. The audience can predict that the estate will be sold; events are foreseeable and control­ lable. Waiting for Godot is a tragicomedy because it It does not offer these assurances. Circumstances control personality. The audience's anticipations are often upset and we cannot always laugh at Vladimir and Estragon because their predicament appears unavoidable. The gratification of true comedy thus depends upon suspense. Even If the comic protagonist does not thrive, the plot asserts the power of personality over events: despite surprising detours in the action, the audience's anticipations and desires are fulfilled. vi CHAPTER I THE NATURE OF COMIC SUSPENSE Suspense is generally given little credit for the pleasure derived from comedy; it is more commonly asso­ ciated with detective or adventure stories. In these forms of fiction the reader's attention is concentrated on what is going to happen next, and we are kept guessing about the outcome until the very end of the story. If we can predict events— deduce who is the culprit, or foresee how the hero will elude the latest danger— we consider the book a failure and stop reading. Suspense also can be generated, however, when the resolution is never in doubt, but the author conceals when or how it will be achieved. Sufficient interest must then be quickened by the characters or by the story so that the audience either dreads or longs for that conclusion. Alfred Hitchcock, in a 1971 PBS interview, noted that the effect of his films is dependent upon the audience's foreknowledge. Suspense and alarm are heightened by camera technique which will protract the time between the disclosure to the audience of what will happen, and the actual event. Thus in "Frenzy" we must watch Babs ascend long flights of stairs with her sup­ posed friend, who we know will strangle her. In tragedy too the outcome Is usually foreseen and dreaded. We 1 2 witness Othello's increasing receptiveness to Iago's deceptions, and Desdemona's final exchange with Emilia has greater poignancy because the audience can antici­ pate what awaits her at Othello's hands. Comedy is unique in providing the audience with information which both allows us to guess the outcome, and stirs a desire for that resolution. Suspense here is controlled and reassuring— the audience is prompted to count on the happy ending being achieved but is left uncertain of how or when it will occur. Although suspense is assumed to play a significant role in our appreciation of any literature, it has re­ ceived remarkably little scholarly attention.
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