T.R. Suleyman Demirel University Institute of Social Sciences Department of Western Languages and Literature English Language and Literature
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T.R. SULEYMAN DEMIREL UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF WESTERN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SATIRE IN SELECTED PLAYS OF JOHN OSBORNE Ph.D. Thesis Abdul Aljaleel Fadhıl Jamaıl AL-JAMAIL 1340224505 Supervisor Prof. Dr. Ömer ŞEKERCİ ISPARTA-2019 T.C. SÜLEYMAN DEMİREL ÜNİVERSİTESİ SOSYAL BİLİMLER ENSTİTÜSÜ BATI DİLLERİ VE EDEBİYATI ANABİLİM DALI İNGİLİZ DİLİ VE EDEBİYATI BİLİM DALI JOHN OSBORNE'UN SEÇİLMİŞ OYUNLARINDAKİ SOSYAL VE POLİTİK HİCİV DOKTORA TEZİ Abdul Aljaleel Fadhıl Jamaıl AL-JAMAIL 1340224505 Danışman Prof. Dr. Ömer ŞEKERCİ ISPARTA-2019 (AL-JAMAIL, Abdul Aljaleel Fadhıl Jamaıl, Social and Political Satire in Selected Plays of John Osborne, Ph.D Thesis, Isparta, 2019) ABSTRACT The core of this study is an enquiry into the rebel hero as reflected in the selected plays by John Osborne. It tries to discuss the dramatic climate in England in the aftermath of the Second World War, with special concentration on the factors influencing upon and leading to the emergence of the new English drama in the late fifties. The chapter deals with a brief analysis of the “Angry Young Men Movement” and the rebel or outsider figure in post-war English literature in terms of studying the different theories concerning his origin characteristics and the various causes motivating him to rebellion. The study attempts to investigate the rebel hero in Osborne's plays Look Back in Anger (1956), The Entertainer (1957), and Luther (1961) respectively The subject is pursued by investigating the various social, political, economic, and psychological causes inducing the main character in these texts to adopt a rebellious stance, the targets as well as the alternatives which Osborne's rebel sees as possible solutions to his problems. The study deals with political and social satire in those selected plays by John Osborne. Look Back in Anger, The Entertainer and Luther deal with political and social satire of the English society after the Second World War. Keywords: Osborne, Post-war, Rebellion, Angry Young Men Movement, British Theatre, Satire iii (AL-JAMAIL, Abdul Aljaleel Fadhıl Jamaıl, John Osborne'un Seçilmiş Oyunlarındaki Sosyal ve Politik Hiciv, Doktora Tezi, Isparta, 2019) ÖZET Bu çalışma, esas itibarıyla John Osborne’ın seçki oyunlarındaki asi karakteri ele almaktadır. Çalışma, ayrıca İkinci Dünya Savaşı’ndan sonra İngiltere’de ortaya çıkan dramatik iklimi ele alarak bu yeni iklimin bin dokuz yüz ellili yıllarda oluşan yeni İngiliz dramını etkileyen faktörleri de ele almaktadır. İkinci Dünya Savaşı’ndan sonra İngiltere’de ortaya çıkan “Angry Young Men Movement” (Öfkeli Genç Adamlar Hareketi)’i analiz edilmektedir. Bu hareketteki asi karakterin yabancı bir karakter olarak nasıl isyankar olduğu ve onu isyankârlığa iten birçok nedenler ele alınmıştır. John Osborne’ın Look Back in Anger (1956), Entertainer (1957) ve Luther (1961) adlı eserlerindeki asi karakter figürleri sırasıyla ele alınmıştır. Yukarıda bahsi geçen eserlerdeki asi kahramanı isyana iten birçok sosyal, politik, ekonomik, dini ve psikolojik sebepler etraflıca araştırılmıştır. Osborne’ın asi karakterlerini sorunlarına değişik çözüm yolları bulmaya çalışırken görürüz. John Osborne’ın Look Back in Anger, The Entertainer ve Luther adlı seçki oyunlar İkinci Dünya Savaş’ından sonra İngiltere’de ortaya çıkan yeni akım tiyatro kapsamında sosyal ve politik hiciv yönünden incelenmiştir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Osborne, Savaş sonrası, isyan, Öfkeli Genç Adamlar Hareketi, İngiliz Tiyatrosu, Hiciv iv TABLE OF CONTENTS TEZ SAVUNMA SINAV TUTANAĞI ............................................................................ i YEMİN METNİ ............................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... iii ÖZET............................................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1. The Aim of the Study .............................................................................................. 1 1.2. The Scope and Limitation of the Study .................................................................... 2 1.3. The Method of the Study ......................................................................................... 2 1.4. Introduction to English Drama ................................................................................. 4 CHAPTER II SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SATIRE 2.1. Introduction to Social and Political Satire in John Osborne’s Selected Works ........ 19 2.2. Look Back in Anger .............................................................................................. 29 2.3. The Entertainer ...................................................................................................... 31 2.4. Luther .................................................................................................................... 32 CHAPTER III ANALYSIS OF JOHN OSBORNE’S PLAYS: LOOK BACK IN ANGER, THE ENTERTAINER, AND LUTHER 3.1. Look Back in Anger .............................................................................................. 34 3.2. The Entertainer ...................................................................................................... 57 3.3. Luther .................................................................................................................... 77 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 96 BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................................................................101 CV ..................................................................................................................................106 ÖZGEÇMİŞ ..................................................................................................................107 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deep thanks to my honourable supervisor, Prof. Dr. Ömer ŞEKERCİ for his kind assistance and encouragement, not to mention his infinite efforts to read over, finally amend the draft of this thesis, for without his kind supervision. I would not have written it. I followed and took into consideration all his invaluable remarks, suggestions and recommendations during the time when I wrote this dissertation. I should thank the staff members of the Department of English Language and Literature at Süleyman Demirel University. Finally, I would like to extend my deep appreciation to my family with love and sincere respect. vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION John Osborne’s plays marked the beginning of a revolution in the theatre of post- World War II in Britain. It was regarded as the most immediately influential expression of the mood of the “Angry Young Men.” The period covering the decades of the 1950s, the 60’s and the 70’s, was one in British history where radical changes in all fields of knowledge were taking place and affecting, in one way or another, the cultural climate of the time and therefore the social vision of the writers. For example, the economy in the post war period (The Age of Austerity, 1945-50) was on the surface recovering but with a toll of an under fifth of the population lacking basic needs. Osborne was a modest young playwright, on the barge on the Thames that he shared with Anthony Creighton, 1956. The theatre of the late sixties and seventies was in constant turmoil exploring its own limits and challenging what “bourgeois” theatre had taken all too granted. At the same time, the study of the author cannot be separated from that of his work, in as much as the study of the social and cultural upheavals affecting Britain and the rest of the world form the context where Osborne’s work arose. In this way, a searching inquiry into the relationship between his work and its social and cultural dimension is our aim pursued, since its full and specific original context challenges and informs the perception of ourselves in the starting decades of the twenty-first century. 1.1. The Aim of the Study The study aims at: 1. Studying the social and political satire in some selected plays by Osborne. It provides the reader with a general knowledge of the sociological and cultural background in the selected plays and its implications for a better understanding of the theatre in Britain during the first decade of the new millennium. 1 2. Investigating the original specific character of the works analysed in their original context challenges. 3. Analysing the topic of social and political impact on the British Theatre during the post-war period when reform measures were implemented. It is the issue most related to class and gender and references to it are to be found in Osborne’s plays, all of which tackle the question of social mobility. 1.2. The Scope and Limitation of the Study The study is limited to social and political satire in the selected plays: Look Back in Anger (1956), the Entertainer (1957), and Luther (1960). The research work falls into four chapters to explore the social and political dimensions to highlight the impact of Osborne in British theatre: Introduction (chapter one), Social