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PRINCIPLES FOR THE USE OF STYLIZED MOVEMENT DURING THE INTERPRETATION AND PERFORMANCE OF LITERATURE BASED ON MARTHA GRAHAM'S USE OF CLASSICAL TRAGEDY IN MODERN DANCE. Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors COREY, FREDERICK CHARLES. Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 06/10/2021 12:16:01 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/184153 INFORMATION TO USERS While the most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this manuscript, the quality of the reproduction is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. For example: • Manuscript pages may have indistinct print. 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For an additional charge, 35mm slides of t, x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations that cannot be reproduced satisfactorily by xerography. Order Number 8'126813 Principles for the use of stylized movement during the interpretation and performance of literature based on Martha Graham's use of classical tragedy in modern dance Corey, Frederick Charles, Ph.D. The University of Arizona, 1987 V·M·I 300 N. Zeeb Rd Ann AIbor. MI 48106 PRINCIPLES FOR THE USE OF STYLIZED MOVEMENT DURING THE INTERPRETATION AND PERFORMANCE OF LITERATURE BASED ON MARTHA GRAHAM I S USE OF CLASSICAL TRAGEDY IN MODERN DANCE by Frederick Charles Corey A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1 987 r THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by ____F~r~e~d~e~r~juc~k~C~h~aur~l~e~s~C~Q~r~e~y~ ________________ __ entitled __~P~r~i~n~cwi~p~l~e~s_f~o~r~t~h~e~Us~e~o~f~S~t.y~l~iz~e~d~M~o~v~e~me~n~t~D~u~r~i~n~g_t~h~e~ ______ __ Interpretation and Pe~formance of Literature Based On Martha Graham's Use of Classical Tragedy In Modern Dance and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for of Doctor of Philosophy ------------------~~----------------------------------- ~ Da e Date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation ~~~ D~sertation Director Date ,/ s, '" STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permissions provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate Coll ege when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances s however s permission must be obtained from the author. -' ........ DEDICATION To my mother • • • iii "0_ ::"_ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have bee1 graced with the attention of some remarkable teachers. Primary among them are Professors Elbert R. Bowen, William R. Haushalter, Marion Kleinau, Janet Larsen Palmer, Ronald J. Matlon, Isa Bergso~r., Ma ry Z. Mah2;"', Jchn M. ~'i 1 son, and Davi d A. Wi 11 i ams. I do not simply thank them; I emulate them. This d~ssertation came to be after patience and endurance, and not just mine. I appreciate Nancy Finch for typing, Janet Jacobson for editorial assistance, the Cloistered Dominicans for prayers, Suzanne Miles for friendship, and my family for support. I also wish to thank Patricia Van Metre for getting me into and out of the University of Arizona, David B. Buller for helping me out of a tight spot, David Williams for guiding me through this dissertation, and John Wilson for his profundity and brilliance. Finally, I acknowledge and thank my companion and cohort -;n aesthetic capriciousness, Cynthia Meier. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT • • vii 1. INTRODUCTION 1 limitations 2 Definitions 2 Review of Literature. 10 Historical Overview 15 ':)1: Methodology oJ", Plot ••• 36 Character 37 Thought 38 Diction 40 Melody 43 Spectacle 44 Methodological Process. 44 Sunmary 45 2. NIGHT JOURNEY 47 Background • 47 The Ballet 49 Analysis •• 60 Plot. 61 Character 64 Rhetoric •• 68 Diction 71 Spectacle 74 Findings •• 75 Rhetoric Shapes the Form 75 Movement Vocabularies Are Created 76 Synecdochical Movement Is Expanded Over Time •• 78 Stage Properties Assume Multiple Functions Through Movement 80 Costumes Expose Movement and Indicate Character 81 Summary 83 v r r vi TABLF. OF CONTENTS--Continued Page 3. AN EXPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES • 85 Backgrounds •••••• 85 Cortege of Eagles •• 85 clytemnestra • • • • • 89 Cave of the Heart •• • • • • 95 RhetorlC Shapes the Fonm • • • • • ••• 97 Movement Vocabularies Are Created •••• • ••• 107 Synecdochical Movement Is Expanded Over Time •• 118 Stage Properties Assume Multiple Functions Through Movement • • • • • • • • • • • • • 124 Costumes Expose Movement and Indicate C~~racter 131 Sununary • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 138 4. CONCLUSION...... • • • • • • 139 Applications of the Principles. 139 Limitations of the Principles • 148 Implications for Further Research 149 On Studying Perfonmance 151 REFERENCES • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 155 ABSTRACT The interpretation a;id perfonnance of 1 iterature is a theatre art in which 1 iterary texts are transfonned into staged productioiis. Novelists, poets, playwrights, and essayists use the symbols of written language to create an imagined world for their readers; interpretative perfonners present their audiences with this world through symbols of both speech and movement. Hence the interpretation and performance of literature incorporates a wide range of literary and perfonnance theory. Unfortunately, little is known about how literary texts can be communi cated through symbol i c movement. The purpose of thi s study ~ then, is to propose principl es of styl ized movement which would be useful to the interpretative performer of literature. To develop these principles, Martha Graham's choreographic use of classical tragedy was investigated. Us i ng a descri pt i ve methodo logy based on Ari stot1 e' s elements of tragedy, four of Graham's ballets were analyzed in view of their "Hterary sources: Cave of the Heart from Euripides' Medea, Night Journey from Sophocles' Oedipus the King, Clytemnestra from Aeschylus' The Oresteia, and Cortege of Eagles from Euripides' Hecuba and The Trojan Women. As a result of this investigation, five principles emerged. Stated as descriptions of Graham's work, the principles are: 1) rhetori c shapes the fonn, 2) movement vocabul ari es are created, 3) synecdochical movement is expanded over time, 4) stage properties assume multiple meanings through movement, and 5) costumes expose movement and vii viii indicate character. By using these principles as guidelines, the interpretative performer may understand, create, and utilize stylized movement that cOlllRunicates the ideas, images, and actions inherent in the text being staged. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study is to propose principles for the use of stylized movement during the interpretation and performance of literature. Because Martha Graham, a choreographer of modern dance, has based some of her ballets on 1 iterary sources, and because she has translated literary ideas into movement, an investigation of her work might inform the interpretative performer about principles of stylized movement. Such principles could be informative for both the solo and group performance of literature. To develop these prinCiples of stylized movement, four totartha Graham ballets were analyzed in view of their literary sources. Through this study, five principles for the use of stylized movement emerged. These five principles are: 1) rhetoric shapes the form, 2) movement vocabul ari es are created, 3) synecdochi ca 1 movement is expanded over time, 4) stage properties assume multiple functions through movement, and 5) costumes expose movement and indicate character. This study is a report on how those principles were reali2.ed, how those prinCiples functioned in the four Graham ballets, and how those principles can be applied to the interpretation and performance of literature. 1 r 2 Limitations The findings of this study were based on an investigative analysis of selected Graham ballets.1 The four ballets selected for analysis were Cave of the Heart~ Night Journey~ Clytemnestra, and Cortege of Eagles. They were selected because they are based on literature: Cave 'of the Heart on Medea by Euripides; Night Journey on Oedipus the King by Sophocles; Clytemnestra on The Oresteia by Aeschylus; Cortege of Eagles on Hecuba and The Trojan Women by Euripides.

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