Drama Oh Drama

Education

2005-03-11T20:44:00.000-08:00

Both Eliza and Rita are round characters in the play “Pygmalion” and “Educating Rita”. Both of them appreciate education very much. They understand the importance of education. In my point of view, Eliza is only outside changes while Rita has the inner change.

After taking the phonetic lesson, Eliza can speak like upper class and manages to behave like a lady. However, when any unexpected matter happens, her kerbstone English will come out automatically.

On the other hand, throughout the play Rita speaks non-standard English. But she has changed her point of view towards the value of life and her interesting toward literature.
However, their eagerness to develop themselves should become our model in our study. I remembered when the interviewer asked me the reason I wanted to attend the PKPG course, I told her that is because I want to develop myself. My salary may not increase much after graduation. I feel without degree level education is not enough. But it is tough to study at the same time takes care of family. Traveling from KL to JB by bus every weekend, not only spent a lot of money and time but also energy. What to do? As a mother, I cannot neglect my kids. I feel I have no time for entertainment and even time to rest. This is the price I have to pay for taking the PKPG course.

My review

2005-02-24T20:43:00.000-08:00

Writing blogs is a good way for me to express my thought and feelings. I am not brave enough to give my point of view in the class because my English is not good enough. I worried that course-mates may laugh at me. I afraid that lecturer may critic badly on my language in front of my course-mates. I feel save in expressing my feeling by posting blogs. One more thing that benefits me is the task of sending blogs, force me to think and to write. It may help my thinking and writing skills.
The movie “Pygmalion” that we watched on last Friday afternoon was very helpful to me. It gave me the deeper impression towards the play. The Chinese wording that display on the screen is useful for me to understand the play too. The utterances were almost the same with the text but the ending was totally difference. The movie shows that Eliza was with Higgins but the text asserts that Higgins is not likely to be interested in marrying Eliza.
Some of my friend prefer the ending which Eliza marry Higgins. For me, Higgins may not suit Eliza. She is just improves in English and the genteel manner. Inside her, she is still a common girl.

The killing simulated teaching

2005-02-24T20:30:00.000-08:00

I felt stressful when I was told to have simulated teaching on “King Lear” on Monday. I started to find an extract for my simulated teaching. I decided to use the extract from the utterance from Goneril and Regan flattered their father until the true expression of Cordelia to Lear on Thursday. I thought about what to teach for set induction and pre-reading activity. But I cannot find suitable activities for while reading stage.
I had turned the pages of the textbook of “King Lear” for many many times but I still got no idea. I was hesitated which extract to choose, what activities to carry out for the whole weekend. I was so tension until I had headache. Finally, I got the idea for which and what to teach when I was in the bus going back to Serdang from Kulai.
We showed our lesson plan to Dr. Edwin on Monday. He commented that my activity sounded interesting. I was so please at that moment. I found that the set induction by showing picture is not interesting enough but I really cannot find a more suitable one for it.
On Tuesday, before the simulated teaching period, we had “Teaching of Reading Skill” with Dr. Fauziah Hassan. She noticed that we were discomfort. After knowing our problem, she asked whether we were worried about “King Lear” or Dr. Edwin. We answered her “King Edwin”. Dr. Fauziah reassured us to release our stress.
My simulated teaching is quite smooth, nothing unexpected happened. I got B+ for it. I will do my best again for the next simulated teaching. I hope I can plan a more effective lesson plan and presents it nicely next week.

Men, do you understand females?

2005-02-19T17:38:00.000-08:00

After reading the play “Pygmalion”, I have a thought: a lot of males do not understand females’ feeling and do not know how to communicate with females. Higgins is a good example of it. Elisa is disappointed with the way Higgins treats her. From Eliza’s utterance: “The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated. I shall always be a flower girl to Professor Higgins, because he always treats me as a flower girl, and always will; but I knew I can be a lady to you, because you always treat me as a lady, and always will.” , we can see that Eliza is displeased with Higgins.
As for the relationship between Higgins and Eliza, it supplies another model of gender relationship in the play. It is a relationship between exploiters and exploited. Higgins takes Eliza, tames her and teaches her proper English pronunciation just in order to win his bet for him and show his talent to the world. To achieve his goal, Higgins acts with the girl as if she were an object or a slave, careless of her emotions and her future.
Actually, Higgins loves Eliza. He cares for her. He is so anxious when he found that Eliza had left. The only thing is Higgins does not understand females’ feeling. The way Higgins talk to Eliza always makes her feel disappointed. I hope men will pay more attention of females’ feelings especially husbands to wives.

Higgins Oh Higgins

2005-02-13T14:48:00.000-08:00

After reading the play “Pygmalion”, I feel that Higgins is quite proud. He said, “You see this creature with her kerbstone English: the English that will keep her in the gutter to the end of her days. Well, sir, in three months I could pass that girl off as a duchess at an ambassador's garden party. I could even get her a place as lady's maid or shop assistant, which requires better English. That’s the sort of thing I do for commercial millionaires. And on the profits of it I do genuine scientific work in phonetics, and a little as a poet on Miltonic lines.”

I dislike the way Higgins speaks. He said, “ I can do without anybody. I have my own soul: my own spark of divine fire.” He seems like look down on those who can’t speak English well. He even said, “A woman who utters such depressing and disgusting sounds has no right to live.”

But actually he does not look down on Elisa. Here, Higgins compares Eliza’s sounds with those of Shakespeare and Milton in order to shock her into awareness of “lower-class” accent. Later, Higgins even will undertake to teach Eliza proper English pronunciation.

Naïve Gloucester

2005-01-30T14:35:00.000-08:00

I saw another human beings’ flaw from “King Lear”. That is too easy to believe in what we hear. Earl Gloucester is the best sample of it. He believed in what his bastard son told him. He deem his son Edgar is so evil that wanted him to die soon, so that he can become the king and have all the wealth.
How many experience we have the same attitude like Gloucester? Once we heard something, we believe it immediately. And these wrong messages make us misunderstand somebody. We trust on the evil one and distrust the good person. How foolish we are just as Gloucester. He did not know the bastard son; Edmund is actually the evil one. Some times I wonder why Gloucester believe in bastard son but not his own son.
From the story, we can see how evil a human being may be. Edmund hated Edgar, he wants to get the throne, and he wants to get the land. Edmund wants to make their father, Earl of Gloucester to hate Edgar. God teaches us to be good to others. Love others as we love ourselves. If we listen and follow God’s words, the evil thing would not happen. But it is impossible because not everyone believe in God.

Poor Oedipus

2005-01-29T11:35:00.000-08:00

No strut “high and mighty” having “no fear of justice, no reverence for the temples of the gods.” This is not a comment on Oedipus so much as an expression of the peoples’ underlying belief.
Oedipus faces the truth, embracing his destiny now with courage, nobility, and dignity.
Humanity must suffer. Joy is a vision, a phantasm. Oedipus exemplifies human suffering, human misery – his life is the great example to the rest of us. Even the “Best of men” can be destroyed by fate. Oedipus had been an inspiration, but now thinking about him brings only darkness; we struggle to understand what to make of it all.
Why does Oedipus blinds himself and not commit suicide as Jocasta did? It is his act of will. He refuses to relinquish his freedom to make his own destiny. In that one act, Oedipus proves he is a free man who in fact creates his own way.
We learn of the catastrophe: the points in the play were the suffering is the greatest. Jocasta commits suicide and Oedipus brutally rakes out his own eyes. It’s a disgusting, terrifying, pitiful scene, just as Aristotle says. We are at the moment of catharsis. The Chorus expresses our pity and fear in the Exodos, as Oedipus describes how he is created for himself a fate worse than death.

Honeyed Words

2005-01-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

I was touched by the story of “King Lear”. Lear is a majestic king. The issue that touched me very much is Lear’s naïve and ignorant deed. Even though he has all the authority in his land, yet he wants to listen only to the honeyed words no matter it is illusive, spurious or sincere from his three daughters.
How many of as also like King Lear. We like to listen to the words that pleasant to the ears. We may lose true friend and bring dangerous to ourselves. This is human beings weakness. As King Lear’s story, favour to the nice wards brings disadvantage to him. Because of the flaw, King Lear loses his sanctity and dignity. His premature action had transformed this situation into sibling rivalry, madness and murder. Some of the ladies like to listen to the honeyed words and they are cheated by some playboys.
I hope all the readers get the revelation from “King Lear”: Beneficial advices always not nice to hear, on the other hand honeyed words are always harmful.

Initiative and responsible king

2005-01-08T22:30:00.000-08:00

After I understand the drama of Oedipus The King, I feel that Oedipus is really a responsible king. He loves his subjects. When the citizens of Thebes beg him to do something about the plague, he is one step of them. He has already sent Creon to the oracle at Delphi for advice. He has the initiation to fulfill his subjects’ needs. Oedipus blind himself when he notices that he has been blind to the truth for many years, so as not to have to look in his own children. He is so guilty that he said to his children “ Ah dearest ones, I had neither sight nor knowledge then, your father By the woman who was the source of his own life! And I weep for you – having no strength to see you…” Blind and continue aware of what one had done is more torturing than commit suicide. Many people choose to commit suicide when they realized that they had done a big mistake. But Oedipus is willing to suffer the left of his life to pay the price. He does not defend his actions though he had no control over them. He repents his actions.Although he had become a blind, he still cares his people very much. He asked Creon to be kind to the people. We can see this from line 237 –239. “Be kind, my lord, Great prince, be kind!” Oedipus asked Creon to be a good king . Perhaps he has the confidence towards Creon. He believes that Creon has the ability to govern Thebes. Oedipus is a initiative and responsible king.

Pride and Determination

2005-01-01T16:55:00.000-08:00

A man may have some positive and some negative characteristic. This concept can be seeing to the story of Oedipus The King. Aristotle stated, “The tragic hero falls into bad fortune because of some flaw in his character of the kind found in men of high reputation and good fortune such as Oedipus.”
Oedipus is a pride and determinates person. When he heard the oracles’ prediction that he was to kill his father and marry his mother, he was determined to prevent the prophecy. Therefore he left Corinth, his homeland. Oedipus solves the Sphinx’s riddle and was praised by the people of Thebas. His pride rose to a higher lever.
Oedipus also shows his determination that Oedipus emanates throughout the play, may appear to be positive attributes to one’s personality.
If Oedipus had not been so determined to avoid the prophecy, he may not have fulfilled it. We can say that his fate was sealed by his action of pride and determination. His pride of solving the Sphinx led him to the marriage of his mother, Jocasta, the queen of Thebes.

Oedipus The King

2004-12-29T16:35:00.000-08:00

I remember that last year when the first time I read on the story of “Oedipus The King”. I cannot understand what is it about. After our literature lecturer Puan Rohani’s explanation I can understand the story’s main issues but I still felt complicated about the characters and the settings. I have a clearer picture of “Oedipus the King” after I read a few analysis from Internet.
The story seems to say that a man cannot run from his fate. It was prophesied that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother, and although he tried to run from that, it happened anyway. The same is true for Laios who tried to get rid of his son to run from the prophecy that his son would murder him. Shall we believe that fate cannot be change or avoid just as the theme of “Oedipus The King”? As a Christian, I also believe that The Lord reign. He governs everything. But human being have the obligation to do the best. For example, we cannot say that the fate ordained that I am rich or poor. I do nothing also can be millionaire or however I do, I will remain poor, so I need not to work hard. I am fated clever or stupid, o I no need to study hard. Human being should play our role to do our best although everything is under The God’s governance.

Knowing more about drama

2004-12-18T13:47:00.000-08:00

13th December, Dr. Edwin wanted to teach us “Oedipus The King”. Before going into the play, Dr. Edwin explained to us the terms that used in drama. Prologue (exposition) – the introductory speech given to the audience at he beginning of the play. Parados (entry of chorus) - the song chanted by the chorus on their entry. Their song is usually about the action of the play help to build emotion in the audience. Episode - scene or act. Each episode consists of dialogue and action that takes place in one location at one time. Exodus - the final scene and resolution.
A traditional play follows the structural pattern of a traditional short story or novel. It has an introduction (exposition), conflict, climax, and a resolution.As we read Oedipus The King, Dr. Edwin wanted us to pay close attention the some aspects of the play. For example, dramatic irony –the contrast between what the character thinks the truth is and the audience knows the truth to be. This occurs when the speaker fails to recognize the irony of the actions. Element of fate (moira) – determine by gods. The gods have control over them. If someone wants to change the god’s will, he will be punished at the end. Orades is the god’s message to the people. The three orades that fulfill in the Oedipus Rex are: (i) Laios will be killing by his own son; (ii) Oedipus will kill his father and marriage his mother; (iii) The presents in the Thebes of Laios’ murderer will cause a plague.

What is drama?

2004-12-17T21:45:00.000-08:00

To understand more about drama, I find out the definition of drama. Drama is a form of literature acted out by performers. Performers work with the playwright, director, set and lighting designer to stage a show. A play consists of: dialogue- where characters talk with each other; action- what characters do in the play and gesture- what the character shows through motions and expressions.
A script, written by a playwright, gives the actors words and cues to perform the dialogue, actions and gestures of their characters on stage. As a reader, we can only imagine what the gestures, expressions and voice of the characters are like. Reading a play is like listening to a conversation, and using your imagination to guess at what the characters are like. This conversation is what actors will perform on the stage and will give you an idea of how other people, including the playwright, imagined the play to be. Drama differs from short stories and novels because it is made to be performed by different in different locations throughout time. While the script remains the same, actors’ interpretations of a single role may differ. There are two basic types of drama: Tragedy – a serious, solemn play based on an important social, personal or religious issue; Comedy – a play that show the humorous actions of characters when they try to solve social, personal or religious problem.

Chinese Traditinal Dance- The Lion Dance

2004-12-12T17:38:00.000-08:00

The Lion Dance is one of China’s most distinctive cultural acts. It is an important tradition in China. It dates back to the Hang Dynasty. It was particularly performed during religious festivals.
The Chinese Lion is a mythological creature that represents strength, wisdom, good luck, and has the ability to drive away evil spirits. Two types of Southern Lion's seen mostly are the old and the young Lion. The Old Lion is multicolored and has a long white beard. The young lion has black hair and a shorter black beard and is representative of a school that does not have such a standing in the community. The young lion is very aggressive and always wants to fight. Whenever he meets an old lion he tries to pick on him, but the old lion is more docile and does not fight.
The lion dance is accompanied by musical instruments such as a drum, large and small cymbals and gong. The drummer must be very skilled and must know which drum beat goes with each part of the dance such as when the lion is happy, sleepy, mad, scared or curious.
The lion is enacted by two dancers. One handles the head, made out of strong but light materials like paper-mache and bamboo; the other plays the body and the tail under a cloth that is attached to the head.
The lion dance combines art, history and kung fu moves. In modern times the Lion Dance is still used on the Lunar New Year to bring good luck and prosperity to everyone. It is also used at the opening of businesses, weddings, parades, and birthdays.

Acting

2004-12-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

We have EDU3217 “Teaching the Language of Drama” with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Malachi Edwin Vethamani this semester. We had learned “Overview of the Theatre, The elements of drama, tragedy and comedy on the first few lectures.
6th December 2004, Dr. Edwin discussed with us how a play could be a good play. The plot of the play should be well organized and coherent. The message must be clear. The actors and actresses must able to act vividly. The play should able to move the audiences’ emotions; its characters and conflicts grip the audiences. The performance need to e well translating script to acting.
In the second hour of lecture, Dr. Edwin let us play the acts from page 28 “Now Read On”. It is a dialogue. We were asked to act out the dialogue in a pair. One pair of the classmates acted as husband and wife having conversation in the bedroom. One pair acted as a teacher and a student and another pair acted as boss and secretary. I found that many of our classmates are very creative and they acted vividly. There were 3 pairs acted very well. Wazir and Lily acted as 2 chickens writing by their feet. Zainal acted as a discipline master reproached a naughty student (Roszaidi) who was smearing on a wall. Finally, Jamilah and Gouri acted as 2 robots having the conversation.I enjoyed the act.