Big Love Analysis Brief PDF

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Teacher - Robert Smith
Analysis Brief weekly assignment. ...

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Text Analysis: Brief format Caroline Lewis Alli Payne Gigi Pesaniello

Title: Big Love

Author: Charles Mee

Date (written/1st performance): 2000 Primary organizing structure and genre: Post Modern

#W/#M roles: 5W/6M

What is it? ACTION: Three women seek refuge in a rich man’s home to avoid their unwanted contract marriages. FORM: A postmodern piece following classic tragedy and comedy forms. What is it really? (What is the play about?) A closer look on the concepts of love, oppression, justice, free will, and identity.

I.

Where are they? (Note Changes)

1. Exact geographical location(s) or sites/environment(s): an outdoor terrace of a villa on the West Coast of Italy. 2. Textual references: “If Emanuel Ungaro had a villa on the west coast of Italy, this would be it: we are outdoors, on the terrace or in the garden, facing the ocean”

II

When are they? (Consider each act and/or scene; duration of action) Number of acts/scenes: 1 (not specified, play is a fluid conversation, French scenes) 1. Day, month, year: A midsummer evening

III.

Who are they? (List and/or diagram; explain connections/relationships)

Lydia: The most neutral of the three sisters. Often unsure. Finds fault in the system between men and women, but ultimately believes in the power of love over all. Curious and willing to consider multiple sides of an argument. Happiness makes her raucous. Olympia: The most docile of the three sisters. Intelligent (she knows what she’s doing when she colors her hair, etc.). Easily swayed (seen in her agreement to murder Oed). Thyona: The most dominant of the three sisters. Attempts to take justice into her own hands. Admits she dislikes being the way she is (angry and consistently impassioned). Intelligent and well spoken. Loyalty is extremely important to her. Nikos: The most connected to his ‘feminine characteristics.’ Eventually considers the idea of free will. Genuinely has passion for Lydia. Having genuine connections is important to him. Charming. Observant from afar.

IV

What is the play’s action? (A clear, complete sentence—an assertion. Evidence?)

Three women seek refuge in a rich man’s home to avoid their unwanted contract marriages. Number of plots? 1 V

What is/are the play’s theme/s? (What is the play about?)

The concept of free will, love, loyalty, familial bonds, individualism, passion, revenge, justice, courage, good vs. evil, right vs. wrong VI What happened before the play begins? (Back-story. Consider pt. of attack—early or late?) Lydia and her 49 sisters have fled their hometown of Greece to avoid being married to their distant cousins, and have landed on the west coast of Italy. VII What do the major characters think about their world? (Consider what characters say about themselves/others, what others say and what the character actually DOES. In sum, describe the character’s world view/take on reality, others, life, etc.) Thyona finds their world to be incredibly flawed, as she views men as the oppressor and women as those being oppressed. On the other end of spectrum, Olympia finds no shame in being a submissive woman, and openly states she would allow herself to be tortured if it means bringing pleasure to a man. Lydia is often stuck in between, as she is able to see both sides of the argument. Constantine believes he is entitled to a submissive woman and a traditional marriage. Nikos is a hopeless romantic and is willing to give Lydia the option to choose. However, he does not champion for the other women, which speaks to his lack of Constantine level hyperdominance.

VIII What is the function of each character? Whose play is it? (Central relationships/character) (Explicate) 1. Protagonist: Lydia 2. Antagonist: Constantine, Piero, Thyona 3. Other/Stereotypical/stock characters: Olympia/Thyona (to a degree): strong stereotypes of a woman (the docile woman/the hyper feminist) Bella: comedic relief, the judge 5. Which characters lead and which support? Leaders: Thyona, Constantine, Bella Support: Olympia, Oed, Piero In Between: Lydia, Nikos

IX What is the dialogue mode: naturalistic, heightened, poetic, mixed form? (An example?) Mixed Form (Thyona’s impassioned speech on oppressors (heightened). Song lyrics used. Mix of colloquial speech and meter/rhythm). X

Major images, references, other organizing conventions/devices? Strong images: “…to hurl their corpses into wells where once there were houses to leave rubble smoldering woodpiles to leave shattered stones, empty streets…”...