Kocsis Zoltán: Comparing Peter Shaffer's Equus and Harold Pinter's The birthday party through psychoanalysis and the theory of the subject. In: Papers in English and American studies : Tomus XXV. - Distinguished Szeged student papers 2024, (25). pp. 145-161. (2024)
Preview |
Cikk, tanulmány, mű
papers_025_003_145-161.pdf Download (282kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Critical discussions of post-war British dramas do not usually select the two plays in my title for comparison, but my contention is that if we understand them as cultural practices that problematize the positions of human beings as subjects in society, these two dramas lend themselves to a valid and relevant comparative analysis. On its own, Equus is often analysed through psychoanalysis, but by comparing it to The Birthday Party, this analysis can be further crystallized. Therefore, in this paper, I compare Peter Shaffer’s Equus and Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party in order to identify similarities and differences, which can be used to describe the inner conflicts of individuals who are represented as socially positioned subjects in post-war British society. I aim to use specifically the psychoanalytic approach to build the foundations of the analysis and connect the dramas through the theme of the inner pursuit of passion that is perhaps the most important common aspect they share. As a result, the plays, similarly to their contemporaries, propose the following question: can passion as a unique and authentic value stand in opposition to ideology and can it be a tool, a strategy to escape ideology? The poststructuralist theory of the subject will be the overarching theoretical framework of my investigation, which will enable me to show how both dramas throw light on how ideological technologies work to keep the protagonists of the plays in fixed subject positions.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Journal or Publication Title: | Papers in English and American studies : Tomus XXV. - Distinguished Szeged student papers 2024 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| Volume: | 25 |
| ISSN: | 0230-2780 |
| ISBN: | 978-963-306-983-7 |
| Page Range: | pp. 145-161 |
| Series Name: | Acta Universitatis Szegediensis de Attila József nominatae : papers in english and american studies |
| Language: | English |
| Contributors: | Contribution Name UNSPECIFIED Shaffer Peter UNSPECIFIED Pinter Harold |
| Publisher: | Institute of English & American Studies (IEAS) |
| Place of Publication: | Szeged |
| Related URLs: | https://acta.bibl.u-szeged.hu/86284/ |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Angol irodalom története - 20-21. sz., Műelemzés - angol, Pszichoanalízis - műelemzés, Irodalomtudomány - összehasonlító |
| Additional Information: | Bibliogr.: p. 160-161. ; összefoglalás angol nyelven |
| Subjects: | 06. Humanities 06. Humanities > 06.02. Languages and Literature |
| Date Deposited: | 2025. Mar. 21. 09:55 |
| Last Modified: | 2025. Mar. 21. 10:14 |
| URI: | http://acta.bibl.u-szeged.hu/id/eprint/86777 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
