DRAMA: A STIRRING TOOL TO ADJUST TO OUR SOCIETY

LET'S CAPTURE THE ESSENCE OF DRAMA!

When I was assigned a research work about a topical issue presented in one of Shakespeare’s works, the dreadful tragedy of suicide immediately came to my mind. I spent days trying to find a suggestive quotation that in just few words could resume the catastrophe of suicide in the play I had chosen, that is "Romeo and Juliet". I was sincerely disheartened because I couldn’t find anything appealing. Until when during the first days of July, stuck at home because of scorching heat, I bumped into a quotation from “ROMEO AND JULIET” that still has a special place in my heart:

“I will kiss thy lips.

Haply some poison yet doth hang on them

To make me die with a restorative. (V.iii.)”

This is quote taken from the extraordinary work “Romeo and Juliet” is particularly suggestive because it reminds us of the ghastly fate of the protagonists of this brilliant play. These are Juliet’s last words: she imagines the poison that killed Romeo as a “restorative,” a medicine that can put an end to her suffering. One of the play’s major themes is the inseparability of good and evil, love and hate, poison and cure. Juliet’s death is tragic, but she also celebrates it as a way of escaping a life without her beloved.

This meaningful quotation caught my eye because if we read it between the lines, we can detect that all the people who commit the tragic act of suicide suffer from mental disorders and see it as a way out to escape from real life. However, I felt that what I knew about suicide wasn’t enough. That’s why I chose to dig deep into this issue in order to acquire pieces of information about it and to understand what goes through someone’s mind when they choose death over life. For instance, I was sincerely astonished by finding out that in the United States, suicide is the third major cause of death in 15-to-19-year-olds. Moreover, most of those who kill themselves suffer from depression, and they only perceive the evil of the world they live in.

Thanks to this stupefying piece of information, I understood that the public is drastically unwitting of the prevalence of suicide.This is in part because, until recently, there was no public health policy on this subject, which should be very near to everyone’s heart; in part because society is reluctant to discuss both suicide and the mental ilnesses most directly responsible for it.

If I had never read that quotation, I would have never become aware of the ghastly tragedy of suicide, which is nowadays an issue very near to my heart. Furthermore, I would have never become aware of how beneficial Drama is in order to fix and to understand our society.

***

Nowadays, one of the major Art forms is represented by Drama. Drama is surely enchanting. Sure enough, it has the extraordinary ability to drag the audience, making people feel as if they were living a part of the play firsthand. In order to accomplish this, there must be an undeniable and subtle bond between the actor and the Audience. This magic interaction is even more possible through Shakespeare’s plays that deal with critical issues. As a consequence, we have the chance to empathise with the characters and to dig deep into the issues presented, which are the same that affect our everyday lives. In addition, Shakespeare’s brilliant plays are the key to solving the current issues that are pushing our society to crumble.

Considering Shakespeare’s works, I found a myriad of analogies between the characters and real people, generally speaking: the characters’ features are relatable to many human beings that live in the present. Maybe that’s why ancient works are still performed and admired nowadays. In particular, many teenagers can identify with “Romeo and Juliet”, whose love is hindered by their parents, a phenomenon that frequently occurs among adolescents. Furthermore, analysing “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, unfortunately loads of women empathise with Helena, who, like them, is atrociously verbally mistreated by her lover.

Plus, not only can the audience compare their personal experiences with Shakespeare’s characters’ adventures, but they can also grasp the issues that influence their life. To illustrate, taking into account Othello who commits a ghastly act by murdering his wife because of jealousy, we can clearly comprehend that this atrocity is still perpetrated nowadays. This way, the audience can detect what is behind this dreadful gesture and understand what leads the characters, in this case Othello, to carry out their deed.

Consequently, once the viewers are accurately informed about the issues that are destroying our world, they can chew over their impact on their lives, in order to find efficient solutions to prevent and to work them out. Talking about current issues is the first step to beat them. We should at that point roll up our sleeves to fix our society. Or at least do our best to try to do it.

All in all, I’m pretty convinced that Drama is a phenomenal manner to trot out grievous concerns and understand how crucial some of them are. Moreover, it encourages us to take a critical look at everything that surrounds us, scrutinise it, and then mull over it broadening our horizons.

Have a look at my presentation!

https://spark.adobe.com/page/46GZulkokZkn1/