International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Sulekha Sundaresan ¹

Affiliations
1 Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, IN

Abstract

Tony Harrison is widely known as a master of theatrical poetry and has strived to keep verse drama alive in the modern world, where the art of theatrical poetry has become a rare one. He creates traditionally structured poetry by inserting common man's speech into classical language to expose the stark difference between his working-class background and his formal education and literary career. Harrison shows concern for the social, economic, and political implications of the suppression of working-class language by the educated classes. He has the strange ability to convert classical work pieces to modern trend art by adding the vernacular language to it. One such work is his reconstruction of the Mystery Plays. The play was prepared to be performed at The Globe, and hence the name Globe Mysteries. In it Tony Harrison proves how even serious themes such as evolution, creation, Doomsday can be staged hilariously and at the same time, not spoiling the essence of the original work. This paper discusses the language employed by Harrison, the play's acceptance by the audience and the necessity of such plays with verse script.

Keywords

Mystery Plays, Globe Mysteries, Vernacular, Verse Drama, Classical

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