Socratic Seminar on Peter Shaffer’s “Equus”

Socratic Seminar on

Peter Shaffer’s “Equus”

Vocabulary

• Madness-: extreme deviance from the reality that society accepts to be true.– Causes of madness:

• Ignorance• Time period• Extreme brilliance/confident stupidity• Emotionally unstable• Fear of change (leading to alienation)

Vocabulary

• Madness-: the absence or distortion of society’s reality, which is considered unacceptable and unorthodox.

• Causes:– obsession/ extreme infatuation – ignorance– society’s influence (morality)

Vocabulary

• Alan Strang’s love of horses is…– deviant—a person or thing that departs

markedly from the accepted norm– perverse—turn away from what is right;

corrupt; wicked; wayward; cantankerous– warped—to bend or turn from the

natural or true direction or course

Vocabulary• accentuate—(this is a critical literary terminology)

to give emphasis or prominence to something or someone

• antic-disposition—madness • curry—to rub and clean (a horse) with a currycomb. • disposition—the predominant or prevailing

tendency of one's spirits; natural mental and emotional outlook or mood; characteristic attitude: a girl with a pleasant disposition.

• psychologist—A person trained and educated to perform psychological research, testing, and therapy

• psychiatrist—a person who practices the science of diagnosing and treating mental disorders. E.g., Dr. Dysart

Vocabulary

• contiguous—in close proximity (adjacent) without actually touching. E.g., the contiguous point between passion and madness is the point of critical interest to readers of all ages.

• reign—to rule• rein—any of certain other straps or thongs

forming part of a harness (used on a horse, for example). Literary usage: To rein in matters,…this is just like saying “In conclusion”

Vocabulary

• consternation—a sudden, alarming amazement or dread that results in utter confusion; dismay.E.g., Alan’s blinding of six horses leaves the reader in utter—i.e., complete—consternation.

• morphology—the study of the form or structure of anything. E.g., the pattern of word formation—i.e., inflection, derivation, and composition

• orthodox—holding correct or currently accepted opinions. (“ortho” means straight or upright). E.g., Alan’s unorthodox religious practice is one reason why he is seen as “strange”—a pun on his surname.

From William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”

• “ Polonius. [Aside] Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.” (2.2.)

• In the above line, Polonius comments on Prince Hamlet’s apparent madness, but Polonius suspects that this show of madness is only a guise/false front.

1.Think about Alan Strang’s apparent madness. Is there method in it?

“Equus” Socratic Seminar Questions

2. What would be lost if Alan Strang had an infatuation with a different animal?

3. Who is responsible for Alan Strang’s violent act against six horses?

a. Think about will-power b. If you were a judge, who would you lock up for this

crime against the horses?

4. How would the story be different if Alan’s passion/obsession was with a socially accepted religion?

5. Why does Dr. Dysart need Alan Strang?

California Proposition 2 (2008)• Proposition 2, or the Standards for Confining Farm

Animals, was on the November 4th, 2008 ballot in California, where it passed with 63.5% of the vote. Prop 2 created a new state statute that prohibits the confinement of farm animals in a manner that does not allow them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up, and fully extend their limbs. The law is set to go into full effect on January 1, 2015.

• Voters in other states have voted to eliminate calf and pig crates, but Proposition 2 in California in 2008 is the first time voters were asked to eliminate the practice of confining chickens in battery (small, confining) cages.

California Proposition 2

Votes Percentage

Yes 8,009,556 63.5%

No 4,622,352 36.5%

Total votes 12,631,908 100%

Proposition 2

• What is the relationship between horses and man in modern times?

• Is Alan Strang’s amorous relationship with horses any different from another lover of horses?

“Equus” Socratic Seminar Questions

6. What is Dr. Dysart’s intention at the end of the play? He tells Alan that Alan will fail. Then, Dr. Dysart confesses (in an aside) that he lied to Alan.

7. In reference to Dr. Dysart’s Homeric dreams, why is Alan’s face present? Why is Dr. Dysart the witch doctor? E

FYI• Please know your genres! “Equus” is NOT a novel!!• Playwrights are ALSO authors. So, rather than say “authors and playwrights”, say “novelists and playwrights”

• WEAK: “Alan Strang stabs out the eyes of horses with a hoof pick”

• STRONG: “Alan Strang blinds six horses with a hoof pick”

• Flannery O’Connor in her lecture “Novelist and Believer” says, “…distortion…to show truth”. This is very much the case in “Equus” when Alan Strang blinds his gods—corporal creatures—equines.

FYI• It is a case of situational irony when Dr.

Dysart envies his patient, Alan Strang. So, please use the literary terminology IRONY.

• Transitional phrases to begin your FIRST body paragraph for an essay on a PLAY:– To set the stage,– To lift the curtains,

• Equus is not a horse; it is a spirit that lives in all horses…such as the Holy Ghost in Christianity.

• Cliché/axiom: one man’s meat is another man’s poison

FYI• Any information on your essay paper—

including the silly notations some of you love to doodle—IS counted as part of your essay on the AP exam…and in my class.

• Because you are in an Occidental (Western) educational system which kowtows to Christianity, we only capitalize the Christian God…all other gods (such as Alan’s) are lower-case “g”

• Peter Shaffer is NOT an unreliable narrator…in fact, most Modern literary writers are NOT unreliable narrators.

Grammatical Technicality

• The subjunctive mood in English says that when you make a hypothetical statement, then your verb will be plural past tense. E.g., – If I were he, then I would do my homework– If it were true, then I would agree.

Proscriptions—i.e., what NOT to do

• Be careful with your use of prepositions such as in, on, of, and for.– E.g., Alan’s worship of horses (not for

horses)

• “shrink” is a colloquial expression. Please use the proper word—i.e., psychiatrist

Proscriptions—i.e., what NOT to do

• Please shy away from using “In conclusion”—this is a rather juvenile transitional phrase. Opt more for something like the following:– In brief, In full picture, In essence, In whole, In

short, Culled together, In sum, etc.

• Do NOT use “Stemming from…” to begin a body paragraph. Think about it: What exactly are you “stemming from” at the BEGINNING of something?

Prescriptions—i.e., what TO do

• Alan Strang’s idiosyncratic and EXTREME passion may seem “mad” to the naked eye, but not entirely so to the discerning eye.

• Dr. Dysart—as his name suggests—attempts to dissect or to “fix” Alan’s abnormality—i.e., Alan’s extreme passion

Prescriptions—i.e., what TO do

• In case you have not figured things out:– Logos + mythos =wholesome existence

– Logos=Apollonian=instinct for form, beauty, moderation, symmetry, and rationality

– Mythos=Dionysian=instinct for irrationality, violence, and exuberance

Prescriptions—i.e., what TO do

• Alan Strang is unstable (pun intended)

• Phrases you can use in your “Equus” essay in the future:– There is a psychic tension between

logos (reason) and mythos (passion)– “The mind and soul fall under the

scientific microscope” (Zuidema)

Spelling

• truly…NOT “truely”• judgment…NOT “judgement”• Fulfill• sepArate…not seperate.• professional…not proffessional• profess=to teach; to declare openly• denouement—French for “unraveling”…

used in literature as the wrapping up/conclusion to a story. Please DO NOT use this word as a transitional phrase.