When reading 'The Argument of Comedy' by Northrop Frye, the concept that jumped out at me the most was the idea of a green world. A green world, basically, is a place of looser structures and a more fantastical environment. In this 'world', all of the problems that are found the regular world are allowed to work themselves out and then the characters are able to return to the normal world. Some good examples of a green world are the fairy world from A Midsummer's Night Dream and the switching of the daughter's and mother's minds and bodies in Freaky Friday.
While there is no crazy, fantastical place where the rules of normal life don't apply in the Venetian Twins, it was still helpful for me to think over the play using a kind of green world. Perhaps a better term for the middle part of the play where all of the problems are sorted out would be the grey world, since most of the things that passed probably wouldn't happen in real life (but they might. It's a grey area.)
Alright, so in this grey world, anything can happen. The twins are confused for each other, the women are constantly getting their hearts broken, there are several more love triangles than Twilight, and of course, the doctor allegedly sells his daughter. None of these things would be pleasant in real life, but in this grey world, the world of comedy, it's hilarious and acceptable. In the grey world, it's as if all of my morals are suspended and anything goes. Whereas, if I were to just hear about a doctor selling his daughter, I would be furious. But in the context of the grey world, it was very amusing.
When I put my moral beliefs and social constrictions aside, I can just sit back and not worry about the implications if these things were to happen in my life. Thinking in terms of a grey world or a green world allows me to enjoy the play for what it is: comedy.
I agree with your observation that there is a fantastical portion of the play but I don't think there is a 'grey world' per-se. I do think there is a green world, it is just disguised more as the "middle" of the play, which was your observation as a more grey area. Considering Zanetto and Pancrazio are both green world characters, as I stated in my post, the green world exists but in a more subdued sense.
ReplyDeleteErin, great post! In my own research, I explore how setting functions in dramatic comedy, so your post really interested me. I will agree with Danielle's observation that you conceptualized the "Green World" as featuring some "grey areas" or uncertainties, but the two are not mutually exclusive. Your comments offer a great place to start our discussion tomorrow!
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