The Visit introduction

• Engels
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

Lesson objectives 

Predictions and concepts 

Contextual information and details of tragicomedy 

The theatre of the absurd - essential information 

Contextual reading research 

Look at the cover design. 

What themes or concepts emerge from this consideration? 

Do you see the same themes or concepts in these designs? 

Can you add any to your list? 

The Situation:

A has been bulling B for many months now.

B, the victim of A’s bullying, is very troubled by it.

C has been watching what has been going on between A & B, but because they are both C’s friends and C does not want to hurt anyone, they choose to remain neutral and not get involved.

Turn and Talk: Do you find C’s choice to do nothing justifiable? Consider the issue from C’s perspective, but also think about B’s feelings.

Discuss:  Do you find C’s choice to do nothing justifiable? Consider the issue from C’s perspective, but also think about B’s feelings.

Concepts HL Literature 

Some concepts addressed in this text:

justice, revenge, corruption, greed and moral compromise

Tragi-Comedy/ Tragicomedy

• On a basic level, a literary work incorporating elements of tragedy as well as comedy. 
  
• Term was first coined in the 2nd century BC by the Roman dramatist Plautus, whose plays were the first to show the roles of Gods and Slaves to be reversed for comical effect. 
  
• During the Renaissance, it evolved into including tragic elements into works that were mainly comic.
  
• Helped to highlight a happy ending after a series of misunderstandings or misfortunes
  
• The genre underwent further change during Realism, where comic elements were used ironically to further emphasize the tragic aspects of a text
  
• “Modern tragicomedy is sometimes used synonymously with Absurdist drama, which suggests that laughter is the only response left to man when he is faced with the tragic emptiness and meaninglessness of existence.” (postmodernism)
  

https://www.britannica.com/art/tragicomedy

Original title: Der Besuch der alten Dame (The Visit of the Old Lady)

Written in German, 1956

By Swiss Dramatist, Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921 – 1990)

Translated into English 1958 

Dürrenmatt was very critical of Switzerland’s stance of neutrality during the two world wars, but specifically WW2

In his opinion, ‘neutrality’ was merely a euphemism for ‘complicity’.

Therefore, his play is set in Guellen, a thinly veiled representation of Switzerland

Guellen = German for ‘liquid manure/ cow-dung’

Read the two articles shared in MB files and add to your notes in your exercise book. 

Contextual information 

Theatre of the absurd 

Take notes under the following headings: 

•  Juxtaposition 
  
• Symbolism 
• Structure 
• Reflecting humanity 
• Laughter 

edu.digitaltheatreplus.com

• Irony is the most defining language feature of this play
  
• Hardly anyone says what they mean and actions are often in contradiction to words. 
• As you read, consider how certain uses of language can be used to conceal as well as reveal, to distort as well as illuminate, and how communication is rarely straightforward in Dürrenmatt’s play.
  

Key IB concept: COMMUNICATION 

Set design Milan Butina in Ljubljana 1957/58

Sketch out the stage using the detailed stage directions given by Dürrenmatt. 

Read to the end of page 16

At your tables, discuss and make notes:

1. What does the repeated reference to Claire as “the millionairess” imply about the townspeople?
2. What are your impressions of Alfred Ill? What adjectives come to mind?
3. How would you describe the character of the Mayor?
4. Discuss the theme: Artifice and Pretence
- Artifice = clever or cunning devices or methods used to deceive
- Pretence = make-believe; giving a false appearance
5. Choose three lines of dialogue or stage direction up to pg 16 which capture this theme.

Act 1 exposition