Saint Joan: Second Level Inquiry (Logic Stage)

This is the second level inquiry I am working on for WEM project. The first one is here, and this would be the last stage I’m going to post; I must skip the third level for all plays because it requires us to re-make the play in our own style (I don’t think it necessary for me; and I don’t have time for that either).

By what the play is given unity?

It’s given unity by faith, or in this case, by lack of faith. It is all, from the beginning, about how people think about what/who had led Joan to do what she has done. Was she inspired by God, or by the devil? Was it heresy or God’s act? And in the end, did Joan deserve to be accepted as Saint? So, I think it’s all about faith.

What does each character stand for?

There are three sides of main characters here: Joan; they who opposed her (people from the Church—ironically!); and they who befriended her (Charles, Dunois). Let’s take a look at each of the group:

Joan stands for simple minded people who only hold on God’s will, and put God above all. It is the simple-mindedness which can accept divine idea.

The Church authority (Bishop, Archbishop, Chaplain) stands for proud people in higher position who praise themselves as the most powerful servants of God, and thus their opinion are certainly those of God. They put their own pride over God, and that’s why God didn’t reveal the divine truth to them.

Joan’s friends (Charles and Dunois) stand for people who take God seriously only when He would grant their wishes. Charles and Dunois both believed in Joan because they have seen the miracles which answered their prayers. When the same God (through Joan) asked them to do more fight, they were reluctant because they no longer needed His help. They only want to take but refuse to give.

Do any of the characters stand in opposition to each other?

Yes, in the case of Joan and the Church authority, as above mentioned. The Church authority here reminds me a lot of the Pharisees, they both had misconception about being faithful to God.

How do the characters speak?

Here I only pick two characters that are most contradictory: Joan and the Archbishop.  

Joan’s words show that she is a simple and honest girl; she speaks boldly and innocently, but always full of virtues. Exp: [her eyes skyward] “I have better friends and better counsel than yours”.

The Archbishop is proud, arrogant, feels that he’s always right, and anyone opposes him must be wrong. Exp: “The voice of God on earth is the voice of the Church Militant; and all the voices that come to you are the echoes of your own willfulness.”

Does the playwright lead you into a satisfying resolution?

No; and that’s what makes this play was categorized in tragedy. The real tragedy is not because Joan was burnt to death (for Saints, death is just the mean of being united with God), but because after what had happened, people still could not accept their Saint. That is the real tragedy!

What is the play’s theme?

I think Shaw wanted to criticize how difficult it is for humankind to understand God’s will and to accept it humbly. From the beginning of the play, people got to believe in Joan only after they saw some miracles done; a proof that justified what was told them (Thomas all over again: ‘Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe’?). And from the Church authority we see that knowledge often veiled soul to understand the real truth; that God’s divines can only be seen with simple and humble heart.

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Scene on Three (5): Saint Joan

Today’s scene is picked from one of George Bernard Shaw’s plays: Saint Joan. Joan is a peasant girl in France who became a French soldier and fought against English army in the Hundred Years’ War as a divine mission from God. People didn’t believe at her at that time; she was taken as committing heresy, and being burnt for it. However twenty years after, the trial was declared as corrupted. She was then canonized as Saint in 1920.

This particular scene was after Joan has won Orleans from the English, and made King Charles finally being crowned. God led her then to fight Paris, but the French (the commander, the Archbishop, and even the King) opposed this plan. Joan was left alone in her action, and this was her speech.

“Where would you all have been now if I had heeded that sort of truth? There is no help, no counsel, in any of you. Yes: I am alone on earth: I have always been alone. My father told my brothers to drown me if I would not stay to mind his sheep while France was bleeding to death: France might perish if only our lambs were safe. I thought France would have friends at the court of the king of France; and I find only wolves fighting for pieces of her torn body. I thought God would have friends everywhere, because He is the friend of everyone; and in my innocence I believed that you who now cast me out would be like strong towers to keep harm from me. But I am wiser now; and nobody is any the worse for being wiser. Do not think you can frighten me by telling me that I am alone. France is alone; and God is alone; and what is my loneliness before the loneliness of my country and my God? I see now that the loneliness of God is His strength: what would He be if He listened to your jealous little counsels? Well, my loneliness shall be my strength too; it is better to be alone with God: His friendship will not fail me, nor His counsel, nor His love. In His strength I will dare, and dare, and dare, until I die. I will go out now to the common people, and let the love in their eyes comfort me for the hate in yours. You will all be glad to see me burn; but if I go through the fire I shall go through it to their hearts forever and ever. And so, God be with me!”

As always, faith made one much braver than him/herself, because they do not act alone, God is with them; they know it and have faith in it. Joan is a peasant girl, but she is much braver here than the rest of them. It’s because she has something they don’t: faith in God. She might be alone, but she is actually never alone, for God be with her. That’s the kind of faith we must all have.

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Jadi bagaimana cara berpartisipasi dalam Scene on Three :

• Tuliskan suatu adegan atau deskripsi pemandangan/manusia/situasi/kota dan sebagainya ke dalam suatu post.
• Jelaskan mengapa adegan atau deskripsi itu menarik, menurut versi kalian masing-masing.
• Jangan lupa cantumkan button Scene on Three di dalam post dengan link menuju blog Bacaan B.Zee.
• Masukkan link post kalian ke link tools yang ada di bawah post Bacaan B.Zee, sekalian saling mengunjungi sesama peserta Scene on Three.
• Meme ini diadakan setiap tanggal yang mengandung angka tiga, sesuai dengan ketersediaan tanggal di bulan tersebut (tanggal 3, 13, 23, 30, dan 31).

#OTR: Kitab Yesaya 2-4: Kerajaan Damai dan Hukuman Tuhan

Bab 2 Kitab Yesaya membicarakan dua hal: nubuat tentang “kerajaan damai” yang akan datang, sekaligus kecaman dan hukuman yang disediakan Tuhan bagi orang yang meninggikan diri. Yesaya menubuatkan bahwa pada jaman akhir, manusia akan berpaling dan berbondong-bondong menuju ke “rumah” Tuhan, karena disanalah akan ada kedamaian yang sesungguhnya, di mana takkan ada lagi kejahatan dan permusuhan. Pada ayat 4 ada ungkapan yang indah untuk menggambarkan kondisi itu, di mana pedang akan ditempa menjadi mata bajak, dan tombak akan menjadi pisau pemangkas.

Perikop tentang hukuman jauh lebih unik dan menarik. Di sini Yesaya kadang berbicara pada Tuhan, kadang pada umat Israel. Pada Tuhan, Yesaya seolah-olah begitu marahnya sehingga seolah “mengompori” Tuhan untuk tidak mengampuni mereka (Yes 2:9):

Maka manusia ditundukkan

dan orang direndahkan—

janganlah ampuni mereka!

Sedang pada umat Israel, Yesaya menunjukkan akibat kemarahan Tuhan yang akan terjadi. Hal menarik di sini adalah bagaimana Yesaya menggunakan metafora benda-benda yang tinggi menjulang (gunung, pepohonan, tembok, menara) untuk menggambarkan kesombongan manusia yang ingin melebihi Tuhan. Yesaya pun menutup bab ini dengan indah, dengan mengungkapkan keputus-asaannya melihat kesombongan Israel. Di sini ia seolah berbicara pada diri sendiri—monolog?? (Yes 2:22):

Jangan berharap pada manusia,

sebab ia tidak lebih daripada embusan nafas,

dan sebagai apakah ia dapat dianggap?

Di bab 3 Yesaya menunjukkan hukuman bagi orang-orang yang dianggap menyesatkan umat. Tuhan akan mengambil para pemimpin dan orang-orang yang dapat diandalkan, lalu membiarkan bangsa itu dipimpin orang-orang muda, yang tentu akan menimbulkan kekacauan. Maka tepatlah ayat 11 ini:

Celakalah orang fasik! Malapetaka akan menimpanya,

sebab mereka akan diperlakukan menurut perbuatannya sendiri.

Mereka telah menyesatkan bangsanya sendiri, maka sekarang malapetaka menimpa seperti berbuatan mereka, yaitu berupa kekacauan yang melanda bangsa itu. Hukuman yang menimpa wanita-wanita Sion yang rusak moralnya juga unik, yaitu dengan mengganti rempah harum menjadi busuk, dll.

Bab 4 memiliki keunikannya sendiri juga. Pertama, karena dalam 1 bab ada dua kondisi yang berkebalikan. Ayat 1 menggambarkan puncak kemalangan bangsa Israel, yaitu sampai-sampai tujuh perempuan akan memaksa satu laki-laki untuk memperistri mereka, menunjukkan begitu menderitanya mereka karena hukuman Tuhan. Lalu, tiba-tiba pada ayat 2 ada perubahan tema. Di sini digambarkan bagaimana umat Israel yang terluput dari amarah Tuhan akan mengalami kekudusan dan selalu dilindungi Tuhan.

Keunikan kedua, adalah, bila dari awal bab 1 s/d 3, penulisan nubuat Yesaya selalu dalam bentuk puisi, maka khusus pada bab 4 ini bentuknya beralih ke prosa. Aku membayangkan saja….mungkin Yesaya mengalami penglihatan yang sangat intens dan menggetarkan; begitu mengerikan, sekaligus begitu kudus, hingga ia langsung menuliskannya apa adanya. Ini hanya interpretasiku saja….

[Classic Movie] The Cherry Orchard

Thanks to my friend Maan Kawas, I could watch this movie via youtube. This is the old version of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard movie adaptation; 1981 BBC video of four parts miniseries, directed by Richard Eyre, where Judi Dench plays beautifully as Madam Lubov Andreyevna Ranevsky.

Castings

This movie would not be as strong as it is without Judi Dench’s acting. She can play convincingly as Lubov; she is everything I can imagine about her. She can pull out the emotion very well. In short, Judi Dench is the center of the stage whenever she is on it. What’s more interesting is that about twenty years before, Judi Dench has also played in another The Cherry Orchard movie version, but at that time she played as Anya.

Lopakhin is also quite convincing here; as a slave boy who has been climbing as a successful businessman, and who—deep in his heart—always keep his ambition to ‘beat’ his ex master. Bill Paterson plays well the cunning Lopakhin. But I think his gesture when announcing that he is the new owner of the house is a bit overacting. It might be good on stage, but in the movie I feel it doesn’t fit the whole scene.

I think Frances Low is too old to be Dunyasha. Is she really that older from Yasha?

Story and Plot

As with most of BBC classics miniseries, the plot of this one is following the book’s very precisely, so, no complain about that.

Setting and Costumes

One thing that is less satisfying from this movie is the setting. It seems that BBC is quite confused whether they’d make The Cherry Orchard into a movie or perform it on stage. The house is OK, but the garden (or is it actually part of the cherry orchard?) is too plain. I know it is a bit difficult to perform it outdoor; it is OK to have a set decorated as an outdoor, but you must decorate it such to look like real. And it would be great if we can take a glimpse of the cherry tree, if not the whole orchard, at least the tree(s).

Just like the plot and setting, the costumes follow the book precisely. My favorite is Lubov’s, they make Judy looks elegant (but I think it’s more of Judy’s, not the costumes :D). Anya’s is a bit old fashion for her character, but considering how she’s changed her mind about the cherry orchard after conversing with Trofimov, I think it makes sense that she dresses plainly, leaving the glamour behind.

Overall, I rated this adaptation 7 to 10.

The movie on youtube (1st of 4 videos)

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I watched this for Books Into Movies Monthly Meme #7

Saint Joan: First Level Inquiry (Grammar Stage)

What is the initial question or tension?

From the beginning everyone has been wondering whether Joan told the truth when she said that God sent her. In these cases, one always wonders whether someone is a saint or a liar. So, the initial question here is: Is Joan really sent by God?

Where is the point of greatest tension?

It’s when Joan snatches the ‘recantation of the heresy’ and tears it to pieces and gives this speech:

“It is not the bread and water I fear; I can live on bread; when have I asked for more? It is no hardship to drink water if the water be clean. Bread has no sorrow for me, and water no affliction. But to shut me from the light of the sky and the sight of the fields and flowers; to chain my feet so that I can never again ride with the soldiers nor climb the hills; to make me breathe foul damp darkness, and keep from me everything that brings me back to the love of God when your wickedness and foolishness tempt me to hate Him; all this is worse than the furnace in the Bible that was heated seven times. I could do without my warhorse; I could drag about in a skirt; I could let the banners and the trumpets and the knights and soldiers pass me and leave me behind as they leave the other women, if only I could still hear the wind in the trees, the larks in the sunshine, the young lambs crying through the healthy frost, and the blessed church bells that send my angel voices floating to me on the wind. But without these things I cannot live; and by your wanting to take them away from me, or from any human creature, I know that your counsel is of the devil, and that mine is of God.”

It only points out what the most important thing for human kind should be. The speech is so eloquent that it touched me deeply when reading it.

Where does the play’s action reach its climax?

At first I picked Joan’s burning as the climax (the Chaplain and Ladvenu repented here), but after thinking it thoroughly, I decided that the real climax is Joan’s canonization announcement as Saint. Because off this canonization process, do the others really admit and honor her by kneeling to her giving praises. What else could be more climax than this? When everyone who had been under-appreciating her and accusing her now adore her?

Where is the resolution?

In King Charles’ dream, where he meets Joan and all others; they deserts Joan one by one to the idea of her resurrection, right after their praises to her. To which Joan sighs to God: “O God that madest this beautiful earth, when will it be ready to receive Thy saints? How long, O Lord, how long?” I believe Joan’s desperation is the resolution.

What holds the play’s action together?

I think what makes it difficult for people to see the truth behind Joan’s claim that she is sent by God, is the lack of faith. That is what holds the play’s action together. People choose to believe what they can understand, and take anything beyond imagination as heresy or witchcraft. Even after they are proved to be wrong, it’s still difficult for them to accept their saints.

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Saint Joan – Scene Summaries

Saint Joan is a play from George Bernard Shaw I picked for the last freebie theme of our Let’s Read Plays. I am also working on this for WEM Project, and as usual, this is the Scenes summaries (not Acts, as it contains only Scenes).

Scene I

Joan—a peasant girl—was told by God (through St. Catherine, St. Margaret and the Blessed Michael) to go to Robert Baudricourt, a landlord, to ask for soldiers to drive the English away from Orleans (France). Skeptical at first, Robert could not reject Joan’s proposal and finally granted it. Then a miracle happened, which ensured Robert that Joan was sent by God.

Scene II

Joan came to the Dauphin (the young King to be crowned) Charles the Seventh, but the Archbishop rejected to see her. Charles was weak, but he’s impressed by Joan as she had done miracle by guessing the real Charles while he was in disguise. Joan convinced and encouraged the weak Charles to let her led the army and crown him King.

Scene III

At Orleans Dunois is the chief commander, and for days he couldn’t across the river to get to French army because the wind always blew to West. Joan arrived, and miracle happened, the wind suddenly blew to the East. Dunois believed that she—The Maid—was sent by God, and though he reluctantly at first to give the army command to Joan, he did it after the miracle.

Scene IV

In English camp, English Earl of Warwick and Rev. de Stogumber met Bishop Mgr. Cauchon; the first two insisted that Joan was a witch and must be burnt. The Bishop cared more about the girl’s soul salvation than politics, but saw her as a heretic from Devil. Earl of Warwick worried that the aristocracy would lose their power from the King if he be coronated.

Scene V

In the Cathedral of Rheims when King Charles has just been coronated, Joan wanted to fight Paris before she returned home; but the others rejected the idea. They even threat her that she could be burnt for heresy. She was now left alone by others whom she had helped, but she put her trust in God.

Scene VI

Joan was captured and being tried for heresy. With some tough disputes between the politicians and the Church (English partisan) during the trial, Joan was nearly freed from charges. But after knowing that she would be imprisoned till death, she chose to be burnt at stake. A cross was brought before her when she was dying.

Epilogue

Twenty five years after Joan’s death, King Charles was visited by Joan in his dream, along with most of the main characters. That day, Joan canonization has been decreed after a trial being conducted and the heresy trial has been proven corrupted. The others confessed that they finally realized that Joan comes from God, not from evil, but when Joan was suggesting whether she’d better come to live again, the others soon left her; and Joan could only sigh to God, how it is difficult for men to receive their saints.

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Twelfth Night [Review & Play Monthly Meme]

Orsino—Duke of Illyria—is wooing Olivia, a lady who is in mourning of her death brother and doesn’t want to meet any man. Meanwhile, Viola—also a lady—is stranded in Illyria as her ship wrecked, separated from her twin brother who was at the same ship before the wreck. She wants to hide her identity, so she disguises as a man and serves as Orsino’s attendant, Cesario. As she becomes the Duke’s favorite, Orsino sends her to woo Olivia for him, which is hard a task for her as she is actually in love with her boss. The plot becomes much more complex when Olivia rejects the Duke but falls in love instead with the messenger (Viola in disguise). Meanwhile Sebastian—Viola’s twin brother—has actually landed on Illyria too; and as he is Viola’s twin brother, it’s hard to distinguish one from another; and that adds to the complexity of the misunderstandings.

As always with Shakespeare’s comedies, this play is about misunderstanding, disguising, and coincidences. There are the ladies and gentlemen, but also the losers (Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Aguecheek), and of course The Fool who is often cleverer and wiser than the others :). I’m not a fan of comedy, but this one was quite enjoyable as a light reading. However, I still cannot appreciate some vulgar humors of Shakespeare (and maybe I’d never do) in this play.

One character that annoyed me is Maria. The way she’s playing at Malvolio is, for me, too much. Maybe Malvolio deserves to be given a lesson by his colleagues for his haughtiness, but to false your boss’ handwriting to insult your colleague is ‘grossness’—the word Maria used to describe Malvolio’s appearance: “For there is no Christian that means to be saved by believing rightly can ever believe such impossible passages of grossness. He’s in yellow stockings.” And why must she use Christianity to compare such silliness? Ridiculous and not funny at all!

Play Monthly Meme August theme: Favorite Scene

I think the cleverer of them is Viola, and her dialogue with the Fool in Act 3 Scene 1 is very interesting. From the whole play, this scene is my favorite. I enjoyed the Viola-Fool dialogue, and also Viola (Cesario)-Olivia scene where Olivia is clearly attracted to Cesario, and how Cesario feels awkward about that. It’s funny really, when you see it being presented on stage. It’s funny that Olivia didn’t see how Cesario reacts (her body language most of all) just as women do. See here (it becomes more interesting because they staged it outdoor):

Three and a half stars, for I enjoyed the play, although it’s not too special.

P.S. I still don’t understand, why this play is titled Twelfth Night? Are the scenes really stretched in twelve nights?

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I read ebook version from Feedbooks

*This book is counted as:*

11^th book for Let’s Read Plays (August) – Shakespeare Comedy

52^nd book for The Classics Club Project