The Wild Duck/Comparison Journal 4

"What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out" To what extent do you find this statement applicable in at least two plays you have studied?

I think that this is extremely applicable in both Oedipus and The Wild Duck.

In Oedipus, the story focuses around him. He is royal, has money and power. Common people do not have these things! During this time, they watched Romanticized plays. From what we've learned about these plays in class, it seems like they make people look a lot better and they do not focus on the middle class. It seems like if the middle class was depicted in a play during this time, no one would be interested. Oedipus is basically life with the dull bits cut out because instead of showing everyday problems a poor/middle class person faces, the story is dolled up with the dull pieces taken out. The story shows a royal/rich family that tries to control their lives completely. This is normal for everyone, however because the dull parts are cut out, it makes the story much more interesting.

I saw the same idea for The Wild Duck. I believe that it is extremely applicable because the Wild
Duck includes family problems that everyone faces. However, to insure that it isn't too "boring" the problems are exaggerated and the boring parts of life ARE edited out... we never really see the characters just sitting and talking about nothing.