Challenging Absolute Truth: Fluidity and Transience in Patrick Marber's 'Closer'

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British
Cover of the book Challenging Absolute Truth: Fluidity and Transience in Patrick Marber's 'Closer' by Olivia Frey, GRIN Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Olivia Frey ISBN: 9783640694440
Publisher: GRIN Publishing Publication: September 1, 2010
Imprint: GRIN Publishing Language: English
Author: Olivia Frey
ISBN: 9783640694440
Publisher: GRIN Publishing
Publication: September 1, 2010
Imprint: GRIN Publishing
Language: English

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Vienna (Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik), course: Literature Seminar, language: English, abstract: 'There are many ways of interpreting this play. Is it on the Anouilhesque theme of how innocence and the rare ability to love never goes unpunished in this world? Is it about how no relationship lasts, and how everyone ends up alone or with somebody else in a worse kind of aloneness? Or is it about the noose of time tightening around everyone's neck, closer and closer? Or is this the Eliotian theme about our not being able to bear very much reality, and that the truth ultimately kills?' (Simon par. 5) A reflection on the title after reading the play immediately conjures up the question 'Closer... to what?' Due to the variety of themes dealt with in Closer the title first seems to be highly ambiguous. It might refer to the characters' desperate longing and unsuccessful quest for love, sincerity as well as physical and emotional intimacy in happy and fulfilling relationships. It could just as well describe their failing attempt at knowing each others' identity fully, while at the same time playing hide-and-seek with their own. Alternatively, the title possibly alludes to their way of seeking the truth about reality and the perception of time, while facing the transience of human existence, with death coming closer each minute. However, on closer examination, the answer to the initial question is to be found in exactly this polysemy, unified by a common thread: the search for ultimate truth about all these issues. According to Marber, '[i]t is the best possible title for the play because the play is always aspiring to get closer to some kind of definite truth about things but knows it can't' (qtd. in Rosenthal xxiii). In view of this statement, a question mark should actually be put after the title. For the individual characters do not succeed in gaining absolute knowledge or experiencing complete truthfulness. Truth in Closer seems to be a temporary and volatile condition, and thus, the red thread running through the play are the motifs of fluidity and transience on different levels: time, location as well as the characters' identities and relationships.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Vienna (Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik), course: Literature Seminar, language: English, abstract: 'There are many ways of interpreting this play. Is it on the Anouilhesque theme of how innocence and the rare ability to love never goes unpunished in this world? Is it about how no relationship lasts, and how everyone ends up alone or with somebody else in a worse kind of aloneness? Or is it about the noose of time tightening around everyone's neck, closer and closer? Or is this the Eliotian theme about our not being able to bear very much reality, and that the truth ultimately kills?' (Simon par. 5) A reflection on the title after reading the play immediately conjures up the question 'Closer... to what?' Due to the variety of themes dealt with in Closer the title first seems to be highly ambiguous. It might refer to the characters' desperate longing and unsuccessful quest for love, sincerity as well as physical and emotional intimacy in happy and fulfilling relationships. It could just as well describe their failing attempt at knowing each others' identity fully, while at the same time playing hide-and-seek with their own. Alternatively, the title possibly alludes to their way of seeking the truth about reality and the perception of time, while facing the transience of human existence, with death coming closer each minute. However, on closer examination, the answer to the initial question is to be found in exactly this polysemy, unified by a common thread: the search for ultimate truth about all these issues. According to Marber, '[i]t is the best possible title for the play because the play is always aspiring to get closer to some kind of definite truth about things but knows it can't' (qtd. in Rosenthal xxiii). In view of this statement, a question mark should actually be put after the title. For the individual characters do not succeed in gaining absolute knowledge or experiencing complete truthfulness. Truth in Closer seems to be a temporary and volatile condition, and thus, the red thread running through the play are the motifs of fluidity and transience on different levels: time, location as well as the characters' identities and relationships.

More books from GRIN Publishing

Cover of the book Syntax or Pragmatics: A Comparison of different Approaches towards English Children's Delay of Principle B by Olivia Frey
Cover of the book The Rise of New Cleavages and their Impact on Voting Choices in Denmark by Olivia Frey
Cover of the book The Undermining of the American Dream through Illegal Immigration by Olivia Frey
Cover of the book Process of change within family structures by Olivia Frey
Cover of the book How Heaven and Hell are construed in Vincent Ward's What Dreams May Come by Olivia Frey
Cover of the book Causes and consequences of 'gendered' communication by Olivia Frey
Cover of the book Demography. A Short Introduction by Olivia Frey
Cover of the book Homosexuality in 'Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón', 'Laberinto de Pasiones' and 'Entre Tinieblas' of the post-modern director Pedro Almodovar by Olivia Frey
Cover of the book The role of art in the struggle for a national identity in Lebanon by Olivia Frey
Cover of the book Sarah, ein Leben zwischen Geborgenheit, Liebe und Anspannung by Olivia Frey
Cover of the book Demand for establishment of truth comission in Croatia for war-period 1991 - 1995 by Olivia Frey
Cover of the book Interpretation of Shakespeare's 'Sonnet 128' by Olivia Frey
Cover of the book Sexuality in Charlotte Brontë's 'Jane Eyre' by Olivia Frey
Cover of the book Redefining gender roles: The Image of Women in Virginia Woolf's 'To the Lighthouse' by Olivia Frey
Cover of the book Project Management by Olivia Frey
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy