Structure in the One-Act Play

STRUCTURE IN THE ONE-ACT PLAY How NEW IS THE "new theater"? Insofar as structure is concerned, the modern one-act play is plainly descended from classical ancestors. Besides those intsances where the standard mold is repeated, today's one-acter seems at most to be in a process of evolution, tending towards a division of classical form into its two major components: the tension line and individual sections. This division, as illustrated by Pinter's The Dumb Waiter on the one hand, and Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape on the other, can perhaps be most clearly described if the elements in their classical combination are briefly reviewed. For example, !\foliere's well-known one-acter, Les Precieuses ridicules, may be diagrammed as follows: 1 _ _ _--.---J The rising tension line represents the development of the major problem : When will the heroines learn the true identity of their "noble" visitors? The action progresses by a logical sequence of cause and effect, with all events and character motivations leading logically to the next event until the problem is solved. This is the turning point ("Vos laquaisf"), where tension starts to fall. The sections, corresponding to the acts of a longer play, are separable by content and "emphasis points." Specifically, the play contains three distinct parts: 1. Exposition (Scene I) and Introduction of the Heroines (through Scene VI), 2. A Case of Mistaken Identity (through Scene XII), and 3. Unmasking and Disgrace. The emphasis points, occurring at the logical breaks, may be likened to the attentiongetting devices at the end of an act. There is a fracas when the first disguised lackey enters (,,*-A" on the chart), and at the end of Section 2 there is an increase of sounds and people-music and dancers-before the masters, shouting, rush on stage to beat their valets ("""-B") at the start of Section 3. 390 1970 STRUcrURE IN TIlE ONE-Acr PLAY 391 These two basic elements of classical structure are also found in many contemporary one-acters. For example, Ionesco's Jacques ou la soumission may be diagrammed similarly to Les Precieuses ridicules: ,.' ·.f ••• ~ 7ICa 1l'\a..n.U ••• 1 8 The exposition, however, is slower than that of Les Precieuses, for it is spread over much of the first section ("E-E" on the chart). In the first five lines of the play a woman says, "Mon fils ... tu t'obstineras," and we know that her son is refusing to do something. But we don't know what it is until near the end of this section, when he cries, "Eh bien oui ... j'adore les pommes de terre au lard," and the family rejoices. A few minutes later Jacques pere says, "Je te reintegre a ta race. A la tradition. Au lardement," confirming what has already been implied, that developing a liking for potatoes and bacon signifies conforming to society. But that the exposition is this slow does not mean it is unclassical. Diderot said that in the first act the main characters need not appear, nor need their names even he pronounced.1 The major problem is, will Jacques conform? To Jacques' independence are opposed the succeeding obstacles of duty, reason ("Tn es chronometrable!"), social pressure (represented by the two families), and sex, in a logical sequence of events: Because her brother cannot be persuaded by family pleas, Jacqueline reasons with him; because of her statement that he is "chronometrable," Jacques decides to submit; because he submits, the family can produce the fiancee they have selected for him; because Jacques is unenthusiastic about being part of society, he finds fault with their choice and finally reneges; because of his angry words, the families leave him alone with Roberte, hoping he will succumb to her; because Roberte is delightful , with her stories, her three noses, and her nine fingers on one hand, and because Jacques is not of the firmest will, having already surrendered once to society, he gives in. This is the climax; the precise turning point is "... je me marie avec vous...." 1 Jacques Scherer, La Dramaturgie classique en France, Librairie Nizet, Paris, 1959, p. 199, citing De la Poesie dramatique, ch. XIV. 392 MODERN...