Abraham by Hrotsvitha and a Play for Representing Adam, author unknown are both similar and different to one another in a variety of ways. Adam is directly based on the Bible text, while Abraham has references to God and the Bible, but takes place in its own time and place. Each are effective of communicating the messages they intend to in their own way, in construction, in their use of Representatio, and in the use of dialogue, staging, humor, wordplay, metaphor and characterization. A special focus on Representatio can show the effectiveness of each play. Beginning with construction, Abraham is in its format much more what the reader today would be used to. It has stage directions and clear delineation of who is saying what when, along with clearly divided scenes based on set changes, for example, when Abraham travels to
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He’ll make you change your mind.
EVE. No he won’t, because I will believe nothing until I’ve tested him. (The Service for Representing Adam, Lines 276-286. Bevington p. 93-94)
In the case of Representatio, both Abraham and Adam are effective in their own ways, equally effective but very different. Adam does a great job at filling in the blanks of the Garden of Eden and beyond, but Abraham is a great ‘Aesop’s Fable’ of sorts about coming back from sin. The dialogue in Abraham is old-fashioned, and, especially in the first act, focuses especially on God. It can also be incredibly dramatic at times: ABRAHAM (Rocking with Panic). I have suffered an evil beyond any other. I have been struck a blow I cannot bear.
This feels like it should be something someone says when they’re murdered, but here Abraham is using it to express his feelings at his daughter going into prostitution. Still, the dialogue here is effective at getting the point across, and is entertaining in its sometimes over-dramatic nature. The dialogue in Adam feels even more old-fashioned to a modern reader, but according to the author of the introduction to the
He’ll make you change your mind.
EVE. No he won’t, because I will believe nothing until I’ve tested him. (The Service for Representing Adam, Lines 276-286. Bevington p. 93-94)
In the case of Representatio, both Abraham and Adam are effective in their own ways, equally effective but very different. Adam does a great job at filling in the blanks of the Garden of Eden and beyond, but Abraham is a great ‘Aesop’s Fable’ of sorts about coming back from sin. The dialogue in Abraham is old-fashioned, and, especially in the first act, focuses especially on God. It can also be incredibly dramatic at times: ABRAHAM (Rocking with Panic). I have suffered an evil beyond any other. I have been struck a blow I cannot bear.
This feels like it should be something someone says when they’re murdered, but here Abraham is using it to express his feelings at his daughter going into prostitution. Still, the dialogue here is effective at getting the point across, and is entertaining in its sometimes over-dramatic nature. The dialogue in Adam feels even more old-fashioned to a modern reader, but according to the author of the introduction to the