Ghost Sonata Vs Beggar Essay

Both Ghost Sonata and The Beggar have similar approaches when it comes to stage directions; their philosophy is more is more. We are first introduced to Ghost Sonata with a page and a half long stage direction that rivals Shaw. In it there is an incredible amount of detail. It describes what each character is doing onstage at all moments of the scene; it also gives as much information as possible regarding the atmosphere. “A steamship’s bell ring, and now and then silence is pierced by low notes, of an organ in a church near by” (Strindberg 3) this portion of the stage direction is written in an incredibly naturalistic way compare this to a stage direction from one of Strindberg’s earlier plays Miss Julie “through them there is a fountain …show more content…
He picked very simple settings for his play like a café, and a house. However, his setting changes very rapidly within the large sets. Since there are so many different characters and different groups of characters taking place in form of chorus the setting had to reflect who the chorus people were. For example the Newspaper Readers sit on a bench in the café and the Prostitutes are outside on the street. This need to rapidly change the set is confusing and seems to be a bit excessive. When describing how the stage look on a whole there seems to always be someone one set whether it be the young girl sitting the back of the café or the father banging his drum in the background. This adds to expressionistic quality of the play but deters from the play itself overall. If Sorge had picked only a few simple sets then he could have done what Strindberg did and extrapolate from those sets to make them more symbolic then I am sure he could have had all the weird things his heart desires. Where the play I set and how the play is stage is an important tool that the playwright should use in order to communicate the mood and the tone of the play. However, in order to communicate this effectively there needs to be some method to the