Comprising of divergent perspectives and notions, Louis Nowra’s play Cosi is centred around a university student, Lewis who finds a job directing a play with mental patients as the cast, within a mental asylum. Roy chooses the opera ‘Cosi Fan Tutte’ by Mozart surrounding love and fidelity. The idea of love is incorporated within Cosi to represent the differences in cultural and social values. This is shown in how Nick and Lucy perceive love as “an emotional indulgence for the privileged few”, whereas other characters still believe in the conservative approach of fidelity. Nowra exhibits extremes of sanity and insanity, incorporating a powerful representation of the “mentally ill”. The interactions and conflicts that ensue within Cosi significantly
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Nowra explores themes of fidelity, mental health and transformation utilising stylistic features to reinforce ideas to Cosi.
Nowra explores the concept of fidelity within Cosi through discussions and acts of loyalty and unfaithfulness between the characters. Nowra uses social context to show how love and fidelity in the 70’s was superseded by ideals of free love as Lucy “(has) sex with (Nick) but sleep(s) with (Lewis)” demonstrating how sex was not considered as an act of love. Similarly, through the use of political context, the readers can perceive how love was “not so important nowadays” in regards to the prominence of the Vietnam War transpiring in the context of the play. Additionally, Nowra uses the structure of a “play within a play” to demonstrate the correlation between the characters and the themes in the opera by Mozart compared to the characters within Cosi. This is evident in how both plays focus on issues concerning fidelity, loyalty and betrayal and exhibits that comparable to women; men are also unfaithful. The title of the …show more content…
Nowra uses the setting of a “burnt out theatre” that smelt of “burnt wood and mould” to symbolically represent the attitudes of society towards the mentally ill. Additionally, the theatre is never fixed as Justin says a “coat of paint it’ll be fine” exhibiting how mental patients were conceivably ignored. As Lewis, Nick and Lucy “fumble in the darkness for a light switch” the darkness is metaphoric for the uncertainty concerning mental illness to show how society is “fumbling” in the dark with its treatments. Nowra uses Lewis’s soliloquy at the end of the play to break the fourth wall as he addresses the audience of the unfortunate outcomes of the patients, displaying how the treatments do not essentially help the patients. The mental institution is used as a symbol of segregation and ignorance as the patients “(are) always the last to know things in an asylum”, symbolising how the mentally ill were hidden away from society behind a “heavy door”, due to their behaviour being disruptive to society. Nowra utilises irony to show the reader the portrayal of a mentally ill in society as a madman is identified in the text as “someone who arrives at a fancy dress party in the emperor’s new clothes”. This reference implies that a sane person is depicted as the one who is “clothed” whereas the “madman”
Nowra explores themes of fidelity, mental health and transformation utilising stylistic features to reinforce ideas to Cosi.
Nowra explores the concept of fidelity within Cosi through discussions and acts of loyalty and unfaithfulness between the characters. Nowra uses social context to show how love and fidelity in the 70’s was superseded by ideals of free love as Lucy “(has) sex with (Nick) but sleep(s) with (Lewis)” demonstrating how sex was not considered as an act of love. Similarly, through the use of political context, the readers can perceive how love was “not so important nowadays” in regards to the prominence of the Vietnam War transpiring in the context of the play. Additionally, Nowra uses the structure of a “play within a play” to demonstrate the correlation between the characters and the themes in the opera by Mozart compared to the characters within Cosi. This is evident in how both plays focus on issues concerning fidelity, loyalty and betrayal and exhibits that comparable to women; men are also unfaithful. The title of the …show more content…
Nowra uses the setting of a “burnt out theatre” that smelt of “burnt wood and mould” to symbolically represent the attitudes of society towards the mentally ill. Additionally, the theatre is never fixed as Justin says a “coat of paint it’ll be fine” exhibiting how mental patients were conceivably ignored. As Lewis, Nick and Lucy “fumble in the darkness for a light switch” the darkness is metaphoric for the uncertainty concerning mental illness to show how society is “fumbling” in the dark with its treatments. Nowra uses Lewis’s soliloquy at the end of the play to break the fourth wall as he addresses the audience of the unfortunate outcomes of the patients, displaying how the treatments do not essentially help the patients. The mental institution is used as a symbol of segregation and ignorance as the patients “(are) always the last to know things in an asylum”, symbolising how the mentally ill were hidden away from society behind a “heavy door”, due to their behaviour being disruptive to society. Nowra utilises irony to show the reader the portrayal of a mentally ill in society as a madman is identified in the text as “someone who arrives at a fancy dress party in the emperor’s new clothes”. This reference implies that a sane person is depicted as the one who is “clothed” whereas the “madman”