Trend Of Neo-Realism In Sam Shepard's Playwriting

Sam Shepard is one of the most famous playwrights of contemporary American theatre. In the process of his playwriting, Shepard first used some avant-garde techniques and skills, but when it came to the end of 1970s, there appeared a new trend in his playwriting. He began to apply realistic techniques and skills different from his former works in his later family plays, which have won him world-wide reputation. In these family plays, reflecting the American society in which he lives in, Shepard has taken a comparatively realistic form which is more accessible to the ordinary audience. However, it needs to be noted that although Shepard has followed some techniques and skills of traditional realism, he has employed impressively new features which cannot be traditionally explained as realistic. After interpreting these new features, the dissertation maintains that there appears a new trend in Shepard's playwriting:the trend of neo-realism.Neo-realism, still a focus of debates, is a realism which absorbs and mixes skills and techniques of traditional realism and postmodernism so as to explore reality more comprehensively and to better reflect themes of contemporary society. The dissertation analyzes the texts of Shepard's later family plays and discerns the new features in ideology, characterization, plot and dramatic devices which show the new trend. On this basis, a conclusion can be drawn that there is a trend of neo-realism in Shepard's playwriting. In this way, the dissertation aims to deepen the study of Shepard and his plays, and to strengthen the knowledge and understanding of his playwriting, which in turn helps to identify his position in the evolution of American theatre.The main body of the dissertation is divided into four chapters, which successively interpret the trend of neo-realism shown in ideology, characterization, plot and dramatic devices in Shepard's later family plays.Chapter One sets out to discern the trend of neo-realism shown in ideology in Shepard's family plays. In these plays, Shepard has given prominence to the status quo of American society and probed into many problems which are frequently explored in traditional plays, such as family conflicts, the father-and-son relationship, conflicts between brothers and dilemma of artists. At the same time, the playwright has begun to focus more on the existence predicament of modern people. When faced with outside pressures, people feel confused and bewildered, and they are constantly suffering from sense of loss and sense of confusion. Also, with the development of contemporary society, the interpersonal relationship has become estranged and people have been enslaved by the environment. By exploring ideological problems like identity and alienation, Shepard tries to reflect the new reality that people have to face in the contemporary environment.Chapter Two is an attempt to discuss the trend of neo-realism reflected in characterization. In these plays, Shepard has followed the realistic principle of describing typical characters in a typical environment and has created characters typical in traditional realism:the grotesque and irritable father, the stubborn and rebellious son as well as the obedient and nurturing mother. Besides these seemingly conventional characters, Shepard has made an effort to disclose the diversity and changeability of people in contemporary society. Shepard has characterized various categories of characters in dilemma:childish adults, pathological figures, illusionary dreamers and sinful characters. Also, he sets out to explore the instability of characters by describing both the changeability of individual figures and role reversals between different characters. In this way, Shepard succeeds in characterizing figures faced with diverse pressures in contemporary society.Chapter Three is about the trend of neo-realism revealed in the plot of these family plays. Although mainly adopting a linear structure of traditional realism, Shepard does not strictly follow the pattern of "beginning, development, climax and ending", and the traditional cause-and-effect sequence is not specifically emphasized. As no one can foretell what will happen in real life, the playwright no longer offers definite plot or ending in these plays. Instead, he chooses to make the plot open to the audience. In this way, the audience is stimulated to guess the development of the plot and the fate of characters. Also, some plots in these plays are beyond expectation of the audience. With development of the play, the plots are changing from reality to either fantasy or nightmare. It is through such plots that Shepard explores the living status of modern people. By employing plot of openness and plot beyond expectation, Shepard has duplicated highly authentic reality and is challenging the expectation of the audience so as to arouse them in a more profound thinking of the plot.Chapter Four explores elements of neo-realism shown in dramatic devices in Shepard's family plays. To study Shepard better and to analyze his plays more efficiently, it is necessary to analyze dramatic devices applied by him in these plays in addition to ideology, characterization and plot. In his later family plays, Shepard applies some innovative dramatic devices and mixes them with realistic ones. The theatrical language of Shepard is overall realistic, but it also has such features as being contradictory and nonsensical or collage and fragmentary, which has made language in the plays diversified. The innovation in staging is mainly embodied in set, light and sound. With hyper-real and expressive set, Shepard succeeds in reflecting an environment in which people have to suffer pressure and agony caused by modern society; with amplified and meaningful sound, and impressive and suggestive light, he succeeds in representing an authentic life on stage to help audience ponder more over reality of contemporary society.On this basis, the dissertation comes to the conclusion that Sam Shepard's playwriting shows a trend of neo-realism. No matter whether it is ideology focusing on existence predicament of modern people, or characterization of diversity and changeability; no matter whether it is plot of uncertainty, or innovative dramatic devices, all these are showing a trend of neo-realism in Shepard's later family plays. Through merging techniques and skills of traditional realism and postmodernism, the playwright has succeeded in presenting a new and authentic reality to the audience. To sum up, although Sam Shepard has employed writing techniques and skills of traditional realism in his family plays, these plays are not traditional realistic works in strict sense. In ideology, characterization, plot and dramatic devices, these plays have shown a trend of neo-realism. In this way, the playwright can better mirror the existence predicament of modern people and better disclose the diversity and changeability of characters.The trend of neo-realism in Shepard's playwriting is not a special case in American theatre. In the 1970s and 1980s, many American playwrights lost their interest in the linguistic playfulness of the postmodernism and began to focus on realistic problems again. At the same time, with contemporary techniques and skills, their plays were different from those in traditional realism from thematic concerns to dramatic devices. Such a return to realism attracted more audiences who were perplexed and bewildered in contemporary society. Considering the background of these works, the trend of neo-realism is in accordance with development of the age and is representative of the contemporary society.