| Henrik Ibsen and Sam Shepard are very often analyzed in terms of their generic dramatic structure, and as if their plays are constructed in entirely contrasting dramaturgies: Ibsen is dissected within the parameters of Realism and the Well Made Play; Shepard is dissected within the parameters of non-Realism, frequently even Absurdism. This thesis will examine one play from each of these playwrights and argue that, far from composing in contrasting means, Ibsen and Shepard compose strongly comparative dramatic structures and employ them to even stronger comparative ends. Through textual analysis of Ibsen's The Wild Duck and Shepard's Curse of the Starving Class I will outline how their plays highlight and critique the problematic father figure as he is caught within capitalistic patriarchy. Ultimately, what emerges from this analysis is a common dramaturgy of working-class masculinity. |
