John
Osborne is the best dramatists of 20th century and belongs to the category of great modern dramatists
such as G.B. Shaw, Sean O’Casey, John
Galsworthy, and J.B. Priestley. His early play ‘Look Back in Anger’
marked the beginning of the revolution in British Drama. Ifor Evans remarks in
his book ‘Short History of English Literature’,
“To the Royal court theatre in
1956 came
Osborn’s play ‘Look
Back in
Anger’ which caught
the
imagination of a generation.
He broke
into the theatre
with what
seemed an authentic
picture of post war society.”
There
is variety of themes like criticism on set of social rules, study unhealthy
marriage relationship and men’s quest for human relationship, texture of
ordinary despair. Let’s discuss about them in detailed.
Social Criticism:
The
play ‘look Back in Anger’ presents
the class war existed in the post war English society like the novels
such writers of John Wain kingsley Amis
and John Brain. The rancorous hero of the play Jimmy porter represents the fury
of post war youth. Because of working class by origin he could not get
sufficient place in the society. Thus society is so rotten that there is no
longer any point in trying to be useful. In a class divided society, critic
Martin Banhan finds,
“Jimmy’s
anger, his bitterness,
his
hysteria, and his cruelty,
fries
from the heart for
recognition and nothing more.”
There is much of social criticism and
condemnation of the British class system in the play. Osborne’s hading of
social themes seems decidedly haphazard. He dramatized social questions in
order to stimulate social consequence
Dissection of perverse marriage
Through
play, Osborne has given us an excellent accurate dissection of perverse marriage.
According to J. L. Stynan, “The play is
a story of socially mixed marriage.” A study of the quest for solidarity
in married life on the part a young intellectual make the play a penetrating
study of a perverse marriage relationship.
Jimmy’s
outbursts are the overflow of his bitterness whenever his wife fails to rise to
the standard of devotion that he expects from her. Jimmy’s real purpose as he
deliberately tries to destroy his wife’s love for him because it is not the
love he had imagined is self torment. He is the man who needs absolute
devotion. His dilemma is perfectly presented in Alison’s description of his
reaction to her virginity. As Alison
“Afterwards,
he actually taunted
me with my virginity. He was
quite
angry about it, as if I had
deceived
him in some strange
way. He
seemed to think an
untouched
woman would define me.
love marriage relationship
Another
theme presented in the drama is about love marriage relationship. The actual
action of the play is centered on Jimmy’s relationship with his wife, Alison
and his anarchism develops into the familiar pattern of love/hate relationship
between the sexes. Deeply in love, the young couples are perpetually inflicting
wounds on each other, until eventually the wife feels that she can bear no more
and she leaves him. Then Helena Charles who also feels the same ambivalence in
her love for Jimmy moving in her case from hatred to love.
Osborne
brings out very well the appalling side of all this self destruction which
continues until the calm of desolation is established in the last act. There is
perfect sexual harmony between Jimmy and Alison. Although Jimmy describes her
as the passion of python, there is no doubt that he enjoys making love to her.
A realistic depiction of post-war English society
‘Look
Back in Anger’ presents a realistic
depiction of post-war English society and its effect on the younger generation.
The post-War atmosphere had created dissatisfaction in the youth life like
Jimmy. Jimmy expresses his dissatisfaction with routine kind of life especially
on Sundays as one has to follow the same routine every time - reading the
papers, drinking tea and ironing. He is discontented with his wife Alison and
his friend Cliff. He finds his wife and his friend lacking even in ordinary
human enthusiasm. This is how he state,
“Nobody
thinks, nobody cares.
No beliefs, no convictions, and
no
enthusiasm.”
Intellectual
and spiritual deadness.
“Look
Back in Anger” is concerned with intellectual and spiritual deadness. It is
concerned with the debased value of modern life of which spiritual deadness is
one of the parts. Jimmy’s uncertainly
and aimlessness is typical of the aimless youth of post-war England. He is
certainly thinking of leaving the sweet-stall, but he does not know what about
exactly he will do. Jimmy is opposed to religion and its practices and beliefs.
He speaks bitterly about the rituals of church and feeling unhappy when Alison
goes to church under Helena’s influence. Church-going offers no comfort to him,
and the sound of church-bells only annoys him.
The texture of ordinary despair’
The other important theme of the play is about
special kind of feeling, what Osborne has described as ‘the texture of ordinary despair’.
The Lament about missing causes in this passage is not meant to set us thinking
of the good brave causes that do exist. Jimmy is a suffering hero and the
action is designed to illuminate his suffering rather than to force a conflict.
In the despair caused by spiritual deadness of the age, the play reminds one of
Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’.
Bomber Gascoigne remarks
“Look
Back in Anger is not
a play
about anger, it is
about
feelings about despair.” Bomber Gascoigne -
Conclusion
Moreover
Osborne has also given an excellent accurate dissection of a perverse marriage.
Unhealthy relationship of love marriage and sex are interwoven in the play. The
play also present quest for Soliditary as well as the intellectual and
spiritual deadness of the post Britain. Osborne has externalized his inner
compulsion in the play. The main idea of the play is description of the clear
picture of the post atomic English society
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