Search the Products Store
Search the Book Store
clog dancing Book Store Index
Privacy Policy
Copyright Notice
Home
|
|
The Art Of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives |
Author: Lajos Egri
Published: 1972-02-15 |
List price: $14.00
Our price: $11.20
|
Usually ships in 24 hours
As of: December 01st, 2008 04:35:36 PM
|
|
|
Customer comments on this selection.
 An early yet superlative example of a 'How To...' book...
Lajos Egri's book 'The Art of Dramatic Writing' is poignantly subtitled 'It Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives' and this is what lies at the heart of Egri's book.
Egri argues that all action is conditioned by a fundamental principle, which he terms the "premise", whether or not the premise is a known or an unknown subconscious motivation: and just as in real life, which adheres to this basic principle, so must it be in dramatic life. Without this "premise" no writing, no matter how stylistically good, can be a fully developed and emotionally rewarding script, story, play, or novel.
Egri draws the premise of his own book from the Marxist principle of Dialectics, in particular the law regarding Unity of Opposites. He applies the principle that all things in existence, including the dramatic creations of an author, are affected by this dialectical principle of inherent conflict and resolution, which is the very motivating force of both the universe and the stage. He draws on material from the ages such as the tragedies of Euripides and Sophocles, the works of Shakespeare and Molière, Chekhov and Ibsen, thru to several motion pictures contemporaneous with his book all the while applying his critical principle of "premise" and dialectics to demonstrate the inadequacies and successes in each work.
There is no doubting that that Egri is a well-read man with discriminating tastes, which adds a greater cogency to his argument. Even if one does not wholly subscribe to the tenets of Marxist-Leninism, there is no doubting that after reading this book, the principles of dialectics will have embedded themselves in the readers' critical faculties. So much so, that after completing the reading of Egri's work one might even find themselves reading thru selected chapters of Engels' `Dialectics of Nature' as this reviewer did.
If one had to choose only one `How To...' book, of which this is an early yet superlative example, then one could do no better than `The Art of Dramatic Writing.'
A must have classic for writers
This is a classic from 1945 that still rings true today. I have recommended this to my writing friends and they love it also.
Not a how to, but a what to...
One thing this book does not intend to do is tell you how to write. It tells you what needs to be there, so you can judge whether a play is any good or not. A lot of people seem to ignore this basic fact.
What this book does not give is a method, or any other way of writing. Lajos Egri acknowledges that if you have a method that produces all the right ingredients, that's okay. But what are those ingredients?
If you're one of those writers that:
1. is tired of discussions on what industry word means what, and
2. you just want a bunch of rules to judge your writing by...
This is definitely the book for you. No matter whether you adhere to a method, write off the bat from story function, or are such an experienced secretary that you have a "feel" of good writing, this book will help you understand what you write.
This book to me bridges the gap between all the different theories out there. If you want to communicate to yourself or others what you write, and you find you're in trouble with any of the other books out there, try this one. It will help.
What the hell... Try it anyway, no matter what. It's a great book.
The best writing book
The book is exceptional in offering the reader, what works and what doesn't in great writing and play writing. Though written a long time ago, there is no other book like it.
Received
Got book for Stepson, he hasn't complained about it, so I guess it was good.
|
|
Our clog dancing book picks:
|
|
Search the clog dancing Products Store
LCS Amazon Store 2.5 © 2008
|