Ubu Roi Essay
Ubu Roi is an Avant-Garde theatre play containing elements of dadaism and surrealism written by Alfred Jarry. Avant-Garde theatre is difficult to define, but it is similar to experimental theater and introduces new and unusual ideas. The performance opened and closed on the same day in 1896.
Plot: The play begins with Papa Ubu, his wife Mama Ubu, and Bordure discussing a murder plot to kill King Wenceslas of Poland because Papa and Mama Ubu desire to have reign over Poland. In the second Act, Ubu and his men surround the king and murder him. The Queen manages to escape to a cave with her son Bourgelas, but the Queen falls ill and dies. After her death, Bourgelas is visited by all of his deceased ancestors who tell him to seek revenge on who …show more content…
To start, Papa Ubu’s desire for greed and power leads to his absurd actions of killing the King of Poland and executing people for their property after he becomes the new king. Pap Ubu exclaims, “Oh well then, let’s get on with the Nobles, and seeing it’s taking so long to get richer, I’m going to execute them all. So I’ll get all their possessions. All right, throw the Nobles down the hole” (35). Mama Ubu has the same absurd desires for greed as she attempted to steal treasure from the crypt of the ancient kings of Poland: “Now, where is this treasure? No tile sounds hollow… Let’s hurry. Let’s take all. This money will be better off in daylight than in the middle of tombs of old princes” (47). Furthermore, revenge is a theme in the play because Bourgelas is visited by his deceased family members and is ordered to take revenge on Papa Ubu for killing Bourgelas’s father, the King of Poland. A ghost tells Bourgelas, “I place upon you the responsibility of exacting our vengeance. Let this sword not rest until it has caused the death of the usurper” (25).
Diction/Music/Sound: The language of the play is not too difficult, but the plot line is a bit complex and takes a lot of focus to follow along since it is a forerunner of a surrealist play. There would be music added into several scenes throughout the play. There would be dramatic, suspenseful music playing throughout the battle scenes and the murder
Plot: The play begins with Papa Ubu, his wife Mama Ubu, and Bordure discussing a murder plot to kill King Wenceslas of Poland because Papa and Mama Ubu desire to have reign over Poland. In the second Act, Ubu and his men surround the king and murder him. The Queen manages to escape to a cave with her son Bourgelas, but the Queen falls ill and dies. After her death, Bourgelas is visited by all of his deceased ancestors who tell him to seek revenge on who …show more content…
To start, Papa Ubu’s desire for greed and power leads to his absurd actions of killing the King of Poland and executing people for their property after he becomes the new king. Pap Ubu exclaims, “Oh well then, let’s get on with the Nobles, and seeing it’s taking so long to get richer, I’m going to execute them all. So I’ll get all their possessions. All right, throw the Nobles down the hole” (35). Mama Ubu has the same absurd desires for greed as she attempted to steal treasure from the crypt of the ancient kings of Poland: “Now, where is this treasure? No tile sounds hollow… Let’s hurry. Let’s take all. This money will be better off in daylight than in the middle of tombs of old princes” (47). Furthermore, revenge is a theme in the play because Bourgelas is visited by his deceased family members and is ordered to take revenge on Papa Ubu for killing Bourgelas’s father, the King of Poland. A ghost tells Bourgelas, “I place upon you the responsibility of exacting our vengeance. Let this sword not rest until it has caused the death of the usurper” (25).
Diction/Music/Sound: The language of the play is not too difficult, but the plot line is a bit complex and takes a lot of focus to follow along since it is a forerunner of a surrealist play. There would be music added into several scenes throughout the play. There would be dramatic, suspenseful music playing throughout the battle scenes and the murder