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Passion And Religion In Equus By Peter Shaffer

Decent Essays

When you look up the word passion there happens to be two completely different definitions. One definition, the most common one, says that passion is a “strong and barely controllable emotion.” However when you look right below it there is another definition that reads, passion is “the suffering and death of Jesus.” In the play Equus by Peter Shaffer, you see how intertwined the ideas of passion, worship and religion are. A schizophrenic 17 year old boy named Alan lives his life in the grey area between these two definitions and ultimately combines them to make one. Dysart, a psychologist, tries to help Alan distinguish the differences between these two separate ideas. But, by helping him to become what many people would call “normal,” he could destroy the passion that he so envies in Alan. Dysart sees the beauty in the disease that allows Alan to feel something special even if it is for the wrong reasons, and he ultimately feels that he is the one to blame for squashing the passion. …show more content…

Growing up with a mother who praised horses and loved God, Alan was very confused. His father, who was a forbiting man. The His father, at one point, changed a poster that was hanging above Alan’s bed from a picture of Jesus to a picture of a horse head on. This idea of the horses and god being one really confused Alan. From this point on, the horse, or Equus, rules **Alan. Alan is taught by his mother that sexuality and religion come as one. This makes Alan believe religion and sexuality come together as one, and because his father changed the picture, he almost changes from worshipping god into an awe of horses. Dalton’s stables are his shrines and the horses are his Gods.** In this play the ideas of worship and passion co exist due to the idea that Alan has a passion for worshipping horses. He goes as often as he can to worship them through rituals. His passion to worship ultimately** over came

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