Distinctively Visual Essay – Shoe Horn Sonata & The Send Off In John Misto’s play ‘The Shoe-Horn Sonata’ (1996) and the poem ‘The Send-Off’ written by Wilfred Owen distinctively visual techniques are used to explore past experiences of war and individuals and society’s perceptions. These concepts are conveyed and explored through the use of distinctively visual techniques such as visual and aural imagery, stage directions and dialoged. In ‘The Shoe-Horn Sonta’ distinctly visual techniques are used to highlight past experiences of World War II and provide distinct visuals of the unjust acts committed against nurses. Through the use of powerful dialogue, and engaging dramatic techniques, Misto explores their testimonies of the …show more content…
Music plays an important role in the play; with the title itself having a hidden meaning with a sonata being a piece for two musical instruments, or voices representing instruments. The partnership between Bridie and Sheila constitutes a sonata with their music symbolizing hope and joy with the objective of bringing happiness to the other prisoners. They sang when they were in the huts at night, or digging graves ‘So the camp would know there was still music left’. Symbolism is used to show they are still clinging on to life, just as the shoehorn is a symbol of their strength and will. The beat of the shoehorn is still there, canvassing the strength of their beliefs and their lasting courage. They supported each other throughout their time in captivity, but lose contact after their release. In Act one, Scene three the audience’s attention is captured with the distinctively visual dialogue spoken by Sheila. ‘For a while nothing happened. Just the roar of the sea – and us, ghostly white on deck.’ The dialogue encompasses the use of light to put emphasis on an idea or to create a mood. Misto uses spotlights to emphasize the drama of what is happening on stage. [Both of them are isolated in spotlights]. Where as Owen reinforces the negative tone of the poem by using words such as ‘not ours’ and ‘never’ this showing how their
This very much represents the physical crossing from the ‘normal’ world into a world which is not seen from the outside, and pushed to the edge of society, and further resembles a glimpse of hope for the patients’ recovery. In the later scenes of the play, during the performance of Mozart’s opera, the entire theatre has been transformed into something completely different, with its white walls, the bright, colourful costumes, and Mozart’s “music of the spheres” echoing within the once dark and dismal place. The new theatre in all its splendour metaphorically resembles the transformations of the characters themselves, and from this, the audience is encouraged to realise the significance and therapeutic nature of art, in this case theatre and music: “the music of this opera will keep the world in harmony”, especially in contrast to hopeless treatments such as shock therapy. Through his play, Nowra also encourages the audience to agree with his personal view that war is unnecessary, and in a way is a kind of madness itself, due to its chaotic and uncontrollable nature.
Distinctively visual texts use a variety of techniques to convey the experiences during the war. In John Misto’s 1996 play ‘The Shoe-Horn Sonata’ which is about women nurses enduring Japanese POW camps, such distinctive experiences as power and survival are shown through techniques like lighting, projecting image, sound, symbols, dialogue and body language.
“The Shoe- Horn Sonata” is a play by John Misto that gives an insight into two lives of two female POWs in WW II and is a vector of Misto’s thoughts. It explores the little known and often terrible events associated with female prisoners of war. The play follows a friendship of two women through the war to a point of tension that’s beyond what any normal friendship would have to deal with. Misto engages his audience by using a multitude of mediums to portray his story creating a truly multimedia performance. The playwright challenges the audience to look beyond this to the underlying ideas of survival, loyalty and truth.
Through the use of techniques and themes, a composer is able to create distinctively visual images when describing the setting and characters in detail which help us to understand and form meaning of what the composer is trying to convey in their texts. The use of techniques such as body language, symbolism, lighting, music and photographic background slides create distinctively visual images same with themes that are being used within the texts such as truth which is evident in the dramatic text ‘The Shoe-Horn Sonata’ by John Misto, the song ‘Lose Yourself’ sang by Eminem, and the film ‘The Eye’ directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud featuring Jessica Alba. These three texts demonstrate how the responders are impacted and what is
These components include juxtaposition and direct address to the audience. Juxtaposition is seen when The Last Post overshadows a didgeridoo, when the Indigenous serviceman returned from war. This enhances the dramatic meaning as it is conveying that the wider white community overlooked the actions of Indigenous soldiers. Also, the Last Post is still played today and thus communicates that there is still prejudice now. Secondly, use of direct address to the audience developed the viewer’s understanding of the dramatic meaning. This is evident as a past soldier is describing the effects of war and his journey through World War I, and speaking as if the audience were at the event. This grasped the audience on a personal level and made the address more meaningful. It is through the use of components of collage drama; juxtaposition and direct audience address that the dramatic meaning is effectively portrayed to the
We live in a society where visual images are becoming increasingly significant, as most information in the media is presented as a combination of pictures and words. Visual representations enable individuals to interpret and evaluate texts that communicate with images more effectively. Distinctively visual techniques are used to enhance and challenge the way an individual understands personal experiences and the world. The way that they perceive these experiences can be shaped through distinctively visual techniques, as the vivid images can allow them to make sense of the world and provide diverse perspectives on how they view it. John Misto’s play ‘The Shoe-horn Sonata’ (1996) utilises powerful visual and language techniques
Dreams of war encapsulating bravery, suffering and endurance of the human spirit are evident throughout history and marked through commemoration. However the wartime experience of women, civilians and many migrants have never been acknowledged creating significant gaps and silences in our perception of the past. John Misto in his drama The Shoe-Horn Sonata pays tribute to women POWs through distinctively visual techniques that incorporate music, images and dialogue, compelling the audience to recognise the injustice of their plight and to continue the pursuit for reconciliation. Similarly Peter Skrzynecki in his poem Immigrants at Central Station presents images of displaced
In the poem Exposure by Wilfred Owen, Owen has used some language techniques to appeal to my imagination by using personification, repetition and alliteration. By analysing the poems language techniques in-depth to see a bigger picture of how traumatising their experience's during the war were like and how severely nature's wrath tormented the soldiers, and to see what the poem is trying to convey. Owens most important message in the poem is to avoid war at all cost because of the harshness of nature and how tormenting it
Wilfred Owen’s poetry is shaped by an intense focus on extraordinary human experiences. In at least 2 poems set for study, explore Owen’s portrayal of suffering and pity.
Wilfred Owen’s poetry effectively conveys his perspectives on human conflict through his experiences during The Great War. Poems such as ‘Futility’ and ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ portray these perceptions through the use of poetic techniques, emphasising such conflicts involving himself, other people and nature. These themes are examined in extreme detail, attempting to shape meaning in relation to Owen’s first-hand encounters whilst fighting on the battlefield.
The Shoe Horn Sonata provides an insight into the lives of two women who were made prisoners of war by the Japanese and explores the little known and horrific conditions and events the women endured. With the use of distinctively visual techniques, John Misto brings Bridie and Sheila’s experience vividly to life. Through the use of projected images, sound, music and symbolism; the horrors of war, survival and resilience are portrayed throughout the drama.
A Look into Different Interpretations of the First Movement of Moonlight Sonata: The Piece that Portrays an Assortment of Emotions
The purpose of war is again in question through the ironic titles evidenced in most of Owen’s poems. In ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’, the sweet and fitting death is contrasted against the bitter and
Throughout Wilfred Owen’s collection of poems, he unmasks the harsh tragedy of war through the events he experienced. His poems indulge and grasp readers to feel the pain of his words and develop some idea on the tragedy during the war. Tragedy was a common feature during the war, as innocent boys and men had their lives taken away from them in a gunshot. The sad truth of the war that most of the people who experienced and lived during the tragic time, still bare the horrifying images that still live with them now. Owen’s poems give the reader insight to this pain, and help unmask the tragedy of war.
The mood and tone drops throughout the poem. The start is fairly sombre, using phrases such as ‘cursed through sludge’, ‘marched asleep’ and ‘limped on’. The mood darkens in the second stanza. Owen uses words such