Suspension of Disbelief - Essay Example

Suspension of Disbelief: A Comparison of Three Literary Works Introduction In comparing three very different types of literature, the suspension of disbelief can be explored for the ways in which it impacts both the nature of the work and the audience. In a Sonnet 18, written by William Shakespeare, the suspension of disbelief must come in order for the reader to enter the world of summer that Shakespeare has created in order to create a comparison to the object of his poem. In Luigi Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author, the use of meta-theater techniques provides a moving boundary for the universe that is created; repeatedly shoving the audience back into reality is order to break the illusion of reality within theater. Finally, in J. K. Rowling’s novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, some very real themes are discussed within the framework of a fantasy universe where the reader must suspend his disbelief in order to embrace a world where witches and wizards not only exist, but exist along side of an imitation of reality. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 The poem by William Shakespeare referred to as Sonnet 18 begins with the first two lines as follows: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? - Thou art more lovely and more temperate: (White 2006, p.103). The first line of the poem sets up the analogy that will be made throughout the poem, while the second line creates a figurative justification for the comparison. White (2006) suggests that the first line sets up the questions that the reader will want to see answered: will the comparison be valid, will it be a tired set of clichés, or will the topic be brought to life? The reader will seek to find out if the comparison made will be a reworked version of the standard forms or if it will be cleverly reworked so that it has a more meaningful approach to the topic (p. 104). In suggesting that the object of the poem is more temperate, the reader has already been set up to receive comparisons that elevate that person to a higher standard of beauty, both inner and outer, than can be experienced from a summer’s day. This is a high expectation to fulfill. The poem engages the reader, setting a scene within the first line that is then lightly challenged within the second. One might envision two lovers engaging in loving speech to one another, the male trying to convince the female that she is unique to him. He does not tell her she can be compared to a summer’s day; he asks her if he should compare her to one, challenging her to think about her expectations from him. In the second line he justifies his approach and compliments her suggesting that from the onset she exceeds the comparison. Instead of then telling her that she has the scent of the flowers of the field or the bright smile of sunshine, he goes on to tell her all the ways in which summer does not compare to her temperate nature. In other words, she is calm, where the rough winds of the summer can tear away the beauty of the May buds and the sun can sometimes shine with too much heat. The language is true to its metaphor, striving to suggest the many ways in which the climate of summer can be a letdown, whereas the object of the poem is steady and dependable for the way in which her ‘climate’ is always a pleasure as is a temperate climate. As well, he suggests that summer will fade but her “eternal summer shall not fade” (White 2006, p. 103). The irony of this assessment is that there is some suggestion that the target of the poem is not a female as would most often be suspected from a love poem, but that the actual person to whom this poem is written is a male (Dutton 2003, p.287). If the actual object of the poem is a male, the setting of the poem that can be tossed into the literary mind does not have to change. If the poem was written to a man, one would then wonder about the nature of the relationship between the two men. The conclusion would most likely reflect a relationship of love, thus rendering this piece of information moot in considering the initial setting of the poem. The poem would reflect the configuration that was most familiar to the reader, setting the stage for the discussion between lovers. Therefore, one might conclude that the more commonly considered pairs of lovers is figuratively referred to by the context in which the sonnet is contrived. The language suggests some of the stereotypical emotional issues that women may face more often than men. It is women who are often considered to go through series of emotional highs and lows, often due to their biological hormonal fluctuations. Therefore the compliment that is being paid here might more often seem appropriate for a female in order to calm her fears that she has caused her lover distress from her moodiness. Therefore, the language is figurative as is the insinuation of the object of the poem. Six Characters in Search of an Author Meta-theater is a term that describes a literary method of providing a separation between reality and the illusion of the theater. In Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author, the characters within the play are in search of their author, trying to find someone to release the themes that they represent so that they can have breath bring them into their existence. According to Foster (2004), the tragedy within the play exists because “they have been abandoned by their author and so deprived of the ability to express the life within them” (p. 163). Because there is no one to free them from their constraints by expressing their lives, they are trapped and without the ability to have existence. Through the use of the meta-theater structure, there is a play within a play, similar to the world of Shakespeare’s sonnet. In the sonnet, there is the world in which the speaker and the object of the poem reside, and within that world is the perception of summer. The same type of theater within theater is exhibited within Pirandello’s play. When compared to the figurative language within Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, the characterizations represented are more defined. The intent of the play is to have a framework of characters that are defined by their existence, but trapped without the expression of that existence. The language of the poem is clear about what it is trying to express. The first line sets the comparison up so that the rest of the poem clearly establishes a link to that setting. The author has a clear universe he wishes the reader to enter, thus the veil between the world of the reader is clearly drawn and to look beyond that veil requires the reader to suspend his or her disbelief. To see the summer with its volatile and untrustworthy climate in compared to the still, even temper of the object of the poem clearly requires the reader to suspend his own preconceptions and embrace those of the writer’s. As Pirandello does, so does Shakespeare create a world that suites his purposes through his power to contrive and control. Within his work, Pirandello reveals the power of the author and how without that power, the characters have no substance. His absence leaves the characters unfulfilled, wandering in search of their ultimate release. The concept of meta-theater is to break the veil between the audience and the literature. An example of this is at the end of his soliloquy where the father says “And the drama, you will see, acquires a tremendous value from this point”, thus breaking the veil (Pirandello 2009, p. 24). The illusion is pierced, peeling back the separation so that the suspension of disbelief is challenged with movable boundaries that shift according to the needs at the moment. According to Biasin and Geiri, “truth is only representable, not knowable; the theatre of truth is still and always theatre - a simulation of an illusion” (p. 62). Pirandello creates an abstraction of the truth of writing, breaking down the needs of the characters as separate entities from the writer. In other words, the characters exist independent of the writer, waiting to be freed from their bonds of non-existence into the illusory world that the writer creates. Shakespeare creates a world for his reader and then invites them into that world. Within his world, he has created a version of summer that reflects his point of view and is revealing to the reader that the object of his poem does not share the volatility of his vision. When the reader steps into that world, his suspension of disbelief must extend to the creators will. If it does not, then the illusion is not successfully created. Pirandello creates a world that does not have the same set of rigid boundaries. When the audience steps into his world, he abruptly will push them back out in order to remind them that they are watching theater. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone The suspension of disbelief is a literary term that suggests that the audience must suspend their belief in the rules of reality in order to accept the universe that is created by the author. In other words, if in the universe of a piece of work the grass is purple, the audience must suspend their disbelief in purple grass in order to embrace its existence. Without doing this, the story will not seem plausible. The audience must be able to suspend their own belief systems in order to embrace the new rules of the world in which they are entering by participating in the literary experience. In creating the universe of Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling must create an entire universe where the rules are vastly different to the rules of reality. Within this world, the rules must work with one another, setting up systems that are designed to convince the reader that the world exists within its literary framework. According to Tolkien, as quoted by La Bossaiere and Leroux (2004), “fantasy must command that literary or “Secondary Belief” by offering a fully credible inner logic”(190). In building her universe, Rowling was required to find a “rationality (that) must somehow be able to put us in touch with external reality” (Bassham 2010, p. 191). In comparison to the work by Pirandello, the Harry Potter series had to be constructed through a strict order to a universe within the literary structure. While the Pirandello play is designed as a commentary on the theater, Rowling must create a stage and set within it a world that has order and rationale. There are two worlds within the Shakespeare sonnet; one world is the world in which the two people, the speaker and the object of the poem, reside, and the other world is the volatile world of summer with its shifting climate. From the first pages within Rowling’s (2010) novel when she describes the room under the stairs where Harry has been forced to create his childhood (p. 4), she has designed a world that is a bit out of sync with the real world. The abnormality of Harry’s ’muggle’ world sets the stage for the acceptance of his real life. Conclusion The three pieces are rendered through a variety of styles and with various literary devices in order to construct worlds that suit the purposes of their universes. Both Pirandello and Shakespeare create two worlds in which to balance their ‘story’ so that they can challenge their audience to think on more than one level. For Rowling, the challenge was to create a single world in which all of the events in Harry’s life could seem plausible and within the laws she has created for his world. One of the rules of her world, as an example, is that death cannot be reversed. As death is a major theme within her entire series (Colbert 2008, p.307), this rule is crucial to many main points within her novels. Death is avoided by some, but never overcome. Thus, this rule is ironclad and cannot be broken without piercing the veil of her universe. In order to fully comprehend and immerse oneself into the worlds of any of the works, it is crucial that disbelief be suspended. Without the ability to accept the precepts that the authors offer, the belief system of how the real world works must be set aside so that the audience can find a sense of truth within the illusion of the author’s world. References Bassham, Gregory. The ultimate Harry Potter and philosophy: Hogwarts for Muggles. Wiley Hoboken, N.J., 2010. Biasin, Gian-Paolo, and Manuela Gieri. Luigi Pirandello: contemporary perspectives. [Major Italian authors]. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1999. Colbert, David. The magical worlds of Harry Potter: a treasury of myths, legends and fascinating facts. Berkley Books, New York, 2008. Dutton, Richard. A companion to Shakespeares works 4 The poems, problem comedies, late plays. Blackwell, Malden, MA [u.a.], 2003. Foster, Verna A. The name and nature of tragicomedy. Ashgate, Aldershot [u.a.], 2004. La Bossaiere Camille R. and Jean Francois Leroux, Worlds of wonder readings in Canadian science fiction and fantasy literature. Re-appraisals, Canadian writers, 26. University of Ottawa Press, Ottawa [Ont.], 2004 Mulholland, Neil. The psychology of Harry Potter: an unauthorized examination of the boy who lived. BenBella Books, Dallas, TX, 2007. Pirandello, Luigi. Six characters in search of an author. Digireads, New York, 2009. Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the philosophers stone. Bloomsbury, London, 2010. White, James Boyd. Living speech: resisting the empire of force. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2006. Read More