| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Dracula by Bram Stoker: wreaths of mist took shape as of women with trailing garments.
All was in dead, grim silence only that the horses whinnied and cowered,
as if in terror of the worst. I began to fear, horrible fears.
But then came to me the sense of safety in that ring wherein I stood.
I began too, to think that my imaginings were of the night, and the gloom,
and the unrest that I have gone through, and all the terrible anxiety.
It was as though my memories of all Jonathan's horrid experience
were befooling me. For the snow flakes and the mist began to wheel
and circle round, till I could get as though a shadowy glimpse
of those women that would have kissed him. And then the horses
cowered lower and lower, and moaned in terror as men do in pain.
Dracula |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Duchess of Padua by Oscar Wilde: Count Moranzone, an Old Man
Bernardo Cavalcanti, Lord Justice of Padua
Hugo, the Headsman
Lucy, a Tire woman
Servants, Citizens, Soldiers, Monks, Falconers with their hawks and
dogs, etc.
Place: Padua
Time: The latter half of the Sixteenth Century
Style of Architecture: Italian, Gothic and Romanesque.
THE SCENES OF THE PLAY
ACT I. The Market Place of Padua (25 minutes).
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Under the Red Robe by Stanley Weyman: 'Let me pass!' she panted, striving to thrust me on one side.
'Out of my way, sir! I am going to the village.'
'You are not going to the village,' I said sternly. 'Go back; to
the house, Mademoiselle, and at once.'
'My servant!' she wailed. 'Let me go! Let me go! Do you think
I can rest here while they torture him? He cannot speak, and
they--they--'
'Go back, Mademoiselle,' I said, with decision. 'Your presence
would only make matters worse! I will go myself, and what one
man can do against many, I will! Louis, give your mistress your
arm and take her to the house. Take her to Madame.'
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The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: "We've got to beat them down," whispered Daisy, winking ferociously
toward the fervent sun.
"You ought to live in California--" began Miss Baker, but Tom
interrupted her by shifting heavily in his chair.
"This idea is that we're Nordics. I am, and you are, and you are,
and----" After an infinitesimal hesitation he included Daisy with a
slight nod, and she winked at me again. "--And we've produced all the
things that go to make civilization--oh, science and art, and all that.
Do you see?"
There was something pathetic in his concentration, as if his complacency,
more acute than of old, was not enough to him any more. When, almost
The Great Gatsby |
