First things first, if someone recorded my facial expressions while I was reading Judith in the lobby the other day, they would have some quality material.
Judith: A Parting From the Body by Howard Barker is not a text meant for young readers/audiences due to violent themes, derogatory language and subject matter. Looking past the rather obvious major dramatic question of Judith killing Holofernes, the script allows the reader to come up with several other questions for how the story will unfold.
These questions came to mind...
- Will Holofernes give in to Judith's sexual wishes?
- Will Holofernes continue to get away with being a murderous womanizer?
- Will The Servant influence Judith to do specific things in order to help?
- Will Judith be able to actually kill Holofernes? (Or will she fall for his tricks?)
- Will Holofernes be able to convince Judith to not murder him?
- Will Judith take control/gain power?
Also, the way Barker structures his text between more versed dialogue, vulgar dialogue, repetition and bold lines allows for variety in the characters speeches, significantly adds to the moods/tones of each moment, allowing the audience to get the full scope of the world they are in and grasp onto the story that Barker is trying to tell.
I really like your questions, and the one that really stood out to me was "Will Judith take control/gain power?". I think Judith has to be able to handle not only the task of murdering Holofernes, but maintain domain over her people, servant, and herself. At the end of the play, we see how the beheading(as well as other less savory acts) have changed Judith, and how she handles the power that she's gained by giving her nation the motivation to win the war.
ReplyDeleteI really like your questions. I thought of some that were similar, but the one that I didn't think about was "Will Holofernes be able to convince Judith to not murder him?" I think this question would lead to a totally different plot if he had tried to convince her. Its quite a different perspective. I think if he had tried to convince her she wouldn't have been able to fulfill her duty to her country or "gain control" the way she did. It would have been an even greater struggle.
ReplyDeleteThese are some solid questions! Some of which I didn't even think to ask and since I'm the only doofus in class that decided to do my analysis on Judith. I will be referring back to this blog post.Out of all the question that were posted the one I think has the most strength to it is "Will Judith take control/gain power?" I perceive the entire play to be a game of power. If Judith seduces him she gets power. If Holofernes refuses he will remain in power. If the servant chooses her words right she can have the power to manipulate Judith into murder. Power in itself is tossed around and shifts during various scene its just a matter of noticing it.
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