What is the storyline of Equus?
What is the storyline of Equus?
Equus is a play by Peter Shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses. Shaffer was inspired to write Equus when he heard of a crime involving a 17-year-old who blinded six horses in a small town in Suffolk.
What happens at the end of Equus?
By the end of the novel, Dysart has fully adopted Alan’s pain as his own, in the way that he has for so many children that came before. He wears the chain in his mouth that Alan loathes, the chain that represents confinement and a loss of freedom.
Is Equus a tragedy?
In others, the reasons are more complex, and in some of the plays (like Medea by Euripides) the protagonist is not brought low at all, but exalted while the tragedy befalls others. Both Alan and Dr. Dysart suffer tragic circumstances in Equus. Alan’s tragedy is the more obvious, but Dr.
What is the theme of Equus?
God and Religion Not only is religion a significant theme in Equus, it has shown itself important to Shaffer’s writing throughout his long career. Shaffer is fascinated by the human need to believe in a god, to discover a suitable form of worship.
Why is Dysart jealous of Alan?
Dysart confesses that he is jealous of Alan’s pain and passion. The passion Alan feels for Equus has forced the psychiatrist to reevaluate the emptiness of his own life, so much so that he is jealous of Alan’s suffering.
What is the meaning of Equus?
horse
The word equus is Latin for “horse” and is cognate with the Greek ἵππος (hippos, “horse”) and Mycenaean Greek i-qo /ikkʷos/, the earliest attested variant of the Greek word, written in Linear B syllabic script.
Why is Dysart jealous of Alan quizlet?
– To Hesther, Dysart admits that he is jealous of Alan despite the pain that the boy experiences, since this pain stems from an extreme passion that individuals are rarely able to attain. To Dysart, the pain is worth the passion; in his dull, passionless life, he would welcome this intensity.
What does Dysart use as a truth drug on Alan?
Hesther visits Dysart, who divulges his intention to give Alan a fake “truth drug”—probably an aspirin. He expresses pity for Alan because psychotherapy will “take away [his] worship,” a point about which Hesther is ambivalent.
Are Equus extinct?
Within the Equidae, Equus is the only recognized extant genus, comprising seven living species. Like Equidae more broadly, Equus has numerous extinct species known only from fossils. The genus most likely originated in North America and spread quickly to the Old World.
What does the horse represent in Equus?
The horse is the primary symbol in Equus, and at a glance, it represents everything we might expect a horse to represent: power, freedom, animal desire. Indeed, Alan Strang’s worship of the horse-god Equus emphasizes the pure physicality of the horse.
Is zebra a family horse?
Zebras are closely related to horses but they’re not the same species. They’re both in the Equidae family and they can even breed with each other. The offspring (zebroids) have different names dependent on the parents. A male zebra and female horse produces a zorse, and a female zebra and male horse produces hebra.
What language is Equus?
The scientific name Equus is derived from the Latin language and means horse.
Where does the story of Equus take place?
Equus, a play in two acts, is set in Rokesby Psychiatric Hospital in southern England.
Who are the main characters in the play Equus?
Dr. Martin Dysart, a dissatisfied and disaffected psychiatrist, is faced with a unique case when a young man, Alan Strang, is brought to him for treatment. Alan, a passionate and obsessive horse lover, has blinded six horses, to the horror and surprise of his family.
Who was the boy who blinded the horses in Equus?
Psychiatrist Martin Dysart (Richard Burton) investigates the savage blinding of six horses with a metal spike in a stable in Hampshire, England. The atrocity was committed by an unassuming seventeen-year-old stable boy named Alan Strang (Peter Firth), the only son of an opinionated but inwardly-timid father and a genteel, religious mother.
What are the main themes of the book Equus?
Most important are religious and ritual sacrifice themes, and the manner in which character Alan Strang constructs a personal theology involving the horses and the supreme godhead, “Equus”. Alan sees the horses as representative of God and confuses his adoration of his “God” with sexual attraction.