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248436

Multi-dimensional Traumatic Aesthetics in Craig Wright's Grace

Article

Last updated: 25 Dec 2024

Subjects

-

Tags

• الدراسات الأدبية

Abstract

This study points out how the American playwright Craig Wright's Grace is replete with multi-dimensional traumatic aesthetics: physical, existential, emotional, and psychological. The aesthetics of trauma are reflections on the varied dimensions associated with traumatic experiences. The play demonstrates that traumatic aesthetics can plunge man into an existential void which distorts his beliefs, disrupts his cognitive equilibrium, and fragments his perception of human existence, self, emotions, and memories. Physical trauma has been existentialized to disclose the characters' distorted beliefs, existential anxiety, and alienation. Emotional trauma has been existentialized to unfold the characters' perspective on the futility of life, skepticism, and self-abhorrence. Psychological trauma has been contextualized to divulge the bitter effects of trauma on the characters' psyche. Grace is a dark play which dives deeply into the nature of suffering and the existential anguish of disappointed faith through the eyes of a young couple, Steve and Sara, their next-door neighbor, Sam, and the building's German exterminator, Karl. As their stories converge, Wright's characters find themselves face-to-face with their traumas. The traumatic effects include distressing memories, negative flashbacks, existential anxiety, distorted beliefs, and alienation. The play ends with three dead bodies. Steve's broken faith instigates him to kill Sara, Sam and himself.

DOI

10.21608/herms.2022.248436

Keywords

Trauma, Existential Anxiety, alienation, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Fragmentation, addiction to trauma, traumatic memory

Authors

First Name

Mahmoud

Last Name

El Bagoury

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Lecturer of English Literature, Faculty of Arts, Suez University

Email

baggoouurry2007@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

11

Article Issue

3

Related Issue

35480

Issue Date

2022-07-01

Receive Date

2022-07-06

Publish Date

2022-07-01

Page Start

185

Page End

206

Print ISSN

2090-8555

Online ISSN

2974-4695

Link

https://hermes.journals.ekb.eg/article_248436.html

Detail API

https://hermes.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=248436

Order

7

Type

المقالة الأصلية

Type Code

1,100

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

هرمس

Publication Link

https://hermes.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Multi-dimensional Traumatic Aesthetics in Craig Wright's Grace

Details

Type

Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023