Is St. Augustine too hard on theater-going?

Write a paper in which you either defend or oppose his views on theater attendance (i.e. movie attendance, etc.).

This paper supports the activity of theatre-going with reflections upon St. Augustines The Confessions. When he was young, St. Augustine was captivated by stage performances and the emotional aspects of many written plays. As he grew older, he became self-critical on his interest in this type of art performing. St. Augustine claimed that theatre had a negative effect on the mentality and temperament of many people and therefore must be avoided by all means. Theatre, nevertheless, is an important act of projections that contributes to the world education as well as many social values of life.

Theatre plays are created upon the human instinct to project and mimic an action or story. It is in the human nature to imitate the acts of different people and even at time, put ourselves in others shoes in order to obtain a subjective look and experience a whole different viewpoint. For instance, a child in his early age will mimic an adult in handling a Rubiks cube out of curiosity. Similarly, an actor contributes his effort and knowledge to project the movements and responses of a character, and his ultimate aim is to help portray a meaningful, and at times metaphorical, life story. Long before the time of Augustine there has been thousands and thousands of plays that contain dramatic elements, including but not limited to: tragedy, comedy, satyr and farces (Lewis 23). Each play contains a unique element of significance; and each is a model of public discourses for the society to reflect upon. Many playwrights also chose to emphasize the struggle of human beings in different circumstances so as to cultivate the audiences mind from different viewpoints. By watching the plays, viewers develop an ability to be conscious with various

choices. Plays vary as many ways as life circumstances do; and each aims to push the viewer to have a subjective stand toward himself, from his value as a person to his behavior. St. Augustine, in his commentaries, took an extreme look at theatre plays, and in some manner, falsely accused the art of theatre and its values. What marvel then was it that an unhappy sheep, straying from thy flock and impatient of thy care, I became infected with a foul disease? (Augustine 33). He claimed to have understood that theatre was unreal and brought a negative effect onto the society. However, no human is the alike; and not all the members of the society are indulged in the simulated feelings and situations of the character in the plays. Theatre plays do the viewers no harm. It itself is an imaginary factor and a phantasm of the mind. Just as the child imitating the adult is out of curiosity, the ultimate purpose of the theatre plays is for the experience: by engaging in battle, crime and even persecution, ones soul grows as it is added more colors, more unknown aspects to his life. Having the spectators undergo many simulated events, theatre brings forth the concept of the origin of the dramatic events in real life. St. Augustine reflected that he was wrong to enjoy the dramas and tragedies back in the 4th centuries; but he forgot that these moments of tragic also taught him a lesson to value the happy moments in his contemporary time. It is without a doubt that after having experiencing many emotions and feelings of the character, St. Augustine once again is able to push himself to appreciate many precious values in his life. Theatre undeniably built a foundation for St. Augustine to reach further on his path to find the ultimate pleasure, which in the end, is God that he found.

In The Confessions, St. Augustine also criticized about the futility in the theatre plays, but he had forgotten about the education and literacy values that the theatre plays had given. Historically, the plays has developed from simple, mute plays to sophisticated ones that required

mask and an attitude that merged the characteristics of a character. Watching the characters talk back and forth in the theatre is tricky; it requires sharp attention, quick mental shifts, and nimble language skills. It teaches us about human motivation and psychology (Shalwitz). Theatre has provided a great interest and a movement for educational languages. If a person wants to understand to metaphorical aspects of a play, he needs to study; and if many people joined in this movement, the level of literacy for the society will grow as a result. Besides setting along the important significance in literacy, theatre plays an important role in preserving the culture of different societies and civilizations. Julius Ceasar, The Iliad, and Odyssey are among the many literature works which give a brief understanding of the existence of the past cultures. St. Augustine claimed that if a play does not represent the misfortunes of the characters, whether historical or entirely imaginary, are represented so as not to touch the feelings of the spectator, the spectators will certainly complain (Augustine 32). This act, in fact, is not always out of addiction for these emotions; it might have been because the plays do not have any realistic values from which the spectators can learn or utilize from. In historical plays, we are also familiarized with the leadership in a government or a regime of an empire. Studies have shown that students show improvement in many critical thinking studies when they participate in theatre activity. Certainly, plays have an important significance in education and literacy, but they also have contributes significantly to the social values of the contemporary world.

Theatre brings people together; it is an undeniable fact. Whether it is out of curiosity, or thirst for knowledge or just an activity of entertainment, it is without a doubt that when a stage performance initiates, people gather and enjoy sharing together in witnessing and contemplating an event that may be beautiful, funny, moving, thought-provoking, or hopefully at least

diverting (Shalwitz). St. Augustine used to be a part of the crowd that cheers for the performance of such a social event. Certainly, not all plays contain the educational values; some even aims to provoke feelings of many people, especially the plays use for political election and propaganda. However, St. Augustines advice to completely avoid the theatre plays is not a right advice to follow. When one watches a play, it is best if he wisely selects out of the masses the plays which have specific values; and such an act will keep him from indulging in unbeneficial emotions and be able to enjoy the experience and entertainment values the play brings. One is not to be indulged in the love of these dramatic elements, but to extract them from the virtual world of theatre and exploit in real life. In an age of communication where movies, plays and clips are universally available, gathering in a theatre and enjoy a play is, in and of itself, something that is significant for the life experience and the social aspects of a persons live.

The art of theatre has existed centuries ago and has developed into a universal form of education and social entertainment. St. Augustine claimed that theatre brought a negative effect on the society. However, one can also see that the benefits of theatre plays outweigh the cons, which only occasionally show up in a particular group of people, like St. Augustine, in the society. Theatre play is a human instinct to project a chain of action or a life story. It contributes greatly to the world education as well as the social values of life.

Works Cited Augustine, Thomas, E. B. Pusey, and William Benham. The Confessions of St. Augustine. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1909. 32-33. Print. Lewis, Martin, and John Rainer. Teaching Classroom Drama and Theatre: Practical Projects for Secondary Schools. London: Routledge, 2005. 23. Print. Shalwitz, Howard. "7 Reasons Why Theatre Makes Our Lives Better | Washington Theatre Guide | TheatreWashington | Helen Hayes Awards." 7 Reasons Why Theatre Makes Our Lives Better | Washington Theatre Guide | TheatreWashington | Helen Hayes Awards. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2013.