APPROACHING MEMORY PLAY AS SUBGENRE IN DRAMA OF AGING (CASE STUDY OF TINA HOWE’S CROSSING)

Abstract

In the article, the author examines the dramatic nature of the memory play in the context of literary gerontology. Discussing the theoretical frameworks of P. Szondi, P. Schroeder, J. Malkin and others, the author analyses the functioning of past in present in the dramatic work. While reminiscences can perform a variety of functions on stage, the memories in Tina Howe’s play “Pride’s Crossing” perform a therapeutic function that enables the harmonious representation of the process of aging. The author claims that the peculiarity of the structure of “Pride’s Crossing” is the organic interweaving of compositional models — chronological and achronological. The author of the article argues that the poetical dimensions of the dramatic work are the puns and the metaphor of croquet, the leisurely continuum of which symbolizes the ups and downs of the players throughout their lives.