« Reply #7 on: April 10, 2011, 08:12:44 pm »
0
Essay prompts for Nowra's Cosi;
‘The play within the play enables the audience to gain a deeper insight into the plight of the characters.’ To what extent do you agree?
‘Nowra uses comedy to challenge our perceptions about mental illness and what it means to be “normal”.’ Discuss
Cosi is a play within a play. How does Nowra use this theatrical device to explore his major themes?
How does Nowra use theatrical conventions to explore the ideas of reality and illusion?
“The patients are merely foils to the character of Lewis – it is his transformation that is the focus of the drama.” Discuss this point of view with reference to scenes and lines from the play.
How is the character of Lewis central to Cosi?
‘While Lewis may be the play’s protagonist Roy is undoubtedly its star.’ Discuss.
‘We admire Lewis for the moral stance he takes.’ To what extent do you agree?
“Working with these people has changed you.” (Lucy)
Lewis is not the same man as he was the beginning of the play. Discuss.
‘Lewis’ involvement in the play transforms him to a remarkable extent.’ Discuss.
‘Cosi confirms Justin’s inadvertent insight that these are ‘normal people who have done extraordinary things, thought extraordinary thoughts’.’ Do you agree?
‘The depiction of the politically committed characters in Cosi represents a distorted view of the student movement.’ Do you agree?
‘The characters in Cosi suggest that we are all longing for purpose and intimacy in our lives.’ Discuss.
‘The characters in Cosi are simply “normal people who have done extraordinary things.” To what extent do you agree?
Both the characters from the “normal world” and the characters from the asylum are driven by the human need for art. Discuss.
What is most extraordinary about the characters in the play is their everyday ordinariness. Discuss.
Cosi succeeds because we see the characters as people first and patients second. Discuss.
‘Lewis benefits more from the production of Cosi Fan Tutte than the patients he has been hired to direct.’ Do you agree?
‘Nowra challenges his audience with their own attitudes to madness and addiction.’ Discuss.
‘Cosi demonstrates that most of our attitudes to mental illness are based in ignorance.’ Do you agree?
‘Nowra challenges his audience with their own stereotypes about madness and addiction.’ Discuss.
‘Amidst the frivolity of Cosi’s comic episodes is a sombre examination of our treatment of mental illness.’ Discuss.
Cosi shows us that ‘fairytale endings’ do not reflect real life. How does Nowra’s play show us the complexity of people’s existence?
‘Cosi shows that the desire for art flourishes in the most unlikely of environments.’ Discuss.
‘Nowra examines how political commitment without human empathy is a hollow project.’ Discuss.
‘Creative fulfilment and the richness of an imaginative life are the most effective forms of therapy.’ Do you agree?
Cosi shows us that the theatre has the power to transform lives. To what extent do you agree?
Cosi Fan Tutti is essentially a misogynistic opera and this is reflected in the depiction of the women in the play. To what extent do you agree?
‘Cosi presents us with the consequences of ‘unresolved conflicts’. Discuss.
‘This play condemns love as “an emotional indulgence for the privileged few.” Discuss.
Louis Nowra’s play Cosi questions the authenticity of love’ Discuss
‘Nowra shows that it is the confinement inherent in institutional life that exacerbates the conditions of patients.’ Discuss.
Cosi shows us that there is as much madness in the outside world as there is within a mental institution. Discuss.
“Love is not so important nowadays.”
‘Cosi is a play about the importance of love and fidelity regardless of time and place.’ Do you agree?
“I can live with illusion as long as I know it’s illusion, but this coffee is not real, is it?” Discuss.
Cosi challenges us to question what is real and what is illusion.’ Discuss.
Cosi is a reminder of how vulnerable people are. To what extent do you agree?
Cosi demonstrates that only those who are prepared to take risks who achieve success. Discuss.
Feel free to add these burbs.
Logged
2011 - English, English Language, Philosophy, Indonesian SL, Outdoor and Environmental Studies.
“We are all alone, born alone, die alone, we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that, in spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely -- at least, not all the time -- but essentially, and finally, alone. This is what makes your self-respect so important, and I don't see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness.”
― Hunter S. Thompson
Home
Help
Search
Login
