Journeys End by RC Sheriff Essay -- English Literature

20th Century Drama - The name of this fill is Journeys End, written by R. C. Sherriff.IntroductionThe name of this play is Journeys End, written by R. C. Sherriff. Theplay was first preformed on a Sunday night in December 1928. By 1929it was world shown at the Savoy field of force where it ran for two years.Later I will be studying the characters of Stanhope and Osborne, andhow they link in with the title Journeys End, and I will alsoexamine the mood of journeys. I will also study the impact the playhad, why it was so successful and journeys of the minor characters,Hibbert, Raleigh and Trotter.JourneysThe subtext of the play is about journeys, mental, physical andemotional. severally character in the play goes through their own journey,but each face it in a different way.The Impact of the PlayAt first, no theatre managers wanted to show Journeys End as theythought it wouldnt be interesting to the public and no-one would wantto see a play without women in or want to be reminded a bout the warten years after it had ended. But they were wrong, and the play was asuccess. Before Journeys End was written, most plays were about honoraffairs between upper-class people and were mostly for entertainmentpurposes, whereas Journeys End is about something real, somethingdramatic, without being over played. Journeys End was different, andtherefore theatre managers didnt want to seek showing it, in case itwas a failure. Many people thought R.C.Sherrif had written the playfor political purposes, or to mock the government e.g. the way the attack was handled by the commanding officers. But it was written togive a tangible account of what the war was like, not from theordinary soldiers p... ...e. Stanhopesjourney was made more exhausting by the death of Osborne, and he blamesRaleigh for this, because Osborne was waiting for Raleigh when he waskilled. At the end of the play, after Raleigh has been brought downinto the dugout after being wounded by some shrapnel, Stanhoperea lises how nasty he has been to Raleigh, and tries to make amends.He makes light of Raleighs injury, and tells him hes getting sentback to England to recover. Stanhope tries to make Raleigh more prosperous by bringing him some water, blankets and candles when hecomplains that its dark and cold. Stanhope is grief-stricken whenRaleigh dies as his actions clearly show.STANHOPE GENTLY TAKES HIS (RALEIGHS) HAND. AND STARES LISTLESSLYThis is almost the end of Stanhopes journey, and we have to assumethat he dies in the German attack. Stanhope is a flawed hero.