the notion that a literary work simply mirrors reality or the emotions of its author. The clever and ongoing wordplay in Stoppard'sTravesties exemplifies the structuralist emphasis on the constructs and impacts of language.

Marxist Criticism

Another influential literary theory at the time Travesties was published is Marxist criticism. Rooted in the economic and political theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Marxist critics analyze the economic and social forces affecting authors and how these pressures are depicted in their works. Esteemed literature in this school often reflects and critiques societal realities. While extreme Marxist critics urge authors to create works that explicitly promote party doctrine, more moderate critics concentrate on how authors portray characters suffering under oppressive social and economic systems, particularly those of capitalism. The Hungarian critic Georg Lukacs was a significant influence in Marxist criticism during the twentieth century, especially after the English translation of his Writer and Critic and Other Essays in 1970.

In the play, Lenin embodies the extreme Marxist perspective in his essay "Literature and Art," penned during the 1905 Russian revolution. Lenin argues that contemporary literature "must become party literature" and should serve as "a part of the common cause of the proletariat, a cog in the Social democratic mechanism."

Cecily echoes and expands on Lenin's viewpoint during her conversation with Carr. She asserts that "the sole duty and justification for art is social criticism." When Carr disagrees, Cecily maintains that since society is driven by economics, people must take responsibility for change, which can be facilitated through party literature. She concludes her argument with Carr by declaring, "Art is a critique of society or it is nothing."

Dada

Dada was a nihilistic movement in art and literature that began in Zurich in 1916, initiated by Romanian poet Tristan Tzara along with Hans Arp, Hugo Ball, and Richard Huelsenbeck as a reaction to the widespread disillusionment caused by World War I. The founders intended dadaism to represent complete liberation from traditional ideals and aesthetic norms. The central concept of dada is encapsulated in the word "nothing." In art, dadaism resulted in collage effects, where artists combined unrelated objects in random arrangements. In literature, dadaism produced mostly nonsensical poems composed of random, meaningless words, often performed in public cafes and bars. These artistic and literary expressions emphasized absurdity and the unpredictability inherent in the creative process. The movement gained popularity in Paris immediately after World War I, and Tzara brought it to England and America, where its influence was evident in the poetry of Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot, as well as in the art of Ernst and Magritte. By 1921, dadaism evolved into surrealism, but its impact on literature and art persisted for many years.

During his conversations with Carr in the play, Tzara explains the principles of dadaism. He insists that artists should "jeer and howl... at the delusion that infinite generations of real effects can be inferred from the gross expression of apparent cause." When Carr criticizes him for speaking "nonsense," Tzara counters, "it may be nonsense, but at least it's not clever nonsense. Cleverness has been exploded, along with so much else, by the war." In a discussion about the artist's role, Tzara argues that art was corrupted when it began to "celebrate the ambitions and acquisitions of the pay-master." He claims that, with or without art, humanity has become like a "coffee-mill," stuck in a monotonous daily routine, which is the message of dada. Carr describes dada as a "historical halfway house between Futurism and Surrealism ... 'tween the before-the-war-to-end-all-wars years and the between-the-wars years." He suggests that dadaists denounce "reason, logic, causality, coherence, tradition, proportion, sense and consequence."

Aestheticism

Aestheticism was another literary movement that gained popularity in the latter part of the nineteenth century, focusing on the appreciation of beauty or tastefulness. An aesthete values beauty in art, music, and literature. The movement's principles included the belief that art is self-sufficient and should serve no purpose other than its own ends. One of its famous slogans was "art for art's sake," implying that art should not promote any political or moral agenda. Followers of aestheticism dedicated themselves to seeking beauty and promoting the idea that beauty has intrinsic value.

The movement began with the works of several German writers from the Romantic period, such as Kant, Schelling, Goethe, and Schiller. They all promoted the idea that art and artists should be independent and, as a result, regarded as superior. This movement emerged as a response to the materialism and capitalism prevalent in the late Victorian era. Oscar Wilde became the "cult hero" for the aesthetes.

Carr expresses the aesthetes' viewpoint in Travesties. During a conversation with Tzara, he asserts, "revolution in art is in no way connected with class revolution. Artists are members of a privileged class," and "an artist is someone who is gifted in some way that enables him to do something more or less well which can only be done badly or not at all by someone who is not thus gifted." He later emphasizes, "it is the duty of the artist to beautify existence."

Style

Stoppard crafts Travesties as a farce that satirizes the styles of its principal characters, except for Lenin's monologues. He mimics the modernist, fragmented, and obscure style of Joyce's Ulysses, the randomness of Tzara's dadaist poetry, and the witty, comedic aesthetic of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. Additionally, nonsense dialogue, limericks, and musical numbers enhance the comedic effect.

Structure

Stoppard adopts the structure and plot devices from The Importance of Being Earnest while exploring intricate questions about the relationship between art and politics. Characters in both plays share identical names and conflicts, including mistaken identities and misunderstandings, as well as fragments of the same dialogue. This comedic interplay ensures no single perspective becomes dominant.

Point of View

The narrative unfolds through the occasionally unreliable memory of Henry Carr. "Time slips" frequently occur as Carr recalls events from his past, causing him to "drop a scene and then pick it up again." These time slips happen during Carr's conversations with his manservant Bennett and expose his "prejudices and delusions." Stoppard explains that during these moments, the story "jumps the rails and has to be restarted at the point where it goes wild."

1917: On November 6, the Bolshevik Revolution erupts in Petrograd, Russia. Revolutionary forces seize government buildings and take control of the Romanov's Winter Palace.

1991: On December 17, President Mikhail Gorbachev orders the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The former U.S.S.R. countries form a new Commonwealth of Independent States.

1914: World War I begins, lasting until 1918. It becomes the largest war to date, with approximately ten million fatalities and twenty million injuries.

1973: The United States signs a peace agreement with North and South Vietnam, ending the Vietnam War. The U.S. faces global protests over its involvement in the conflict.

2001: The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians intensifies in the Middle East.

1922: James Joyce struggles to find a publisher for his novel Ulysses due to its explicit sexual content and perceived vulgarity. Ultimately, a small press in Paris publishes the novel.

1973: Erica Jong's Fear of Flying shocks readers with its candid exploration of a woman's sexual experiences, yet it becomes a bestseller.

Today: Novels with explicit sexual content are regularly published.

SOURCES

Barnes, Clive, Review in New York Times, October 31, 1975.

Bigsby, C.W.E., "Tom Stoppard," in British Writers, Supplement 1, British Council, 1987, pp. 437-54.

Brater, Enoch, "Parody, Travesty, and Politics in the Plays of Tom Stoppard," in Essays on Contemporary British Drama, edited by Hedwig Bock and Albert Wertheim, Hueber, 1981, pp. 117-30.

Doll, Mary A., "Stoppard's Theatre of Unknowing," in British and Irish Drama since 1960, edited by James Acheson, Macmillan Press, 1993, pp. 117-29.

Hampton, Wilborn, Review in New York Times, April 23, 1974.

Kalem, T E, "Dance of Words," in Time, November 10, 1975.

Rodway, Allan, "Stripping Off," in London Magazine, August—September, pp. 66—73.

Rusinko, Susan, "Chapter 8: Travesties. Caviar to the General Public," in Twayne's English Authors Series Online, G K Hall, 1999.

Scruton, Roger, "The Real Stoppard," in Encounter, Vol. LX, No. 2, February 1983, pp. 44-47.

Wright, Anne, "Tom Stoppard," in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 13: British Dramatists Since World War II, Updated Entry, Gale Research, 1982, pp. 482-500.

FURTHER READING

Gianakaris, C. J., "Travesties Overview," in Reference Guide to English Literature, 2nd ed., edited by D. L. Kirkpatrick, St. James Press, 1991.
Gianakaris's article examines the play's style and concludes that it "may not excel as total theatre, but it has few rivals as an exhibition of hilarious verbal gymnastics."

Jenkins, Anthony, The Theatre of Tom Stoppard, Cambridge University Press, 1987.
Jenkins offers a comprehensive study of the techniques and themes in Stoppard's plays.

Kelly, Katherine E., Tom Stoppard and the Craft of Comedy: Medium and Genre at Play, University of Michigan Press, 1991.
Kelly investigates Stoppard's use of comedy in his works.

Sammells, Neil, Tom Stoppard: The Artist as Critic, Macmillan, 1988.
Sammells delves into Stoppard's portrayal of the artist in his plays.