Page 300 - DENG403_BRITISH_DRAMA

British Drama

Notes In Scene Four, we see the Earl of Warwick and the Chaplain de Stogumber forming plans to take
Joan down. They enlist the help of Cauchon, the Bishop of Beauvais, who agrees to try her for
heresy. By the end of this scene, we know better than Joan the barriers that are standing in her way.
After Charles gets crowned at Rheims, Joan’s buddies want to sit back and relax. Joan, however,
demands they get off their lazy butts and keep the fight going. The English aren’t all gone. Paris
isn’t under French control. Tempers flare when her allies refuse to help her and accuse her of being
prideful.

Joan’s friends warn her that if she continues the fight and gets captured, they won’t lift
a finger to help her escape. Perhaps foolishly, perhaps bravely, she swears to trust in her
voices and continue the fight without them.

The action of the play begins to resolve as the captured Joan is convicted of heresy and is burnt at
the stake.
Shaw ends the play with a dream sequence. We learn that, after Joan was executed, her name was
cleared and she was made a saint. A bunch of characters, show up and tell Joan they’re sorry that
they dissed her back in the day. However, when Joan asks them if she should come back to Earth,
they all freak out and leave. Joan ends the play by asking God if the world will ever be ready for
saints.

Self Assessment

Multiple Choice Questions:
8. Most good stories start with a fundamental list of ingredients such as
(a) conflict, complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and conclusion
(b) conflict and complication
(c) suspense and climax
(d) denouement, and conclusion.
9. In Scene Four, we see the Earl of Warwick and the Chaplain de Stogumber forming plans
(a) to rescue Joan (b) to take Joan down
(c) execute Joan (d) to chain Joan.
Fill in the blanks:
10. The first scene does a great job of establishing ...... .
11. Once Joan wins over Charles and gets control of the army, she can really get down to ...... .
State whether the following statements are true or false:
12. Joan’s friends warn her that if she continues the fight and gets captured, they won’t lift a
finger to help her escape.
13. After Charles gets crowned at Rheims, Joan’s buddies agitated and hatched plots.

24.3 Summary
• The stage directions inform us that it’s a dark and stormy night in June 1456.
• Charles, who is now King Charles VII, is reading in bed. He’s 51.

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