Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

1996

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Paton, Priscilla

Abstract

In contrast to the widely held notion that an original work is typically superior in quality to its derivatives, Porgy and Bess, the opera, and Porgy, the play, present clearer conflicts between community and individualism than Porgy, the novel. Through narrative description, occasional dialogue, and some brief verse, Porgy, the novel, portrays the struggle between animalism and community. Porgy, the play, offers essentially the same story, but the visible actors and audible dialogue, more vividly creates community. Because these actors exchange their thoughts and feelings verbally, in much the same way as neighbors do, the play creates a more tangible sense of community interchange. The story's operatic treatment, in Porgy and Bess, adds a choral feature to the play's spoken exchanges. As the chorus acts as a communal voice, the opera present the most potent communal message.

Extent

91 p.

Comments

Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1996.|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Identifier

FADT15250

Format

pdf

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