masks in henry iv by pirandello
what are some of the meanings of the masks in the play henry iv by pirandello?
Henry IV (Pirandello) Questions
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masks in henry iv by pirandello
THE MAIN IDEA behind most of Pirandello’s plays is that
life is fluid and indefinable and that man uses reason to give
life definition. But, because life is indefinable such concepts
are illusions. Man is sometimes aware of this illusionary
nature of his concepts, but “anything without structure fills
him with dread and uncertainty.” The drama that Pirandello
created from this idea is usually described with reference to
the face and the mask. The face represents the complex
suffering of the individual; the mask represents the external
form and social laws. For Pirandello, all social institutions and systems of thought—from
religion and law to philosophy and morality—are ways in which society creates a mask, fixing
the face of man by classifying him. As well as the mask being put on the face by the external
world, Pirandello believed that it could often be the construct of internal demands. The mask
can sometimes be literal, as in his play Six Characters in Search of an Author, or take the form
of costumes, make-up and props, as in Henry IV. It can also be a metaphorical concept.
life is fluid and indefinable and that man uses reason to give
life definition. But, because life is indefinable such concepts
are illusions. Man is sometimes aware of this illusionary
nature of his concepts, but “anything without structure fills
him with dread and uncertainty.” The drama that Pirandello
created from this idea is usually described with reference to
the face and the mask. The face represents the complex
suffering of the individual; the mask represents the external
form and social laws. For Pirandello, all social institutions and systems of thought—from
religion and law to philosophy and morality—are ways in which society creates a mask, fixing
the face of man by classifying him. As well as the mask being put on the face by the external
world, Pirandello believed that it could often be the construct of internal demands. The mask
can sometimes be literal, as in his play Six Characters in Search of an Author, or take the form
of costumes, make-up and props, as in Henry IV. It can also be a metaphorical concept.
Source(s): http://repassets.s3.amazonaws.com/studyguides/henryiv.pdf
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