Analysis of the American Noh Play, Gettysburg

Analysis of the American Noh Play, Gettysburg Name Institution Analysis of the American Noh Play, Gettysburg The story of Gettysburg is about a veteran of the Afghanistan war who is a descendant of General Winfield Hancock and who travels to Gettysburg battlefields to look for the place where the Lewis Armistead, a Confederate General, fell. The veteran is in possession of a watch, which Armistead in his final moments entrusted to Hancock as a way of recognizing their friendship before the Civil-War. He goes with this watch to a groundskeeper and requests to be shown Armistead’s marker. Once there, the veteran and the groundskeeper begin to discuss the bond that exists between soldiers and that of Armistead and Hancock in particular. As the sun sets, the veteran feels and hears the ghosts of the soldiers that died in that field and sees the ghost of General Lewis Armistead. Armistead talks to the veteran about the experiences of the war, their duty to serve their country and lost friendships thereby revealing the country’s painful past. My favorite part of the play is when the veteran sees and interacts with the ghost of Confederate General Lewis Armistead. Prior to this interaction, the groundskeeper had told the veteran that the former was to wait until sunset to experience and feel the past. The interaction between the two is important since it reveals the painful experiences of those who fought in the war in the past. The fact that the general and the veteran are of different generations is important in helping understand how the situation has changed throughout the years for soldiers. The fact that both traditional Noh music and classical concert music are used during this time in the play further emphasizes the intertwining of the past and the present. The part is also my favorite because it offers us a glimpse into the supernatural world of ghosts. In the play, Armistead appeared to the veteran even though we already know that he died a long time ago and it is more interesting that his ghost can dance in the same way that human beings do. A number of themes have been explored in the play including the themes of war, friendship, and life and death. On the theme of war, the entire play revolves around the experiences of soldiers during the Civil War. This is evident in characters used such as the Confederate General Lewis Armistead and General Winfield Hancock. The main character is also a war veteran whose father was a soldier. Through the conversation between the veteran and the groundskeeper, we get to know what soldiers experienced during the war. The consequences of the war are revealed in the chorus whereby it is mentioned that most soldiers lost their wives, children and homes. The theme of friendship is revealed through the two generals Armistead and Hancock. It is mentioned that they were good friends even before the war and before General Hancock’s troops killed General Armistead. Ideally, this was because the “rules of combat overrule the ties of blood.” This means that the men were forced to fight each other even though they were close friends. Even at the time of death, Armistead gave his watch out to be handed to Hancock as a symbol of their friendship that had been disrupted by the war. The same theme ...