On The Metadramatic Devices In Amadeus

Peter Shaffer,a celebrated contemporary playwright in Britain,belongs to the Post-Brecht school.Many Post-Brecht scholars often use non-traditional dramatic devices and unique dramatic devices.One of these typical dramatic devices can make the characters in a play realize that they are acting,breaking the boundary between drama and reality.Amadeus is one of Shaffer’s representative works,and the main character in this play,Salieri,often talks directly to the internal audience,breaking the state of watching the play.The dramatic device that Amadeus adopted is one of the metadramatic devices.Metadramatic devices are mainly proposed by Richard Hornby,including five types: the play within the play,the ceremony within the play,role playing within the role,literary and real-life reference within the play,and self-reference.The play within the play is a drama in which a drama is performed in addition to the original drama.The ceremony within the play refers to a dramatic ceremony or event in a play.Role playing within the role means a character performs a role in a play,while he also dons another role in the same play.Literary and real-life reference within the play refers to a play that can be a reference to other literary works or real life.Self-reference refers to an actor’s self-examination and perception of the internal audiences.These metadramatic devices could help readers to appraise Amadeus from multiple perspectives.The ceremony within the play will explore the society at that time and observe the influence of the outside world on individuals;role playing within the role is to delve into the inner desire and conflicts of individuals and seek the true self;references offer readers some hints of the rational reflection,highlighting the individual crisis;the play within the play reviews the whole play and ponders the playwright’s expectations.Readers can have a further understanding of the conflicts between man and society,man and man,and man and self by analyzing Amadeus from these metadramatic devices.