The Real Inspector Hound

Presentation

Trisha R., Lisa S., Jonathan T., Ethan T., and Fox V.

Author’s Choices

Game Motif

In the play two different games are played, tennis and

cards

The games are used to quite literally represent conflict

between characters

In the first game, tennis, Felicity and Cynthia are fighting

over the affections of Simon

Later, his trickery revealed and Magnus in the mix, the

characters are all playing against Simon, shown by his

winning both hands

This choice directs the flow of emotions and intentions in a

play where the character’s motivations are otherwise

obscure

Telephone Motif

The telephone and the associated call is a present factor

throughout the play

The telephone is representative of uncertainty and unease,

with characters never knowing who is on the other line or

what they want

However, while the telephone is a source of unease, its lack

of presence later on also creates problems

By cutting the line, the characters are effectively cut off from

the outside world

In this way the telephone is used to create tension both

through its presence and absence

Having the telephone be a recurring issue throughout the play

Plotline

Mise en abyme- French term for a ‘story within a story’

Technique wherein a subject contains a smaller copy

of itself, which seems to recur infinitely

Sub-texts mirroring each other to express things to the

characters

Ex: Moon’s muddled version of reality and

Birdboot’s affairs with the two actresses

Used in deconstructionism as a model for how

language never exactly reaches the foundation of

reality

Genre

The play belongs a genre often called the Theatre of the Absurd

This genre is known to express the belief of the meaninglessness of human

existence. Characteristics of this genre are broad comedy mixed with

tragic images, characters in bad situations forced into repetitive and

meaningless actions, cliche dialogues, and cyclical plots.

Stoppard’s play contains many of these characteristics about a series of

murders with many repeating scenes and satirical and cliche dialogue.

Parody of The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie

Literary Devices

Repetition - Several scenes within the play are repeated

exactly; however with different “actors” as the characters.By repeating scenes, it makes the reader feel that no progress towards the

end has been made

Even the actions that happen are the same

Its interesting to see that Moon and Birdboot’s narratives match up with the

characters’ in the play

Story Elements

Imagery - Within the stage directions gives the reader or

actors information on the mood of the scenes and feeling

towards the given situation.

Stage directions including the fog at Muldoon Manor and others that direct

the experience of the play

The comedic view of Inspector Hound poking fun at his authority and

intelligence as the stereotypical detective

Story Elements

Justice - Most of the characters in the play want to stop the

murderer in the play, and by the end we realize that the

inspector hound was the murderer and that the real inspector

was hidden as Magnus to catch the real killer.

Although, Magnus is played by Puckeridge, who in the parlor mystery kills

Higgs, Moon, and Birdboot to become the top critic.

It seems that we never reach a point where all good overrides all of the bad

actions committed; by the end, Puckeridge is still on the loose

Critical Lenses

Marxism

Literary criticism based on socialist and dialectic theories that aims to assess the

political aspects of a literary work, and thus determine whether its social

content or its literary form are progressive.

Analysis of class constructs demonstrated in a literary work

Examples:

Mrs. Drudge

Interactions with guests

Setting up of the card table

Informing Lady Muldoon of Simon’s arrival

Marxism-Themes

Power dynamics between characters with false identities

influence the realities of other characters and create an

illusion for the reader.

One must occasionally lie or take on a new identity in order

to integrate into a higher social class.

Deconstructionism

Introduced by French Philosopher Jaques Derrida and literary critic Paul de

Man

A critical theory that seeks to “deconstruct” the ideological biases (gender,

racial, economic, political, cultural) and traditional assumptions of a literary

work

Relationship between text and meaning

Nothing is “whole” and everything includes contradictions and inconsistencies

Use what something is not to explain what it actually is

Words have meaning only because of contrast between other with other words

Destructionism Examples

Binary

Pair of polar opposites (No two things truly have nothing in common)

Birdboot and Moon versus the characters of the ‘internal play’

Differance

Individual actions/words do not convey meaning i.e; house

Birdboot and Moon’s discussion lacks qualifiers

Play

Meaning is never stable. Concepts behind ideas/words are always changing.

Deconstructionism-Themes

How we determine meaning is entirely dependent upon context and personal

experiences.

If the meaning behind a word or action is not clearly stated, then ambiguity

derives from individual interpretations.

Reader Response

A literary theory that focuses on the reader (or the audience) and their

experience of a literary work

How their experience adds meaning to the text

Examples:

Moon is not considered Higgs’s killer until ‘Magnus’ reveals it to the

audience

Is this factual given the audience’s knowledge of the situation?

Moon’s soliloquies

In reality, Puckeridge was the one who killed Higgs

Fast paced ending

Reader Response- Themes

The way in which we perceive morality is limited by our own experiences and

knowledge of the world.

People use proper context to clarify their own decisions and to justify

themselves.

Creates fallacies within the play

Video Clips

The Real Inspector Hound Portland Community College

Spring 2014 Play

17:49-18:00

46:35-50:55

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS5TzBGwQlI

1:06:33-1:09:21https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS5TzBGwQlI

Discussion Questions

How does the involvement of Birdboot and Moon in the play within The Real

Inspector Hound affect the theme of reality and illusion?

The role and symbolism of the phone

Complexity and confusion created

How does the cyclical repetitiveness of the events contribute to the meaning

created by the play’s genre?

Theatre of the absurd

Identical recurring events

In what ways is the closing scene of The Real Inspector Hound similar and

different from the closing scene of Hamlet?