Phaeton, Eros and Psyche

I read two scenes tonight. Both of them had a very unique way of expressing itself. I really liked the way in which the scene of Phaeton was written, because it was very fun to read. It was written in a very modern way, in which it is easy for the reader/viewer to relate to the story. Not only was it a lot shorter and with fewer details than other interpretations, but it was also written in a way in which we can know what Phaeton was feeling and what his reasoning was behind his actions all the time. It was exposed as a conversation between a psychologist and her patient, in which he tells her everything he was thinking.

In lines like these I like how the image of Phaeton is portrayed to us: "It was over before it began. It was chaos, okay? Out of control, as if no one was driving. You know, my knees were weak, I was blind from all the light. I set the earth on fire. And I fell. And it just destroyed me-you know, I was just completely and utterly destroyed. O-V-E-R. Over (p. 67)." I really liked how words like "okay", "you know", and "O-V-E-R" really make it seem modern and a story that could have been invented just some months ago.

Something else that I liked was a description Phaeton made in which he talked about his father in a literal way, but that if you really see it they are talking about more than just the literal: "And there he is all shining and golden, and I can't even look at him he's so bright (p. 54)." Many kids, when they first see their parents, even if they are not the sun itself, think that they are really "bright" and "golden", and might even be afraid of talking to them because of that.


In the next scene I read, about Eros and Psyche, was also written in an atypical way. It was written in a modern question-answer kind of way. The "Answer" person was telling a story while the "Question" was asking what happened next all the time. This format helped you organize your thoughts better, and read the story faster. I really liked this way also. It also had many funny parts, like this one: "Q: What's going to happen to her now? / A: She's going to suffer. / Q: And? / A: She's going to suffer. / Q: And? / A: She's going to suffer. (p. 73)" It really makes the audience watching the play laugh and enjoys it more.

Basically, these two scenes were really good in content and interesting, but what I liked the most was the change in format.