Literature and Science A Study of Select Science Plays

Abstract

newline The Two Cultures debate encapsulates the nuances of mutual interactions between literature newlineand science. The present work situates itself in the field of literature and science by analysing newlineselect science plays spanning over the different branches of science. This research work newlineexplores the following plays: Bertolt Brecht s Life of Galileo (1943), Jerome Lawrence and newlineRobert E Lee s Inherit the Wind (1955), Heinar Kipphardt s In the Matter of J Robert newlineOppenheimer (1964), Mohan Maharishi s Einstein (1996), Michael Frayn s Copenhagen newline(1998), Shelagh Stephenson s An Experiment with an Air Pump (2000), and Carl Djerassi and newlineRoald Hoffmann s Oxygen (2001). The thesis addresses the issue of authority in science plays newlineand investigates the responsibilities on scientists, their agency to dissent and the interaction of newlinescientific authority with military, religious and judicial authorities. It also undertakes a literary newlineanalysis of the plays, focusing on literary devices and techniques such as allusions, wordplays, newlinerhetoric, prosody, alliteration, humour, and sarcasm. Further, the work examines the newlineutilisations of stage props, costumes, and other scenographic elements in science plays. The newlinethesis is attentive to the lack of representation of women scientists and women playwrights in newlinethis field. The final part of this research work explores the lives and struggles of Rosalind newlineFranklin in Anna Ziegler s Photograph 51 (2015), Henrietta Leavitt in Lauren Gunderson s newlineThe Silent Sky (2015), and Emelie Du Chatelet in Emilie (2019). As there is a scarcity of newlinescholarly work on science plays in literature and science, this thesis establishes a case for newlinestudying these plays as a viable medium of research by providing unique viewpoints for newlineexploring the thespian art.