Escapism in Shelagh Delaney’s: A Taste of Honey

Delaney wrote her play when she was nineteen years old aiming at shedding lights on many social hidden issues in her society at that period. The play was classified as a “Kitchen Sink” genre which emerged in England to present the proletarian’s problems so “ a reader or a spectator feels that it is directed for the whole world and suit any period of time” (Taher87). Due to the pivotal role of the theater and its impact upon the audience, Delaney wrote A Taste of Honey as a play instead of novel as planned by her at the beginning of writing process. “The traditional forms of art have failed to satisfy the wishes and aspirations of the new artists who deliberately look for new forms to express their attitudes towards the new state of life to be lived after grave wars that have caused humanity great losses on many and various levels” (Wale 25). The setting of the play is Sanford, 1950 a two act play acted by five characters. The playwright’s main concern is the barren relationship between a mother and her daughter emphasizing the decaying familial bonds in the society between 1950 -1960 and the sense of loneliness experienced by all the characters that leads eventually to escape their reality via different ways of escapism.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Shelagh Delaney, escapism, taste of honey

Delaney wrote her play when she was nineteen years old aiming at shedding lights on many social hidden issues in her society at that period. The play was classified as a “Kitchen Sink” genre which emerged in England to present the proletarian’s problems so “ a reader or a spectator feels that it is directed for the whole world and suit any period of time” (Taher87). Due to the pivotal role of the theater and its impact upon the audience, Delaney wrote A Taste of Honey as a play instead of novel as planned by her at the beginning of writing process. “The traditional forms of art have failed to satisfy the wishes and aspirations of the new artists who deliberately look for new forms to express their attitudes towards the new state of life to be lived after grave wars that have caused humanity great losses on many and various levels” (Wale 25). The setting of the play is Sanford, 1950 a two act play acted by five characters. The playwright’s main concern is the barren relationship between a mother and her daughter emphasizing the decaying familial bonds in the society between 1950 -1960 and the sense of loneliness experienced by all the characters that leads eventually to escape their reality via different ways of escapism.

Keywords: Shelagh Delaney, escapism, taste of honey

Sayfa Aralığı: 89-94

Saeed, A. M. (2023). Escapism in Shelagh Delaney’s: A Taste of Honey. Journal of Current Researches on Educational Studies, 13 (1), 89-94.