Ariana Jumper: Van der Leeuw and drama 12/4/09

In Van der Leeuw’s schema, drama is part of creation. In drama there is movement. This can be tied to the movement of God and the movement of man. Van der Leeuw states that “the history of the world is the play of God and man, movement and countermovement of the protagonist and his opposite upon the earthly stage” (Van der Leeuw, 2006, p. 331). Through God’s movement, man was created. Man provided a response to God through countermovement, therefore creating the interaction, or play, between God and man. Drama is a reflection of this great play. Actors respond to the movement of other actors and the play is created.

I believe that Van der Leeuw is warranted in comparing drama to the play between God and man. Throughout time, man has believed to be communicating with gods. Rituals were a way man interacted with the gods. They were either a movement to the gods, such as asking for a good harvest, or a countermovement, such as asking forgiveness for bad actions. More recently, people saw the plague and other disasters as a countermovement from God in response to people not properly worshipping and disgracing God. This may be how man first learned drama. He might have recognized the relationship between him and the gods and decided that the creation of drama could be a form of worship and even be seen as a representation of the relationship.