Structurally, stylistically, vocally, image, symbol, language, and in use of space Vogel controls how meaning is constructed, and is not afraid to lower her own authorial voice to the level of the voices of her characters and thus give equal presentation, weight, and value to all the voices both in the play and outside it. (Stevenson, 244)Īgain, I have heard much description of postmodern art forms that discuss the form as meaning, and after reading these two critical articles alone I have come to understand how form works to create meaning in Drive.

The form discovered by Paula Vogel for Li’l Bit’s revelation of her secret affirms this multiplicity, and allows Li’l Bit to tell her story without being reduced to the fictitious unity that a realist form would enforce. This suggestion was confirmed repeatedly in the two critical articles that I read on Drive which focused expressly on the need for a unique form in which to tell the story, necessary to subvert not only Vogel’s own authorial voice, but to ensure that the audience doesn’t come away with a pre-conceived understanding based on the form of the play itself. As well, there was some mention of the notion that the form of a play is what is important. In the previous essay I discussed that I have been struggling for some time with the shape of a play that I’ve been working on. I’ll pick up from where I left off with the previous essay, regarding Paula Vogel’s play How I Learned to Drive specifically, I’ll consider some of the techniques that have attracted me to this play and their meaning, as suggested by a few critical articles.

Vogel how i learned to drive