Education And Entertainment
Both entertainment and education have been
integrals parts of the human
experience since the beginnings of time. Many
scholars insist that the two
institutions often serve jointly, with
entertainers and entertainment serving as
a main source of education. There
is little argument, then, that in addition to
generally appealing to the
masses, entertainers have regularly fulfilled the
role of a teacher to
typically unsuspecting audiences. Entertainers have served
as educators
throughout history, from the origins of oral narratives through
the
Middle Ages. The earliest forms of unwritten communication were
essentially used
to spread knowledge from one source to another. Religious
disciplines were the
first information passed from person to person through
entertainment. In the
third century B.C., Buddhist monks tried to win
converts outside India through
the use of theater and song (Bur*censored*
97). They taught the precepts of
Siddhartha and Buddha in such theatrical
epics as Ramayana and Mahabharata,
setting exacting rules for theater
performance in the process (Bur*censored*
99). Similarly, Irish monks
established singing schools, which taught uniform
use of music throughout the
church (Young 31). Through chants which were all the
same, they spread
identical teachings. Christian psalms and hymns in Apostolic
times were sung
to spread the knowledge and faith of Christianity. In fact,
Christianity
was promoted from the start by music. Churches were for long the
only centers
of learning, with monks teaching all lessons through music (Young
39).
Through the use of sacred music, monks and clergy successfully spread
the
teachings of their religions in a practical manner. Entertainers used
the
theater as a place to tell the stories of the day, both fictional and
topical.
The African oral tradition was rich in folk tales, myths,
riddles, and proverbs,
serving a religious, social, and economic function
(Lindfors 1). Likewise, Asian
actors covered their faces with masks in order
to act out a scandal of the day
without the audience knowing who was passing
along the gossip (Archer 76).
European puppets were another medium which
permitted entertainers to spread
current gossip without revealing the
identity of the storyteller (Speaight 16).
The theatrical productions of
the Greeks further explored the use of theater as
an instructional tool.
Because the theater provided such a diverse forum for
expression, stage
actors and playwrights consistantly utilized this locale to
eduate the
general public. Oral communication was widely used to educate society
about
morals and basic truths. The most highly developed theoretical
discussions
from ancient times were those of he Greeks, who passed on this
knowledge through
music and stories. Homer, the eighth-century B.C. poet,
court singer, and
storyteller, embodied ideal Greek morals and heroic conduct
in his spoken epic,
The Iliad (Beye 1). Homer and other poets used
qualities not found in written
language to make the memorization of their
works easier so their sagas could be
repeated for generations (Edwards 1).
African tribes people and Native Americans
also instilled morals and lessons
to their communities through stories and
fables (Edwards 1). These oral
narratives were soon after recorded on paper as
early forms of literature
became prevalent. Many of the thoughts previously
expressed through oral
communication only could now be recorded for the future
as writing became
wide-spread. The era of writing began with Chinese literature
more than 3,500
years ago, as the Chinese recorded tales on oracle bones (Mair
1). The
Greeks, however, were the first known civilization to translate their
oral
history into writing (Henderson 1). While the earliest Greek literature
was
produced by the Indo-Europeans in 2,000 B.C., the most essential works
began in
Ionia with the epics of Homer in the eighth century B.C.
(Henderson 7). This
oral poetry is the foundation of Greek literature, and
epic poetry such as
Boetianıs Hesiod explored the poetıs role as a social
and religious teacher
(Henderson 8). These written works clearly informed
those who read them, but
were not as successful in educating the masses as
the Greek dramas. Any spoken
works that were especially significant could now
be transcribed for posterity
and future use. Greek plays were also recorded
on paper beginning around 500
B.C., reflecting issues of the day and
entertaining audiences concurrently. The
tragedies of Euripides reflect
political, social, and intellectual crisis. Plays
such as The Bacchae reflect
the dissolution of common values of the time, while
other works criticized
traditional religion or represented mythical figures as
unheroic (Segal 1).
Each Greek drama was similarly structured: problems were ³presented
by the
chorus, and resolved in purely conventional--but always
instructive--ways²
(Bur*censored* 18). Topical comedies reflected the heroic
spirit, and problems
facing Greek society during times of great change
(Henderson 2). Meanwhile, the
dramas of Socrates spoke about ethical and
moral change, while Demosthenesı
speeches hardened Athenian opposition to
Phillip of Macedon (Henderson 2).
Similarly, the Greek dramatist
Aeschylus used his plays as a ³forum for
resolving moral conflicts and
expressing a grandeur of thought ! and language²
(Segal 1). Because all
social classes of the community could enjoy and
understand the plays, Greek
drama was a major force in educating the public.
Following the onset of
the second century, considerable movement took place
across Europe. Between
950 and 1350, the population of Western Europe doubled
(Lindsay 26-33). A
shortage of teachers caused eager minds to look elsewhere for
education. Many
of those traveling were instrumental in spreading ideas,
stories, and songs
across the countryside. A new kind of entertainer, the
troubadours, served as
the new commentators of the day, successfully blending
verse and music. Their
poetry was the first to ³set about the conscious
creation of a literary
speech in the vernacular² (Bogin 44). In songs called
sirventes, the
troubadours discussed current affairs, politics, personalities,
and scandals
(Grunfield 25). Many troubadour songs have texts referring to
the
Crusades of the fourteenth century. Their crusading songs, such as
those
undoubtedly connected with the campaign against the Arabs in Spain,
brought
political unrest to the attention of the average citizen (Lindsay
61). Rog! er
II, however, protected Arab-speaking poets who rubbed
shoulders with his own
Latin writers (Lindsay 44). Bertrand de Born
became famous for writing
warmongering songs that ³stirred up barons and
provoked kings into going to war²
(Grunfield 25). Walther von der Vogelwiede
attained a unique position among
troubadours by transforming ³the short poem
of proverbial wisdom into a
political weapon of satire and patriotism²
(Hering 1). Wandering troubadours
sang most often about courtly love, but
used their unique form of entertainment
to express concerns regarding social
and political topics to the general public.
Entertainers of the twelfth
century also informed the public of the principles
of topics such as chivalry
and religion. Troubadour Guilhem de Poitou caused a
sensation among friends
and courtiers after writing about love in a way that
became the code for
chivalry (Bogin 37-39). He later spent a year among people
of Antioch
learning Arabic songs of Syria, which he brought back to France
(Lindsay 4).
Poet Gerbert made contributions to geometry, music theory, and
arithmetic in
his works which customarily valued philosophy over prayer (Lindsay
45).
The religious songs of Martin Luther forced poets and scholars to take
sides
during the Religious conflict of the Reformation (Hering 2). Lutherıs
chorale
³Einı feste Burge² became a national hymn during the reformation of
the
Catholic church, encouraging followers to fight to worship in their
own
languages, not the universally used Latin texts (Young 66). While
the
troubadours were viewed primarily as entertainers who wandered aimless!
ly about
the countryside singing about the virtues of courtly love, their
contribution as
educators to the public cannot be mistaken. As the
troubadours slowly began to
disappear, new kinds of entertainers took their
place, continuing to inform the
general public through different mediums. The
meistersinger replaced the
troubadour in the late fourteenth century
(Sebastian 2). Middle and lower class
meistersingers established schools for
the cultivation of their craft, ensuring
a more structured form of
entertainment than that of the wandering troubadours
(Sebastian 3). A famous
early fifteenth-century manuscript at the University of
Heidelberg
contains hundreds poems by the most famous meistersingers as well
as
illustrations which are ³as entertaining as they are instructive² (Young
44).
John Wilbye represented another new form of entertainer, the
madrigalist, and
provided studies of English landscapes in the words and
music of his madrigals
(Young 71). Again, there is a wealth of evidence to
show that music was used
extensively to support the spread of religious
belief. For example, King David
in the Cante! rbury Psalter tells that
³musical sonorities² were introduced
into the service of the church (Young
46). Monteverdiıs opera LıIncoronazions
di Poppea educated audiences with its
historical context and characters (Young
77). The popularity of music
remained dominant throughout the Middle Ages,
although writers began to
entertain through the use of written poetry as well.
European writers of
the Middle Ages continued to comment on morals and
acceptable behavior
through their works as their predecessors did almost 2,000
years before.
Hroswitha von Gandersheim, the first known woman writer, was a nun
who used
the Roman playwright Terence as a model for her morality plays
(Hering
1). Dutch writer Jacob van Maerlant wrote poems that showcased
chivalry (Flaxman
1). Spanish playwright Lope de Vega encouraged national
patriotism and honor in
his works that dealt with dramatic conflicts and
combined tragic and comedy
elements (Gasset 3). Calderon also stresses the
Spanish code of honor in his
masterpiece The Mayor of Zalamea (Gasset 3).
Later Francisco Gomez de Quevedo Y
Villegas wrote moral works in which he
explored the decadence of Spain (Gasset
3). Social concerns inspired the
writings of Italian reformer Pietro Verri,
whose cynical interpretation of
history established a new scientific discipline
(Alvaro 1). His peer Leon
Battista Alberti published On the Family, which
reflected the concerns
Italians for social and ethical topics (Alvaro 1). Still,
other authors such
as Prince Juan Manuel of Spain wrote such seemingly simple
tales as ³The
Emperorıs New Clothes,² from which reader could extract the
moral lessons
(Gasset 3). During this era, Europeans were constantly discussing
politics
and social issues, prompted by the opinions of writers who commented on
the
subjects. Entertainers throughout history have undoubtedly served
as
educators to the public, in addition to their conventional roles as
musicians or
writers only. While a few performers sought only to amuse with
their acts, the
majority of entertainers have crafted their art with a deeper
purpose in mind.
Each who chose to address societyıs problems and speak
to the general community
through their art is as worthy an educator as a
modern-day college professor.
Because many of the works of these great
artists were recorded on paper or
passed down from generation to generation
through oral history, the insightful
thoughts of these entertainers continue
to educate the public in the
twenty-first
century.
Bibliography
Jennifer Bender AP English 4 November 22,
1996 Mr. Kile The Role of
Entertainers as Educators Bender 9 Works Cited
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