Equus Essay | Critical Essay #2

Equus Critical Essay #2

Witham examines Shaffer's play, finding it to be neither "great theatre nor bad psychology." The critic does, however, find Equus to be "an exhilarating play" that succeeds in being simultaneously thought-provoking and melodramatic. In his discussion of anger in the play, Witham compares Shaffer's play to John Osborne's Look Back in Anger.

Peter Shaffer's Equus is neither great theatre nor bad psychology, but it has elements of both. It is an exhilarating play: a remarkable blend of delayed exposition and theatrical effect, of melodrama and circus, which has inspired huge ticket sales and adoring critical reviews. And it is that increasingly rare serious drama which capitalizes on lurid events while maintaining a devotion to "ideas." Yet, in spite of its wide popular acclaim, Equus is difficult to sort out even when all the clues have been discovered. Why does Alan make his slightly sadomasochistic leap from Jesus to horses?...
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