The World Above

Though this play is not based in psychological realism, there are places represented that exist in the real world. However, they are not represented realistically. During Eurydice's wedding scene, for example, only Orpheus and she are present. For Sarah Ruhl, the significance this individual woman's wedding has for her personally is more important than how the wedding does, or does not, conform to sociocultural traditions regarding weddings. The only prop in the wedding scenes is the water pump. The scenes that take place around the water pump impact the dramatic action of the play, but a water pump does not place the wedding in a particular setting or time period.

The Underworld

The literary genre that most strongly influences this play is magical realism, and the defining elements of that genre are best illustrated in the underworld. In magical realism, fantastical elements are presented as though...