Judith

Response to Dr. Fletcher's post on Judith by Howard Barker 

While reading this play I happened to keep a picture and a song in mind  because of how perfect it fits into the play.

It is interesting to point out these characters in Judith and Night, Mother who have similarities by choosing the same topic of death to reflect on. Night,Mother was more focused on the act of suicide, while Judith focuses more on murder of a sacrifice. Both plays posed a Major Dramatic Question; Judith obviously asks, "Will Judith kill Holofemes?" Barker also has a very interesting form of writing. During the play I was confused and curious as to why he wrote some lines in bold print. 

Judith goes through changes from the beginning of the play to the end of the play. Her challenge comes about when she discovers how deeply she feels for Holofemes. This act of death is influenced with the servants words. Judith does not act alone in the killing. She struggles with all these thoughts and feelings but worries about the safety of her future. The end is the most shocking when we see a change in Judith. Her actions of killing destroy her ideals. 

My opinion; I found this play particularly difficult to read at first because it is a bit wordy. I kept having to re read lines to understand what they meant. Finding more information on this play helped me to better understand what it was about.