Children's Hour

Responding to Dr. Fletcher's Post on Children's Hour by: Lillian Hellman 

Hellman created a well made play structure for The Children’s Hour. There was a lot of drama and irony that kept me in suspense. A great deal of tension was also introduced several times through the plot. The exposition, however, was a little different than an expected well made play structure. I felt that the point of attack came earlier in the play rather than the ideal later. The idea of keeping secrets making that the rising action of the play was genius. Although the rising action built up a lot, it seemed to be a drawn out process of events. In the play many times Mary’s lies ruin the lives of others and she is not punished for her actions. Usually the secret being revealed as a part of a well made play structure brings out a logical resolution. The Children’s Hour did not end the way most would think; a surprise twist was a good idea but caused a lot of tension left after the conclusion.