This book attempts to measure the effectiveness of research tools from different disciplines in analyzing and understanding works of theatre and literature. One of the most significant conclusions of this attempt is that art functions as a way to conceive reality through imagination. As a creative tool for expressing, shaping and reflecting the psycho-cultural spirits of artists, times and spaces, art produces mirrors in front of cultural variedness, different eras, human temperaments, truths, values and meanings.
Part one introduces basic concepts of theories from various fields: the philosophy of esthetics, literary sociology, cultural anthropology and psychology written by Nietzsche, Bakhtin, Wolfflin, Croce, Storr, Shoham and others. The common base of these theories is a binary contemplation that highlights the existence of polar duality in the spirit of man. This duality has many forms and names: Apollo versus Dionysus (reason versus instinct), dialogism versus monologism, renaissance versus baroque, romanticism versus classicism, Sisyphus versus Tantalus, Schizoid versus manic-depressive.
Part two focuses on interpretations of works of literature and theatre in the light of these theories. The works chosen belong to different writers, cultures and periods: Tonio Kruger of Thomas mann, Hamlet of Shakespeare, The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi and Angel Came Down to Earth by Durrenmatt, The Lover by A.B. Yehushua, The Adventure of Jaber's Head by Wannus, Bath Queen and The Patriot by Levin, The Rain Maker by Lahham and Jericho Governor by Mondi.
