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    A Study Guide for Lynn Nottage's "Poof!"
    A Study Guide for Lynn Nottage's "Poof!"
    A Study Guide for Lynn Nottage's "Poof!"
    Ebook40 pages21 minutes

    A Study Guide for Lynn Nottage's "Poof!"

    By Gale and Cengage

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    About this ebook

    A Study Guide for Lynn Nottage's "Poof!," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Drama For Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Drama For Students for all of your research needs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCengage Learning - Gale
    Release dateAug 12, 2016
    ISBN9781535831239
    A Study Guide for Lynn Nottage's "Poof!"

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      A Study Guide for Lynn Nottage's "Poof!" - Gale

      12

      Poof!

      Lynn Nottage

      1993

      Introduction

      Lynn Nottage's short play Poof! treats the serious theme of domestic violence while incorporating humor into the play through the dialogue between the characters Loureen and Florence. Their shocked and uncertain response to the fact that Loureen appears to have cursed her husband into nonexistence—he spontaneously combusts—is largely responsible for generating the play's often-comedic tone. Spontaneous human combustion, referred to in a note by Nottage just following the character list, is an unexplained, fantastical phenomenon in which a person appears to burn from the inside out. This strange event occurs in the opening moments of the play, after Loureen, once again threatened by her violent husband, yells, Damn you to hell, Samuel! This is followed by a flash of light and Loureen's discovery of the mound of smoking ashes in her kitchen, atop which rest her husband's eyeglasses.

      The remainder of the play's action centers on Loureen's range of emotions. In a state of disbelief, she calls her friend Florence, who lives in the same building. Loureen has an immediate understanding of the fact that she caused Samuel's fate but cannot fathom how it happened. Florence is confused and wonders if Loureen has perhaps gone insane. A portion of their discussion reveals the hint that disposing of her abusive husband was something Loureen had considered in the past. At one point, Loureen concludes that she must be a witch to have made this happen. After reflecting on their mutual history as abused women, Loureen and Florence contemplate what Loureen should do with Samuel's remains. Eventually, after Florence's departure, Loureen sweeps the ashes under the rug and eats her dinner. The bizarre event that sparks the action in this story creates an avenue for Nottage to approach the themes of domestic abuse and retribution in a nontraditional manner. At its heart, the play is also about the friendship and complicity of the two friends.

      Under the direction of Jon Jory, Poof! premiered in Louisville, Kentucky, at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in 1993. In 2004, it was included in Nottage's collection

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