FREE ESSAY ON ROLE OF ENTERTAINERS AS EDUCATORS

ROLE OF ENTERTAINERS AS EDUCATORS

Both entertainment and education have been integrals parts of the human experience since
the beginnings of time. Many scholars insist that the two institutions often serve
jointly, with entertainers and entertainment serving as a main source of education. There
is little argument, then, that in addition to generally appealing to the masses,
entertainers have regularly fulfilled the role of a teacher to typically unsuspecting
audiences. Entertainers have served as educators throughout history, from the origins of
oral narratives through the Middle Ages. 
The earliest forms of unwritten communication were essentially used to spread knowledge
from one source to another. Religious disciplines were the first information passed from
person to person through entertainment. In the third century B.C., Buddhist monks tried
to win converts outside India through the use of theater and song (Bur*censored* 97).
They taught the precepts of Siddhartha and Buddha in such theatrical epics as Ramayana
and Mahabharata, setting exacting rules for theater performance in the process
(Bur*censored* 99). Similarly, Irish monks established singing schools, which taught
uniform use of music throughout the church (Young 31). Through chants which were all the
same, they spread identical teachings. Christian psalms and hymns in Apostolic times were
sung to spread the knowledge and faith of Christianity. In fact, Christianity was
promoted from the start by music. Churches were for long the only centers of learning,
with monks teaching all lessons through music (Young 39). Through the use of sacred
music, monks and clergy successfully spread the teachings of their religions in a
practical manner. 
Entertainers used the theater as a place to tell the stories of the day, both fictional
and topical. The African oral tradition was rich in folk tales, myths, riddles, and
proverbs, serving a religious, social, and economic function (Lindfors 1). Likewise,
Asian actors covered their faces with masks in order to act out a scandal of the day
without the audience knowing who was passing along the gossip (Archer 76). European
puppets were another medium which permitted entertainers to spread current gossip without
revealing the identity of the storyteller (Speaight 16). The theatrical productions of
the Greeks further explored the use of theater as an instructional tool. Because the
theater provided such a diverse forum for expression, stage actors and playwrights
consistently utilized this locale to educate the general public. 
Oral communication was widely used to educate society about morals and basic truths. The
most highly developed theoretical discussions from ancient times were those of he Greeks,
who passed on this knowledge through music and stories. Homer, the eighth-century B.C.
poet, court singer, and storyteller, embodied ideal Greek morals and heroic conduct in
his spoken epic, The Iliad (Beye 1). Homer and other poets used qualities not found in
written language to make the memorization of their works easier so their sagas could be
repeated for generations (Edwards 1). African tribes people and Native Americans also
instilled morals and lessons to their communities through stories and fables (Edwards 1).
These oral narratives were soon after recorded on paper as early forms of literature
became prevalent. 
Many of the thoughts previously expressed through oral communication only could now be
recorded for the future as writing became wide-spread. The era of writing began with
Chinese literature more than 3,500 years ago, as the Chinese recorded tales on oracle
bones (Mair 1). The Greeks, however, were the first known civilization to translate their
oral history into writing (Henderson 1). While the earliest Greek literature was produced
by the Indo-Europeans in 2,000 B.C., the most essential works began in Ionia with the
epics of Homer in the eighth century B.C. (Henderson 7). This oral poetry is the
foundation of Greek literature, and epic poetry such as Boetians Hesiod explored the
poet's role as a social and religious teacher (Henderson 8). These written works clearly
informed those who read them, but were not as successful in educating the masses as the
Greek dramas. Any spoken works that were especially significant could now be transcribed
for posterity and future use. 
Greek plays were also recorded on paper beginning around 500 B.C., reflecting issues of
the day and entertaining audiences concurrently. The tragedies of Euripides reflect
political, social, and intellectual crisis. Plays such as The Bacchae reflect the
dissolution of common values of the time, while other works criticized traditional
religion or represented mythical figures as unheroic (Segal 1). Each Greek drama was
similarly structured: problems were presented by the chorus, and resolved in purely
conventional--but always instructive--ways (Bur*censored* 18). Topical comedies reflected
the heroic spirit, and problems facing Greek society during times of great change 
Pfister 2
(Henderson 2). Meanwhile, the dramas of Socrates spoke about ethical and moral change,
while Demosthenes' speeches hardened Athenian opposition to Phillip of Macedon (Henderson
2). Similarly, the Greek dramatist Aeschylus used his plays as a forum for resolving
moral conflicts and expressing a grandeur of thought and language (Segal 1). Because all
social classes of the community could enjoy and understand the plays, Greek drama was a
major force in educating the public. 
Following the onset of the second century, considerable movement took place across
Europe. Between 950 and 1350, the population of Western Europe doubled (Lindsay 26-33). A
shortage of teachers caused eager minds to look elsewhere for education. Many of those
traveling were instrumental in spreading ideas, stories, and songs across the
countryside. A new kind of entertainer, the troubadours, served as the new commentators
of the day, successfully blending verse and music. Their poetry was the first to set
about the conscious creation of a literary speech in the vernacular (Bogin 44). In songs
called sirventes, the troubadours discussed current affairs, politics, personalities, and
scandals (Grunfield 25). Many troubadour songs have texts referring to the Crusades of
the fourteenth century. Their crusading songs, such as those undoubtedly connected with
the campaign against the Arabs in Spain, brought political unrest to the attention of the
average citizen (Lindsay 61). Rog er II, however, protected Arab-speaking poets who
rubbed shoulders with his own Latin writers (Lindsay 44). Bertrand de Born became famous
for writing warmongering songs that stirred up barons and provoked kings into going to
war (Grunfield 25). Walther von der Vogelwiede attained a unique position among
troubadours by transforming the short poem of proverbial wisdom into a political weapon
of satire and patriotism (Hering 1). Wandering troubadours sang most often about courtly
love, but used their unique form of entertainment to express concerns regarding social
and political topics to the general public. 
Entertainers of the twelfth century also informed the public of the principles of topics
such as chivalry and religion. Troubadour Guilhem de Poitou caused a sensation among
friends and courtiers after writing about love in a way that became the code for chivalry
(Bogin 37-39). He later spent a year among people of Antioch learning Arabic songs of
Syria, which he brought back to France (Lindsay 4). Poet Gerbert made contributions to
geometry, music theory, and arithmetic in
Pfister 3
his works which customarily valued philosophy over prayer (Lindsay 45). The religious
songs of Martin Luther forced poets and scholars to take sides during the Religious
conflict of the Reformation (Hering 2). Luther's chorale Ein' feste Burge became a
national hymn during the reformation of the Catholic church, encouraging followers to
fight to worship in their own languages, not the universally used Latin texts (Young 66).
While the troubadours were viewed primarily as entertainers who wandered aimlessly about
the countryside singing about the virtues of courtly love, their contribution as
educators to the public cannot be mistaken. 
As the troubadours slowly began to disappear, new kinds of entertainers took their place,
continuing to inform the general public through different mediums. The meistersinger
replaced the troubadour in the late fourteenth century (Sebastian 2). Middle and lower
class meistersingers established schools for the cultivation of their craft, ensuring a
more structured form of entertainment than that of the wandering troubadours (Sebastian
3). A famous early fifteenth-century manuscript at the University of Heidelberg contains
hundreds poems by the most famous meistersingers as well as illustrations which are 3as
entertaining as they are instructive2 (Young 44). John Wilbye represented another new
form of entertainer, the madrigalist, and provided studies of English landscapes in the
words and music of his madrigals (Young 71). Again, there is a wealth of evidence to show
that music was used extensively to support the spread of religious belief. For example,
King David in the Canterbury Psalter tells that musical sonorities were introduced into
the service of the church (Young 46). Monteverdi's opera L'Incoronazions di Poppea
educated audiences with its historical context and characters (Young 77). The popularity
of music remained dominant throughout the Middle Ages, although writers began to
entertain through the use of written poetry as well. 
European writers of the Middle Ages continued to comment on morals and acceptable
behavior through their works as their predecessors did almost 2,000 years before.
Horswitha von Gandersheim, the first known woman writer, was a nun who used the Roman
playwright Terence as a model for her morality plays (Hering 1). Dutch writer Jacob van
Maerlant wrote poems that showcased chivalry (Flaxman 1). Spanish playwright Lope de Vega
encouraged national patriotism and honor in his works that dealt with dramatic conflicts
and combined tragic and comedy elements
Pfister 4
(Gasset 3). Calderon also stresses the Spanish code of honor in his masterpiece The Mayor
of Zalamea (Gasset 3). Later Francisco Gomez de Quevedo Y Villegas wrote moral works in
which he explored the decadence of Spain (Gasset 3). Social concerns inspired the
writings of Italian reformer Pietro Verri, whose cynical interpretation of history
established a new scientific discipline (Alvaro 1). His peer Leon Battista Alberti
published On the Family, which reflected the concerns Italians for social and ethical
topics (Alvaro 1). Still, other authors such as Prince Juan Manuel of Spain wrote such
seemingly simple tales as the Emperor's New Clothes,2 from which reader could extract the
moral lessons (Gasset 3). During this era, Europeans were constantly discussing politics
and social issues, prompted by the opinions of writers who commented on the subjects. 
Entertainers throughout history have undoubtedly served as educators to the public, in
addition to their conventional roles as musicians or writers only. While a few performers
sought only to amuse with their acts, the majority of entertainers have crafted their art
with a deeper purpose in mind. Each who chose to address society's problems and speak to
the general community through their art is as worthy an educator as a modern-day college
professor. Because many of the works of these great artists were recorded on paper or
passed down from generation to generation through oral history, the insightful thoughts
of these entertainers continue to educate the public in the twenty-first century. The
forms of modern day entertainment -- television, movies, and music -- have also helped
broaden children's minds and will hopeful continue to do so in the future.
Bibliography
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