Ancient - Greek drama/verse - play/mock epic/lyric - comedy/romance/satire

I'm continuing my research into writing categories, and staying in the ancient section and looking at Ancient Greek drama. I looked at tragedy in my last blog, now I'm looking at comedy. 

The Ancient Greeks wrote an extensive amount of drama, and tragedy and comedy emerged as a form in the 6th century BC, along with mixes of tragedy and comedy such as satyr (sometimes referred to as tragicomedy). These forms of drama were written into plays, and were often interspersed with forms of verse such as lyric and epic poetry.

Most of what modern scholars use to analyse this ancient Greek drama comes from the work of Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, and in particular his Poetics. He wrote about 'poetry', which he meant as drama (comedy, tragedy and satyr) and verse (lyric and epic). Although the section of the Poetics that deals with tragedy was written at length, the section that deals with comedy has largely been lost, although Aristotle still mentions it. He describes comedy as a representation of laughable people that involves some kind or blunder that is ultimately resolved and does not lead to disaster.

Ancient Greek comedies emerged in the 6th century BC, slightly later than tragedy, and were performed as part of a twice-annual festival in the city-state of Athens, as part of the festival of Dionysia, in the Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus. These early comedies, expressed in a the form of lyric verse and often sang, were used to celebrate the Greek god Dionysus, the god of wine and the patron of drama. They were usually improvised but those that were written down before they were performed are now lost.

During the Golden Age of Greek drama in the 5th century BC, comedy, along with tragedy, emerged as a more established form of drama. In his Poetics, Aristotle writes that comedy took longer to establish than tragedy because people took it less seriously. At the Dionysia festival three playwrights would offer a tetralogy consisting of three tragedies and one comedy or satyr to be judged in a competition. The comedy was regularly used to lift the spirits of the audience after watching the trilogy of tragedies. These 5th century BC comedies are regarded as Old Comedy (archaia).

The most important Old Comedy dramatist from the Golden Age was Aristophanes, and he is widely regarded as the father of comedy. Aristophanes remarked that, despite the fact that comedies were taken less seriously by most people, they were actually more difficult to write than tragedies and declared that his comic plays were written for an intelligent audience. Old Comedy was a complex and sophisticated dramatic form that incorporated many approaches to humour and entertainment, such as satire and burlesque, but often purposefully descended into farce. It accommodated light entertainment, puns, buffoonery, obscenities, absurd plots and invented words with hauntingly beautiful lyrics and a formal, dramatic structure.

Aristophanes

Old Comedy began with a prologue; an introductory scene with a soliloquy from one of the actors, often expressed in verse and iambic trimeter, that explains the situation of the play that will be resolved. The chorus then arrive in the parodos, where they sing and dance and are involved in a skirmish with one of the actors, often expressed in verse and long lines of tetrameters. Symmetrical scenes then follow, with the parabasis, where the chorus directly addresses the audience and the argon, where the actors engage in anapestic tetrameter and their arguments about their ludicrous problems. Songs intersperse the symmetrical scenes, used as transitions between scenes while actors change costume, and comment on the action. Episodes then follow, which are largely sections of ridiculous dialoge in truncated iambic trimeter, often featuring minor characters.

The play ends with the exodus. Usually the majoy confrontation of the play (the agon) between the good and bad characters is resolved in favour of the good long before the end of the play. The rest of the play then deals with farcical consequences in a succession of loosely connected scenes. The exodus is thus usually a farcical anti-climax; the dramatic tension is released early, allowing for a holiday feeling through the rest of the play which allows the audience to relax in uncomplicated enjoyment to watch  the spectacle. The ending usually saw the actors and chorus dance and sing and celebrate the hero's victory with a sexual conquest and a wedding, thus providing a joyous sense of closure.

The comic hero is resourceful and independent-minded. They have ingenuity and shrewdness but are often subjected to corrupt leaders and unreliable neighbours. Typically they devise a complicated and highly fanciful escape from an intolerable situation. Aristophanes used his comedies to parody the characters in the preceding tragedies, and other famous figures, both historical and mythological. He caricatured leading figures in the arts, such as the tragic playwright Euripides; leading figures in politics, such as the statesman Cleon; leading figures in academia, such as the philosopher Socrates; and mythological heroes, such as Heracles. Aristophanes used the conventions of comic burlesque to caricature the manner of the serious tragedies by treating famous subjects in a ludicrous way. The relaxation in standards of behaviour permitted during the holiday spirit, associated with the festival of Dionysus, led to Old Comedy being notorious for using an abundance of scatological and sexual innuendo, obscenties and crude jokes.

Comedy mask

Similarly the masks worn by the actors in Old Comedy were often caricatures of real people, often distorted into still recognisable, but ridiculous, parodies. The actors' wore costumes that were deliberately bawdy; the male characters had tights with grotesque padding and phalluses in their crotches and the female characters, played by male actors, wore overly feminine long, saffron tunics, to highlight the obvious cross-dressing of the man. Costumes were also used to mock famous characters, such as Dionysus, the god of wine and festival, appearing onstage with the lion skin cloak that usually characterised Heracles, the legendary, serious Greek hero

Old Comedies are also categorised by self-mocking theatre, where members of the audience, other comic playwrights and the writer of the play themselves were frequently mocked. Audience members could be mocked for physical deformities, ugliness, diseases, perversions, bad manners, dishonesty, cowardice in battle and clumsiness. Foreigners, such as Spartans, Scythians, Persians, Boeotians and Megarians, would often appear in comedies, hopelessly mispronouncing Greek, and specifically Athenian, words and phrases. Other comic playwrights were mocked for their failures according to the writer of the play's own opinion, and Aristophanes regularly caricatured his comic rivals Hermippus and Eupolis in his plays. Writers also parodied themselves in their plays with self-mocking jokes.

Aristophanes took on the role of teacher (didaskalos) in his comic plays, and it was conventional in Old Comedy for the Chorus to speak on behalf of the playwright during their address to the audience (the parabasis), usually at the beginning or end of the play. The Chorus were therefore elevated in Old Comedy, and were accompanied by musical extravaganza and greater expenditure on costumes, training and maintenance.

In the later 5th Century BC and later into the 4th Century BC, the form of comedy that scholars now refer to as Middle Comedy (mese), was developed. Middle Comedies diminished the role of the Chorus so they had a far lesser influence on the plot, and in particular public characters were not impersonated or personified onstage and instead the objects were general instead of personal. So methods of writing, political ideas, belief systems, personality traits and characteristics were mocked instead of poltical or mythological figures. Middle Comedies also started the tradition of using stock characters in plays, instead of historical, specific figures. So revellers, soldiers, philosophers, courtesans, cooks and parasites were produced as a representation of their profession, rather than as an actual famous character.

Less is known of Middle Comedy than Old or New Comedy; it is seen as a bridge between the two. Few full Middle Comedies remain; they mainly only in the fragments of the Middle Comedy playwright Athenaeus of Naucratis, who wrote with mainly early stock characters. However, there is some evidence that Middle Comedies were being performed in parts of southern Italy in this time, suggesting they had considerable literary and social influence.

New Comedy (nea) emerged in the late 4th century and 3rd Century BC. The three most famous and best known playwrights belonging to this genre is Menander.

Menander

Menander was the most accomplished New Comedy dramatist. He drew upon a vast array of dramatic devices, characters and situations that the writers of Old and Middle Comedy had developed. New Comedies had prologues to shape the audience's understanding of events, messengers' speeches to announce offstage action, descriptions of feasts, sudden recognition and false endings. These were all established techniques which  the New Comedy playwrights exploited and evoked in their own comedies.

Menander wrote supremely civilised and sophisticated New Comedy plays, characterised as mostly less farcical and satirical than the Old Comedies. The de-emphasis of the grotesque, whether in the form of choruses, humour or spectacle, opened the way for increased representation of daily life and the foibles of recognisable character types.

Menander's comedies were more about the fears of ordinary people, their personal relationships, family life and social mishaps rather than public, historical or mythological figures. Menander admired the tragic dramatist Euripides, and imitated his keen observation of practical life, his analysis of the emotions and his fondness for moral maxims, but in a humourous way. Menander departed from the Athenian setting or covered mythological themes and subjects that Aristophanes used in his Old Comedies; New Comedy plays were seldom placed in a setting other than their everyday world. Gods and goddesses were personified abstractions who rarely appeared in the plays and there were generally no miracles or metamorphoses.

Menander was a student of the philosopher Theophrastus, who wrote about thirty character types in his work The Characters. Theophrastus wrote that each type was said to be an illustration of an individual who represents a group, characterised by their most prominent trait. The character types were; Insincere, Offensive, Petty Ambition, Flaterrer, Hapless, Stingy, Garrulous, Officious, Show-Off, Boor, Absent-Minded, Arrogant, Complacent, Unsociable, Coward, Without Moral Feeling, Unsociable, Oligarchical, Talkative, Supersititious, Late Learner, Fabricator, Faultfinder, Slanderer, Shamelessly Greedy, Suspicious, Lover of Bad Company, Pennypincher, Repulsive, Basely Covetous Man, Unpleasant.

Menander drew from these stock characters for his plays. The cast of his plays included minor characters such as cooks or parasites who introduced familiar jokes and recognisable patterns of speech. A key stock character in his plays was the 'senex iratus', or the 'angry old man', who was a domineering parent who tries to thwart his child from achieving wedded happiness but who is often led into the same follies for which he has reproves his children; the bragging soldier who talked about the number of enemies he killed and how well he'd treat a woman; and the kind shrewd prostitute who hides her softness of heart behind a facade of toughness ('tart with a heart'). Menander gave stereotype characters a sense that they were character types. In his comedies, they were expected to react the way they were supposed to behave but some resist. These stock characters appear as rich unlayered humans in a new dimension. He used these stereotype characters to comment on human life and depict human folly and absurdity compassionately, with wit and subtlety.

New Comedies are more like romantic and situation comedies and comedy of errors than the burlesque and satirical Old Comedies. Menander introduced the 5-act that was been widely used in many later plays. Old Comedies had choral interludes but in New Comedies there was dialogue with song and the chorus was greatly diminished. The action of his plays had breaks, thus breaking up each act and allowing for a smooth and effective development of the play through the acts.

Ancient - Greek drama/verse - play/lyric/epic - tragedy/historical/mythology

I'm going to start off my delve into different categories of writing by going way back, right back to the beginning of western thought and writing.

The Ancient Greeks wrote an extensive amount of drama, expressed in the form of plays and often interspersed with forms of verse such as lyric and epic poetry. Most of what modern scholars use to analyse this ancient Greek drama comes from the work of Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, and in particular his Poetics. Although this was written in the 4th century BC, around a century after the Golden Age of Greek drama and nearly two hundred years after the earliest forms of drama, Aristotle had first-hand documentation from theatre performances in Athens, which is lost to modern scholars. His Poetics is the earliest surviving work of dramatic and literary theory. He offers an account of 'poetry' (this means tragedy, comedy and satyr drama, as well as lyric and epic poetry) whereby he explains their basic elements and genres. His analysis of tragedy is particularly dense and interesting.

Aristotle writes that tragedy is represented in part by spoken action (drama) and in part by song (lyric poetry) or extended verse (epic poetry). Tragedy consists of six parts which Aristotle enumerates in order of importance, beginning with the most essential and ending with the least: plot (mythos), character (ethos), thought (dianoia), diction (lexis), melody (melos) and spectacle (opsis).

The plot refers to the order of events that happen in the play. The Aristotelean tragic plots should be about serious, complete action which has magnitude. They should involve a change of fortune where good fortune proceeds to bad and there is a high degree of suffering for the protagonist that ends in physical harm or death. The actions should follow naturally from actions that precede them, but plot points that appear by surprise or seeming coincidence and are only afterwards seen as plausible are satisfying for the audience.

Aristotle writes that characters should have a tragical accident happens to them because of a mistake they make (hamartia), or a flaw they have, instead of things that might happen anyway. This allows for a better moral lesson for the audience. The tragic hero should be: virtuous at first, so that people can learn a moral lesson that loss of virtue leads to suffering; appropriate, so that a wise, worldly character is unlikely to be very young; and consistent, so that the audience is not confused by unexplained shifts in behaviour, such as an academic man acting foolishly. The Aristotelean tragic hero is thus a virtuous man, usually in a position of power, who, through misfortune and errors of judgement arising from his tragic flaw, is brought from prosperity to adversity. A popular tragic flaw to portray in a hero was hubris, which meant pride. Hubris indicated an overestimation of one's competence or capabilities which meant a loss of contact with reality that lead to nemesis, or downfall. This predates the modern adage of 'pride comes before a fall'.

Other elements of tragedy include thought, which is the spoken reasoning of characters so they can explain their inner beliefs to an audience; diction, which is the type of speech used in dialogue between characters, and should reflect that character's status, occupation and morality; melody, which is the role of the Chorus, who form an integral part of informing people of the action; and the spectacle, which refers to the set, costumes and props in the play.

Aristotle declares that tragedy is performed mainly to invoke catharsis in the audience, which is understood as the emotions of pity and fear that are brought to spectators after viewing a tale of human flaws leading to suffering. So when a character has a reversal of fortune (peripeteia), at first he suffers (pathos), but then he realises the cause of his misery (anagnorisis) which brings about pity in the audience (catharsis), and acknowledgement of a moral point or lesson.

Aristotle notes that the earliest dramas were expressed as tragedies, in the 6th century BC. In this time, tragedies were performed as part of a twice-annual festival in the city-state of Athens. The festival was called Dionysia, and took place once in winter and once in spring. This festival honoured the Greek god Dionysus who was the god of wine and fertility and the patron of drama. Comedy and satyr play also emerged as genres, although slightly later.

These tragedies at Dionysia were written as part of religious devotion but also to foster both loyalty and competition between the rival Athenian tribes. In this time they would have been relatively simple plays, with only one actor speaking in monologue. They were often put to music and there would have been a group of around fifty men and boys, known as the Chorus, who danced and sang in a circle and offered up hymns in honour of Dionysus. The songs were called a dithyramb, and originally they were improvised, but later they were written down before performance. Sometimes these dithyrambs were serious in tone, and written in the prosaic iambic trimeter, but later they became briefer and sometimes burlesque in tone. These satyric versions of the dithyramb were written in trochaic tetrameter. Forms of satyr and comedy formed as a distinct drama from the less serious dithyrambs.

These early tragedies were written to be played only once, at the festival, and were performed at the Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus, which was an open-air theatre in Athens. The early theatre would have been very simple, comprising a flat orchestra with a few rows of wooden benches set into the hill. The performance space was a simple circula space, known as the orchestra, where the chorus danced and sang. Most of the early tragedies written here are lost.

Modern-day remains of the Theatre of Dionysus

After the Great Destruction of Athens by the Persian Empire in the 5th century BC, Aristotle writes that Athens and its theatres were rebuilt. The Theatre of Dionysus was reformed into a larger and more ornate structure, with marble thrones around the orchestra, stone seating replacing wooden benches, and an increase in spectator capacity to around twelve thousand people. Other new innovations included the mechane, a crane that gave the impression of a flying actor, and trap doors, which were used to lift people onto the stage.


Athens entered the Hellenistic period, which is regarded as the Golden Age of Greek drama. Theatre became formalised as an even greater part of Athenian culture and the twice-annual Dionysia became even more of a fierce competition between playwrights. Although tragedy flourished in this time, so too did comedy and satyr. At the Dionysia festival three playwrights would offer a tetralogy consisting of three tragedies and one satyr or comedy to be judged in a competition.

Depictions of masks worn by tragic actors

These Golden Age tragedies began with a prologue, in which the chorus introduces the drama and explains the background of the story. After this the story unfolds through three or more episodes, which are interspersed by a stasima, which is a choral interlude that explains or comments on the situation developing in the play. The play then ends with the exodus, which concludes the story. Actors generally wore masks and these were specifically crafted with intensely exaggerated facial features and expressions to create a sense of dread and panic in the audience and highlight the suffering of the characters. The masks also enabled an actor to appear and reappear in several different roles, and distinquished age, social status and especially sex, seeing as all actors were male but some characters were female. Members of the chorus wore the same mask to represent that they were considered to be playing the same character.

Only one complete tetralogy has survived from this time, the Oresteia of Aeschylus. Aeschylus is often described as the father of tragedy, and he is credited with inventing the trilogy, a series of three tragedies that tell one long story, and the final satyr or comedy performed afterwards to lift the spirits of the spectators. Aeschlyus was part of the evolution of tragedy, whereby dialogue, contrasts and theatrical effects were introduced, along with a second actor to increase conflict. Aeschlyus' plays were full of strict morality and intense religiosity. Zeus, the god of sky and thunder, always has the role of ethical thinking and action, and the music and lyrics used by the chorus use traditional rhythmic and melodic structures.

Aeschylus would have been in competition with the younger Sophocles, who introduced a third actor into his plays to increase plot complexity. He also introduced scenery and scenes by using a backdrop, which hung or stood behind the orchestra, which also served as an area where actors could change their costumes. It was known as the skênê (from which the word 'scene' derives), and the death of a character from then on would be heard from behind the skênê. After a death, the ekkyklêma would be used, which was a wheeled platform used to bring the dead characters in view of the audience. Sophocles made the chorus less important in explaining the plot, which added emphasis to character development. He focused on describing the painful realities of the human condition by not attempting to justify the events that overwhelm the heroes but instead using human characters that the audience could identify with. This is a theme that has survived throughout all literature.

The third great playwright of the time was Euripides, who was in competition with the other two. He furthered diminished  the role of the chorus by having the characters sing plot points and often turning the prologue into a monologue spoken by one of the characters. He also delved more into realism, portraying his tragic heroes as more insecure than Aeschylus and Sophocles' heroes. They are more plagued by internal, psychological conflicts, rather than being resolute and assured of themselves. He was also the first playwright to use female characters, although they would still have been played by masked men. Euripides used female characters primarily to represent the irrational impulses that collide with the world of reason.

Aeschylus

Sophocles

Euripides

Most of the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Europides are now lost, but some extant remains are still in circulation. The basics of these tragic plots were sometimes based upon historical events, and sometimes based upon myths from the oral, epic stories of Greek mythology. Aeschylus' play The Persians is based on the Greco-Persian wars, which is a historical event that happened in his lifetime, but The Oresteia, the trilogy, is based on the mythological events of the legendary character Agammenon.

Many of the Golden Age Greek tragedies involved myths surrounding the epic stories of the Trojan war, and the stories of the Greek characters such as Achilles, Odysseus, Ajax, Menelaus, Agamennon, Helen and others; or the Trojan characters of Priam, Hector, Paris, Andromache and others. Others would tell the stories of legendary Greek heroes such as Heracles and his labours, Jason and the Argonauts, Perseus and the Medusa/Gorgon, Prithous and the Centauromachy, Odepius and Thebes, Orpheus and the Orphic Mysteries, Theseus and the Minotaur, Triptolemus and the Eleusinian Mysteries, and Atalanta and Hippomenes' Race (Golden apple). Often the Greek gods would be involved, such as Zeus, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Athena, Aphrodite, Apollo, Hermes and others.

Writing genres

Categories time!

These lists are very Britain-centric. I include some works by writers outside this country, but mainly only if they have influenced writers from here. So Greek, Italian, Scandinavian and French writers all get a look in - but mainly because most of them invaded Britain at one point, so they brought their writings with them. Others simply influenced the whole of Europe (Greeks).

When I was at University I divided the literary time periods I was studying into the following:

Ancient - 800BC - 500AD
Celtic/Saxon/Norse - 500 - 1066
Medieval - 1066 - 1485
Renaissance - 1485 - 1660
Restoration - 1660-1750
Romantic - 1750-1837
Victorian - 1837-1901
Modern - 1901-1945
Post-modern - 1945-present

Some people will disagree with those categories, and some people will disagree with the dates. I've based the dates around historical events rather than by literary works, purely because that's easier for me to divide it up in my head. But some people do it differently, and that's fine. I just use this to help me.


Next, we have the actual literary categories: prose, verse and drama. These are very, very broad categories, so they are divided up into many sub-categories.

Prose is divided into fiction and non-fiction.

Fiction sub-categories - short story and novel.

Non-fiction sub-categories - autobiography, biography, essay, polemic, review and treatise. 

Verse sub-categories - epic, lyric, mock epic, poem, sonnet. 

Drama categories - play and screenplay.

Within these sub-categories are a HUGE number of different genres. Often they cross over into one another, which can be confusing.

Generally, genres of all literary works - action, adventure, burlesque, comedy, crime, criticism, dystopia, erotica, faction, fantasy, historical, horror, humanities, mystery, mythological, paranoid, pastoral, philosophical, political, romance, saga, satire, science, science fiction, slice of life, speculative, thriller, tragedy, urban and utopia.


Right, so why am I doing this? Because it's important to know. In order to write, you have to read. Reading is fantastic for research: you can understand all the different categories and genres of writing and how they're done and find some brilliant authors within each category who have written those forms well. It's a fantastic way of improving as a writer.

Of course, there are further sub-divisions within those literary genres (I know, I know, there are endless different forms of everything!). But I'll get into that later, when I look at prose, verse and drama from each time period in turn...

Creative writing courses can't possibly be a waste of time

I did a course in my second year at University in creative writing. It was called Storytelling for Page and Screen, and I found it extremely interesting and, as an aspiring writer, very helpful.

We had two assignments; a short story and the first scene of a screenplay for a film or play. These were submitted to our tutor - who was a highly successful and published author - and then given back to us full of suggestions and constructive criticism. We also spent a lot of time in our classes writing little bits and pieces and peer-reviewing our work. Once you get over the initial awkwardness of having to read your raw, unpolished work to a room full of your peers and a successful author (and that takes time), it actually becomes fascinating and even, dare I say it, quite fun.

I really enjoyed that course and spent most of my second year wishing I had taken joint honours English Literature and Creative Writing (still a bitter regret of mine). I used to sneak the notes of a few of my classmates who did the Creative Writing joint module and ask them questions all the time. They seemed to have a great time, and I didn't speak to anyone from that course who said they didn't enjoy it and find it helpful.

So you can imagine my surprise when Hanif Kureishi, an author and playwright, recently rubbished creative writing courses as a 'waste of time' at the Independent Bath Literature Festival. This is particularly shocking when we consider, well, that Kureishi actually teaches creative writing courses himself at Kingston University. He said some pretty nasty comments, including calling most of his own pupils "talentless" and stating; "A lot of my students just can't tell a story. They can write sentences but they don't know how to make a story go from there all the way through to the end without people dying of boredom in between". Ouch.

OK. So he might teach some rubbish writers. But surely the courses will help them to learn how to become better? Surely that's the whole point?

Well, according to Kureishi, no. He goes on to say writing is a "...difficult thing to do and it's a great skill to have. Can you teach that? I don't think you can". Essentially his argument is this: you either have it or you don't. And if you don't have it, it can't be taught to you.

I fundamentally disagree. Some people will always be somewhat better than others, but as a general rule the more you practice something the better you become. And if you're interested enough in creative writing to be doing an MA in it in the first place, you're obviously relatively good. I did English Lit at University because I loved reading, and then writing about it. I wanted to do creative writing because I wanted to create my own work that someone would one day read, and then write about. I had that spark of interest that drove me and the choices I made. And the same is true for Kureishi's students; 'talentless' as they perhaps are at this precise moment. They're doing a master's degree in the area they are passionate about. That shows a kind of dedication that can only be reached through intense personal interest.

There's no doubt that writing is difficult. I won't deny that and nor would anyone with half a brain. I've been writing stories since I was a little child and I always remember it being tough. It can be frustrating and infuriating and of course it is intensely time-consuming. But it can be done, and it is done, every single day. And it is done well.

A good writer will work at it as often as they can, and will constantly take on advice from teachers. Constructive criticism and peer-review is really vital for writing. You need to be able to present your work to other people, to gage their reactions, and to register your target audience. Creative writing courses are fantastic for this: they give you the unique opportunity to hone your skills with the aid of someone who has already made it, and others who, like you, are trying to make it. You need to be able to know the rules before you can decide which ones you want to break to suit your writing style. Or if you even want to break any at all.

I'd also like to remind everyone (including perhaps Kureishi himself) of an important fact: art is subjective. Bad writing exists, but there are many grey areas in creative works. Authors have different styles and different ways of expressing themselves, and people respond to that in different ways. Trust me: I've done Literary Criticism (lucky me!) and believe me, opinions always differ. We need to keep this in mind when discussing 'talentless' writers - maybe they're only talentless in your opinion.

I'll end by suggesting another way of looking at this: creative writing courses aren't a waste of time, they're just too much money. I'd agree with that. But then, I think all courses are too much money, so that's neither here nor there.

Dress codes for the office - formal or business casual?

Fifth Graduate blog for x4 recruitment

Dress codes for the office – formal or business casual?

Over the last decade dress codes in many industries have relaxed.  These days there are many workplaces where you are more likely to see jeans and t-shirts than traditional business wear. However, this isn’t always the case. Most business dress codes sit within the vague middle ground of ‘business casual’.

Why so formal?

A company’s objective in establishing a formal business code will be largely to ensure employees project a professional image that engenders credibility and respect. It displays an image of a knowledgeable business professional that clients  find reassuring.

What does your work dress say about you?

It’s imperative that formal wear is clean and pressed. Grooming also says a lot; a well-groomed employee comes across as an organised, competent and focused worker. Dirty, wrinkled or frayed clothing suggests a lack of care or attention to detail. Likewise, clothing that reveals too much skin, or has words, logos or pictures that may be considered offensive looks decidedly unprofessional and could be considered something of an affront to a business client.

Adapt to your environment

Although traditional wear is important for companies that regularly meet with professional clients, sometimes business people prefer to project a more informal image. A company whose key strength is youthfulness and fresh thinking may opt for more casual dress. If you’re regularly working with younger people, traditional business wear may appear stand-offish and send the wrong message. It’s a good idea to adapt to your environment. If in doubt, look at how your colleagues dress. In some businesses, employees are actively encouraged to showcase their individuality through their dress, but this is unusual. As a general rule, it’s better to blend in than to stand to far out.

Practical considerations

More importantly, fashion should fit function. There is an issue of comfort with formal business suits, especially in the summer months. Companies that work outside in warmer climates may encourage their employees to lose heavy jackets in the summer months. Likewise, companies that require their employees to be on their feet a lot of the time may prefer to allow trainers to be worn (but probably not flip-flops!).

Just what is ‘business casual’?

The middle ground of ‘business casual’ is more difficult to define. Generally it is implemented on ‘dress down’ days, usually Fridays. It often means toning down on the formality, but still not crossing into offensive. So University sports team logos on shirts, jumpers, dresses, dress heels and polo shirts are acceptable. However it’s not a good idea to bare too much flesh or to go to any extremes.

Dress-down days can be a great way of maintaining office morale. They have the potential to allow workers to let off steam and encourage a friendly, collaborative atmosphere on Fridays when most people are in a good mood. Casual clothing may have this effect overall, and indeed it is becoming more common for companies to implement more relaxed clothing throughout the week, even in professional environments, to encourage positive and creative thinking all around.

If you’re starting a new role, don’t buy a new business wardrobe until you have been there at least a couple of days. Have a look around you and if in doubt, err on the side of caution and dress more formally than informally – you’ll generally do less harm that way round!

Could contract work be for you?

Here is my fourth Graduate blog for x4 recruitment

Could contract work be for you?

If you’re considering leaving your current role in search of greater flexibility, contract work could well be worth considering as an alternative to part-time work. Not only is the flexibility greater, the pay is often higher and there is likely to be more opportunity for you to make use of your education and experience and progress within your chosen industry. Contract work can also be a great interim option.

There are different forms of contract work, and each of these come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Working as a contractor for an umbrella company can be ideal if you’re new to contracting and want both the flexibility of the contractor lifestyle and some security. It’s possible to work for such companies on short-term assignments from one day to six months. This could be a good way to ‘test the water’ prior to making any large commitments. You will pay Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax and National Insurance on your earnings.

More seasoned contractors often opt to set-up Limited companies due to the additional flexibility and tax benefits they afford. If you’re comfortable being your own boss and happy to manage your own finances, setting aside money to pay your tax, this could be for you. Working as a sole trader will also allow you to be your own boss, but there are far fewer tax benefits and it can be considerably riskier.

If you’re new to contracting, working through an agency like X4 could also be the best option. We handle the contract negotiation and administration with the client company, saving you the hassle. We also deal with all payment issues, including rate and terms, so you don’t need to get involved in any chasing for late payment. Plus, there’s no need to worry about IR35 etc. We will ensure all contracts reflect the IR35-friendly working practices our contractors engage in. We are familiar with all the ins and outs of current legislation and quick to adapt to any changes. Being able to take a ‘hands-off’ approach appeals to many of our contractors.

If you’d like to speak to us about the realities of working as a contractor, get in touch. We’re always happy to chat.

The ten most common CV mistakes

Here's my third Graduate blog for x4 recruitment

The ten most common CV mistakes

Mistakes are easy to make and you only get one chance at a first impression on your CV. Companies will see hundreds of CVs every day, of which only a small handful stand out from the crowd. Improve your chances of avoiding the ‘no’ pile by avoiding these common pitfalls. 

1. It's too long

As a general rule two pages is plenty. Be succint. Your reader most likely doesn't have all day. Write to be skim-read. Keep paragraphs short and avoid long passages of prose. Short, succint comments or descriptions are fine.

2. There's unnecessary detail

No-one needs to know what you've done every day of your working life. Stick to the highlights. Where have you made the most impact? There are a lot of jobs with fairly standard sets of responsibilites; how you managed a certain task or helped the company increase their profits will be of more interest than a dull list of duties. You may need to include some context on the company you worked for, but again; not too much detail!

3. Your language sucks

Be prepared to tailor your CV to each role you apply for. Scan the job spec for keywords and be sure to incorporate them. And whatever you do, avoid dull language. If you're going to use an overused word like 'passionate', make sure you add colour in the form of an example; show rather than tell. Avoid repetition wherever possible. Your Thesaurus is your friend. Spice up your CV with an interesting verb or two; 'I transformed/remodelled/investigated' sounds more interesting than 'I worked on'.

Don't sit on the fence. Banish indecisive language (I think/believe/could etc); instead be assertive and bold; 'I am an ideal candidate because...'

4. You undersell yourself

Despite the need to be succint, you will need to fully highlight your achievements. Without arrogance, take care to match your experiences and achievements to the job specification. 

5. No link between education, experience and aspiration

It can be beneficial to connect your educational background, experience and career aspirations. Even if there is no direct link, there may be skills or knowledge that could be beneficial in your new role or to the company you are applying to work with. If you've had a career break or a career change be clear about why. Put a positive spin on any potential question marks.

6. Not including relevant but less professional experience

Voluntary work, family projects and part-time, low-paid roles can all be valid. Running a school or University club or society could show leadership skills, voluntary work shows initiative and a strong work ethic, working part-time in a fast food restaurant whilst studying shows good time-management skills. Looking after children or elderly parents shows empathy, responsibility and an ability to multi-task. 

7. You bend the truth that bit too far

You might think that one or two over-exaggerations will help your application but what good is this if you can get caught out during an interview? Plus, you may be surprised how easy it can be to spot a bare-faced lie. No employer looks for a dishonest employee...

8. Including incorrect contact details

Double-check you've put the right number, address and email on your CV, as a simple typo could mean you miss out on the opportunity for an interview!

9. Over-formatting your document

You want your CV to jump off the page. Format it too much and it may do just that... but in a bad way! You're best to keep it clean and simply, using a standard font such as Arial.

10. Using an unclear file name

As it's likely you will be submitting your CV by email, ensure it has a clean and easy-to-read file name, such as 'Bob Turner CV Control Engineer', because it makes it easier to find and suggests your CV is specific for the role you're applying for. Calling it something like 'MYCVv4', or even worse, leaving it 'Untitled-4.doc', will make it harder for your CV to stand out.