Reading the play, I immediately noticed one thing: the script does not do the play justice. It lacks many details and background information. The play also lacked structure. So when I do see this play, I expect some sort of director’s twist on it to clarify any misunderstandings I have about the play. Currently, I see the play as very broad and needs to be narrowed down by the reader/viewer as if looking through a telescope. My interpretation was fogged due to the translation of the play. In translating the play from German to English, I feel as though the play lost part of its identity, causing some of the sentences to be confusing.

The underlying theme of the play is the transition between childhood into adulthood. As the readers may have noticed, most of the characters are in their teens: Moritz, Wendla, Melchoir, etc. The “story,” if that’s what you want to call it, is essentially describing the difficulties the teens faced while going from childhood to adulthood. Actually, I take that back. Let’s make the idea simpler. “Spring Awakening explores the difficulties the teens faced while growing up.” Forget about all that childhood and adulthood nonsense. It’s not really adulthood just yet. Furthermore, the title “Spring Awakening” suggests growth and development. “Spring” as in the beginning of the season, when all the plants and flowers develop again. “Awakening” as in learning and growing: the kids begin to become more exposed to the world. However, the playwright does hit us in the face with a transformer by the end of the play: two of the three previously mentioned children don’t even make it to the end. One dies by suicide. The other dies by abortion. Plot twist eh? Ironic to see such a positive book with such a positive title turn out to be a catastrophe?

Based off of this plot twist, the author is trying to tell us that there is no such thing as a smooth transition from childhood to adulthood. The teen must and will struggle, and the parent must be there to support him/her. Understandably, parenting isn’t easy as seen in Spring Awakening. The teens have a huge journey ahead of them and only those who are ready will survive. Those who can’t handle the pressure, like Moritz, will break and eventually commit suicide… Well maybe not that extreme.