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Drama

- In simple words, Drama is a genre of English Literature, which is normally in prose and
which tells a story and is intended to be represented by actors impersonating the
characters and speaking the dialogue.

- It involves the playwright, the actor, the audience, plot-construction, characterisation,

dialogues, music, dance, posture, stage sets etc. Indian Drama is a broad concept
comprising entire Indian myths and culture.

- Drama in India is older than in Western Literature, as when Indian Drama was at its
zenith, the Western countries were in chaos. Indian drama came 2000 years before
Aristotle’s monumental work ‘Poetics’.
- The journey of Indian Drama begins with the Sanskrit plays, among which Natyashastra
is the oldest text of the theory of the Drama. Thus the origin of Indian drama is found in
the Vedic Period.
- Most celebrated dramatists of the ancient era are Ashwagosh, Bhasa, Shudraka, Kalidasa,
Harsha, Bhavbhuti, Vishakhadatta etc. Literature in Sanskrit is classified into two
categories—
1. Drishya:- that can be seen; and
2.Sravya-:- that can be heard
- Drama falls in the category of Drishya

Historical Background

- Indian English Drama dates back to the 18th century when the British Rule became stable
in India. British brought with them, the theatre. But during the initial decades of their
rule, they could not present English Drama due to the unawareness of Indians regarding
the English Language.
- Hence, a lot of English plays, like those of Shakespeare were translated into Indian
Languages and then presented before the Indians. Gradually, Western education made its
way to India. As a result, Indian English Drama came into existence.
- English Drama in India was started by Krishna Mohan Banerji with his work The
Persecuted (1837). It was a social play dealing with the conflicts between East and West.
The real beginning of the English Drama in India was with Is This Called Civilization by
Michael Madhu Sudan Dutt in 1871.

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- Indian English Drama could not progress for two decades after M.M.S. Dutt due to some
plausible reasons. e.g. English is not the mother tongue of Indians, hence it was difficult
to make a dialogue between Indians in English sound look natural and convincing.
- This difficulty was overcome by eminent playwrights like R.N. Tagore and Sri
Aurobindo. Indian English Drama made quite progress after R.N. Tagore and Sri
Aurobindo.

Characteristics

● Most of the playwrights preferred to write short plays as compared to full length plays.
As far as themes are concerned, social problems were the main focus of this era.
● Plays dealing with legendary and historical themes occupied next place to the social
ones.
1. Playwrights like the Sri Aurobindo, Bharati Sarabhai drew their themes
from the ancient myths and legends and interpreted them in terms of a
contemporary social problem.
2. Playwrights like Kailasam and Ramaswami Shastri focussed on
highlighting the greatness of epic heroes and heroines.
3. Playwrights like Chattopapadhaya, Ayyar and Narayanan made
contemporary issues the theme of their plays.
4. S.P., Annayya, Ayyar etc took an interest in history and current politics.
● Coming to models and techniques, most of the playwrights opted for the Elizabethan
model.
● Many playwrights did not adhere to the Classical Sanskrit Drama and Ancient
Techniques.

Rabindranath Tagore

- He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature and was entitled as “the epitome of Indian
Spiritual Heritage”. He wrote primarily in Bengali, but most of his plays were translated
into English.
- His best-known works are Chitra, Sacrifice, The Post Office, The Cycle of Spring etc.
Tagore was first to use symbolism and allegorical significance as a prime technique in his
plays. He presented a synthesis of East and West in his plays.
- He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature and was entitled as “the epitome of Indian
Spiritual Heritage”. He wrote primarily in Bengali, but most of his plays were translated
into English.

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- His best-known works are Chitra, Sacrifice, The Post Office, The Cycle of Spring etc.
Tagore was first to use symbolism and allegorical significance as a prime technique in his
plays. He presented a synthesis of East and West in his plays.

Sri Aurobindo

- He wrote five complete and six incomplete verse plays. There is a variety of periods and
places in his plays. He dealt with human evolution and love in his drama. His famous
plays are-Perseus the Deliverer, Prime of Edur, Eric etc.

Harindranath Chattopadhyay

- His plays fell under four groups- Devotional, Social, Historical, Social and Devotional. In
his social plays, he presents social evils and problems through symbolism. He is deeply
influenced by the Progressive Writers Movement.

S.P. Ayyar

- He was a social reformer who exposed ills of contemporary Indian society. His main
grounds were widowhood, religious orthodoxy, superstition and hypocrisy.

P. Kailasam

- He wrote both in English and Kannada. His dramatic genius is fully expressed in his
plays:- The Burden, Fulfilment, The Purpose etc. He was regarded as the father of
modern Kannada Drama.

Bharati Sarabhai

- She gave a touch to Gandhian Touch to Indian Drama. Her two famous plays-The Well of
the People and The Women are based on Gandhian Philosophy.

N. Lobo Prabhu

- It was the last great name in Pre-independence Indian English Drama. Out of his dozen
plays, only two were published before independence-Mother of New India and Death
Abdicates.

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What is Modern Drama

- The drama which had suffered a steep decline during the Victorian Age was revived with
great force at the beginning of the 20th century and the course of six decades has
witnessed many trends and currents in the 20th-century drama.
- The drama of the Modernist Movement in England was much less innovative in
technique than it was its poetry and novel.

History of Modern Drama

English Drama during the Modernist Period (1845-1945) A.D. falls into three categories:

1. The first and the earliest phase of modernism in English Drama is marked by the plays
of G.B. Shaw and John Galsworthy, which constitute the category of social drama
modeled on the plays of Ibsen and.
2. The 2nd and the middle phase of Modernist English drama comprise the plays of Irish
movement contributed by some elites like Yeats. In this phase, the drama contained
the spirit of nationalism.
3. The 3rd and the final phase of the Modernist English Drama comprise plays of T.S.
Eliot and Christopher Fry. This phase saw the composition of poetic dramas inspired
by the earlier Elizabethan and Jacobean tradition.

The three categories reflect the three different phases as well as the three different facets of
Modern English Drama.

Modern Drama Characteristics

Realism

- Realism is the most significant and outstanding quality of Modern English Drama. The
dramatists of the earlier years of the 20th century were interested in naturalism and it was
their endeavor (try) to deal with real problems of life in a realistic technique to their
plays.
- It was Henrik Ibsen, the Norwegian dramatist who popularised realism in Modern Drama.
He dealt with the problems of real life in a realistic manner of his play. His example was
followed by Robertson Arthur Jones, Galsworthy and G. B. Shaw in their plays.
- The modern drama has developed the Problem Play and there are many Modern
Dramatists who have written a number of problem plays in our times. They dealt with the

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problems of marriage, justice, law, administration, and strife between capital and labor in
their dramas.
- They used theatre as a means for bringing about reforms in the conditions of society
prevailing in their days. Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House is a good example of a
problem play.
- The problem play was a new experiment in the form and technique and dispensed with
the conventional devices and expedients of theatre.

Play of Ideas

- Modern Drama is essentially a drama of ideas rather than action. The stage is used by
dramatists to give expression to certain ideas which they want to spread in society.
- Modern Drama dealing with the problems of life has become far more intelligent than
ever it was in the history of drama before the present age.
- With the treatment of actual life, the drama became more and more a drama of ideas,
sometimes veiled in the main action, sometimes didactically act forth.

Romanticism

- The earlier dramatists of the 20th century were Realists at the core, but the passage of
time brought in, a new trend in Modern Drama. Romanticism, which had been very dear
to Elizabethan Dramatists found its way in Modern Drama and it was mainly due to Sir
J.M. Barrie’s efforts that the new wave of Romanticism swept over Modern Drama for
some years of the 20th century. Barrie kept aloof from realities of life and made
excursions into the world of Romance.

Poetic Plays

- T.S. Eliot was the main dramatist who gave importance to poetic plays and was the
realistic prose drama of the modern drama. Stephen Phillips, John Drink Water, Yeats,
etc were from those who wrote poetic plays.

History and Biographical Plays

- Another trend, visible in the Modern English drama is in the direction of using history
and biography for dramatic technique. There are many beautiful historical and
biographical plays in modern dramatic literature.
- Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra are historical plays of great importance. John Drink
Water’s Abraham Lincoln and Mary Stuart are also historical plays.

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Irish Movement

- A new trend in the Modern English Drama was introduced by the Irish dramatists who
brought about the Celtic Revival in the literature.
- In the hands of the Irish dramatists like Yeats, J.M. Synge, T.C. Murrey etc. drama
ceased to be realistic in character and became an expression of the hopes and aspirations
of the Irish people from remote ways to their own times.

Comedy of Manners

- There is a revival of the Comedy of Manners in modern dramatic literature. Oscar Wild,
Maugham, N. Coward, etc. have done much to revive the comedy of wit in our days.
- The drama after the second has not exhibited a love for comedy and the social conditions
of the period after the war is not very favorable for the development of the artificial
comedy of the Restoration Age.

Impressionism

- It is a movement that shows the effects of things and events on the mind of the artist and
the attempt of the artist to express his expressions. Impressionism constitutes another
important feature of modern drama.
- In the impressionistic plays of W.B. Yeats, the main effort is in the direction of recreating
the experience of the artist and his impressions about reality rather than in presenting
reality as it is.
- The impressionistic drama of the modern age seeks to suggest the impressions on the
artist rather than making an explicit statement about the objective characteristics of things
or objects.

Expressionism

- It is a movement that tries to express the feelings and emotions of the people rather than
objects and events. Expressionism is another important feature of modern drama. It marks
an extreme reaction against naturalism.
- The movement which had started early in Germany made its way in England drama and
several modern dramatists like J.B. Priestly, Sean O’ Casey, C.K. Munro, Elmer Rice
have made experiments in the expressionistic tendency in modern drama.

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Jacobean Drama- Quick Revision

Introduction

- Jacobean drama (i.e. the drama of the age of James-I <1603-1625>) was a dark form of
the drama of Shakespeare and his contemporaries.
- The Elizabethan age was the golden age of English drama. But with the turn of the
century, the drama in English also took a turn. It does not mean that there were no
dramatists left. There were certainly a large number of them, but none of them could
come near Shakespeare.

Decline of Jacobean Drama

- After the turn of the 16th century and the passing away of Elizabeth, the theatre
continued to command popularity, although the Puritan opposition was stiffening. But the
taste was changing: the audiences for a stronger fare.
- The playwrights attempted to fulfil the desire of the audience, but it lacked organic unity
which a supreme art must possess. In the Jacobean period, there was a steep decline in
drama. Following are the main reasons behind the decline of drama in this age:

Change of Patrons

- In the Elizabethan period, the drama was patronized by the feudal lords, but from the
time of the accession of James-I, dramatists depended on the king, the queen and the
royal domination. The dramatists wholly depended on the royal favour. In this way, the
theatre was cut off from common life and no longer remained a national institution as it
was in the time of Shakespeare.

- The dramatists cared less for men in the street and women in the kitchen. They delighted
the court. While Beaumont and Fletcher were writing, the theatre was gradually losing its
hold on the middle and lower classes. It marked the decline of drama.

Lack of Genius

- After Shakespeare, there was no other dramatist who could fill his space which naturally
marked the decline of Drama

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Poor Characterisation

- Lack of creative power in the art of characterization was also one of the major causes.
The dramatists repeated such characters as the cheats, bullies, gamblers etc. In the place
of Shakespeare’s immortal characters like heroes, heroines, villains & clowns (jokers).

Lack of Dramatic Technique

- The decline could also be seen in dramatic technique. The dramatists could not maintain
the ‘mighty line’ of Marlowe & their blank verse became weak & rapid.

Art of Plot Construction

- In the art of plot-construction, with the exception of Ben Jonson’s “Volpone” and “The
Alchemist” and “The White Devil” of Webster, we find the signs of decline. Too often,
plot-construction shows carelessness in detail and want of coherence. There are effective
episodes but no structural growth.

Imbalance in Drama

- The Shakespearian balance between romance and realism is poorly replaced either by
narrow social activities or by romantic excess.

Opposition by Puritans

- The Puritan opposition to the drama is also responsible for the decline of drama during
this age. Ever since the drama became popular in England, the Puritans waged a war
against it. They regarded drama and all forms of entertainment as the devil’s work, to be
avoided by men and women.
- Thus after the death of Shakespeare, the drama became to show signs of decline in
morals, plot construction, characterization, and technique. The spirit had passed in 1616;
the corpse remained to be burnt and it was burnt 1642.

The Caucasian Chalk Circle

Introduction

- The parable that opens the play sets the structure. The entire prologue is absolutely
communist in its message. Any capitalist society would argue that land belongs to those
who own it but Brecht stresses on the fact that it should go to those who can use it in a
better way.

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- It presents Brecht’s ideas before even the play starts due to which the audience get moral
of the play even without watching it and it is only after giving his message he allows the
play to start.

Prologue

- The play opens with a scene in which two groups goat breeding kolchos and fruit
growing kolchos fight over a piece of land. An expert comes from the capital in order to
resolve their fight.
- The goat breeding kolchos argue that the land belongs to them and was away during the
revolt. At the same time, the fruit growing kolchos came and assumed themselves as
owners.

- The fruit growing kolchos argue that the land was in worst condition due to overgrazing.
They worked hard on the land and made it green. The expert passes judgment in the
favour of fruit growing kolchos. A singer comes and starts narrating an old story.

Plot Summary

A Rich Governor

- A governor lives along with his wife and their young prince, Michael. They are quite rich
and have no worries. However, the condition of the subjects is worst this can be seen in
the opening lines.
- ‘the taxes are beyond our means’, ‘I lost my leg’, ‘My brother is innocent’, ‘My son is
starving’, ‘The water Inspector is corrupt‘ etc.
- It seems that the Governor has no sympathy for his subjects but on the other hand he
leaves no stone unturned for the comfort of his son. “He is coughing! Georgi, did you
hear that?”

Fat Prince

- A young man called Fat Prince is also accompanying them who seems to be quiet
haughty. The noble party returns to the palace. The protagonist Grusha comes with a
goose for the meal. Simon Soldier teases her by saying that he has seen her while she was
taking a bath. She is enraged.

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- Soon the city is attacked by Fat Prince. The Governor is beheaded and the royal party
prepares to flee. Grusha meets Simon who is going to the war. Simon proposes her for
marriage and asks her to wait for him until he returns back.
- Meanwhile, the governor’s wife is preparing for escape. She remains busy with her
possession in spite of the warning of the upcoming danger. In the end, she takes away
everything and forgets to take her child.

Grusha Finds Child

- Grusha finds the child in the cradle and decides to save him from being killed although
all others warn her of the terrible consequences. All run away leaving her alone with the
child. Seeing the ironshirts roaming around she too flees towards the mountains where
her brother lives.
- On the way Michael gets hungry. She begs for milk to an old man who charges her too
much. She boards a cart in which some rich ladies are travelling. They decide to spend
the night at an inn.
- The condition of the room is worst and the price is very high. Gurusha tries to put things
in order. The ladies become aware of the fact that she is a servant and start screaming.
Grusha spends the cold night in the open sky.

Ironshits Out for Killing Michael

- The next day she keeps Michael at the door of a hut and soon meets some ironshirts who
are searching for Michael in order to kill him.
- The old lady in the hut reveals the identity of Michael and they prepare to murder him.
However, Grusha hits one of them hard and runs away with the child.
- On the way, she crosses a broken bridge though some merchants try to stop her from
doing so. Reaching the house of her brother she is not welcomed as she thought. Her
sister in law is very religious and becomes intolerable to allow a lady with a child in her
house.
- In order to escape gossiping against him Grusha’s brother marries her to a man (Yussup)
who is supposedly about to die. During the marriage/funeral ceremony, the priest charges
high amount. It is announced that peace is restored in the city.

Yussup Recovers from Illness

- Yussup who pretended to be ill for a year rises miraculously and surprises everybody. He
goes to take a bath and forces Grusha to rub soap on his body. Grusha is trapped. The
scene shifts to some months later. Michael grows up and is seen playing with some other
children on the river bank.

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- The game played by them resembles the plot of the drama. Gurusha who is
accompanying him sees Simon. Simon is deeply hurt upon knowing that she is married
and leaves.

Grusha Taken to City

- Immediately some ironshirts appear and tell Grusha that Michael’s mother has sent them
to bring him back. Grusha tries to flee with the child but is captured and taken to the city.
- The singer then tells another story of a person who is a drunkard. Azdek (symbol of
Marxism) is introduced. He mistakenly saves Grand Duke from the police. Upon
knowing he accepts his crime and voluntarily presents himself for the punishment.
- The ironshirts tell him that the judge is dead. Azdek tries to tell about justice and is
ridiculed by the soldiers. Meanwhile, the Fat Prince arrives and announces that he is
going to make his nephew as the new judge. Azdek, in order to check his justness,
resumes the role of accused.
- The soldiers seeing his logic and sense in his talking make him judge instead. After
becoming judge Azdek passes all his judgments in the favour of poor and soon becomes
famous.

Azdek – the New Judge

- The scene again shifts to the present. Fat Prince is killed and Grand Duke exceeds the
throne. Azdek is in the chains and the ironshirts give him hard blows. A rider comes and
announces that Azdek who saved Grand Duke is appointed as the new judge.
- Azdek takes his position. The governor’s wife arrives. Grusha and Michael are also
brought. A couple is already there who want a divorce. Azdek unable to make any
decisions take the case of governor’s wife.
- The governor’s wife is accompanied by two lawyers. Both of them argue against Grusha
and request Azdek to return Michael to the governor’s wife as she cannot access the
Royal Palace without the heir. Grusha has no argument keeps on saying that Michael
belongs to her because she has brought him up.
- Soon Grusha falls into an argument with Azdek calling him a bribe-taker. Simon is also
there and he too supports Grusha. Azdek fines them for their rude behaviour. In the end,
unable to reach any conclusion, orders to draw a chalk circle and keeps Michael in it on
the ground.

Caucasian Chalk Circle

- It is announced that one who would successfully pull the child out would be the true
mother. Governors wife pulls the child out every time. Azdek asks Grusha why she did
not pull Michael. She answers that she has brought him up and can’t bear to hurt him.

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- Azdek at once hands over the child to Grusha and orders governor’s wife to go away. He
also orders Yusuf to divorce Grusha. Simon and Grusha decide to live together and adopt
the child. Music is played. Azdek disappears and is never seen again.

Introduction

- The Cocktail Party by TS Eliot is one of his most famous works. It is a morality play that
deals with the failing marriage between Edward and Lavinia.
- The play according to Eliot is a comedy but has very less comic elements. Instead, it has
profound aspects and themes which make it quite odd. It has the following main themes
● the conflict that arises after marriage
● choices made by the main characters
● people should accept their roles
- The play is based on the Alcestis Legend by Euripides (in Greek mythology Alcestis
sacrificed herself to save her husband). Here in this play, Lavinia Edward’s Wife makes a
sacrifice for her husband. The play has been divided into three acts.
● The first act is set during the cocktail party at Edwards house
● The second act is set in Reilley’s office
● the third act is set at Edwards house after 2 years

Summary

Act 1

- The First Act opens during a party arranged by Lavinia but she herself is absent. When
the guests ask Edward about her he tells them that she has gone to meet her sick aunt.
Alex narrates a story but repeatedly misses points making others curious about it.
- Little latter guests leave except for an unidentified guest. Edward starts a conversation
with him. It is revealed that Lavinia has left him. The couple was married 5 years ago but
they were not comfortable with each other. They also didn’t have children.
- The unidentified guest makes Edward reveal that he needs his wife back. The
unidentified guest says that he will do so only if Edward promises that he won’t ask her
for an explanation. Edward agrees and the stranger leaves singing a song.
- Julia returns back saying that she has forgotten her glasses in the house. On reaching she
finds it in her own back and goes away.
- Peter enters and tells Edward that he has fallen in love with Celia and is quite sad because
she hasn’t responded to him. Saying this he asks Edward for help.
- Alex comes making Edward irritated. He goes to the kitchen and uses all his eggs to
make food for him. Meanwhile, Celia enters and says to Edward that it is a suitable time

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for them to get married as Lavinia has left him. Edward tells her that Lavinia is coming
back.
- At this, both decide to end up their relationship because neither of them finds the other
suitable for the life ahead. The next day Lavinia comes back and both talk about their
marriage. They also have an argument and after resolving it, they make plans for dinner.

Act 2

- Act II opens in the office of the unidentified guest. It is revealed that he is a therapist
namely Sir Henry Harcourt-Reilley. He was watching Edward and Lavinia for some time.
He arranges to counsel of Edward and Lavinia first individually and then jointly.
- In the latter session, both of them reveal their secret affairs (Edward with Celia and
Lavinia with Peter) Edward tells that he realised that he didn’t love Celia. On the other
hand, Lavinia tells that she didn’t love Peter as he fell in love with Celia.
- Thus both are fed up with their extramarital affairs. Reilley advises them to give another
try to their marriage. After some discussion, the couple leaves.
- A little later Celia arrives as she needs counselling as well because she is feeling guilty
for committing sin. Reilley suggests her that she should either resume her old life or can
go on a tough religious journey. Celia chooses the latest suggestion. After that Reilley
also converses with Julia and Alex.

Act 3

- The final act is set two years later at Chamberlain’s home. Edward and Lavinia are quite
happy with their marriage. They have forgiven each other. All the guests from the
previous cocktail party at present except for Celia.
- Alex tells that Celia who had gone to Africa as a missionary got killed in a village of
‘heathen natives’. All consider her a martyr. Reilley who is also in the party is not
surprised by this revelation as he had predicted it 2 years ago. The play ends with
everyone achieving but they wanted

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