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Modern Drama
Modern Drama
Drama of Ideas:
* Revolutionary against past literary models, social conventions and morality.
* Dealt with the problem of sex, youth.
* Against romance, capitalism, parental authority.
* Number of theories, slow actions and frequently interrupted.
* Study of soul.
* Inner conflict substituted the outer conflict.
b) Cynical atmosphere: Treat the moral assumptions with frivolity, make polite fun,
revived the Comedy of Manners in 20th century.
Comedy of Manners:
* Witty, satirical, purely fanciful and dependent.
* Cynical and bitter when dealing with social problems.
MODERN DRAMATISTS
1) George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950): Irishman, practitioner and father of new
Comedy of Ideas, great thinker, genius, representative of Puritan side of Anglo Irish
tradition, social entertainer, socialist.
Purpose: Propaganda.
Characters: Types studied thoroughly, puppets, himself as a chief character in
disguises.
Style: Jest and verbal wit, artistic form, no clumsiness.
Characteristics: certain modern life problem, prefaces, civilized man either develop or
perish, no revolt.
Themes:
Political: Man and Superman (1902), John Bull’s other Island (1904) and Major Barbara
(1905). These plays dealt with issues as poverty and women’s rights and implied that
socialism could help solve the problems created by capitalism.
Social: The Crime of imprisonment (1922), Intelligent Women’s Guide to Socialism
(1928), and Everybody’s Political What’s What (1944).
Other:
Mrs. Warren’s Profession (1902): Problems of modern society, evils of prostitution.
Widower’s House (1892): Blame on society.
Getting Married (1908): Unnaturalness of home-life.
The Doctor’s Dilemma (1906): Superstition.
Caesar and Cleopatra (1901): No particular theme.
The Apple Cart (1929): Ridicule on democratic form and work.
Back to Methuselah (1921): Nature of the Life Force and its effect on destiny of Man.
St. Joan (1923): Universal theme involving grand emotions.
Sometimes he carries simplicity of aim and singleness of purpose too far and the result
is that his plays lack human warmth and richness.
7) The Irish Dramatic Revival: Reaction against new realistic drama of Shaw and
Wilde.
Protagonist: Lady Gregory, W.B.Yeats, Lord Dunsany, and J.M.Synge. Irish dramatists.
Aim: To introduce flavour, richness, and poetry in drama, to give reality in a
comprehensive and natural form.
8)
POETIC DRAMA
T.S.Eliot (1888-1956)
Great critic, traditionalist rooted in classicism, innovator of new style, stern realist,
conscious of modern civilization and its problems, a visionary great classical scholar,
mystic, many sided personality.
Classicism---a sort of training of order, poise and right reason.
The Rock: Pageant play.
The Murder in the Cathedral: Commemorating the death of St. Thomas Backet, religious
impulse, strictly interior, outward value is spectacle and commemorative ritual.
The Family Reunion: Hallucination produced from the inherited, illusion of reality.
The Cocktail Party: Most successful, profound and serious theme, typical problem of
ordinary behaviour.
Characters: Symbols, personification of various simple abstract attitudes.
The Trial of a Judge: Most important and effective piece of poetic drama.
W.H.Auden (1907-1973)
Verse and prose plays, contributed the verse chorus, neat prose dialogue.
Important Plays:
The Dog Beneath the Skin: A gay, satirical farce.
The Ascent of F6 and Across the Frontier: Serious plays dealing with modern problems
through symbolism.
Verse and prose plays, comedies e.g. A Phoenix too Frequent, The Lady’s Not for burning
and Venus Observed.
* Fantastic wealth of language.
* His plays often betray an air of wonderfully clever improvisations.
9)
Historical Plays:
Mary Stuart (1921): Study of a woman.
Oliver Crownwell (1922) and Robert E. Lee (1923): political & social problem. Abraham
Lincoln (1918): a great success, made author internationally famous.
OTHER DRAMATISTS
Ashley Dukes (1885-1959): The Man with a Load of Mischief (1924), The Fountain
Head (1928) and Tyle Ulenspiegel (1930).