Modern Drama / Theatre – Questions and Answers

Q1)- Discuss Ibsen's play The Wild Duck as a modern play of idea.
(support your answer with examples from the text)

Ibsen's play The Wild Duck was published and performed in the 19th century , the
modern era. Henrik Ibsen was the father of the modern theatre that's mean he broke the
traditions and conventions of old drama and brings new themes and techniques.

He was playwright of the late 19th century who introduced to the European stage a new
order of moral analysis that was placed against a severely realistic middleclass
background and developed with economy of action, penetrating dialogue, and rigorous
thought.

The wild duck 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.\

Examples from the text:

Idea of Independence
When Werle talked to his son Gregers
Werle: I think I understand. You want to be Independence

Idea of loneship
When Werle taked to his son Gregers
Werle: I am a lonely, Gregres;l have always felt lonely.

Idea of elegance
Dress clothing
When Hjalmar talked to his daughter Hedvig
Hjalmar: Ah, that's more comfortable. And l rather fancy a loose ,easy coat like this
suits my style better.

Q2: What are the common characteristic of modern theater ? Make reference to Drama
and Cinema Industry .

Drama is a form of literature and it is a play of theatre , audio as well as television in lexical
meaning . Metaphorically , it means conflict of two opposite force . Thematically , it means
action . Characters perform assigned roles in the enactment . The story is the synonym for
enactment and drama .

Oxford advanced learners Dictionary define drama as ; “Drama is a play for radios , television ,
and theater ”. The word drama is derived from Greek word “drao” which means “action”, “play”
and “deed” . According to MARTIN GRAY: “the form of literature intended to be performed
usually in some kind of theater . Drama comes to life when it is interpreted in the performance of
actors”.

A part from this , there are two major types of drama , for example , tragedy and comedy , and
they have some essentials as : plot , stage , characters , thought , dialogue and spectacle .

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There are some essential features of drama which are the product of modern literature , they
are as following :

1_ Thematic concerns : Modern drama is related to thematic concerns . Individual versus

society , hypocrisy , instruction , survival of the fittest , distraction are the modern concerns and
themes of modern drama.

2_ Literary Drama : A part from performance and enactment modern drama is also read and
therefore , it is called literary drama .

3_ Rationalism -Theory of Cause and Effect : Modern drama is rational and philosophical .
Now , there is a discussion of cause and effect . Faith has replaced by cause and effect , as well
as reason as war has shattered The beliefs of people.

4_ Survial of the fittest : the modern protagonist fights against poverty , exploration and class
distinction .

5_ Convince Not Influence : Modern drama is based on reality .

6_ Prosaic Form : Modern drama is in prosaic form unlike classical drama that was in poetic
form . Now there is no life and poetry in the ways of modern man.

7_ Theme - Social and Sexual Discussion : Themes of any literary work are based on social ,
economic , political , and religious socialism .

8_ Feminism : Today is the age of egnality of men and women . Unlike past times , where
women did not have a right to vote . Now , they are activity participating in all the rational and
international issues.

9_ Iconoclastic Approach :As abundant of themes present at the same time . Modern man has
more than one issue in his life.

10_ Hero and Villain / Protagonist not Hero: In ancient times, the heroes of drama were Kings,
princes and men belonging to the high status and prominent status of society.

11_ Didacticism: Due to loss of faith, it is necessary to teach modern man values as
well as humanity.

12_ Explorative cum Narrative: Modern man is explorative. It might be the exploration of
ideas and "ISMS" and particularly about preexistence.

13_ Emancipation of consciousness: IBSEN is the father of modern drama . He has

revolutionized on a thematic level.

14_ Biological Determination: According to biological determination, everything has pre-

planned with the birth of man. Man is just a pupper in the hands of fate. He is bound as
ROSSESV says: “Man is born free, but he is chained everything”.

15_ Naturalism and Realism: As a modern drama is based on ideologies as feminism ,

puritanism , and fendalism and socialism .

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Due to this determination, modern man help doing anything. Now, man has just top
struggle to himself according to the social norms.
In the modern and contemporary definition of drama and performance is not only
something alive before audience on the stage, but also can be presented in different
ways of performance through the use of technology. By this we mean, the film industry
and TV programs and internet. Modern and contemporary theatre benefits widely from
the new technology and its product.

Q3: What are common types of modern theatre? And tell which type of theater is
waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett?
The twentieth century modern drama /theatre can be divided into different forms as
follows:
1_ Melo-drama Theater/ Sentimental or Expensive Theater / Ideal Theater /Moral
Theater /Emotional Theater
A melodramatic play is about idealism and in this type of theater , the central
character is an ideal person who acts and behaves perfectly and who gains the
sympathy of the audience because he is an innocent person . In such form of plays , the
authors used expressive emotions on the audience that give the central character
complete sympathy because the ideal character is usually controlled by fate and distiny
. For example , Oadipus is a very ancient Greek and Classical melodrama by Sophocles
. A famous leading figure and author of modern ideal theatre is Eugene O'Neill ( 1888-
1953) in his famous play The Hairy Ape (1922).
2_Theater of Realism /Realistic Theatre
Realistic drama comes as a reaction to the expressive theatre , which usually
presents an ideal character who is controlled by fate and distiny . Realistic theatre
changes this philosophy because critics and authors believe that man's deads and
actions are a product of two things together ; distiny and freedom of choice . On this
basis , realistic authors of drama present a person who is acting in reality by the force of
his own choice . Regardless of his actions whether they are wrong or right , realistic
theatre presents a. “real” not perfect character /not ideal /not artificial character.
The philosophy of realistic theatre is that "man naturally can be good and can be
bad" . Another meaning of realistic theater is the aspect of “Psychology” . The author on
realistic theatre studies the psychology of his characters ( Psychological aspect ) . The
function of readers /spectators here is to observe and even evaluate what is good and
what is bad in the character behavior or actions . In breif , the general idea of realistic
theatre is to study man or human character not completely controlled by fate and distiny
, but by his own free choice of actions . A good example of realistic theater is Tennisse
Williams in realistic play “ A Streetcar Named Desire”.

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3_ Social Theatre and sometimes called “Social Theatre of Criticism”

It is of course a kind of Realistic Theatre . This kind of theatre deals with social and
sometimes political themes , and it is in general a kind of Realistic theater or let's say “a
theatre of social realism” . A man function of social theater is to discuss real social and
political problems , and sometimes economic problems of reality . But its common
purpose/aim is social and political criticism (satire) . Therefore , authors attack and
criticize social , political , and economic errors.
The main function /job of social theater is to achieve social change or social
alteration / transformation . The author criticizes for the purpose of change /alternation .
A very good example of this kind of theater is Arthor Millar's social drama is called
Death of a salesman (1949) . In this social tragic play , Millar attacks the American
Capitalism , the system which causes many forms of injustice over simple American
citizens .
4_ Theatre of Absurd / Cynical Theater / Traditional Theater
This kind of theater is actually part of social theater , but it is different in its
themes , topics , techniques and also language . Its main purpose is to completely reject
/ refuse the realism and establish traditions commonly , it presents irrational ideas
because authors of absurd theatre reject realism completely . This theater is affected by
the philosophy of existentialism . Philosophers of this theater or criticism does not
believe in the existence of God and as a result , they said that existence is pointless
mean not controlled , and also they said that social life is not controlled , and it is a
matter of chaos and because of this Chaos , life after death is not exist . They say that ,
life is meaningless and because of this meaninglessness , the individual person is
someone who is suffering in this existence from all forms / shapes of desire /frustrations
/disappoinment / loss and alienation ;a person does not feel any sense of association
with the society . Writers y authors of absurd theater break the traditions of society and
the traditions of language and the traditions of social rules . They also change the
course of serious speak in dialogue and conversation from serious context into absurd .
The purpose is to harshly criticize very cynically realism and traditions .
Significant authors of absurd drama is Samuel Beckett's in his famous absurd plays
“waiting for Godot” and “Endgame” . Another writer of absurd drama is Edward Albee in
his famous play “who is afraid of Virginia Worlf”.
5_ Theater of Feminism
This type of theater usually concentrates on women's rights and women's
independence . The most significant writer of this theatre is Ibsen , the Norwegian
playwright and the father of modern drama . His famous plays are “A Doll's House”
(1879) , “The Lady From The Sea” , and “The Wild Duck” .
The play “Waiting For Godot ” by Samuel Beckett is of course an absurd play from the
theatre of absurd.

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Q5) What are the differences between a text you read and a text you watch on the
movie? And how does technology play an important role in the presentation of
drama?
For many centuries, books have been the biggest source of literary texts, but
now, things are changing. Due to the improvement of technology, today's way to get
introduced to a new story, drama or novel is to watch a movie. Books and movies are
two of the most important mediums for communicating ideas to the audience. The two
can be used for various purposes including entertaining and informing. But there are
several differences between reading a text from a book and watching it as a movie, yet,
they also have a great deal of things in common.
A major similarity between a text in a book and a text in a movie can be that both
set out to tell stories that are often fascinating to the audience. Regardless of which
medium is being used, efforts are made to create stories that are going to be engaging
to the reader or viewer. For both movies and books, the story is a central part, and the
authors or directors come up with themes and plotlines that can captivate and entertain
the audience. By use of elements such as characters, settings, a conflict, and a
resolution at the end, book authors and movie directors are able to come up with
successful stories.
A significant difference between a text in the movie and a text in the book is the
manner in which the visual images are created. When reading a book, the reader has to
use his/her imagination to create a visual image from the words contained in the text.
On the other hand, movies present a ready visual image. The imagination of the viewer
is not required since the movie makers have already created the image which they want
the audience to have.
In addition, in movies, emotions are conveyed by hearing and by pictures due to
the great sound and visual effects in which details seem more real. However, a movie
projects one main picture that can be somehow limiting to the spectators, who will not
think any farther to what is depicted on the screen. Books, on the other hand, are more
often visually boring and not attractive. Nevertheless, books are not just a set of letters
and words, books make the readers capable of expanding their imagining capacities.
With books, readers get to choose what characters look like and build that in their minds
freely without limitations because everything is not predetermined.
Moreover, books and movies differ in the level of detail provided. In books, the
author spends alot of time providing details of characters, events, objects, and places.
These lenghty descriptions are necessary to help the reader to create a mental image of
the story. With movies, there are not lenghty details used. Movies do not have to
engage in detailed descriptions since a complicated image can be shown in a single
movie shot. A movie can, within the span of a few seconds, graphically show a mass of
very effective details to the viewer.
What can make a text in a movie more effective is the involvement of technology
and its impact on the film industry. Among the various impacts of technology on movie

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making and film industry are the new visual technologies, and the improved sound
effects. Technology has taken the film industry from silent, black-and-white films to high-
definition movies which are capable of making the audience feel as if they are there, in
only a short period of time.
Another big impact of technology has been in the area of movie commerce or
movie marketing. Today, it's no longer necessary for the audience to go to a local
theatre to see the one nightly showing of a movie. Spectators can watch a movie on TV
or online channels like Youtube. Because of quick technological improvement, movies
are transferred from locality into internationality.
To sum up, books and movies are both adequate means of telling a story. While
the two make use of different technologies to communicate with the audience, they
have some similarities. These include the use of stories and the reliance on the basic
elements of a story such as characters. However, the two have major differences in
terms of the level of imagination required of the audience and the use of details.
Regardless the important role of technology in presenting movies, still they both are
important communication mediums that play a great role in our society.

Q6: What does Beckett want to tell in his famous absurd work of dram Waiting
For Godot? Show your critical insights about the subject.
Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting For Godot (1953) belongs to the Theater of
Absurd. It is a two-act play which mirror each other. It portrays two aimless characters,
Vladimir and Estragon, in a world of alienation and no meaning waiting for someone
whose name is “Godot”. He never appears, and they don’t even know how he looks like.
They are waiting endlessly for this one to rescue them from this miserable life, but
nobody comes. The absurdity of the situation of the characters arises from their hope
for a meaningful life. This possibility of Hope that never arrives leads to humor as well
as tragedy. In this play, Beckett conveys various themes, such as absurdity of
existence, purposelessness of life, folly of seeking meaning and uncertainty of time.
The First thing Beckett wants to convey is the absurdity of existence. This is so
noticeable theme in the play; we mostly notice this in the two major characters ,Vladimir
and Estragon. They dress shabbily, engage in physically inept actions, and partake in
clownish nonsensical conversations. They absurdly wait endlessly for an unchanging
situation When it is so clearly that Godot will never come. They occasionally discuss
ending their wait by hanging themselves or simply leaving, but absurdly, they never take
any action. Although they agree there is “nothing to be done”; they work absurdly hard
to fill the time while they wait. The Unavoidable conclusion is that human existence itself
is absurd. Beckett’s emphasis on absurdity of human behavior shows both tragic and
comedic sides of the existential crises.
As well as, Beckett emphasizes the idea of purposelessness of life. None of the
characters in Waiting for Godot has a meaningful purpose. Waiting for Godot might
seem to give Vladimir and Estragon a purpose, but the fact that Godot never arrives

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renders their waiting meaningless. Likewise, Pozzo and Lucky might seem to be
traveling toward something, but their travels are ultimately shown to be equally
purposeless. Pozzo initially professes to be taking Lucky to the fair to sell him, but this
purpose is never fulfilled. The second time they pass by, they express no purpose at
all_ they are simply moving from one place to another. Their travelling may even be
counterproductive because they cannot seem to go any distance without falling down.
In addition, the messages from Godot delivered by the boy are equally
purposeless. Godot will never come, and it is not at all clear if the messages are even
meant for Vladimir and Estragon_ the boy calls Vladimir “Albert”. All the characters
seem to be trapped in their purposeless roles by little more than habit, which Vladimir
calls “a great deadener”. The idea that life has no purpose is a recurring theme in the
Theater of Absurd, which this play helped define.
Another thing Beckett wants to emphasize in Waiting For Godot is the folly of
seeking meaning. Although it is not clear who Godot represents (some say he
represents God), by waiting for him, Vladimir and Estragon are clearly seeking some
type of meaning outside themselves. In Act1, they remember making a “kind of prayer”
to Godot, expecting him to give them some direction, and more they decide it is safer to
wait and see what Godot says rather than die by hanging themselves. Godot, however,
never comes, representing the futility and folly of such a search for meaning in an in
inherently meaningless existence. Also, it reflects a real crisis a modern man stuffers
from that he is always waiting for personal salvation_ instead of taking action, they
prefer to wait passively for fulfillment to arrive on its own.
Moreover, Beckett wants to express the idea of uncertainty of time. As we notice,
time is a slippery thing in Waiting For Godot. It seems to pass normally during the
period the characters are on the stage, with predictable milestones, such as the sunset
and moonrise, although the characters are sometimes confused about it. But the
intervals between the two acts and various events are widely uncertain. When Vladimir
and Estragon return at the beginning of Act 2, the growth of leaves on the tree suggests
a longer period of time has passed that the one day Vladimir claims it has been.
Estragon and Pozzo retain little or no memory of their encounter the “previous” day, and
other changes have mysteriously occurred “overnight”. Estragon and Vladimir have no
firm idea of how long they have been together or how long ago they did the other things,
such as climb the Eiffel Tower or pick grapes in Macon county. The characters also
seem to be trapped by time, endlessly repeating essentially the same day again and
again. This creates a despair that leads them to repeatedly contemplate suicide,
although they never remember to bring the rope they would need to actually hang
themselves. Time is one of the main ways people organize their lives and memories, so
the uncertainty of time in the play contributes to the feeling of meaninglessness.
All in all, in Beckett’s play Waiting For Godot, Beckett has revealed many
themes of the Absurd Theatre, such as irrationality of the universe in which modern man
sees life as a chaotic, pointless and meaningless place where time is something of no
importance because a modern man is leading a miserable life in which all his days are

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the same and there is nothing special about them. Thus, all he is doing in this life is just
waiting and waiting for someone to rescue him from this miserable existence. As it is
shown in the play, the two major characters, Vladimir and Estragon, spend the whole
play waiting for Godot to come and survive them from this meaningless and despair
existence.

Q8)- Record your emotional response to ''Gina'' in Ibsen's Wild Duck with response to
.the woman's position in the traditional society
Being a member of a society that doesn't respect women and at the same time you
don't have to give up and sacrifice by all means that you have without any murmuring
and complaining in order to save your family is ,in fact ,the greatest achievement in
your life and all people must be beside mentally and emotionally.For this reason , I
. totally feel that Gina is right and if I were in her place, I would behave the same
Thus , I can say that Ibsen successed in presenting " Gina " in his work " The Wild
Duck " as a reflection of the 19th century society and we saw how " Gina " reveals
powerful female characters that survives and exerts her presence in her society in
.different ways
Moreover , we explore that she is from powerful women , both in her individual
spheres and in relation to the people around her despite all the difficulties that make us
. feel sympathy with her
In fact , it is lbsen who has given women of the 19th century , a vigorous and strong
voice through creating some powerful female characters like " Gina " and so many
women in his plays to that their society was unjustic with them as , " Nora Helmer " , "
. Hedda Gabler " , " Hiled Wangel " and so on
As well as , he reflects alot of problems that women faced at that age to make us
get sympathy and catharsis when we read his works and saw the great difficulties that
his female characters faced in their life like , marriage problems unwed motherhood and
divorce , hypocrisy of the church , career and family , freedom and fairness in
.expression of salvation , vicissitudes of human life and universal rights
In addition, " Gina " as a mirror of 19th century society , she reflects and
expresses the life of the social conditions and how men are seen as higher beings the
. women whom seem to take a more sacrifice than men
Therefore, women in the 19th century Scandinavian societies were constantly
subjected and marginalized by the members of society and how they are determined to
.struggle for seeking truth and freedom

As a twentieth century female reader , I admire the way of the dramatist " Henrik
Ibsen " , in realizing the social problems arising out of the marginalization of women of
that age , as well as , his dramatic art exposes an indepth exploration of familiar ,

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social , cultural , economic,and psychological conflicts faced by women in everyday

life.
To sum up , the society of lbsen has no rights for women , and they have no
experience of life , so l don't lie if I say that l accept all his point of views , and all my
emotional responses are with women against the men and l claim that , they must
struggle more and more to become more involved members of their societies.

Ibsen wanted to give women their rights and positions , so by the end of this article
I can say that " Gina " did what most women didn't have the courage to do and she is
100% right.

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