Presenters

Q#1.
What is Modern Drama, its trends
and most prominent
features/Charactertics
Drama is a form of literature and it is a play for 
theatre, radio as well as television in lexical 
meaning. Metaphorically, it means conflict of 
two opposite forces. Thematically, it 
means action. Characters perform assigned roles 
in the enactment. The stage is the synonym for 
enactment and drama
  
Oxford advanced learners :
define drama as:
“Drama is a play for radius, television and theatre.”
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 theatre. Drama comes to life
when it is interpreted in the performance of actors.”
Modernism:
                          According  to Oxford  advanced  learners  Dictionary, 
the word modern means:
“A new fashion for future time”

Generally, it means advancement, enlightenment, a change from old values 
to new things. It is some things that does not exist before.
Modernism in  literature  is  a “set  of  attitudes” The  literature  written 
after 1914 is known as modern. It shows a marked difference in themes and 
techniques from the literature of earlier times. 
According to MARTIN GRAY:
“The first world war (1914-18) is
generally considered to be
thecatalyst that initiated the
modern period in literature.
Modernism is a label that
distinguishes some characteristics of
twentieth century writing, in so far
as it differs from literary
conventions inherited from
nineteenth century.”
After the World War, people
have changed their bent of
mind. Faith has replaced
withreason. Modernism
consists of faithlessness,
seclusion,
nothingness and commercia
lism.
History of Modern Drama in
English Literature

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.
 Features of Modern Drama    
                                                             Drama  is 
such  a  genre  of  literature  which  is  very  close  to 
THOMAS GRAY
life. Among Greeks, the drama was performed as 
a religious festival but with the passage of time, 
there  came  marked  differences  in  modern  times. 
There are some essential features of drama which 
are  the  product  of  modern  literature,  they  are  as 
followings:
 1.Realism
THOMAS GRAY
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.
Modern drama has developed the
Problem Play and there are many Modern
Dramatists who have written a number of
THOMAS
problem plays in our times. GRAY
They dealt with
the problems of:
marriage
Justice
Law
Administration, and strife between capital
and labor in their dramas.
 2.Play of Ideas

Modern Drama is
essentially a drama of ideas
THOMAS GRAY
rather than action. The
stage is used by dramatists to
give expression to certain
ideas which they want to
spread in the society.
The Modern Drama become far
more intelligent than ever it
was in the history of drama
before the presentTHOMAS
age. With GRAY
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.
 3.Romanticism

The earlier dramatists of the

THOMAS
20th century were Realists at theGRAY
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
THOMAS
Romanticism GRAY
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.
 4.Poetic Plays
THOMAS GRAY
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.
5.Comedy of Manners

There is a revival of
THOMAS GRAY
Comedy of Manners in modern dramatic literature. Oscar W
ild, Maugham, N. Coward etc. have done much to revive th
e 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.
 6.Impressionism

It is a movement that shows that effects of

THOMAS
things and events GRAY
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 asGRAY
THOMAS 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.
 7.Expressionism

THOMAS
It is a movement that tries GRAY
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 the naturalism.
The movement which had started
early in Germany made its way in
THOMAS
England drama GRAY
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.
 8.Thematic concerns.

Individual versus society,

 
THOMAS GRAY
hypocrisy, instruction,
survival of the fittest,
destruction, decay and
sexuality.
 9.Theory of Cause and Effect

THOMAS GRAY
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.
 10.Social and Sexual Discussion:

Themes ofTHOMAS
any literary GRAY
work are
based on social economic political
and religious situation thus a lot
of social, economic, political, and
religious situation
Revolutionary against past literary models,
social conventions and morality.
Dealt with the problem of sex, youth.
Against romance, capitalism, parental
authority.THOMAS GRAY
Number of theories, slow actions and
frequently interrupted.
Study of soul.
Inner conflict substituted the outer
conflict
Questioning, restless, dissatisfied,
struggling against prejudice.
Q#2. Most prominent
Modern Dramatist
1)After the death of
Shakespeare, drama declined for
two centuries.
2) Revived in the last decade of
19th century.
3) Two important factors for the
revival in 1980s.
Influence of Ibsen:
Great Norwegian dramatist, give rise
to the Comedy of Ideas. Dramas
ceased to deal with themes remote in
time and place, real drama must deal
with emotions. Gave up
melodramatic romanticism and
pseudo-classical remoteness, start
treating the actual life, made drama a
drama of ideas.
Important dramatist: George Bernard Shaw

Other dramatist: Granville Barker, Galsworthy, James

Birdie, Priestley, Sir James Barrie and John Masefield.
William Somerset Maugham and Noel Coward directly
followed Wilde.
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.
Fabian Society: Joined in May 1884, a fact-
finding and fact-dispensing body, pamphlet on
social issues, property was theft, in favour of
equality of income, equitable division of land and
capital.
The Fabian Manifesto (1884)
The True Radical Programme (1887)
Fabian Election Manifesto (1892)
The Impossibilities of Anarchism (1893)
Fabinism and the Empire (1900)
Socialism for Millionaires (1901)
 THOMAS GRAY
Awarded with Nobel Prize in 1925.
 2) Oscar Wilde (1856-1900):

THOMAS GRAY
Irishman, greatest practitioner of Comedy
of Manners, lived in a luxurious life,
attitude toward life was a playful, not a
deep thinker, father of comedy of pure
entertainment.
Style: Epigrammatic, graceful,
polished, full of wit, appealing to
audience.THOMAS GRAY
Characteristics: Superficial, not
knowledgeable or understanding to
life, hackneyed. Tact of discovering
the passing mood of the time and
expressing it gracefully
Important Plays:
i- Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892) iii- A
Woman of Importance (1893)
ii- An Ideal Husband (1895) iv- The
THOMAS
Importance GRAY(1894)
of Being Earnest
* First three are conventional social
melodramas with witty dialogues.
* Last was built on model of popular farce
of the time.
* His literary career ended with his
imprisonment in 1895.
 3) John Galsworthy (1867-1933):

THOMAS GRAY
Great dramatist, novelist.
Technique: Naturalistic in both, not
superficial.
Important plays: His plays deal with social and
ethical problems.
The Forsyte Saga (1922):
Series of novel with record of changing values of an
upper-class English family.
Strife (1909):
THOMAS GRAY
Problems of strike, a social play.
Justice (1910):
A severe criticism on prison administration, a social
play.
The Skin Game (1920):
Conflict between old aristocracy and new
manufacturing class.
4) Harley Granville-Barker (1877-
1946):
THOMAS GRAY
Dramatist who dealt with Domestic Plays
and Problem Plays.
Four Realistic Plays:
The Marrying of Anne Leete (1899):
Life Force,
THOMAS GRAY
attacks convention and hypocrisy.
The Voysey Inheritance (1905):
Problems of prostitution.
Waste (1907):
Problem of sex.
The Madras House (1910): Social forces.
* Fine delineation of characters
* Realistic style
THOMAS GRAY
* Plays are excepts of real life
* Natural dialogue near to ordinary
conversation
5) John Masefield (1878-
1967):
THOMAS GRAY
Imaginative, sternly classical
spirit, enthusiastic, logical,
fantastic, realistic, mystic
All these conflicting qualities are seen
in The Tragedy of Nan (1909), a
masterpiece.
THOMAS
Melloney Holtspur: GRAY
Spirit forces, not
successful.
The Campden Wonder and Mrs.
Harrison: Domestic tragedies.
Other plays are The Daffodil Fields,
Reynard the Fox (1919), and Esther
and Berenice
6) James.M.Barrie
(1860-1937):
THOMAS GRAY
A skilled technician, Scottish
journalist, playwright,
children's book writer
Work: Imaginative fantasy, humour, tender pathos, crisp
dialogues, contrast of characters.
The Admirable Crichton (1902):
A drawing room comedy, most characteristic, original
Peter Pan (1904),
The Golden Bird and The Golden Age: Children’s story
characters. THOMAS GRAY
A Kiss for Cinderella (1916):
Fantasy.
The Boy David (1930):
A fine picture of candid soul of boyhood, a story from
bible.
7) The Irish Dramatic Revival:

Reaction against new realistic drama of Shaw and

Wilde.
THOMAS GRAY
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.
Lady Gregory (1852-1932):
* Experimented in her drama work.
* Drew her material from the folk lore of
her country.
THOMAS
* Wrote Irish GRAY
historical plays.
* Seven short plays (1909)
Characters: Peasant, more human.
Dialogue:Joyous.
John Millington Sygne (1871-
1909):
Characteristics: Exercises strictest economy
in his play, grim humour, bitterly painful
tragedy.
Riders to theTHOMAS GRAYtragedy,
Sea (1909): Greatest
too harrowing and ruthless.
The Shadow of the Glen: Comedy.
The Playboy of the Western World:
Provoked riots, impressive representation
of Irish peasant phrases.
Sean O’Casey (1884-1964):

Youngest dramatist, best in portrayal of women.

His plays: Symbolic of the Irish condition. Virtue and vice,

THOMAS GRAY
heroism and cowardice, beauty and foulness, poetry and
profanity were mingled, mixture of tragedy and comedy as
in The Plough and the Stars.
Faults: Undisciplined power and exuberance.
Satire: The Silver Tassie (1928) and Within the Gates
(1933)
 POETIC DRAMA
* Revived in 20th century,
THOMAS GRAY
* Reaction against the prose plays of
Shaw and Wilde, certain loss of
emotional touch with the moral issue.
 T.S.Eliot (1888-1956)

Great critic, traditionalist rooted in classicism,

innovator of new style, stern realist, conscious of
THOMAS GRAY
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:
The Murder in the Cathedral: Commemorating the death
of St. Thomas Backet, religious impulse, strictly interior,
THOMAS GRAY
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.