Notes Class 11 Chapter 4.1 Yuvakbharati English Maharashtra Board

History of English Drama

1. What is Drama?

• Drama is a performance where actors express themselves. It’s meant to be seen and heard.
• It comes from a script with dialogues, unlike a story or novel that’s just written out.
• Plays, operas, mime, and ballet are all forms of drama.

Definitions:

• According to the Shorter Oxford Dictionary, drama is a piece of writing, in verse or prose, made to be acted on a stage. In it, a story is told through dialogue and action, with gestures, costumes, and scenery to make it seem real.
• M.H. Abrams says drama is written to be performed in a theater, where actors play characters, do what the script says, and speak the written lines.

2. Elements of Drama

Drama has several key parts:

1. Plot: The events that happen in a play.
2. Characterization: How the characters are shown to the audience.
3. Dialogue: What the characters say.
4. Setting: Where and when the story takes place.
5. Stage Directions: Instructions for the actors and crew.
6. Conflict: The problems or struggles in the story.
7. Theme: The main idea or message of the play.

3. Types of Drama

There are different kinds of drama:

• Tragedy
• Comedy
• Tragic Comedy
• Other types of comedy include Romantic Comedy, Sentimental Comedy, Classical Comedy, Comedy of Humour, and Comedy of Manners.

4. A Short History of Drama

Origins: Drama started from folk theater. It’s more than just words; it uses actors, music, and visual effects.

1. Early Days:

• The Romans had theaters in England, but they disappeared when the Romans left.
• Later, traveling performers called minstrels entertained people.
• By the 10th century, church rituals grew into simple plays.
• In the 13th and 14th centuries, plays about religion were called Miracle plays.
• Later on, Morality plays used characters that represented ideas like good and bad.

 2. Elizabethan and Restoration Drama:

• Morality plays led to Elizabethan plays, which were influenced by classical ideas and focused on education, morals, and politics.
• This era had great writers like Thomas Kyd, Christopher Marlowe, and William Shakespeare.
• Plays became more complex, with both tragedies and comedies.
• Theaters were open-air, without much scenery, and the audience was all around the stage.
• Later, theaters became enclosed, and scenery became more important.
• Shakespeare used the stage in creative ways, but other writers like Ben Johnson were also important.
• The Puritans closed the theaters in 1642, ending this period of great English drama.
• When the theaters reopened in 1660, the plays were different, especially comedies.
• Comedy of Manners became popular, focusing on the behavior of the upper class.
• Writers like Oliver Goldsmith and Richard Sheridan brought back quality to comedy.

 3. Modern Drama:

• Modern theaters have stages like picture frames, actresses playing female roles, movable scenery, and artificial lighting.
• Early 19th-century drama wasn’t great, with a focus on spectacle and melodrama.
• Plays didn’t reflect real life.
• Playwrights like Ibsen brought in realism, dealing with social and psychological issues.
• George Bernard Shaw was inspired by Ibsen and wrote plays that explored ideas.
• Other important playwrights include Oscar Wilde and those of the Irish dramatic movement.
• In the 20th century, dramatists like T.S. Eliot experimented with new styles.
• After World War II, writers like John Osborne wrote about frustrated young people.
• Other key figures in modern drama include Anton Chekhov, Bertolt Brecht, and Arthur Miller.

4. Indian Drama:

• Indian drama has roots in Sanskrit plays from around the 1st century AD.
• The NatyaShastra by Bharat Muni is an important ancient book on drama.
• Modern Indian drama is influenced by both Indian traditions and global styles.

5. One-Act Play

A one-act play tells a complete story in a short time, usually in one place with few characters.

Key Features:

• Plot: Focuses on a single, interesting event.
• Theme: Has a central idea.
• Setting: The place where the story happens, shown with props.
• Language: Uses powerful words and dialogue.
• Characters: Limited in number, can be round (changing) or flat (unchanging).

Structure of One-Act Play

1. 1. Exposition
   2. Conflict
   3. Climax
   4. Denouement