Unit 1 - Drama in English Literature
UGC NET English Paper 2 Complete Study Material
This comprehensive unit covers the evolution of drama from classical antiquity to contemporary theatre, including major playwrights, dramatic theories, theatrical techniques, and critical approaches essential for UGC NET English Paper 2 preparation.
Greek tragedy (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides), Roman comedy (Plautus, Terence), Sanskrit drama (Kalidasa), and medieval mystery/morality plays.
Key Concepts: Aristotle's Poetics, Three Unities, Catharsis, Chorus, Deus ex Machina
Study Classical DramaElizabethan and Jacobean theatre, Shakespeare's comedies, tragedies, histories, and problem plays. Contemporary playwrights (Marlowe, Jonson, Webster).
Key Concepts: Blank verse, Soliloquy, Tragic flaw, Revenge tragedy, Shakespearean fool
Master ShakespeareComedy of manners (Congreve, Wycherley), Sentimental comedy, Heroic tragedy, and the Licensing Act of 1737.
Key Concepts: Proscenium stage, Anti-hero, Neoclassical ideals, Rise of middle-class drama
Explore RestorationRealism (Ibsen, Chekhov), Naturalism (Strindberg), Symbolist theatre, and early modernist experiments (Shaw, Wilde).
Key Concepts: Well-made play, Fourth wall, Problem play, Theatre of ideas
Study Modern DramaExpressionism, Epic theatre (Brecht), Theatre of the Absurd (Beckett, Ionesco), Angry Young Men, Postmodern theatre, and postcolonial drama.
Key Concepts: Alienation effect, Existentialism, Metatheatre, Minimalism
Analyze ContemporaryPioneers (Tagore, Kailasam), Post-independence playwrights (Karnad, Tendulkar, Dattani), and diaspora drama.
Key Concepts: Folk theatre adaptations, Colonial discourse, Hybridity, Subaltern voices
Explore Indian DramaAristotle to Artaud, Feminist drama criticism, Poststructuralist approaches, Semiotics of theatre, and performance studies.
Key Concepts: Mimesis, Dramatic irony, Spectatorship theory, Performativity
Study Dramatic TheorySet design, Lighting, Costume, Sound, Acting methods (Stanislavski, Grotowski), and experimental performance techniques.
Key Concepts: Blocking, Diegesis, Breaking character, Immersive theatre
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