LOYOLA COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS), CHENNAI – 600 034  M.A. DEGREE EXAMINATION – ENGLISH LITERATURE

AP 28

THIRD SEMESTER – NOV 2006

         EL 3804 – DRAMA (BRITISH & AMERICAN) FROM 1900

 

 

Date & Time : 27-10-2006/9.00-12.00         Dept. No.                                                       Max. : 100 Marks

 

 

 

 

PART A

Answer the following briefly (10×2=20 marks)

 

• “They took me by the feet and dragged me out of town and stoned me to death.”

Who is the speaker? What is the immediate impact of this revelation?

 

2) she doesn’t know the sound

of her own voice

her infinite beauty

Comment on the tone implicit in this observation.

 

• come to share out worlds witchu

we come here dancin

to be dancing

highlight the importance of dancing in this context.

 

• It’s very dreary and sad to be here alone in the fog with the night falling

who is the speaker? Why is she sad?

 

• up to take more of that god-dammed poison,is that it? You’ll be like a mad ghost before the night’s over.

What is the poison? What is the speaker’s state of mind?

 

• “Oh, you are a very poor solider: a chocolate cream solider”.

Comment on the tone of the speaker.

• “I should have expected more sense from you, Louka.But you’re young : you’re    young”.

Does Louka deserve this reprimand?

8)    “That’s the man killed his father”.

Is this a purely descriptive  or an evaluative comment?

 

9)  “Webber,you’re a fake.

How damaging is this comment to the listener?

10)  “Everywhere you go these days its like a funeral”.

Identify the speaker and explain the profound implications in his

statement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART B

 

Answer any five of the following in about 200 words each. Choose at least two from each section (4×10=40 marks)

 

11) What is Stanley’s role in driving home the main concerns in A Street Car Named Desire?

12) Would you agree that Lorraine Hansberry’s play is a celebration of black motherhood?

13) Discuss the tragedy in A Death of a Salesman.

14) Discuss Arms and the Man as a Shavian Satire on war and love.

15)Critically examine Waiting for Godot as a dramatization of the existential dilemma

of Being without meaning.

16) Attempt a character sketch of Pegeen in The Playboy of the Western World

 

 

PART C

 

Answer the following in about 400 words each (2×20=40 marks)

 

17) Examine the significance of the title Top Girls.

Or

Write an essay of the failure of communication in A Long Day’s Journey Into Night.

 

18) a) Discuss Pinter’s art of characterization with reference to The Birthday Party.

Or

1. b) Critically analyze Waiting for Godot as a play that portrays “the destitution

of modern man” struggling with meaninglessness.

 

 

 

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LOYOLA COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS), CHENNAI – 600 034

LO 50

M.A. DEGREE EXAMINATION – ENGLISH LITERATURE

THIRD SEMESTER – APRIL 2007

EL 3804 – DRAMA (BRITISH & AMERICAN) FROM 1900

 

 

 

Date & Time: 26/04/2007 / 9:00 – 12:00      Dept. No.                                       Max. : 100 Marks

 

 

PART A

Answer the following briefly (10×2=20 marks)

 

1. “Your hair is all right, Mama. I was only thinking how well you look.”

Why is Mary conscious of her looks? What does this statement reflect of the speaker’s thoughts on her?

1. “I was a pious girl. I even dreamed of becoming a nun.”

Comment on this statement.

1. “dark phrases of womanhood

of never havin been a girl

half-notes scattered

without rhythm”

Explain the lines.

1. “Women children and lunatics can’t be Pope”

Comment on the fate of the woman pope.

1. “Oh, god, why are we so miserable?”

Comment on the irony implied in this observation.

6.”I have no ammunition…I always

carry chocolate instead.”

Is this statement plain humour or a satire on something?

7.”If you quarrel with the family,

I never can marry you.”

What is the problem the speaker refers to ?

8.”Raina our romance is shattered.

Life is a farce.”

Why does the speaker say so ?

9.”You stuff yourself with dry toast

You contaminate womankind

Why don’t you pay the rent.”

Comment on these accusations contextually.

10.”Why did you leave the organization?

Why did you betray us?

Who is the interrogator and why does he ask such questions?

PART  B

 

Answer any four of the following in about 200 words each. ( 4X10=40 marks)

 

11. What is Stanley’s reason for his aggression in A Streetcar Named Desire?
12. Comment on the challenge Walter faces in A Raisin in the Sun.
13. Examine aspects of American identity in The Death of the Salesman.

 

14. Discuss WAITING FOR GODOT as an Absurd play?
15. Critically examine THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST as a comedy of manners.

 

16. Is ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD a serious philosophical play or mere farce?

PART C

Answer the following in about 400 words each         (2×20=40 marks)

 

17. Comment on A Long Day’s Journey as a tragedy of  betrayal and despair.

Or

Write an essay on the conflict in Top Girls.

 

18. Do you agree with the view that THE BIRTHDAY PARTY is a play about the role of the artist in

society and the fate which he meets?

Or

Discuss the PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD as a socio-cultural documentary of rural

Ireland.

 

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DM 35

LOYOLA COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS), CHENNAI – 600 034

M.A. DEGREE EXAMINATION – ENGLISH LITERATURE

THIRD SEMESTER – APRIL 2008

EL 3804 – DRAMA (BRITISH & AMERICAN) FROM 1900

 

 

 

Date : 02-05-08                  Dept. No.                                        Max. : 100 Marks

Time : 9:00 – 12:00

PART – A

                                                                                                (10 x 2 = 20 marks)

Answer the following briefly:

1. “Well, you are the walking playboy of the western world”.

Is this statement a compliment or an insult?

1. “It was my own son hit me”.

Why is this confession important to the play?

1. “Oh, War! War! the dream of patriots and heroes! A fraud… A hollow sham like love”.

Establish the connection between ‘dream’ and ‘fraud’ with reference to love and war.

1. “All those years I lived in Basinstoke. I never stepped outside the door”.

What is so unusual about the speaker?

1. “I’m telling you … you’re a washout”.

Is this statement a damaging one?

1. “But I did truly have beautiful hair once, didn’t I, James?”

Comment on the character of the speaker.

1. “All I’ve felt was distrust and spying and suspicion”.

Comment on the relationship among the members of Tyrone’s family.

1. “You’ll be like a mad ghost before the night’s over”.

Explain the meaning of the above line.

1. “When you get so old, all that happens is that people talk to you that way”. How are old people treated in America?
2. “You made up your mind; you were firm; you were masculine and decisive”. Comment on the tone of the speaker.

 

PART – B

                                                                                    (4 x 10 = 40 marks)

Answer any FOUR of the following in about 200 words each. Choose atleast two from each section.

SECTION 1

1. How important is the role of Lulu in The Birthday Party?
2. Discuss Nicola and Louka as Shavian sub-altern characters.
3. Examine a Death of a Salesman as a critique of American Society.

 

SECTION 2

1. Discuss a Raisin in the Sun as a sympathetic examination of the economic, educational and racial concerns of a ‘black family’.
2. Examine A Street Car Named Desire as a portrayal of the lost and self-punishing individuals.
3. Sketch the character of Mary in Long Day’s Journey into Night.

 

PART – C

                                    (2 x 20 = 40 marks)

Answer the following in about 400 words each:

1. a) “Stanley is the artist whom society claims back from a comfortable bohemian opt-out existence”.

Discuss The Birthday Party in the light of this comment.

or

1. b) “Waiting For Godot is a play about enduring life. Nothing happens in it

twice”.

Critically examine the play from an existential perspective.

1. a) The American Dream is an allegory of the “American Scene”. Illustrate with textual evidence.

or

1. b) Comment on the title of the play Long Day’s Journey into Night

by O’Neil.

 

 

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LOYOLA COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS), CHENNAI – 600 034

XA 21

M.A. DEGREE EXAMINATION – ENGLISH LITERATURE

THIRD SEMESTER – November 2008

    EL 3804 – DRAMA (BRITISH & AMERICAN) FROM 1900

 

 

 

Date : 05-11-08                 Dept. No.                                        Max. : 100 Marks

Time : 9:00 – 12:00

 

1. Explain with reference to the context the following and answer the questions given below.         (10×2=20 marks)

 

1. “Clean-cut, Midwest farm boy type, almost insultingly good looking in a typically American way. Good

profile, straight nose, honest eyes, wonderful smile….”

1. a) Is he “the American Dream”?
2. b) Is he the material boy?

 

2. “Oh, I’am so fortunate to have such a husband. Just think: I could have a husband who was poor, or

argumentative, or a husband who sat in a wheelchair all day…”

1. a) What kind of a husband is he really?
2. b) What do “Mommy” and “Daddy “ stand for?

 

3. “I know what doctors are. They’re all alike. Anything, they don’t care what, to keep you coming to

them.”

1. a) Why is the speaker bitter towards doctors, in general?
2. b) Is the speaker the sole sufferer at the hands of doctors?

 

4. “None of us can help the things life has done to us. They’re done before you realize it, and once they ‘re

done they make you do other things until at last every thing, comes between you and what you’d like to

be, and you have lost your true self forever.”

1. a) Does a shadow fall between perception and reality?
2. b) What is the speaker’s take on life in totality?

 

5. Then Nietzsche must be right. “God is dead: of His pity for man hath God died.”
6. a) Is there God in heaven and all is right with the world?
7. b) Comment on Nietzsche’s line from “ Thus Spake Zaruthustra”.

 

6. ”We’re taking him to Monty,”

Is this a matter of fact statement or something more?

 

7. “You’re a plague, Webber. You’re an overthrow.”

Identify the speaker and the reason behind such abusive words.

 

8. ” Get out of it.You succulent old washing bag.”

Explain the context of these statements.

9. “Yes: that’s the secret of success in service.”

Why does the speaker say so?

 

10. “I’m a professional soldier: I fight when I have to and am very glad to get out of it when I

haven’t to.”

What light does this statement throw on the speaker’s character?

 

 

 

1. Write paragraphs on any FIVE of the following in about 150 words each: (5×8=40 marks)

 

11. “The characters of Blanche Du Bois and Stanley Kowalski are types of the tender, the sensitive, the

delicate and the savage and the brutal,” Explicate.

 

12. In the words of drama critic Frederic I.Carpenter, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” describes the mid-

world of middle-class family life and its greatness lies in its simple domestication both of tragic

emotion and of human insight.” Elucidate.

 

13. August Wilson writes: “ I wanted to present the unique particulars of Black American culture as the

transformation of impulse and sensibility into codes of conduct and response…” How far is it true with

regard to his “Fences”?

 

14. ‘A Raisin in the Sun” is less a work of protest than a celebration of the multigenerational Black

struggle for progress.’ Do you agree with the view?

 

15. Critically examine the roles of Vladimir and Estragon in “Waiting for Godot”.

 

16. How are the central characters portrayed in “Juno and the Paycock”?

 

17. Discuss Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and Gilderstern are Dead” as a philosophical play.

 

18. Analyze “The Importance of Being Earnest” as a play that holds a mirror to Victorian society.

 

III. Attempt an answer for the following questions in about 300 words each:           (2×20=40 marks)

 

19. a) Oscar Wilde wrote thus: “ Formerly we used to canonize our heroes. The modern method is to

vulgarize them.” Do you think this statement aptly describes Arthur Miller’s play, “ Death of a

Salesman?”

Or

1. b) “The American Dream” was Albees’ attack on what he saw as American complacency. For Albee,

the humorous anger was necessary. Discuss.

 

20. a) Do you agree with the view that “Action was not important as the discussion of ideas” in Shaw’s

‘Arms and the Man.?”

Or

1. b) Critically examine “Waiting for Godot” as a play about ‘waiting’ and the ‘flow of time’.

 

 

 

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LOYOLA COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS), CHENNAI – 600 034

M.A. DEGREE EXAMINATION – ENGLISH LITERATURE

AF 01

THIRD SEMESTER – April 2009

EL 3804 – DRAMA (BRITISH & AMERICAN) FROM 1900

 

 

 

Date & Time: 23/04/2009 / 1:00 – 4:00         Dept. No.                                                       Max. : 100 Marks

 

 

 

PART-A

 

Answer the following briefly:                                                          (10×2 =20 marks)

 

1. “Do you stuff your pockets with sweets…”

Explain the context of this question.

 

2.” You are a washout.”

Identify the speaker and the tone of the comment.

 

3.” You were born to be a servant, I was not.”

Identify the issue behind this statement.

 

4. “Why did you leave the organization?”

Is this just a plain question or much more?

 

5. “This tea is like gravy.”

Does this comment reveal something about the speaker?

 

6. “I’ve never felt it was my home. It was wrong from the start. Everything was done
   in the cheapest way.”

Do you think the ‘home’ was really the ‘cheapest’ one, reading through the autobiographical details?

 

7. “Don’t you remember my father? He wouldn’t stop after he was stricken. He said doctors were fools”.

Is James Tyrone as heartless as he is made out to be?

 

8. I never dragged her on the road against her will. Naturally, I wanted her with me.
   I loved her.”

Is the speaker’s love reciprocated?

 

9. “Now that you’re here, I don’t suppose you could go away and maybe come back
   some other time.”

Who is the person addressed to and for what reason?

 

10. “You’re the American Dream, that’s what you are. All those other people, they
    don’t know what they’re talking about. You …you are the American Dream”

What does the speaker mean really?

 

 

 

PART-B

Answer FOUR of the following questions choosing not less than two from each section:                                                                                             (4×10=40 marks)

Section-1

11. Compare and contrast the characters of Nicola and Louka as servants?

 

12. Discuss Lucky and Pozzo as symbols of the universal human condition.

 

13. Critically comment on the theme and characterization in Juno and the Paycock.

 

Section-2

 

14. Consider The Death of a Salesman as a modern tragedy.

 

15. What is your impression of the character of Blanche?

 

16. Trace the racial echoes either in A Raisin in the Sun or Fences.

 

 

PART-C

 

Answer Two of the following in about 300 words each:   (2×20=40marks)

 

17. a) Critically examine Waiting for Godot as an existential play.

Or

1. Discuss The Birthday Party as a Comedy of Menace.

 

18. a) Edward Albee, through his play, The American Dream, presents an artistic
    vision which is essentially an affirmative existentialist world view. Elucidate.

Or

1. b) The psychological “long day’s journey into night,” which gives title and
   direction to the play, is a different journey for each of its characters. Discuss.

 

 

 

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