LOYOLA COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS), CHENNAI – 600 034

M.A. DEGREE EXAMINATION – ENGLISH LITERATURE

THIRD SEMESTER – APRIL 2012

EL 3804 – DRAMA (BRITISH & AMERICAN) FROM 1900

 

 

Date : 17-04-2012             Dept. No.                                        Max. : 100 Marks

Time : 1:00 – 4:00

 

PART-A

Explain with reference to the context the following and answer the questions given below:   10×2=20

1. “I believe you would rather be my servant than my husband.”

What prompts the speaker to make this assessment?

2. “Yes: that’s Don Quixote: not a doubt of it.”

Who is referred to as Quixotic here and why?

3. “A man who has spoiled all his chances in life through an incurably romantic disposition.” Identify the speaker and the occasion that warrants this confession.
4. “Oh, Meg, two men came up to me on the beach last night.”

Is there anything more to this statement of a fact?

05..      Everywhere you go these days it’s like a funeral.”

Explain the significance of this statement.

6. “Now that you’re here, I don’t suppose you could go away and maybe come back some other time”. Explain the ridiculousness of the situation.
7. “There’s too much hostility in the world these days as it is”.

How is hostility at home related to hostility in the world?

8. “It’s been heaven to me. This home has been a home again”.

Is it home, sweet home, for all concerned?

9. “How can anyone of us forget?… that’s what makes it so hard – for all of us. We can’t forget. Why has the speaker not learnt the art of forgetting?
10. “Only the past when you were happy is real”. What is the pet philosophy of the speaker?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART- B

Answer  any FIVE of the following questions choosing not less than two from each section:   5×8=40

Section-1

11.Discuss the characterization in Waiting for Godot .

12.Examine the theme and wit in The Importance of Being Earnest.

13.Critique Juno and  Paycock  as a comedy of manners.

14.Discuss the role of Lulu in Pinter’s The Birthday Party.

Section-2

15. Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” is a portrait of an American dreamer. Substantiate this view.
16. Like all of Wilson’s characters, Maxson in “Fences” is a complex man who, while having moral

lapses, also worked hard to provide for his family. Do you agree with the view?

17. What is your impression of the character of Blanche?
18. “What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

Like a raisin in the sun?”

Connect these lines of Langston Hughes’ poem with Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun”

PART- C

Attempt answers for the following questions in about 300 words each:                                  2×20=40

19. a) Critically examine The Birthday Party as an Absurd play.

(or)

1. b) Discuss Arms and the Man as a debate on Idealism and Realism in love and war.

 

20. a) In Edward Albee’s “The American Dream,” there is an undercurrent of compassion for the fellow

human beings underneath the aggressive text. Discuss.

(or)

1. b) Eugene O’ Neill, like Abraham Lincoln, has portrayed the tragic vision of America, through his

magnum opus, “A Long Day’s Journey Into Night”. Do elucidate.

 

 

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LOYOLA COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS), CHENNAI – 600 034

M.A. DEGREE EXAMINATION – ENGLISH LITERATURE

THIRD SEMESTER – NOVEMBER 2012

EL 3804 – DRAMA (BRITISH & AMERICAN) FROM 1900

 

 

Date : 03/11/2012            Dept. No.                                        Max. : 100 Marks

Time : 9:00 – 12:00

    PART-A

 

Explain the following  with reference to the context  and answer the questions given below:

(10×2=20marks)

1. “I have no ammunition…I always carry chocolate instead;”

Explain the context and the message in this statement.

2. “Witty as well as pretty.”

What is the motive behind this compliment?

3. “As for her, she’s a liar, and her fine airs are a cheat;”

Comment on this accusation.

4. ”You know, there’s a lot in your eyes.”

Identify the language game used by the speaker.

5. ”We are taking him to Monty.”

Can this statement be taken at its face value?

6. “Oh, about twenty years ago… there was a man very much like Daddy, and a woman very much like Mommy, who were married to each other……”

Explain the irony in these lines.

7. “Have you called the van people to come and take me away?”

Is the speaker aware of the ensuing eventuality?

8. “I never wanted to be an actor. You forced me on the stage”.

Who is the speaker and why he/she makes this statement?

9. “I forgot all about becoming a nun or concert pianist. All I wanted was to be his wife”.

What aspect of the character of the speaker is brought out here?

10. “At least, I’ve loved you dearly, and done the best I could – under the circumstances”. What best thing has the speaker done under the given circumstances?

 

PART- B

Answer FIVE of the following questions choosing not less than two from each section:                                     (5×8=40marks)

 

Section-1

 

11. Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a socio-cultural documentary of its times. Discuss with textual evidence.
12. Critically examine the theme and message of Sean O’Casey’s Juno and the Paycock?
13. How does Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Gildernstern are Dead qualify as a philosophical play.
14. How effectively does Beckett dramatize silence in Waiting for Godot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Section-2

15. Explicate the theme of motherhood in Long Day’s Journey into Night.
16. Comment on the theme of racial discrimination in A Raisin in the Sun?
17. Discuss the significance of the title, Fences, as it relates to characters and themes of the play.
18. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is an indictment on American Dream. Illustrate.

 

 

PART- C

 

Attempt answers for the following questions in about 300 words each:                       (2×20=40marks)

 

19. a) Discuss the Shavian wit on a variety of topics in Arms and the Man  with textual evidence.

Or

1. b) Pinter’s The Birthday Party is a tragedy with comic elements. Discuss with textual support.

 

 

20. a) What are the major conflicts in O’ Neil’s Long Day’s Journey into Night? How, if at all, are they resolved?

(or)

1. b) For Edward Albee, the American dream seems to be hollow and artificial. Illustrate

 

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