A BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF MODERN PLAY/DRAMA
Modern drama is literature that focuses on regular people and everyday
problems.
The drama of the Modernist Movement in England was much less innovative
in technique than it was its poetry and novel.
The drama which had suffered a steep decline during the Victorian Age was
revived with great force at the beginning of the 20th century and the course of
six decades has witnessed many trends and currents in the 20th-century
drama.
Realism, romanticism and play of ideas were the main characteristics of the
modern play.
George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde and Henrik Isben are some of the major
playwrights of the Modern age who contributed great ideas and imaginative
thoughts to the modern drama. They are discussed below in details.
1. George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
He was An Irish playwright, was also an important contributor to European
Drama.
His plays displayed the opposite of what the audience usually expected.
His satirical approach towards playwriting and concern about social as well
as political problems are well-represented in his plays
The greatest among the modern dramatist .He is considered to be the father of
comedy of ideas.
George Bernard Show showed men and women in society as they really are, and
evoked the tragedy that may be inherent in ordinary, humdrum life.
He wrote his plays with deliberate purpose of propaganda.
All the plays of George Bernard Show deal with some problem concerning
modern sociality.
IMPORTANT PLAYS OF G.B. SHAW
Some of the best and famous plays of Shaw have been highlighted below.
‘Arms and the Man’ (1894),
‘Man and Superman’ (1902),
‘Press Cutting’ (1909),
‘Pygmalion’ (1912)
‘CANDIDA’ (1898)
FEATURES OF G.B SHAW’s PLAYS
I. REALISM IN SHAW’S PLAYS
Shaw is regarded as the dramatist realist.
He rejected the plays written by Victorians and romantics.
He uses the romantic’s characteristic of free imagination in the structure of
his plays
“
Shaw says, Just do what must be done. This may not be happiness, but
it is greatness.”
He takes the actions of men and women in their natural environment and
constructs his characters as ordinary as realist plays.
His characters show a structure of social suggestiveness.
II. PARADOX AND WIT IN SHAW’S PLAYS
Bernard Shaw’s plays are occupied with paradox and wit.
He does not ease himself by satisfying himself by any easy scheme,
such as denying the apparent.
His wit is also preserving his thoughts.
He puts a white light on Caesar, on Christianity, on Love, on Patriotism,
and on Napoleon.
Shaw quotes, “A gentleman is one who puts more into the world than he
takes out”
III. OSCAR WILDE (1856-1900)
Wilde is considered to be the father of the comedy of manner or the
Artificial of Comedy, a great thinker.
Oscar Wilde is a dramatist who took part of the revival of drama in
the later part of the nineteenth century.
During his lifetime his plays became very popular, and they were
thought to represent a high mark in English drama.
IMPORTANT PLAYS OF WILDE
Lady Windermere’s Fan.
A woman of no importance.
An Ideal Husband.
The importance of being Earnest
FEATURES OF WILDE’s PLAYS
I. MIXTURE OF REALISM AND FANTASY
Oscar Wild incorporated the features of both realism and fantasy in his
works with phenomenal ability.
He merged the two opposing genres through realistic dialect and
thoughtful imagery into an interestingly melancholic tale.
He states, “The truth is rarely pure and never simple”
II. IMAGERY IN WILDE’S WORK
Wilde also outshined other writers in the use of imagery.
He illustrates different situations and people by employing different types
of literary devices.
His most favorite and frequently employed imagery is the morbid one.
On the art of morbidity, he has an astonishing command and mastery.
He portrays his imagination in a creative way, “I don't want to go to
heaven. None of my friends are there.”
IV. HENRIK IBSEN
He is a great Norwegian dramatist. The father of realistic drama.
He was responsible of the revival of drama in English literature.
He has influenced English dramatist such as George Bernard
show and Oscar Wilde.
Ibsen has taught men that the real drama must deal with human
emotions, with things which are near and dear to ordinary men
and women.
FAMOUS PLYS OF IBSEN
‘Pillars of Society’ (1877),
A Doll’s House’ (1879),
‘An Enemy of the People’ (1882)
‘Hedda Gabler’ (1890)
FEATURES OF ISBEN’s PLAYS:
I. NATURALISM
Henrik Ibsen is one of the pioneers in the writing of naturalistic plays in
revolt against the romantic drama and the well-made plays.
His best contribution was that he has thrown away the artificialities of
the plot (Shakespearean dramas).
Various naturalistic elements can be observed throughout Ibsen's most
of the plays.
To understand Ibsen's philosophy on his naturalistic plays, it is better
to understand A Doll's House first.
It is a very naturalistic story that portrays the problems within a family,
particularly married woman Nora.
He express his thoughts about realism, “A thousand words
leave not the same deep impression as does a single deed.”
CONCLUSION
Modern playwrights, indeed, introduced many modern ideas and
aspects of life into the English literature through their plays.
It can be seen that their plays portrays the scenery of World Wars and
many other incidents that took place in that age.
To conclude, modern playwrights such as GB Shaw, Oscar Wilde and
Henrik IBSEN have contributed much thoughts and feelings in the
modern plays in an influential and effective ways.
