MA I Sem ( New Syllabus: 2025-26) Paper: II (Drama)

Hareshwar Roy,

 Semester I ; Paper: II (Drama)

Syllabus (Session 2025-26 onward)

MA English Literature: PG 2- Year Programme
Semester: I
Course Title: Drama (Paper II)
Course Type: Core Course
Credit Value: Option I= 5, II & III= 4
Max Marks- 40+60; Min. Passing Marks- 40
Content of the Course
Unit I: Tragedy
Sophocles: Oedipus Rex (Classical Greek Tragedy)
William Shakespeare: Hamlet (Elizabethan Tragedy)
Activities:
1. Chorus Creation & Performance: Activity: Have students write and perform a choral ode in the style of the Greek chorus, responding to a major event in the play.
2. Diary Entries: Activity: Write diary entries from Ophelia’s or Hamlet’s perspective at key points, exploring inner thoughts.
Unit II: Comedy
Ben Jonson: The Alchemist (City Comedy)
William Congreve: The Way of the World (Restoration Comedy)
Activities:
1. Role-Play & Dramatic Reading: Assign roles and have students perform selected scenes (e.g., Face’s con or Subtle’s manipulation).
2. Wit Duels and Epigrams: Activity: Identify and perform ‘wit duels’ between characters (e, g., Mirabell and Millamant).
Unit III: Revenge Tragedy & Jacobean Drama
Thomas Kyd: The Spanish Tragedy (Revenge Tragedy)
Marlowe: Jew of Malta
Activities:
1. Socratic Seminar: Is Revenge Ever Justified? Objective: Debate moral philosophy using the plays as case studies.
2. Creative Writing: Alternative Endings Objective: Engage with character agency and moral resolution.
Unit IV: Comedy of Manners and Sentimental Comedy
Richard Brinsley Sheridan: The School for Scandal
Oliver Goldsmith: She Stoops to Conquer
Activities:
1. Then vs. Now: Social Norms Debate: Activity: Host a class debate on topics such as ‘Is appearance more important than truth in today’s society?’ or ‘Do we still marry for status?’ Students use evidence from the plays and current events.
2. Character Trial: Activity: Put a character like Joseph Surface on trial for hypocrisy. Students take roles as lawyers, witnesses, and jurors to argue the case.
Unit V: Absurd Drama
Martin McDonagh: The Pillowman
Harold Pinter: The Dumb Waiter
Activities:
1. Ethical Debate: Topic: ‘Should disturbing stories be censored if they inspire real-life violence?’
2. Absurdist Scene Creation: Activity: In pairs, students write and perform a short scene in Painteresque style filled with pauses, circular dialogue, and a vague sense of threat.
Keywords/ Tags: Types of Drama, Tragedy and Comedy Revenge Tragedy, Absurd Drama.
*****
Location: B-37, City Homes Colony, Jawahar Nagar Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India
Currently Dr. Roy is working as Professor of English at Govt. P.G. College Satna, Madhya Pradesh. He is the author of the following books: (1) Diasporic Articulation in the Novels of M.G. Vassanji (2) A Study of M.G. Vassanji 's Novels (3) Varieties of Indianity in the Works of M.G. Vassanji & Rohinton Mistry (4)Diaspora & Indian Diaspora: A Brief Study (5) Short Notes of English Literature - I (6) Short Notes of English Literature - II (7) हमार पहचान ह भोजपुरी - भोजपुरी कविता संकलन (8) हमरा प्यार हो गइल - भोजपुरी गज़ल संकलन (9) भोजपुरी कविताएँ

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