LOYOLA COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS), CHENNAI – 600 034
M.A. DEGREE EXAMINATION – ENGLISH LITERATURE
LO 50
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 (10x2=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?
2. “I was a pious girl. I even dreamed of becoming a nun.”
Comment on this statement.
3. “dark phrases of womanhood
of never havin been a girl
half-notes scattered
without rhythm”
Explain the lines.
4. “Women children and lunatics can’t be Pope”
Comment on the fate of the woman pope.
5. “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.
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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
(2x20=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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