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Name - Lin Lin Myat

Enrollment no- 92100789009
Faculty- Department of Art
Subject- Modern European Drama

Comparative study of modern European drama and modern

English drama

August,2022
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Content

- Abstract
- Introduction
- Origin and development of drama
- Main themes of European drama in early ages compared to forms of
dramas in restoration period
- The gradual development of European Dramas to contemporary dramas
- Notable elements in Modern English dramas
- Conclusion
- References

Keywords- Modern english drama,European drama,modernism

Abstract

This research paper explores the gradual development of European drama into
contemporary English drama. As the literature went through various forms of human
civilizations, many innovations had been attempted and extravagant works of dramatists
from various centuries can be witnessed in this research work.starting from origin and
development of drama, readers will comprehend the types and forms of drama which
were flourished in Elizabethan era, restoration era along with the famous dramatist and
their works. After that, a gradual transformation of European into Modern dramas and
the dramatic elements of both European and English dramas will be discussed with
respective examples.

Origin and development of drama

It is argued that drama is a linguistic-artistic creation by individuals. First the
deed,then the story,then the play,that seems to be the natural development of the
drama in its simplest form (Long 140). Since the Elizabethan age, great literature
flourished along with displaying both nature and the physical world with artistic
soul. The great deeds of people are treasured in literature and the act of
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portraying them by using stage and performers is later known to be the

drama.For instance, the bedtime stories that are told to children came to life
when they were presented on the stage with living performers. In another word,
the imaginary becomes reality.By contrast, the drama is an old story retold to the
eye,a story put into action by living performers (Long 140).
Originally, the earliest forms of drama were regarded as miracle plays and used
to present for religious purposes. That means, the stage dramas were mostly
about the birth of Christ,and at Easter where the plays about his death and
triumph were displayed.When it comes to the stage and actors, the actors as well
as the authors of the Miracles were the priests and their chosen assistants who
have been carefully chosen and trained.
Interludes are also one of the elements which can be seen in the earliest forms of
dramas.It was originally used in a miracle play to enliven the audience after the
solemn scene of the play. The interludes originated in a sense of humor and
John Heywood, a well known retainer and jester at the court of Mary is due the
credit for raising the interlude to the distinct dramatic form known as comedy.

Main themes of European drama in early ages compared to forms of

dramas in restoration period
In the early ages of human civilization which was in the 16th and 17th centuries,
the dramas are mostly based on religious themes which means that nearly all
forms of dramas and stage plays were the rewritten form of the bible. People
were educated with morality plays and drama and had been assessed by its
standard of the purpose of morality. In later ages,that is in the restoration period,
realism, formalism became popular themes. In realism, the representation of men
as exactly as they are and the expression of the plain, unvarnished truth without
the regard to ideas or romance.The early restoration writers sought to paint the
realistic pictures of the corrupt court and society. Unlike the dramas in
Elizabethan and the Puritan ages where the writers expressed the extravagant
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thought and language which were loaded with classical allusions, the writers in
the restoration period emphasized reasoning rather than romantic fantasy and
used short,clear-cut sentences without the unnecessary words.

The gradual development of European Dramas to contemporary dramas

From the 19th century to the early 20th century, Shakespeare was the forerunner
and pioneer of English literature. However, because of the series of changes in
both political and social spheres, many modifications had resulted in the genre of
European drama.Especially, Norwegian and German dramatists brought a new
flavor to the contemporary theater work. First of all in the age of restoration, the
drama had been restricted to heroic tragedies or restoration comedies such as
Christopher Merlowe’s Doctor’s Faustus and Rape of the lock by Alexander
Pope. Such plays were intended to mock the aristocratic society and political
leaders as the main interest of the community centered upon them. However, in
modern society, the impact of industrialization resulted in changes in genre and
themes of drama. The modern age witnessed the rapid growth of big
cities,capitalism,decolonization,gender sensitivity and two world wars. It is
believed that beginning from the 19th century, the theater saw a significant
transition in themes, characterization and form of writing plays. Some of the
major contributors of the European drama were Henrik Ibsen, Harold Pinter,
Samuel Beckett and others. For instance, Henrik Ibesn was the leading figure of
an artistic renaissance that took place in Norway around the end of the
nineteenth century.The sense of modernism in drama can be found in Ghost
which was written by Henrik Ibsen.Unlike other conventional dramas, Ibsen
wants to foster the gender descrimination through depicting the males and
female characters in the light of 19th century Norwegian Bourgeois customs and
values. He shows contemporary social issues, status of women and communal
realistic affairs. From the standpoint of modern tragedy, Ghost strikes off in a new
direction. Regular tragedies dealt mainly with the unhappy consequences of
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breaking the moral code. Ghost,on the contrary,deals with the consequences of
not breaking it. Aside from Ghost play such as Pillars of Society(1877), A Doll’s
house(1879) by Ibsen fell under the modern theme of naturalism and realism.

Conditions of dramas in the puritan age

In the history of English literature, the puritan age was dominated by puritanism
and it may be called Puritan age or which is also called Milton’s age which was
representative of puritan spirit. The puritan movement in literature may be
considered the second and greater renaissance marked by the rebirth of the
moral nature of man.The civil war between the kings and parliament started
these days due to many tyrannical rules the kings practiced including the Divine
right of the kings declared in 1604.While describing the role of dramas in Puritan
age, puritan age was not rich in drama as in the Renaissance period and also not
supported by Puritans as it was a ruling time of James 1 and Charles 1 who did
not support drama and during their reign, theater was closed. Within the three or
four years of the coronation of James, he had virtually taken control of
players,plays, dramatists and theaters. Those few great nobles who had formerly
been allowed to license players were now deprived of that right. And all the
productions are directly under the royal control.According to these historical
facts, the development of dramas has been somehow delayed and did not that
much flourished as it should be. However, the famous and notable dramatists
such as Ben Jonson and other famous dramatists such as Thomas Middleton,
John Webster,etc were still writing dramas whose dramas became milestones for
the puritan age.
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Notable elements in Modern English dramas

In contemporary modern English dramas, some of the playwrights notably

display the elements of stream of self-consciousness and social satire. The
suitable form of example for this is the old man and the sea which was written by
Ernest Hemingway, a famous modernist writer.In the old man and the sea,
Hemingway clearly demonstrates many characteristics of modernism. One
notable characteristic is the character's consciousness to find his complicated
emotions. Throughout the drama, Santiago, main character of the drama, is
alone in the boat with his own thoughts and the only conversation or interaction
he has is only when he is talking to the creatures of the sea. The second
characteristic in modern English dramas is the use of a third person point of view.
In the old man and the sea, the narrator knows all about the old man and the boy
and the narrator tell the readers what the old man is thinking while he is fishing.
The third significant element is the usage of a simple direct style language with a
basic vocabulary. There is no flowery or extravagant language in the old man and
the sea as the words are easy to understand for readers.

Conclusion
To sum up, starting from the Elizabethan age, the dramas had been presented to
audiences with religious purposes. Due to human expectations, political and
social changes, the dramatists tried to carry out a series of reformations, related
to themes,genre and invented new elements for the advancement of dramas. In
the age of restorations, famous dramas flourished and became the grassroot
period for the formation of modern dramas. In general, there is a great
dominance of European dramas over modern English dramas and many origins
of the elements of modern dramas such as naturalism,realisms can be traced
back to the period of European dramas.In 21th century, dramatists are still trying
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to innovate the contemporary along with the series of social and political
changes.

References

English literature, its History and significance for the life of the english
speaking by William J long.

Heinemann Margot, Puritanism and theater, Thomas Middleton and

opposition Drama under the early stuarts, Cambridge University press.

https://prettyeasyy.com/modern-european-drama/literature/english-literature/#:~:t
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https://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/an-analysis-of-modernism-in-ernest-hemi
ngways-the-old-man-and-the-sea-jO2xuehz

https://www.literatureedu.com/2020/10/major-figures-and-works-of-puritan-age.ht
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