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Q1. Twelfth Night

In the kingdom of Illyria, a nobleman named Orsino lies
around listening to music, pining away for the love of Lady
Olivia. He cannot have her because she is in mourning for her
dead brother and refuses to entertain any proposals of
marriage. Meanwhile, off the coast, a storm has caused a
terrible shipwreck. A young, aristocratic-born woman
named Viola is swept onto the Illyrian shore. Finding herself
alone in a strange land, she assumes that her twin
brother, Sebastian, has been drowned in the wreck, and tries
to figure out what sort of work she can do. A friendly sea
captain tells her about Orsino’s courtship of Olivia, and Viola
says that she wishes she could go to work in Olivia’s home.
But since Lady Olivia refuses to talk with any strangers, Viola
decides that she cannot look for work with her. Instead, she
decides to disguise herself as a man, taking on the name of
Cesario, and goes to work in the household of Duke Orsino.

Viola (disguised as Cesario) quickly becomes a favorite of

Orsino, who makes Cesario his page. Viola finds herself
falling in love with Orsino—a difficult love to pursue, as
Orsino believes her to be a man. But when Orsino sends
Cesario to deliver Orsino’s love messages to the disdainful
Olivia, Olivia herself falls for the beautiful young Cesario,
believing her to be a man. The love triangle is complete: Viola
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loves Orsino, Orsino loves Olivia, and Olivia loves Cesario—

and everyone is miserable.
Meanwhile, we meet the other members of Olivia’s
household: her rowdy drunkard of an uncle, Sir Toby; his
foolish friend, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, who is trying in his
hopeless way to court Olivia; Olivia’s witty and pretty
waiting-gentlewoman, Maria; Feste, the clever clown of the
house; and Malvolio, the dour, prudish steward of Olivia’s
household. When Sir Toby and the others take offense at
Malvolio’s constant efforts to spoil their fun, Maria engineers
a practical joke to make Malvolio think that Olivia is in love
with him. She forges a letter, supposedly from Olivia,
addressed to her beloved (whose name is signified by the
letters M.O.A.I.), telling him that if he wants to earn her
favor, he should dress in yellow stockings and crossed garters,
act haughtily, smile constantly, and refuse to explain himself
to anyone. Malvolio finds the letter, assumes that it is
addressed to him, and, filled with dreams of marrying Olivia
and becoming noble himself, happily follows its commands.
He behaves so strangely that Olivia comes to think that he is
mad.
Meanwhile, Sebastian, who is still alive after all but believes
his sister Viola to be dead, arrives in Illyria along with his
friend and protector, Antonio. Antonio has cared for Sebastian
since the shipwreck and is passionately (and perhaps sexually)
attached to the young man—so much so that he follows him
to Orsino’s ___domain, in spite of the fact that he and Orsino are
old enemies.
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Sir Andrew, observing Olivia’s attraction to Cesario (still

Viola in disguise), challenges Cesario to a duel. Sir Toby,
who sees the prospective duel as entertaining fun, eggs Sir
Andrew on. However, when Sebastian—who looks just like
the disguised Viola—appears on the scene, Sir Andrew and
Sir Toby end up coming to blows with Sebastian, thinking
that he is Cesario. Olivia enters amid the confusion.
Encountering Sebastian and thinking that he is Cesario, she
asks him to marry her. He is baffled, since he has never seen
her before. He sees, however, that she is wealthy and
beautiful, and he is therefore more than willing to go along
with her. Meanwhile, Antonio has been arrested by Orsino’s
officers and now begs Cesario for help, mistaking him for
Sebastian. Viola denies knowing Antonio, and Antonio is
dragged off, crying out that Sebastian has betrayed him.
Suddenly, Viola has newfound hope that her brother may be
ali.
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Q2. G.B. Shaw’s contribution to drama

The first decade of the twentieth century is a period of great
promise and considerable achievement in the field of drama.
With the plays of George Bernard Shaw, Galsworthy,
Barrie, Granville Barker and Synge (in Ireland) the drama
after a lapse of over a century had burst out into a new and
vigorous life and resumed its place in literature, which it had
forfeited in the interim. It was not a mere form of
entertainment but had become a form of literature, rivalling
poetry and novel, This spectacular advance, it may be noted,
was the result of much pioneering work and had been slowly
prepared for some time past.

      It is, therefore, necessary to look back and to take stock of

the dramatic literature before this period. Sheridan was
practically the last great English dramatist to attain somewhat
of stage success. His plays The Rivals and The School for
Scandal appeared in 1775 and 1777 respectively. From that
date till 1865, which is the date of Robertson's delightful play
of comedy, Society, no British play of social interest and
literary and technical merit had appeared on the stage, in spite
of the attempts ot the great poets of this period to write
successful stage plays. The audience, too, were apathetic or
hostile. They wanted only sentimental and romantic stuff in
the theatre - a pleasure for the eye and ears, rather than food
for mind.
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  In this low state of dramatic activity came the new plays of

Robertson which were concerned with the problems of
contemporary life, thus marking the dawn of the new drama.
He was followed by A. W. Pinero and H. A. Jones who had
brought into the stage a further breath of naturalism; the latter
especially made the drama an instrument of social criticism.
He was the direct ancestor of Shaw and Galsworthy. In the
last decade of the last century there was also the outstanding
success of the plays of Oscar Wilde. His sense of comedy,
brilliant wit, superb artistry, brilliant dialogues considerably
improved the literary standing of the drama. Then came the
influence of the famous Norwegian dramatist, Ibsen whose
plays in English translations by William Archer, the famous
dramatic critic and friend of Shaw appeared in succession for
ten years ending 1899. The genius of the Norwegian had
conquered the English stage and gave impetus to the realist
movement, deeper study of character, a more subtle
conception of plot and characterisation. Shaw wrote his
tamous Quintessence of lbsenism and lbsen paved the path for
Shaw in founding and forging the 'new drama'. The drama
waited for a great genius to receive it and that genius was
George Bernard Shaw.

Shaw was just the man specially fitted for this task of the
reconstruction of the English drama on lbsenite lines. He has
conceived his function to be teacher of his age. His experience
in novel-writing convinced him that his genius did not lie that
way. At the time when he began to write plays, the doctrine of
'art for art's sake, as propounded by Pater and Wilde had held
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the field. This was the theory of the decadents' as we have

already seen. Shaw saw in it a ready-made excuse on the
artist's part to hide his poverty of thought and incapacity to
deal with the fundamental problems of life and society and to
probe deep into the human heart. And he said- "For art's sake
alone, I would not face the toil of writing a single line". His
slogan was not art but life. This is what Ibsenism meant to
him and he forged the drama not as an instrument of
recreation and relaxation for the idle moments but as a
substantial food for thought and reflexion in serious moments.
The stage became to him a 'school' or 'church' a place for
education and enlightenment. As he had confessed- "I write
plays with the deliberate object of converting the nation to my
opinions in these matters".
 Thus the drama in his hands became 'problem play' which
focusses light on the problems of the age, with the suggestion
of his own opinion on them in such a vigorous and humorous
manner that the audience are persuaded to his view. Shaw's
plays are propaganda plays, but he has made propaganda an
art-form. It is not a blatant direct expression of his point of
view. His point of view is developed and established by the
contrast and confrontation of ideas and through humour, wit
and fun. But stimulating thought on them and yet making
them not serious tracts but plays irradiated by humour, wit,
imagination and sparkling dialogues. In this he was followed
by Galsworthy, Granville-Barker and Barrie in some of his
plays.
Thus the drama came to its own after a long interval since the
days of Shakespeare, with whom Shaw is often compared.
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Shaw was greatly influenced by the Norwegian dramatist,

Ibsen. He perceived three innovations by Ibsen: Stimulating
the audience into thinking about themselves, fusing ideas into
the 'well made' play, and portraying both characters and
events realistically. The most characteristic Shavian quality is
the ability to make people think by compelling them to laugh.
His plays are comedies of ideas. He deals with serious ideas in
a light-hearted manner. From his first play in 1892 to Buoyant
Billions in 1949, there flashes an unflagging wit and humour.
No other playwright has ever matched Shaw in lengthy
speeches and long stage conversation that somehow never
drag or lose out as theatre.

 George Bernard Shaw came to the English stage in the

ripeness of time, when the English drama was on the way to
reconstruction and needed a great genius to remould it and
give it a definite character. Shaw brought this genius to bear
upon the task. In his earlier years he made a mark as a
socialist speaker and debator. He was already a familiar figure
to the London audience. He was perfectly conscious of the
mission as "the teacher of age." He had tried the novel with
little success and was convinced that his genius did not lie that
way. At the time when he began to write plays, the aesthetic
theory of Pater, namely art for art's sake' had held the field.
George Bernard Shaw dominated the English letters in the
first half of the twentieth century. He was awarded the Nobel
Prize in literature in 1925. His astounding vitality and barbed
wit continued unabated until his death. Shaw created a new
type of comedy - comedy of ideas. He made people think by
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compelling them to laugh. He dealt with various ideas in a

lighthearted manner. The buoyancy and wit of his plays
fascinated the English speaking people. One of his key
techniques is turning everything topsy-turvy and forcing an
astounded audience to see "the other half of the truth." A stern
realist, he exploded the myth of romantic love and all
romantic ideas. An anti-materialist, he is a vitalist believing in
creative evolution which man should further toward a perfect
society, and in the Life force, really the divine will. He has
shown that comic art can embrace philosophy, economics and
social thought in its scope and can give the profoundest
expressions for the enlightenment and enlargement of people's
consciousness.
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