Modern English Drama

Modern English Drama

Introduction to Modern English Drama

2.1 The Beginning

The glorious days of the Elizabethan drama were followed by a long period of decline and eclipse. The post-Elizabethan vainly endeavoured to capture the graces of Shakespeare and other illustrious predecessors, while the heroic tragedies and the comedy 14 of love and intrigue during the Restoration hardly added any glorious chapter to the history of English dramatic literature. Goldsmith and Sheridan attempted a partial revival in the eighteenth century, but their sporadic brilliance was followed by a spell of darkness which spread for almost a century, for between 1779, the year of the performance of Sheridan’s last important play, and 1876 when Pinero’s first play was staged, English drama was practically barren. The later eighteenth century witnessed the rise of great actors but not great playwrights. And it is an accepted rule that when acting flourishes drama languishes. Melodramatic, sensational and unrealistic plays alone were popular. A play was written not with a view to depicting life and character but for providing sufficient scope for the lusty lungs of the declamatory actor. Play writing was done mostly by hack writers, who sacrificed both art and realism in trying to eke out a living by writing to the dictates of theatre managers, producers and actors. English drama was at very low ebb when T.W. Robertson, a playwright and actor, appeared on the scene, fully alive to the lack of realism and low artistic tone of the drama of his day he determined to import

realism into drama and raise its artistic level. The year was 1865 which witnessed the performance of his play. Society, proved a landmark in the revival of the English stage. The revival manifested itself in stress on realism both in subject matter and technique. In place of types and stock characters Robertson presented individual men and women, person of flesh and blood. In the matter of technique and form he discarded blank verse and rhetoric in favour of natural and human speech. Robertson however was not a bold or revolutionary spirit and he could not divest himself of the old traditions, such as romantic melodrama. He, therefore, failed to exercise any substantial influence on his 15 contemporaries and the much needed reform in drama required a more daring literary genius.

2.2 Significant Works

The darling genius was found, to some extent, in Arthur Wing Pioner and H. A. Jones who made pretty serious efforts to drive away undiluted romanticism from the English stage. An expert craftsman Pinero had the courage to introduce several innovations in dramatic technique. In his The Second Mrs. Tanqueray, produced in 1893, he played the pioneer in discarding the ‘soliloquy’ and the ‘aside’ along with certain other old stage conventions, thus bringing drama closer to life. Pinero and Jones, however, he could not be sufficiently darling to ignore public taste altogether. Though Jones wrote in his preface to Saints and Sinner (1884) that playwriting should not be merely the art of sensational and spectacular illusion but mainly and chiefly the art of representing English life, he could not avoid, in his plays, theatrical excitement and too much use of coincidence just to humor the audience. Hence, the realism of these, dramatists was skin deep not the genuine stuff which subsequent playwrights were to provide. The person who infused real new revolutionary blood into English drama was Henrik Ibsen, a Norwegian playwright. He was introduced to English audiences by J. T. Grein, a Dutchman, in 1890. In England, William Archer, the famous dramatic critic, enthusiastically espoused Ibsen’s cause. Through Ibsen’s genuine realism was introduced in English plays, Ibsen’s characters are drawn from ordinary life and characterization in his plays receives more attention than the patching up of a well-knit plot. Moreover, the plot in his plays is essentially psychological leaving little room for pure action or incident. The Ibsenion play is essentially a drama of ideas, of characters swayed with ideas and struggling against the 16 forces of convention and society. Ibsen’s ideas gave a rude shock to the susceptibilities of his contemporaries, but he was bold enough to stick to his theories and technique. Consequently, he exercised a great influence all over the continent and the drama of ideas of revolt against society and convention came to stay. The tyranny of the star system and the stranglehold of the commercial minded theatre managers could do no longer throttle true dramatic art. The renaissance of modern drama was in full swing with the advent of Ibsen. If William Archer propagated the plays of Ibsen, it was Shaw who imported the real Ibsen spirit into English Drama. Highly original and independent in many ways, Shaw was immensely influenced by the plays of Ibsen and, like him; he became a champion of conferring the new freedom of subject-matter and technique on English drama. Since the appearance of his first play Widowers Houses in 1892, Shaw strode on the English stage like a versatile Titan almost till the end of his days. Among modern English dramatists, he proved the most zealous advocate o f rationalism and realism, brushing aside Victorian cobwebs, a proper climate for a drama of ideas, enlarging the dramatists vision and, above all, slowly forging an appreciative and responsive intellectual audience for his problems plays. The volume of his dramatic production is so wide and varied that it is not possible within this limited space to do justice to the great services which he rendered to British drama. His Arms and the Mans, Candida, Man Superman Saint Joan, to mention only some of his best plays, brought English drama again into its own and provided inspiration and guidance to other playwright. “I always have to preach”, observed Shaw. “My plays all have a purpose.” The plays of Shaw are inspired by a conscious iconoclastic Galsworthy the two other great luminaries in 17 the firmament of modern drama gave a version of realism in their work, which has no touch of the partisan spirit or the zeal of the propagandist. Their realism has been described as naturalism i.e. an attempt to present “both fair and foul, no more no less.” The naturalistic play is intended to be objective and impersonal, though both Galsworthy and Barker could not be absolutely dispassionate. Both were revolutionaries in their own way. Barker revolted against the tyranny of Victorian convention over the individual and Galsworthy resisted against the heartless but mighty social forces which crush the individual. Barker expounds the ideal of self-realization, which Galsworthy strives to make out a case for tolerance and mutual understanding and accommodation. Shaw’s realism and the naturalism of Barker and Galsworthy have to be distinguished further. Shaw is essentially an intellectual, cold, penetrating, satirical, often flippant, but the latter have nothing of the imp or the mountebank in them. Moreover they do not banish emotion from their plays. Shaw is essentially a talker and his plays about in discussion and a display of with but both Galsworthy and Barker subordinate sheer with and talk to the possibilities of life and the strong undercurrent of emotion which eventually sways human life. Both deal with problems, mostly social in character, but despite all his legal training, Galsworthy is the more didactic of the two whereas Galsworthy tries to rub his moral home. Barker leaves the public to draw its own moral. Nevertheless, in all his best plays Strife, Justice, The Skin Game, Loyalties, Galsworthy shows himself at once a great artist and a great critic of society, far more balanced, reserved and impartial than Shaw. The popularity of realism and naturalism did not oust the romantic element altogether from the domain of modern drama. Realism stimulates the brain but a touch of romanticism vivifies the heart. “The lies of romance relieve the tedium of everyday life.” It was J. M. 18 Barrie, a Scottish novelist, who provided the lies of romance by turning his face away from drab and cruel reality. He found solace in magic isles and imaginary dream islands, Gifted with a child’s fancy and make-belief, he was at best with children. And it is a children’s play, Peter Pane (1904) in which he is at his best. Among his other plays, mention may be made of Quality Street (1903), which centres round a sweet love story full of his peculiar charm, humour and pathos, smiles and tears. The Admirable Circhton, what Every Woman Knows, Dear Brutus, Mary Rose are all plays for removed from realism, presenting impossible characters, who behave impossibly. Barrie created a new type of play, which can best be described as “Barriesque”, a blending of romance, whimsicality and quaintness. A perfect master of technique, he produced plays which despite all their fantasy and romance, are compact and well-knit. Summing up his contribution to modern drama, Lynton Hudson observes: “In an age of growing cynicism he guarded the guttering flame of Romance and kept it from being quenched by intellectualism.” No account of modern British drama can be complete without a reference to the Irish Movement and the Provincial Repertory Movement. The new Irish Theatre was founded in 1892 by a group of prominent Irish writers with W. B. Yeats at their head. Later on, Miss, A. E. Horniman, a wealthy English woman, joined this group of writers and provided funds with which the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, was constructed. The Irish Movement, also known as Celtic Revival, was essentially national in character, and concentrated on Irish themes and ideas. It also aimed at reforming the stage and turning it into a thing of beauty. The movement, however, was not intended to espouse the cause of realism or naturalism. Lynton Hudson, describing this aspect to the movement, observes: “It did not think of a play as either a sermon or a debate, not as intellectual at all 19 as appealing primarily to the brain. It was not intended to make people think, but to make them feel to give them an emotional and spiritual uplifting such as they might experience at mass in a cathedral or at the performance of a symphony.” Owing to these aims and ideals the Irish playwright turned to the past of their country, its myths and legends. In a sense, their approach was romantic and poetical. In his plays, Yeats glorified the national myths and legends and depicted primitive human emotions. Essentially a poet, he gave beautiful ideas and first-rate lyrical poetry but failed in characterization and plot construction. His contribution to drama lies essentially in the realism of poetry and symbolism. The Irish Movement also inspired a new type of native comedy drawing its inspiration from Irish folk-lore and Irish peasantry. The best exponent of this comedy was the talented J. M. Synge (1871-1909), whom Yeats discovered in Paris, wasting his genius as a journalist, Synge drew his inspiration largely from the simple fishermen of the Aran Isles. There he saw human nature both at its best and at its worst. He also picked up the native speed and picturesque idiom of these people. Synge’s best comedies are in the Shadow of the Glen, the Tinker’s Wedding and particularly The Playboy of the Western World. The last was at once recognized to be his masterpiece after its performance at the London Theatre in 1907. Synge also wrote a few tragedies, the best of which in Riders to the Sea (1904). Synge wrote six plays. His dramatic work is limited but it is of such a high order that his place in British drama is assured for all times to come. “Synge had, like Shakespeare,” writes Hudson, “not only a sure dramatic instinct and a keen insight into the motive forces of human character, but also the gift of transmuting pathos and ugliness into poetry and beauty, and the exuberance inseparable from all great geniuses. Like Shakespeare, he never 20 moralizes, he is a dramatist pure and simple. He had no sympathy with the didactic school of drama.” Miss Horniman, who had financed the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, also found money to start a repertory theatre in Manchester in 1907. Since then the provincial repertory theatre has played a significant role in both English and American drama. It became the chief centre for producing talented playwrights and actors. Other theatres notably the Liverpool Playhouse (1911), slowly came into existence. Unlike the Irish Theatre, the Manchester and other English theatres were not intended to arouse or revive local nationalism, nor were they inspired by the poetic and symbolic aspects of life. Their drama was highly realistic and intellectual in line with the work of Ibsen and Shaw. It did much to popularize the drama of idea and represent the social life both of the rich and the poor of the highly industrialized towns of Manchester and Birmingham. This drama was, of course, naturalistic and photographic but a bit too serious, even grim. “A night in a repertory theatre”, wrote St. John Ervine, “was almost as cheerful as a night in a morgue. People went to repertory theatres as some Dissenters formerly went to chapel, woebegonely and as if they came to atone for lamentable sins.”

2.3 The Features

An important phase of modern drama is found in the revival of the poetic drama along side of the naturalistic and realistic plays. The plays of Yeats were poetic to a certain extent but the Irish Theatre eventually drifted from poetry towards realism. In England poetic drama found its first exponent in Stephen Philiphs, whose blank verse plays enjoyed considerable popularity in the first years of the century. Stephen Philips possessed 21 considerable dramatic genius, but his poetic talent was not equally high. So he failed to work a revival of poetic drama. It were John Drink water and John Mansfield who brought about the actual revival of poetic drama. Drinkwater did not attempt to write in blank verse and thus escaped comparison with the great Shakespeare. He produced four poetic plays, but used both prose and verse in them. Finally he gave up poetic drama altogether and wrote only in prose. Finally he gave up poetic drama altogether and wrote only in prose. His masterpiece is Abraham Lincoln a play on the life of the American president. His other plays Cramwell and Mary Stuart are also historical, but they didn’t come up to the level of Abraham Lincoln. Masefield chose at first biblical or historical subjects and experimented with various lyric metres, including the rhymed couplet, but he finally evolved a poetic idiom in prose like Wordsworth’s like Synge, he forged a new pattern of rhythmic speech, terse, figurative and rooted in the soil. His characters are simple, rustic folk. His best play is The Tragedy of Nanwhich presents a picture of rustic cruelty, though it is not without a certain element of tragic grandeur. The play though written in prose is essentially poetic. Among other exponents of poetic drama John Flecker, with his oriental play Hassan,deserves special mention. It is written in highly coloured prose, but it is, like Masefield’s Nan steeped in the spirit of poetry. Lawrence Binyon, Lord Dunsany, Gordromon Bottomley and T.S.Eliot have also attempted poetic drama. T.S. Eliot’s Murder in The Cathederal has proved a success, but the plays of the others have failed to elicit much appreciation. There are some of the main tendencies and types of modern drama. Though the momentum of dramatic revival has not kept up a uniform pace during the century its future 22 is not dark. What it will be in the years to come is not altogether impossible to visualize. “One can only guess what form the new drama will assume when it eventually finds its equilibrium.” Priestly is not alone in thinking that it will be more closely allied with music and the ballet. One thing is sure: it must recover some of the things that it has lost the obvious beauties of romance and poetry. It may be, as Galsworthy predicted, lyrical, and its province to describe the elemental soul of man and forces of Nature with beauty and the spirit of discovery. It will most likely to be a swing-back of the pendulum that oscillates eternally between Romance and Realism. The fallacy of Realism, as James Branch Cabell has put it, “is that it assumes our mileposts to be as worthy of consideration as our goal: and that the especial post we are now passing reveals an eternal verity.”

 2.4 An Overview

Modern British Drama is a period of literature that can be difficult to place within a distinct beginning and end. Because history is never-ending, it can be hard to classify when one era starts and finishes; since literature does not change overnight, there is no straightlined, apparent transformation of thematic elements or style. Therefore, people must look at a wide range of literary elements to find patterns and gradual changes, in order to categorize a specific time of literature. During the Victorian era, Britain was constrained by a rigid class system. Many people, including those related to the arts, dealt with the inability to obtain any sort of individualism. The elite dominated the British culture; therefore, they were at the forefront of the nation’s expansion amongst the arts. For that reason, Modern British Drama became an era of British literature focused on finding and receiving its own identity. British tradition, language, and politics were only a few major topics sought out by illustrious Modern British Drama figures. It is because of these national, thematic issues that 23 Britain has been able to establish a strand of uniqueness, which sets them apart from decades of limited, confined literature. Although the beginning of Modern British Drama has no specific start date, Christopher Isben, the author of Modern British Drama: The Twentieth Century, provides an untried timeline of events that follows Modern British Drama's history. According to Isben, 1890 marks the beginning of Modern British Drama with George Bernard Shaw’s attack on the most previous, Victorian era. Around this time, the arts were expressing the need for a change in the disposition and role of theatre. Britain no longer wanted to follow the traditional genres seen on stage; they rejected logical structures and reasoning. Rather, writers wanted to use an approach that went beyond sheer entertainment; something that generated a message and spoke about society. On stage, Modern British Drama began to mirror everyday life. It took on an "anti-illusionistic" portrayal of the world. The characters tended to embody characteristics that epitomized humankind as a whole. Clearly, realism appears to be the ultimate driving theme throughout Modern British Drama. Almost every play I saw in London, during the summer of 2011, demonstrated some element of social realism. For instance, Betrayal, Pygmalion, Act without Words, II and War Horse are plays that posses elements of realism and naturalism; they link characters, setting, and props to various social contexts. Specifically, Samuel Beckett’s Act without Words, II is so blatantly vague, that his desire to address all humankind is made undisguised. Betrayal, based off of Harold Pinter’s real life love affair, instinctively highlights the play’s realistic nature. Furthermore, the overall plot is one that anyone could easily relate to 24 and understands. The play's costumes, props, and setting were simple, average, and reflected every-day life. Pygmalion is entirely focused on the British social structure, from language to etiquette. The basic storyline questions values, materialism, and social status, all of which are actual issues the average person must deal with, in society. War Horse touches on a more political subject matter through the depiction of war and its effects on nature, humankind, and an entire nation. Throughout War Horse, Michael Morpurgo displays the terrible after effects of war and its damage to people, nature, and society. Morpurgo utilizes his story to highlight the devastating effects of a corrupt and flawed culture, government, and social structure. However, Modern British Drama does not present these various social situations merely for the sake of exposure; instead, many writers take their political messages one step further in order to criticize and condemn the British social structure. To many Modern British Drama writers, the idea of a man-made social system was so limiting and irrational that it must be mocked. This apparent quip at a flawed British social structure can be seen within George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. This particular play reveals the ever so flawed British social system of the early nineteen hundreds, something that Shaw continuously struggled with. By the end of the story, Shaw's keynote is made apparent: people will inevitably continue to be trapped behind a man-made, pretentious society that continues to self-destruct. In Betrayal, Harold Pinter uses Jerry’s wife as a mechanism to add a political feature of Modern British Drama to his play. Jerry’s wife is always being talked about, but she never 25 shows up on stage. This could very well be intentionally done, in order to denote how completely absent she was from Jerry’s life, despite them being married. In doing so, Pinter subtly mocks the social ideology of marriage. By displaying the complete absence of an actual relationship, while still claiming to be married, marriage acts as a social convention that is expected to occur despite there being any actual love in the relationship. This social ideology strips the emotion and passion from life. Another unique aspect of Modern British Drama is its portrayal of ethical and unethical situations, which pushes the audience to contemplate morality. Betrayal is a fine example of using immoral material to provoke humour amongst the audience. In reality, there is nothing funny about betrayal and lying, but Pinter manages to keep the audience laughing by incorporating comedic material within the play. However, this humorous technique can also ignite a "questioning of morals", within the audience. While audience members are sitting there laughing at the lack of values these characters typify, more often than not, if they were the ones being cheated on or lied to, they no longer would be laughing. With all these themes, elements, and features at play, it is ultimately the writing that drives this encompassing theme throughout Modern British Drama. Given the amount he wrote in combination with his social and political involvement, Shaw is considered the first and foremost figure of Modern British Drama. During his time, he analyzed European traditions and brought his critique to life, by putting it on stage. Pygmalion is a fine example of Shaw's ability to openly express his opinions on Victorian values. The direct influence of one author on another was also an important aspect that shaped Modern British Drama. For example, Beckett’s Act without Words, II focuses on the 26 idea that no matter how one lives, life is always moving forward. It does not matter how fast or how slow you move because time flows at one continual, relentless pace. One cannot control the rate at which life passes by. People wake up, complete their daily activities, and then, no matter what, the next day comes. There is no need for words or explanations because that is just the way life goes. However, if they stop responding to the prodding, could this represent death? Undoubtedly, this is similar to Stoppard’s questioning of reality and meaning of death. In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, one can see the constant questioning of reality and being able to control destiny. Obviously, Samuel Beckett has had an influence on Tom Stoppard’s style of writing. Interestingly enough, Harold Pinter used to give his plays to Tom Stoppard for editing, commentary, and suggestions before he sent it to stage. The inability for one to control personal destiny or fate is a thematic link that can be seen between Betrayal and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. Betrayal shows how one’s attraction to another person is something that cannot be controlled, and in this case Jerry and Emma unpredictably fell for each other after they already married other people. As a whole, Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead questions the logic in reality and the forces which control fate. Clearly, there is a specific questioning of reason and logic, within both of these plays, that makes the influence of one author to another evident. With that said, Stoppard’s writing is a strong representation of a gradual change brought on by Modern British Drama. In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Stoppard questions logic and reasoning. He goes against traditional structure by using characters who 27 reject the concept of divine right and the ability to control fate. Stoppard utilizes the stage to voice these questions and challenge his audience to identify with what they truly believe. Ultimately, a play reaches its fullest potential when carried out on stage. Seeing actors play the roles of characters who embody traits similar to your own, makes the play’s overall meaning more influential and powerful. Understanding the thoughts and ideas of dominant writers, from the previous centuries, helps us better understand history and eventually current-day society. The ability to bring history alive not only enhances the content, but also increases its sustainability. Although Modern British Drama does not seem to have an apparent beginning or end, there is still a series of trends and events which illustrate and explain how Britain came to establish their own style of influential literature.