Class 12 English — Chapter 20: Chandalika

What you'll learn

• ▸Introduction to Drama
• ▸Types of Drama
• ▸Rabindranath Tagore as a Dramatist
• ▸Key Features of Tagore's Plays
• ▸The Central Theme of 'Chandalika'
• ▸Social Context: Untouchability

Chapter Summary

--- PAGE 1 --- Drama INTRODUCTION A drama is a composition in prose or verse presenting in dialogue a story of life or character, especially one intended to be acted on the stage. The essence of drama is the make-believe by which an actor impersonates a character of the play. The element of make-believe in drama is much greater than the average play-goer realises. For instance, we must regard it as entirely natural that rooms and houses have one wall ‘missing’ that enables the audience to witness the action. Drama is usually divided into tragedy and comedy, but within this general framework a number of types and subtypes have been developed. The tragicomedy, for instance, mixes elements of both tragedy and comedy; the modern ‘problem-play’ deals with neither of these but with middle class life and problems. Furthermore, drama is the literary form most viable with the modern mass media; and film, radio and television are producing a vast quantity of it, ranging from ‘soap opera’ and…

Practice Questions from this Chapter

Tap "Get Solution" on any question to ask our AI tutor.

1. Explain drama's history simply? Get Solution →
2. Describe Tagore's Nobel Prize? Get Solution →
3. Understand caste system origins? Get Solution →
4. Who wrote the play *Chandalika*? Get Solution →
5. In what year did Rabindranath Tagore win the Nobel Prize for Literature? Get Solution →
6. According to the introduction, what is the 'essence of drama'? Get Solution →
7. What is the central theme of *Chandalika* as described in the text? Get Solution →
8. Which literary form is described as being 'most viable with the modern mass media'? Get Solution →

Did you know?

• 💡 Ancient Greek theatre invented dramatic masks to signify different characters.
• 💡 The world's first known theatre was built in Athens over 2,500 years ago.
• 💡 Shakespeare's Globe Theatre had an open roof for natural light and weather.
• 💡 "Untouchability" was legally abolished in India through its constitution in 1950.
• 💡 Rabindranath Tagore was the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize in Literature.

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