Test Papers / Previous Question Papers of IGNOU MEG2 British Drama June 2005

MASTER'S DEGREE PROGRAMME IN ENGLISH
Term-End Examination

June, 2005

MEG-2 : BRITISH DRAMA

Time: 3 hours
Maximum Marks: 100

1. Annotate any four of the following passages with reference to context in not more than 150 words each : (4x5=20)

(i) To God ? He loves thee not.
The God thou serv'st is thine own appetite,
Wherein is fixed the love of Belzebub.
To him, I'll build an altar and a church.

(ii) Masters, you ought to consider with yourself; to bring in - God shield us ! - a lion among ladies is a most dreadfulthing; for there is not a more fearful wild-fowl than your lion living; and we ought to look to't.

(iv) I hit a blow on the ridge of his skull, laid him stretched out, and he split to the knob of his gullet.

(v) I keep looking back, as far as I remember, and I can't think what it was to feel young, really young.

2. Discuss Jonson's contribution to the realm of comedy with reference to The Alchemist. (400 words) (20)
OR
Discuss the varieties of language styles used by Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night's Dream. (400 words)

3. What accounts for the universal appeal of Hamlet across varied countries and cultures ? Discuss. (400 words) (20)
OR
Discuss how irresolution becomes the dramatic strength of both Doctor Foustus and Hamlet. (400 words)

4. Discuss the major critical perspectives on The Playboy of the Western World. (400 words) (20)
OR
"Love is of man's life a thing apart
'Tis woman's whole existence."
Comment on the asymmetrical nature of the love of man and woman by referring to the comedies you have read. (400 words)

5. In what ways is the title of the play Look Back in Anger meaningful to you ? (400 words) (20)
OR
Comment on the historical plot of Murder in the Cathedral. (400 words)

6. Discuss the mingling of genres in Pygmalion. (400 words) (20)
OR
How would you describe the Theatre of the Absurd as a philosophical conception ? You may illustrate from waiting for Godot. (400 words)

7. Write short notes on any, two of the following in not more than 200 words each : (2x10=20)
(i) The two tramps in Waiting for Godot
(ii) Pegeen and Widow Quin as counterweight characters in The Playboy of the Western World.
(iii) The Feminist Perspective in Look Back in Anger
(iv) The role of fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream