Dr. Vijayalayan's Literature Notes

Basics of Drama Definition Drama may be defined as an articulate story presented in action. There are thus three aspects by which a drama could be defined. Firstly, there needs to be a story, that is, a sequence of events. Secondly, it is to be performed in the form of action. Drama unlike novel is not a narrative but a performative art. Thirdly, the enactment must be articulate (ie) in dispersed with dialogues. An enactment without dialogues is not a drama but a pantomime. Constituent Elements Fundamentally four elements are required to produce a drama. In the first place, we need an idea, the seed from which the plot is evolved. In the second, we need actors to perform the plot with action and dialogues. In the third, we need a space or venue where the performance could take place. Finally in the fourth, we need an audience to view the performance. Basic Types Broadly speaking, there are three types of drama. These are tragedy, comedy and tragicomedy. Tragedy is a serious

  BASICS OF NOVEL       Definition: A novel may be defined as a fiction in prose of 50,000 words or more. There are thus three aspects by which we could define a novel. Firstly it relates a fiction that is an imaginary narrative. Secondly, it is composed in the medium of prose, which is akin to practical speech. Thirdly, its minimum length is 50,000 words. The last of these aspects is critical for it is what that differentiates a novel from other similar forms of narrative works such as short story or novella. All these other narrative works essentially represent a fiction in prose. However they cannot be regarded as a novel as their length is relatively short.         Constituent Elements: There are basically four elements that constitute a novel. These are plot, character, point of view and milieu. We could perhaps call these four elements the ingredients that go into the making of a novel.     Plot: Plot may be explained as the causal arrangement of events. It i

    Introduction       Modernism is a blanket term that refers to a wide variety of international movements, which took place in the arts starting from the closing years of the 19 th century till the culmination of the second world war. Some prominent movements in this regard include symbolism, imagism, surrealism, expressionism and impressionism. Though all modernist movements were unique in their own ways, a common denominator that united them was that they were all avantgarde in scope. This is to say, they exhibited a strong reactionary stance against traditional forms and methods of producing art, in favour of new and experimental means of artistic creation. The years between the two world wars is generally regarded as the high point of modernism.   Causal Factors       Many factors contributed to the development of modernism. Among these four conceptual factors are particularly noteworthy. These are the theory of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin, theory of psych

The Middle English Period (1066-1400)       The true history of English poetry may be said to begin only in the second half of the 14 th century with the poetical works of Geoffrey Chaucer. Does this mean that no poetry was written in England prior to this period? Not so, the anonymous epic Beowulf was apparently written during the 9 th century, which is in fact more than a century before the Normans conquered England. There are specific reasons as to why we consider Chaucer as the first formal poet in England, and his poetry as marking the inception of the grand history of English poetry. However, in order to understand these reasons in their proper perspective, we need to familiarize ourselves with the social situation that prevailed in England during what is generally known as the middle English period. The middle English period begins in the year 1066 when the Normans captured power from the Saxons by their victory at the Battle of Hastings. Normans were basically natives o