NCERT Book Class 12 English (kaleidoscope) Drama 1 Chandalika

203/CHANDALIKA

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 farce to serious new
works and fine productions of old ones.
Two plays find a place in the section: Chandalika
by Tagore which describes the angst of an
untouchable woman; and an excerpt from Broken
Images by Girish Karnad, which is a monologue
by a celebrity writer that plumbs the depths of her
psyche and recreates her life for the TV viewer.