BA I Year: English Literature (Major II)
Session 2025-26
Study of Drama (Paper II)
Course
Code
Course Title Study of Drama (Paper II)
Course Type Major II
Pre-
requisite (if To study this course, a student must have had the subject
any) English Language/English Literature in class 12th.
Course Learning
Outcomes (CLO) By the end of this course, students will be able to -
Trace the evolution of drama from Sanskrit
theatre to modern forms, analysing key Indian
and Western dramatists.
Analyze themes such as daiva (destiny),
puruṣārtha (human effort), and dharma (social
justice), comparing their representation in Indian
and Western dramatic traditions.
Apply dramatic insights to contemporary
contexts, interpreting drama as nāṭya-yajña (a
sacred performance) for promoting lokasaṅgraha
(social welfare) and saṃskāra (value inculcation).
Explore the socio-cultural and philosophical
dimensions of drama as a medium for social
reform and cultural preservation.
Credit Value 6
Total Marks Max Marks - 100 Min. passing Marks – 35
Part B – Content of the Course
Total no. of lectures (in hours per week): 03
Total Lectures: 90
Unit Topics No. of
Lectures
I Introduction to Drama 10
i) Introduction to Sanskrit Drama
ii) Types of Drama: Tragedy, Comedy,
Historical Play, One Act Play
Keywords: Natyashastra, Rasa Theory, Bharatmuni,
Bhava, Natyadharmi and Lokadharmi, Abhinaya,
Dramatic Structure, Aristotelian tragedy, Chronicle
plays.
Activity: Group Discussion on Sanskrit Drama & Rasa
Theory / Comparative Chart of Drama Types.
II Indian Classical Drama 20
i) Mahakavi Kalidas: ‘Abhigyan
Shakuntalam’, Act IV
ii) Shudrak: ‘Mrichha Katikum’ (The Clay
Cart) Act I
Keywords - Curse of Durvasa, Separation (Viraha),
Śṛṅgāra (Romantic Rasa), Karuna (Pathos Rasa),
Tranquility (Santa Rasa), Nāyaka / Nayika, Vṛtti
(Stylistic Mode), Court and Folk Theatre, Anagnorisis,
Prakrit and Sanskrit Dialogue tradition.
Activity: Essay writing / Dramatic Reading and
Enactment
III Modern Indian Drama 20
i) Mahesh Dattani: Where There’s a Will
ii) Manjula Padmanabhan: Harvest
Keywords – Social Allegory, Power dynamics, Social
alienation, Women Empowerment, Family
Relationship, Gender indiscrimination, Greed
Activity: Debate on Ethical Issues/ Panel Discussion on
Contemporary Relevance
Renaissance Drama 20
IV i) William Shakespeare: ‘Merchant of
Venice’
ii) Christopher Marlowe: ‘Dr. Faustus’
Keywords: Elizabethan drama, Morality Play,
Humanism, Tragic Hero, Soliloquy, Supernatural
Elements, Blank verse, Comic relief, Moksha, Karma,
Vivek.
Activity: Character Sketch / Dramatic Reading / Quote
Interpretation
V Modern Drama 20
i) G.B. Shaw: Arms and the Man
ii) John Galsworthy: Silver Box
Keywords - Realism, Satire, Social Criticism, Class
Conflict, Romantic Idealism, Anti-hero, Hypocrisy,
Nyaya (justice legal and moral), Ahimsa, Lok-
samgraha, Karuna.
Activity: Role-Play/ Creative Writing Exercise
90
Part C – Learning Resources
Textbooks, Reference Books, Other Resources
Suggested Readings
Texts
- Dattani, Mahesh. Where There’s a Will. Penguin India, 2013.
- Galsworthy, John. The Silver Box: A Comedy in Three Acts. London:
Duckworth & Co., (1906)
- Ghosh, Manmohan, trans. The Natyashastra. Bharata. Vol. Calcutta: The
Royal Asiatic society of Bengal, Kolkata (1950)
- Kale, Moreshwar Ramchandra. Trans. Abhigyanshakuntalam of Kalidas.
ISBN 9788120802827 Motilal Banarasidas, New Delhi (1969)
- Marlowe, Christopher. Dr Faustus. ISBN 978-1722503819. G&D Media;
Unabridged edition, New Delhi, (2024)
- Padmanabhan, Manjula. Harvest. Aurora Metro Books, (2018)
- Rajan, Chandra, translator. The Complete Works of Kalidasa. Sahitya
Akademi. 2002.
- Shakespeare, William. Merchant of Venice. Fingerprint Publishing, ISBN
978-9387779600 Daryaganj, New Delhi, (2018)
- Shaw, G.B. Arms and the Man. ISBN 978-9350330616. Maple Press Pvt
Ltd, Noida (2013)
- Shudrak. Mrichhkatika, The Little Clay Cart, Trans Arthur William Ryder,
1905. Harvard oriental series, ISBN 9781465579935
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/21020/21020-h/21020-h.htm
Extended Readings
- Bhat, G. K. Sanskrit Drama: Its Aesthetics and Production. Motilal
Banarsidass Publishers, New Delhi (1984)
- Bhatia, Nandi (ed.), Modern Indian Theatre. Oxford University Press,
New Delhi (2009)
- Deshpande, G P. Modern Indian Drama, Sahitya Academy Rabindra
Bhawan, New Delhi (2006)
- Kale, M R. (Translation) The Meghaduta of Kalidasa: Text with Sanskrit
Commentary of Mallinatha. ISBN 978-8120804203. Motilal Banarsidass,
5th Reprint edition, New Delhi (2015)
- Mukherjee, Tutun (Ed.) – Staging Resistance: Plays by Women
inTranslation, ISBN 9780198084914, OUP, New Delhi (2012)
- Rangacharya, Adya, trans. The Natyashastra. Bharata Muni. ISBN
9788121506809 Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi (2018)
- Sahitya Darpana (Sanskrit) Of Sri Viswanatha Kaviraja. Commentary
Jivananand Vidyasagar Bhattacharya, Vachaspatya Press, Calcutta (1916)
- Sastri, T. Ganapati. Svapnavasavadatta Of Bhasa. (1912)
https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.424378
- Śrīraṅga, Adya Rangacharya. Introduction to Bharata's Natyashastra.
ISBN 9788121508292. Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi (1998)
- Vatsyayan, Kapila. Bharata: The Natyashastra. New Delhi: Sahitya
Akademi, (2005)
- Vatsyayan, Kapila. Traditional Indian Theatre Multiple Streams. National
Book Trust India (2005) https://iks.iitgn.ac.in/wp-
content/uploads/2023/02/Traditional-Indian-Theatre_Introduction_Kapila-
Vatsyayan.pdf
Journals
- Shekhar, R. “Origins and Growth of Sanskrit Drama in India.”
International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT), vol. 12, no.
7, July 2024, pp. 110–117. ISSN: 2320-2882. IJCRT+1IJCRT+1
- Alapatt, Nisha Francis. “An Ecocritical Reading of Kalidasa’s Abhijnana
Shakuntalam.” Research Journal of English Language and Literature
(RJELAL), vol. 5, no. 4, 2017, pp. 633–636. ISSN: 2395-2636. Rjelal
- Singh, Ganga Nand. “Appraisal of the Womanhood in Shudraka’s The
Little Clay Cart.” Vinoba Bhave University Journal of English Studies,
vol. 1, no. 1, 2020, pp. 45–50.vbu.ac.in
Digital Links
https://archive.org/details/harvest00manj
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt20q1x8r
https://www.seagullbooks.org/the-theatre-of-roots-redirecting-the-modern-
indian-stage/
https://www.routledge.com/Theatre-and-the-World-Performance-and-the-
Politics-of-Culture/Bharucha/p/book/9780415068221
https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/66614/1/Unit-4.pdf
https://www.routledge.com/Theatre-and-the-World-Performance-and-the-
Politics-of-Culture/Bharucha/p/book/9780415068221
https://kireetjoshi.com/images/Svapnavasavadattam.pdf
Part D – Assessment and Evaluation
Suggested Continuous Evaluation Methods:
Maximum Marks: 100
Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE): 30 University Examination: 70
Internal Assessment: Class Tests
CCE: Assignment/Presentation 30
External Section A – Very Short Questions (50 words) 5×2=10
Assessment: Section B – Short Questions (200 words) 4×7=28
University Exam Section C – Long Answer Questions (500 2×16=32
Time: words)
70
