Q.

What are the Characteristics of Drama in Restoration

age?
The revival of drama in England after the restoration of the monarchy (1660) is known
as Restoration Drama. Its main features were the reopening of the theatres after the
Puritan period, the formation of new acting companies, and the first appearance of
women on the English stage. The dominant genres of the era were the comedy of
manners and the heroic drama of Dryden and others, both of which show a strong
French influence. This was encouraged by the king himself, who had become familiar
with the works of Corneille and others while in exile in France.
Reopening of Theaters
Theaters were closed during the puritan period. During the restoration, they reopened with new types of plays and performances which were different than before.
The theaters which were indoor were much smaller than the Elizabethan ones. They
didnt have a platform but there was a picture frame stage with different sceneries.
The lighting was artificial and the actors would enter from the side. The audience was
of middlemen and upper class people. Most of the features of restoration drama is
seen even today.
DRAMA
A typical type of restoration drama was the heroic play. These plays were called
tragedies or histories but Dryden termed these plays as Heroic drama. His
famous tragedies are Tyrannic Love, Conquest of Granada. These plays were written in
the classical model of the rhymed heroic couplet and later in blank verse. This drama
was of tragic comedy, where there would be a happy ending. The heroes and heroines
would show great strength and nobility. This would create admiration by the audience.
The plays would make people wonder and also excite the imagination. The rhymed
verses elevated the play above everyday reality to grandeur. There is a hero, heroine
and villain. The villain is the dominating character from 1660 onwards, the plays were
male dominated but in the 1670s and 1680s the focus shifted from hero to heroine.
The success of the plays of the Restoration period is dependent on exotic staging
devices, strange plots and exaggerated language. Heroic dramas of the time abound
in allusions to the political crises of the polish plot, the bill of exclusion and the
revolution of 1688. In the eighteenth century revival of heroic drama was attempted
but it was not successful.
Because of their novelty value, the most famous performers tended to be women. By
1670 actresses were well established, the favourites being Nell Gwynn, Anne Oldfield,
Elizabeth Barry, Anne Bracegirdle, and Mary Saunderson, the wife of the eras most
renowned actor Thomas Betterton.
The Comedy of Manners
The greatest achievement of the Restoration theatre was in comedy. The English
comedy of manners was pioneered by Sir George Etherege, who took his cue from the
works of Molire and other French and Spanish masters. The form was subsequently
perfected by Congreve in such sophisticated works as Love for Love (1695) and The
Way of the World (1700). Other writers to produce witty comedies of intrigue and
sentiment included Aphra Behn and John Vanbrugh: the works of William Wycherley
are darker and more satirical. George Farquhar, who enjoyed success with The Beaux

Stratagem in 1707, is usually considered the last true exponent of Restoration

comedy.

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF DRAMA IN THE MIDDLE AGE:

* It is rightly said that the origins of drama have always been deeply rooted in the religious instincts of
mankind. In fact Churches became the cradle of the English drama. In the Middle Ages Church had a
significant role in the life of community.
* In order to preach the ignorant mass the clergy seemed eager to show them scriptural story in a visible
form during special festivals as in Christmas or Easter. The services of the Church were in Latin and few
could understand them.
* During the 10th century the Gospel stories being illustrated by the series of living pictures in which the
performers acted the story in the dumb shows and in the next agate spoke as well as acted the parts. The
actors were monks, priests, choir-boys in the service of the church. The plays were performed inside the
church.
* After the Norman Conquest in place of Latin, the liturgical play followed the French pattern and finally in
place of French, vernacular English was used as the language.
* The crowds became more interested and they started to throng inside the church. As a result the church
yard was opened and finally drama came to the open market place. The organization had begun to pass from
ecclesiastical to lay hands.
* The growing secularization of the drama is reflected in an edict of 1210 forbidding clergy to take part in
the plays.
* From the clergy, control first passed to the religious and social guilds and then to the trade guilds under the
general control of the council of the town.
* The guilds were wealthy and out of rivalry became responsible for the productions.
*The four guilds were generally known as Chester cycle, York cycle, Wakefield cycle and Coventry cycle
(These cycles took their names after the names of the Towns).
* Gradually the extension of the cycles led to the evolution of the ambulatory cycle, in which the play was
performed on the two decked cart or pageant. This pageant consisted of one enclosed room, which served
both as Hell and as a tiring room and a second storey open to the sky on which the action was performed.
* For such outdoor per formation only summer festivals were really suitable. Most of the plays of the
different cycle began to attach themselves to the feast of Corpus Christi which fell in May on June when the
weather was likely to be good and the hours of daylight were long.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE DRAMA:
Mystery and Miracle Plays:
* The earliest species of the dramas are known as Mystery and Miracle plays.
It has long been the fashion to call the Biblical plays mystery and those dealing with
saintslivesMiracles.This division has come from France.
Though these kinds of plays were performed at first inside the church, gradually through the hands of four
notable cycles they come to the open market. All the cycles more or less took the materials from the
episodes of the Old and New Testaments.

Their aim was to reveal to the common crowd the entire story of the human world from the Creation to the
Resurrection.
The productions of these plays were rather crude. There was very little stage property .There was a very few
scenery and the dramatic effect was mainly brought out by means of some symbols. The actors were almost
amateurs. But the audience was very responsive to the appeal of the play.
Now let us discuss how much the four cycles did their best for the development of the drama with the help
of their production written by anonymous authors.
York Cycle:
* It consists of forty-eight (48) plays (though according to records 51 plays were acted).
* They were performed from the 14th to 16th century. The plays were written in the Northubrian dialect.
They had dramatic life, and were on the whole reverent in tone. The plays deal withCreation of the World, Fall of Lucifer, Fall of Man, Cain and Abel, Life of Christ, Crucifixion etc.
What are the post-colonial themes in Robinson Crusoe?
Describe the presence of colonialism in Daniel

Defoe's Robinson Crusoe.

Colonialism is defined as the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and
expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory.
England was for a long while, by far the most powerful and widely spread
colonial empire in the world. For instance, there were the American colonies, as
well as a British presence in China and India. In fact, it is only in the last ten
years that Hong Kong reverted from the English back to China.
Colonization occurred primarily in...
...the late 15th to the 20th century...the justifications for colonialism
included...Christian missionary work, the profits to be made, the expansion of
the power of the metropole and various religious and political beliefs.
In Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, colonialism is clearly apparent. To put the literary
work into its proper context, it should be noted that the story was published in
1719, and England was enjoying the prosperity of the American colonies.
England had adopted the stance that "God is on the side of the English" during
Queen Elizabeth I's reign (after defeating the Spanish Armadathe strongest
naval fleet in the world); this attitude had not diminished. Surely it only
increased as the nation's holdings increased, which also included "islands in the
West Indies."
Based upon the time in which it was written, Crusoe would have found the
benefits of his country's "international policy" in keeping with his own capitalist
endeavors. Colonialism is seen in the story after Crusoe leaves the islandfor

while he is there, he realizes that the things he valued in England, Brazil and on
his travels revolved around money. He has no need of money on the island, but
he does value materials that will aid in his survivalsuch as gunpowder and
fresh water. Returning to civilization, his desire for money emerges again.
When I took leave of this island, I carried...the money I formerly mentioned,
which had lain by me so long useless that it was grown rusty or tarnished, and
could hardly pass for silver...
The major post-colonial theme that is extremely troubling to readers of the
book today, particularly perhaps for Western readers, is the way that Robinson
Crusoe seems to assume an ownership over property that he has no actual
claim over, simply because of who he is. Note, for example, what he says in
Chapter 25 when he comments upon his situation on the island now that he has
discovered a few other people on it.
My island was now peopled, and I thought myself very rich in subjects; and it
was a merry reflection, which I frequently made, how like a king I looked. First
of all, the whole country was my own mere property, Baso that I had an
undoubted right of dominion. Secondly, my people were perfectly subjected. I
was absolute lord and lawgiver, they all owed their lives to me, and were ready
to lay down their lives, if there had been occasion of it, for me.
For the reader of today, this attitude reveals the breathtaking arrogance and
self-righteousness that lies at the heart of colonialism. Crusoe automatically
assumes that what he sees belongs to him, even though he has no claim over
anything and he is just another human being on this island. This is shown
through his selling of Xury even though he does not own him. Note how he
views himself as a "king," and sees the island as "my own mere property." It is
also interesting to note that whilst he is happy to view himself as "absolute lord
and lawgiver," there is no mention of any obligation that he feels he has
towards his people. This quote is incredibly disturbing when considered through
a post-colonial lense, because it suggests the breathtaking arrogance and pride
that lay at the heart of the colonial endeavour.
Colonialism is also seen in how Crusoe treats Friday once they leave the island.
Crusoe's answer to prayer, one who he looked to like a son, he "civilizes" so
that he can become a part of the great land of England, but not as a brother or
friendonly as a servant. ("My man Friday" indicates a sense of servility on
Friday's part, and "ownership" on Crusoe's...even though he was technically not
a slave. This reflects the English's attitude towards natives of countries which
they assimilated.
...my man Friday accompanying me very honestly in all these ramblings, and
proving a most faithful servant upon all occasions.
Finally, we see a clear representation of colonization with regard to Crusoe's
island. He has discovered and claimed itin the same spirit as England's

explorers and military leaders had claimed England's own colonies. When he is
rescued, the ship's captain tells the mutineers that Crusoe is employed by "the
governor."
Crusoe "owns" the island and instructs those living there just as if he were the
"governor" or political leaderjust as any British colony would be governed.