Grade 12, Plays in One Act (Major English Notes) by Ganesh B. Dhami

1.      Riders to the Sea by John Millington Synge (1871-1909)

There are mainly four characters in this play. Maurya, an old woman, is the mother of Bartley, Cathleen and Nora. The plot of this play weaves the story of a tragic mother who loses all her six sons along with her husband and father-in-law. She has no weakness of her own. Yet, she has to suffer. Her stoic endurance of the misfortune brought about by the loss of all her sons is heroic and tragic. Her cry echoes the cries of all the poor and dispossessed ones who are destined to lose their relatives.

            There is a small cottage on the bank of the sea. In the kitchen of the cottage, Cathleen, 20, is making cake. Nora, Cathleen’s younger sister enters the kitchen. She has brought a bundle of a shirt and a stocking. She has hidden the bundle under her shawl. A priest gave the bundle to her. She has brought it to check whether the shirt and the stocking are Michael’s. He is her brother who has been lost in the sea for nine days. Both the sisters do not want to give any information about the bundle to their mother before they themselves are sure enough.

            When the sisters hear their mother’s noise in another room, they hide the bundle in the attic. Maurya, the mother, has lost her fifth son Michael. She has already lost her four sons to the sea. She is anxious not to lose her last son, Bartley. So, she wants to stop him anyway. The sea is also very rough because of the bad weather.

            Bartley doesn’t heed his mother’s request. He rides on a red mare. The grey pony follows the red mare. Maurya instantly loses all hope of seeing him again.

            Cathleen has forgotten to give the cake to Bartley. So, she sends her mother with it to give Bartley. As the mother has gone away, Cathleen and Nora open the bundle. They recognize Michael’s stocking and shirt. They cry. After a few moments, Maurya arrives and comes in. The daughters hide the bundle again and pretend to be in a normal condition. Maurya has not given the cake to Bartley.

            When Cathleen asks her why she did not give the cake to Bartley, Maurya says that she could not because she had a terrible sight. As she was about to give the cake to Bartley, she saw Michael riding on the grey pony following the red mare on which Bartley was. He was wearing fine clothes and new shoes. She could not say anything to Bartley nor could she give him the cake. So, she is sure that Bartley won’t return home alive.

            The daughters give the mother her son Michael’s belongings. She is not surprised to hear about Michael’s death. She says the planks brought to make Michael’s coffin will be used for making Bartley’s. Meanwhile, some women and men come to their house carrying something. It is Bartley’s body. He was knocked off a cliff into the sea by the grey pony. Maurya says that now there is nothing the sea can take from her. She laments that all her sons and husband were killed in the sea. She stops crying. She wishes for peaceful rest of every departed soul. She says no man at all can be living forever, and we must be satisfied. She expresses her deep sorrow but consoles herself. 

Sketch the Character of Maurya.

Maurya is the central character of the play, Riders to the Sea. She is the victim of terrible fate. She is an old woman, the mother of Bartley, Cathleen and Nora. She is a tragic mother who loses all her six sons along with her husband and father-in-law in the sea. She has no weakness of her own. She is quite a religious and uneducated woman who prays to God till late night for her living sons but the result is opposite. She cannot do anything besides praying to God for the safety of her sons. She is worried about the possible death of male members (her living sons). She wants to stop the youngest son from going to the fair because she is afraid of his possible death.

            Maurya seems courageous woman at the end of the play after the death of her last son; Bartley. She consoles herself saying that nobody will be living forever. The process of her lamentation and prayers is over. She accepts the reality of life.

Describe the circumstances of Bartley's death.

Bartley is the only surviving son of Maurya. He also follows the fate as his father, grandfather and five brothers.  Maurya does not want him to go to the Galway Fair as he is only the living male member of the family and the weather is bad too. Despite his mother's resistance, Bartley goes to the fair to sell horses at high price. He says there is only one ship leaving for the fair.  There will not be any sheep till the nest two weeks. He rides on the red mare while leaving home and gray pony follows the red mare. Unfortunately, grey pony knocks him down into the water and he is drowned and dies. Maurya is a truly a tragic figure, not suffering from tribal curse or from her own weakness. She is defeated by circumstances. Even in her defeat she does not curse God. She has great endurance and she consoles herself by saying “No man at all can be living forever, and we must be satisfied”.

Contrast the attitude of men and women towards the sea.

Men and women have different attitudes towards the sea in the play. Maurya has lost six male members in the sea. Sea is the source of their survival. Sea is the cause of their death too.  Women are afraid of the sea, as they have lost their loved ones in the sea. They think that the sea is destructive and it will kill them. They don't like evil dangers of the sea. On the other hand, Men think that the sea can be hostile/destructive at any time but the activities of nature cannot be avoided. Thus, men seem adventurous and risk taking persons. Sea is the source of income and livelihood for them.

2.      The Happy Journey by Thornton Wilder (1897-1975)

Everything in this play is theatrical. Only a little stage settings or scenery has been used by the playwright. So, the audience or the reader is expected to use as much of their imagination as they can. The scenes depicted in this play move from one place to another like in cinema.

            There are four members in Kirby family: Kate (mother), Elmer (father), Arthur (son), 13, and Caroline (daughter), 15. The eldest daughter, Beulah, 22, has already been married to a telephone clerk. She lives with her husband in Camden. This play depicts the Kirbys’ journey from Newark to Camden, the city where Beulah lives.

            At the beginning of the play, Arthur, Ma and Caroline are getting ready for the Journey. Arthur is playing marbles, Caroline is talking to some girls and Ma Kirby is anxiously putting on her hat before a mirror. After some time, when they are ready, Ma talks to her neighbours. She has kept a sweet relationship with her neighbours. She requests them to look after her house and her cat in her absence. She also teaches her daughter how to greet their neighbours. Her neighbours are also careful not to be a nuisance to her. They are also faithful to her.

            They find a funeral procession on the way. Elmer puts off his hat. Ma tells Arthur to put off his hat, too. They wait until the procession has passed by. Ma becomes a bit emotional and says that she wants to die before anybody else in her family.

            While going forward along the way, they see hoarding boards with various advertisements. So, they talk or discuss about the advertisements. When Arthur tries to make fun of his mother’s respect for God, Ma becomes very angry and tries to make him get off the car. When Arthur says sorry to her, she immediately forgives him. She seems to have a deep respect for God.  She also loves her husband and children very much. She is a bossy wife and mother in her family. She is also quite talkative and sociable.

            They reach Beulah’s house in the late evening. Beulah receives them happily. All of them become very happy at their reunion to each other. Beulah has recently gone through an operation in the hospital. She had given birth to a baby which died shortly after its birth. She was also hardly saved. She is happy to be alive and reunited again with her parents and siblings.

Attempt a character sketch of Ma Kirby.

Ma Kirby is the central character of the play "The Happy Journey". She plays the role of an ideal housewife in the play. She plays the role of good housekeeper, mother and neighbor. She is an ideal woman. She wants her children to be fair ands moral. She does not like ill-behaviours and dealings. She equally loves the son and daughters. She has maintained good relationship with the neighbours that's why she tells her neighbor to feed their cat in their absence. She goes to meet her married daughter when she had miscarriage in order to help her. She knows when to scold and love her children. She has got very good understanding with her husband Elmer. She is a decisive woman who can impose her decision in family. She is skillful to cook food. She keeps everything up-to-date in her family.She does not like insult of God. She scolds her son when he makes fun of God.

3.      A Marriage Proposal by Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)

Choobookov and Lomov are landowners who are good friends and neighbours. Lomov is a 35 years old bachelor who is over-sensitive toward his health. Choobookov has a 25 years old daughter, Natalia, who is a shrewish woman. Both Lomov and Natalia have crossed the appropriate age for their marriage. So, they are anxious to get married.

One day Lomov visits Choobookov’s house in a formal dress. Choobookov is surprised to see his neighbour in a formal dress. After a little hesitation, Lomov reveals his motive for the visit. He has come there to ask Choobookov his daughter’s hand. Hearing the proposal, Choobookov is overjoyed. He says that both he and his daughter like Lomov very much.

Choobookov sends his daughter to the place where Lomov is waiting for her. Lomov is quite nervous to propose to Natalia. Because of his nervousness, Lomov can’t propose Natalia directly. So, he starts with a rather long background about the two families’ relationship to each other. But when he says the Ox Meadows is his, Natalia shrewdly protests. She claims that the Ox Meadows belongs to her family. They have a long and childish debate on this matter because Lomov is also a short-tempered person and doesn’t want to accept the defeat.

After some time, Choobookov arrives there and engages himself in the debate. They give each other’s families various bad names. Lomov threatens them to suit a case in court and leaves.

When Lomov is away, Choobookov informs his daughter that Lomov wanted to propose to her. She changes herself outright. She starts crying. She makes her father call Lomov back. When he arrives again, she welcomes him and talks to him in a friendly way. Meanwhile, she accidentally says that her dog is superior to his dog. They again begin fierce debate. Each of them boasts of their own pets. Choobookov arrives again. Pitifully, again he is also drawn into the debate. When the debate is heated, Lomov feels difficulty in his heart. He faints. Both Natalia and her father are worried.

When Lomov regains his consciousness, Choobookov joins his hand with Natalia’s and tells them to kiss each other. They cheerfully do it. Choobookov gives his blessings to his daughter and son-in-law. But both Natalia and Lomov are still arguing about the superiority of each other’s dog when Choobookov outshouts for champagne. It shows that marriage is a compromise.

Narrate the story of a young woman's meeting with Byron.

She met him in a dramatic way. She had been to Greece at the age of 16 with her aunt in order to study the ancient civilization of Europe in 1827. Their target was Acropolis(a place in Greece). One fine morning she went to Acropolis with her aunt. When they had to climb up the steps, her aunt became ill. So, she left her aunt with her driver and climbed up the Acropolis alone. She saw a handsome man ahead of her. The man turned back and looked at her frequently but each time he pretended to be watching the beautiful panorama. At the top of the Acropolis, he spread his arms and looked at the sky. The spinster’s grandmother was impressed by him so much that she thought he was the God Apollo in modern dress. Then, he faced her and picked her gloves from the ground. When he gave the gloves to her, his fingers touched her palm slightly. It made her breathless and she nearly got faint. The glove provided an opportunity for romance. This is how the young woman met Lord Byron.

Describe the parlour(a living room) and what happens inside it.

The spinster and the old woman live in the parlour of a faded room. The room is dark. The spinster; a woman of 40 is sewing something beside the lamp. The old woman sits opposite to her in black dress. They are very clever to cheat the tourists. They have pasted a notice which claims that they have Lord Byron’s love letters. When the matron comes in, the old woman hides herself behind the screen. She directs the spinster about what to do and what to say to the matron, but she doesn’t show up herself.

            The spinster claims that her grandmother was loved by Lord Byron. She met him in Greece where he had been in voluntary exile. He fought for the freedom there. The spinster’s grandmother met Lord Byron on the steps of the Acropolis in Athens when she was just 16 years old. She has described the event in her diary which the spinster and the old woman possess. The spinster reads the detail for the matron. The   old woman corrects it many times when the spinster commits mistake. The spinster reads how her grandmother came to meet Lord Byron in Greece during her visit.

            The spinster doesn’t complete the story. She arouses a curiosity in the matron’s mind and shows her the supposed letters of Lord Byron from a distance. Then she reads the matron and her husband a sonnet of her grandmother. Meanwhile, the parade of the festival passes by. The matron’s husband runs out and she follows him. The spinster asks her for one dollar or at least a quarter. But the matron is worried about her husband who is semi-consciously drunk. So, she runs after him without paying them money. 

Questions:

Why is Choobookov surprised at the appearance of his visitor? (058,061)

Write about the purpose of Lomov’s visit to Choobookov’s house in the play.

How does the topic of dogs bring about exchange of heated words? (062)

Why does Choobookov have to shout for champagne at the end? (063)

What is Lomov’s idea of marriage? (064)

What are the pains and anxieties of the father of a grown-up daughter as experienced by Choobookov? What makes Choobookov so desperate as to wish to put a bullet through his own head? (057)

Make a comparison of the characters of  Choobookov and Lomov. (060)

Narrate the series of changes in the attitude of Natalia toward Lomov. (065)

4.      Lord Byron’s Love Letter by Tennessee Williams

There are four characters in this play: Ariadne (the spinster), her mother (the old woman), the matron and her husband (Winston Tutwiler). The events of this play take place in New Orleans where Mardi Grass festival is organized every year. The matron and her husband have come to New Orleans from Milwaukee to observe the festival. They are waiting for the parade.

            While waiting for the parade, the matron falls into the trap of the spinster and the old woman. They are very clever to cheat the tourists. They have pasted a notice which claims that they have Lord Byron’s love letters.

            When the matron comes in, the old woman hides herself behind the screen. She directs the spinster about what to do and what to say to the matron, but she doesn’t show up herself.

            The spinster claims that her grandmother was loved by Lord Byron. She met him in Greece where he had been in voluntary exile. He fought for the freedom there. The spinster’s grandmother met Lord Byron on the steps of the Acropolis in Athens when she was just 16 years old. She has described the event in her diary which the spinster and the old woman possess. The spinster reads the detail for the matron. The   old woman corrects it many times when the spinster commits mistake.

            According to the diary written by the supposed Agnes, Lord Byron’s beloved, she met him in a dramatic way. She had been to the Acropolis with her aunt. When they had to climb up the steps, her aunt became ill. So, she left her aunt with her driver and climbed up the Acropolis alone. She saw a handsome man ahead of her. The man turned back and looked at her frequently but each time he pretended to be watching the beautiful panorama. At the top of the Acropolis, he spread his arms and looked at the sky. The spinster’s grandmother was impressed by him so much that she thought he was the God Apollo in modern dress. Then, he faced her and picked her gloves from the ground. When he gave the gloves to her, his fingers touched her palm slightly.

            The spinster doesn’t complete the story. She arouses a curiosity in the matron’s mind and shows her the supposed letters of Lord Byron from a distance. But she doesn’t allow her to read them. She says her grandmother died shortly after the death of Lord Byron in the war. Then she reads the matron and her husband a sonnet of her grandmother. Meanwhile, the parade of the festival passes by. The matron’s husband runs out and she follows him. The spinster asks her for one dollar or at least a quarter. But the matron is worried about her husband who is semi-consciously drunk. So, she runs after him without paying them money. 

5.      The Romancers by Edmond Rostand

Sylvette and Percinet are in deep love. They regard themselves as counterparts of Romeo and Juliet. Sylvette’s father Pasquinot and Percinet’s father Bergamin are arc-enemies. Their houses are separated by an old moss-grown wall completely covered with lush vines, creepers, and flowers.

            Each of the fathers restricts his child from looking at or talking to the other. They say they are old enemies. But the boy and the girl regularly meet at the wall and enjoy reading the story of Romeo and Juliet. They wish their father’s enmity to each other ended. But they are soon found to be puppets in the hands of their scheming fathers.

            At the beginning of the play Sylvette and Percinet are seen to be sitting together at the wall and reading the book Romeo and Juliet. They identify themselves with the famed characters in the book. They are worried about their father’s hatred to each other. Their fathers pressurized them to hate each other but the very pressure created love between them.

            Bergamin, the father of Percinet, arrives at the place and the two have to be separate from each other. Bergamin tells Percinet about his plan to mend the wall. He is going to wipe away all the vines and put broken pieces of bottles at the top of the wall. He also gives his son pressure to marry a girl of his choice. But Percinet rejects it loudly so that Sylvette can hear on the other side of the wall.

            Pasquinot also appears on the other side. He scolds Sylvette for roaming around the garden because she might be insulted by Bergamin and his son. He sends her into the house. Then, both Bergamin and Pasquinot exchange greetings. They are both widows. They have a plan that they will marry their children to each other and merge their estates. Then, they will live together rest of their lives. It is only their trick that they restrict their children from meeting each other. They think the more they prevented their meeting the closer they would become. And they are correct.

            The fathers hire Straforel, a bravo man, for making their children’s relationship romantic and adventurous. When they see their fathers talking to each other in a friendly way, they pretend to be fighting with each other.

            Finally, Straforel and his men pretend to attempt abducting Sylvette. Percinet fights with them bravely and thinks he saved her. The fathers arrive at the scene and declare the end of their feud. They decide to marry their children. 

1.      Why do the young lovers believe that they are like Romeo and Juliet and how is the final reconciliation brought in the play?

Percine and Sylvette are young lovers in the play "The Romancers". The young lovers believe that they are like Romeo and Juliet because their fathers have enmity, so far they think. They often read the lines from the tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" by Shakespeare. But their fathers have a secret plan to get them married. Their aim was to facilitate their love affair. They behaved like enemies and showed their hatred against each other in front of their children. Their fathers prohibited each of them to meet each other in order to strengthen their love affair. The intense hatred of the parents is the main cause of their wariness. Unlike Romeo and Juliet, final reconciliation is brought in this play. Their parents planned the abduction of Sylvette by paying money to Straforrel(expert in abduction). Percinet comes to rescue Sylvette from the grip of kidnappers and proves himself as hero. Finally, they get married with the consensus of their fathers. In this way, the final reconciliation is brought in the play.

2.      Describe the character traits of young romancers as seen in Sylvette and Percinet.

Percine and Sylvette are young lovers in the play "The Romancers". They have just come from High School. As all other young lovers they read romantic stories. They are the daydreamers. They think only about love. They have fallen in love. They compare themselves with Romeo and Juliet since their fathers show their intense hatred and enmity against each other in front of their children. They don’t obey their fathers' warning and meet each other secretly in the park. They want to stay in solitude whole day.

3.  Comment on the role of Straforel and his men.
Straforel is a performer who is hired by Bergamin to do a fake and grand kidnapping. He is not a villain but a comedian who is expert in his profession and make-believe acting. He makes a combination of the different elements so that the kidnapping will be memorable. He brings his swordsmen, musicians and torch-bearers during the kidnapping and places them in their positions. In the end his expert acting during kidnapping unites the lovers.

4.   How does Percinet justify his presence in the garden?
Percinet justifies to his father that he is present in the garden to enjoy the natural beauty of the garden, especially the flowers, creepers and the mosses that have decorated the wall. He tells him that the wall with its cracks and vines has made the bench next to it as a royal throne.

5.   What is Parquinot’s reaction on finding his daughter strolling about?

.When Pasquinot finds his daughter strolling alone in the garden, he scolds her. He reminds her that she should remain away from his mortal enemy Bergamin and his son. He is afraid that they may attack and insult her when they find her alone. So he wants to put a row of spikes on the top of the wall to harm the attacker.

6.      Waterloo by Arthur Conan Doyle

When Norah Brewster, a country girl, arrives at the house of Corporal Gregory Brewster, 96, she finds it messy and poorly managed. He is her granduncle. At the time of her arrival both her uncle and his housekeeper are absent. She has been sent by her parents to look after him.

Sergeant McDonald, a young soldier, enters the house and wants to meet the Corporal. He has heard about his bravery in the battle of Waterloo, so is impressed by him very much.

There is a portrait of the Corporal on the wall with a cutting from a newspaper dated August 1815 beside it. It contains news about the ceremony on which the Corporal got the medal of honour for his daring contribution in the battle.

As soon as McDonald exits, the Corporal arrives at the house and calls his housekeeper from outside. Norah introduces herself to the Corporal and says that she has come there to take care of him. He is hungry, so asks for food and eats greedily. The Corporal is more worried about the cold than anything else.

When Norah says she came by the morning train, the Corporal is surprised because she is not afraid of the train. He is surprised at the development of the modern technology. He is fond of talking about the battle.

Sergeant McDonald enters again with some of his friends. He introduces himself to the Corporal who starts describing him how he fought in the battle. Meanwhile, he drops his pipe that is broken and he sobs like a small boy. The sergeant gives him his own pipe and the Corporal is happy.

After the sergeant has gone out, Norah thinks about him. She has been attracted by him. She thinks that he will also be like her granduncle after sixty years.

The Corporal wants to have Norah read the Bible for him. But he likes the part that contains the description of war.

Meanwhile, colonel Midwinter in civilian dress enters. The Corporal rises up to salute the colonel but cannot control himself properly. He describes the colonel about the battle. The colonel gives him some money as a gift on behalf of his army men. The Corporal expresses his wish for the respect by the army after his death. The colonel promises that he will be provided the respect.

After the colonel has gone out, the sergeant arrives. He invites Norah to the barrack to have a look at it. Suddenly, the Corporal rises on his feet screaming in a loud voice. He is having a dream about the battle. Then, he collapses to the ground. He is dead.  

1. Attempt a character sketch of Corporal Brewster.

In the play Corporal Gregory Brewster is a 96-year-old war hero who is doddering, thin, with white hair and wrinkled face. He is hard of hearing, worried about the cold weather and impatient for food and rum. Due to his old age he has become childish and remembers giving a bull pup to his brother. He is surprised when Norah says that she has come by train and can read the Bible. Even in the Bible, he wants to listen about war. He likes to hear about the Israelites and their wars in the Old Testament of the Bible. He gets angry with Norah when she says that everything is peaceful in heaven. He requests the Colonel to give him a military funeral when he dies. He does not appreciate the new developments. He cries like a baby when his pipe breaks and smiles immediately when given a new pipe by McDonald. He loves to see the soldiers marching, the band playing and loves to feel a gun. When someone says that they are proud of him, he remembers the Regent and his words.

2. How did Brewester show his bravery in the battlefield?

Brewester is a war hero who showed his bravery during the battle of Waterloo, between Britain and France. On the 18th of June, four companies of the Third Guards held the important farmhouse of Hougoumont. At a critical point of the fight, there was short of powder. So Brewester was sent to bring the reserve ammunition. He returned with two carts filled with powder. But the French forces had set fire in the hedge around the farm. One of the cart exploded killing the driver. The other driver was frightened and tried to turn away his cart. Seeing this, Brewester jumped into the seat, threw the driver down and drove the cart through the fire to his friends. Thus, the British forces were able to win the battle because of Brewester’s heroic act.

7.      To Bobolink, for Her Spirit by William Inge

A group of autograph seekers in the leadership of Bobolink Bowen is waiting outside 21 Club in New York. Bobolink and her friend, Nellie, have seen Perry Como entering the club, so they are waiting there for her autograph. Renaldo, Fritz, Gretchen and Annamarie are other members of the group. Bobolink, who is in her early thirties, is fat with short and kinky hair, and wears thick-lensed glasses and simple dress. Nellie, who is in her late twenties, is lean. The young boys Renaldo and Fritz and the young girls Gretchen and Annamarie are friends. Nobody of them is personally attractive.

Renaldo and Fritz talk about Lana Turner. Bobolink has already got her autograph and she says even Lana is no better than anyone else. Gretchen’s girlfriend found Lana at a beach in California. When she greeted her, she greeted back. So, they think she is not proud.

Bobolink and Nellie have some sweet as well as sour experiences waiting celebrities for their autographs. Once, they waited for three hours on a snowy night outside the Stork Club for Elizabeth Taylor. But it was a college girl wearing the dress same as of Taylor. The other time, they were waiting for Ronald Colman outside St. Regis when all of sudden there arrived Van Johnson and Peter Lawford. Then, they got autographs of two celebrities at the same time.

While they were talking, a couple wearing expensive dress came out of the club. Fritz approached them and got an autograph from the lady. After they had departed from there in a taxi, they studied it and found the lady was a Russian. But Bobolink did not show any interest upon them. She thought she was a well experienced autograph collector.

Bobolink and Nellie also share Bobolink’s experience of meeting Tyrone Power with the others. She met him at a railway station as president of the Tyrone Power Fan Club. He has also given her an autograph in which he has written: ‘To Bobolink for her faithful enthusiasm and spirit’.

When Fritz approaches another unknown couple that comes out of the club, Bobolink thinks they are childish because she is proud of her past experiences of meeting many celebrities. She and Nellie are ready to wait for Perry Como until he comes out, but other kids are impatient and want to go home for supper.    

Sketch the character of Bobolink.

Bobolink is the central character of the play. She is an attractive woman of about 30. She is very fat and wears thick spectacles. She seems self-content. She is always smiling. She has short and curly hair. She is the leader of the autograph seekers outside the Twenty-One Club. She has collected autographs of almost all the celebrities. She is experienced and senior autograph seekers. She spends most of her time talking about film stars. She is addicted to her profession. She can wait for her favorite stars hours without saying rain and water, hot and cold.