Modern European Drama

Paper Code: 
25DENG501(A)
Credits: 
06
Periods/week: 
06
Max. Marks: 
100
Objective: 
The Course will enable the students to Recognise the period of theatrical experimentation in drama from the broad perspective of Modernism and examine the historical condition of cultural dislocation, rising global consciousness and emerging conflicts, as depicted by the playwrights.
Course Outcomes: 
The students will:
CO25. Evaluate drama
through the lens of
avant-garde writing and
modernism
CO26. Appraise the
historical developments
in dramatic literature
with reference to social
contexts and theoretical
frameworks
CO27. Analyze the plays
as texts of dramatic
composition, within
Performance Studies
CO28. Examine the
significance of different
schools of thought in
modern drama
CO29. Develop their
opinion of/on aesthetic
expression and
investigate the
reflection of many world
cultures in drama.
CO30.Contribute
effectively in course-
specific interaction.
18.00
Unit I: 
Henrik Ibsen
Ghosts
18.00
Unit II: 
Bertolt Brecht
 
The Good Woman of Szechuan
18.00
Unit III: 
Samuel Beckett
Waiting for Godot
18.00
Unit IV: 
Eugene Ionesco
Rhinoceros
18.00
Unit V: 
Harold Pinter
The Homecoming
SUGGESTED READINGS: 
Suggested Reference Books:
Esslin, Martin. Theatre of the Absurd. Random House,1961.
Innes, Christopher. Modern British Drama: The Twentieth Century. CUP, 2002. Kitchin, Lawrence. Mid-
Century Drama. Faber,1962.
Meisel, Martin. Shaw and 19th Century Theatre. Princeton University Press, 1963.
Rampal, Dushyant Kumar. Poetic Theory and Practice of T.S. Eliot. Atlantic Publishers, 1996.
E-Resources including links:
Reference Journal:
The French Review
Academic Year: 
2025-2026