Special Brief Suggestion of Introduction to Drama

King Oedipus

1. What did the chorus say at the end of the play ‘King Oedipus’?

Ans: “No man can be called happy until he dies happily.”

2. Where was the infant Oedipus left?

Ans: On mountain Cithacron.

3. Who was Teiresias?

Ans: He was the blind prophet assigned to find the killer of Laius.

4. Whom did Oedipus send to the Oracle of Apollo?

Ans: Oedipus sent Creon to the Oracle of Apollo.

5. What was Oedipus’ greatness?

Ans: His greatness was his ability to solve the riddle.

6. What punishment did Oedipus declare on the killer of Laius?

Ans: Oedipus declared that Laius’ killer would be banished from his country.

7. Who was Jocasta?

Ans: She is the biological mother and then the wife of Oedipus.

8. Why did Oedipus blind himself?

Ans: Previously, he had killed his father and slept with his mother. Now, he realizes that has committed the most heinous act, resulting in blinding himself.

9. Who are the foster parents of Oedipus?

Ans: Polybus and Merope are the foster parents of Oedipus.

10. How did Jocasta die?

Ans: She died by committing suicide.

11. Who are the chorus in ‘Oedipus Rex”?

Ans: They are the old men of Thebes.

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12. Who knew that the terrible prophecy of Oedipus had already come true?

Ans: The blind prophet Tiresias knew that.

13. Who were the three tragedians of ancient Greece?

Ans: Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides.

14. Who is the tragic hero of Oedipus the King?

Ans: Oedipus is the tragic hero of the play.

15. Where is the setting of the play Oedipus the King?

Ans: The setting of the play is Thebes.

16. What is the Greek title for the play Oedipus the King?

Ans: Oidipous Tyrannos.

17. What is the Latin title for the play Oedipus the King?

Ans: Oedipus Rex.

18. What is a prologue?

Ans: It’s an opening for a literary work and provides background to understand the play’s action.

19. What is a chorus in Greek Plays?

Ans: In Greek Plays, a chorus is a group of men who comment on the moral issues of the play with song, dialogue, and dance.

20. What is Sphinx?

Ans: It is a mythical character with a human head and a lion’s body with bird-like wings.

21. Why was Creon sent to the Oracle of Delphi?

Ans: Creon was sent to the Oracle of Delphi to seek help from Apollo to overcome the existing famine.

22. Who killed Laius?

Ans: Oedipus killed Laius.

23. What accusation did Oedipus bring against Creon?

Ans: Oedipus accused Creon of treachery.

24. What truth did the messenger from Corinth disclose?

Ans: He disclosed that King Polybus is no more and Oedipus is to be on the throne.

25. How did Oedipus blind himself?

Ans: He blinded himself with the golden brooches pinned with Jocasta’s dress.

26. How many children did Oedipus have?

Ans: Four children, including two sons and two daughters.

27. What was Delphi famous for?

Ans: Delphi is famous for the oracle of Apollo and its accurate predictions of the future.

28. What is the tragic flaw of Oedipus?

Ans: He faces tragedy for his excessive pride.

29. What is a hamartia or tragic flaw?

Ans: Hamartia stands for the errors which lead the hero and heroine to his or her downfall.

30. What is the meaning of the word “Oedipus”?

Ans: “Oedipus” means swollen foot.

As You Like It

31. What is an epilogue?

Ans: It is the ending of a literary writing.

32. Who is ‘you’ in the title As You Like It?

Ans: “You” refers to someone wanting to fall in love.

33. What is the theme of Amiens’ song “Blow, blow thou winter wind”?

Ans: Betrayal and bitter realities of human life.

34. Who is Duke Senior?

Ans: He is the elder brother of Duke Fredrick and the father of Rosalind.

35. Why did Orlando suffer at the hands of Oliver?

Ans: Orlando suffered at the hands of Oliver because of Oliver’s hatred of him.

36. Whose daughter is Celia?

Ans: Celia is the daughter of Duke Frederick.

37. Why does Duke Frederick banish Rosalind?

Ans: Duke Fredrick is envious of Rosalind’s popularity and banishes her.

38. Who was Jaques?

Ans: He is one of the Duke Senior’s patricians who lives with him in the Forest of Arden.

39. Why did Rosalind and Celia try to dissuade Orlando from wrestling?

Ans: Rosalind and Celia try to discourage Orlando from wrestling because they think he is too young and the chances are not in his favour.

40. What had Touchstone done in a fit of lovesickness?

Ans: Touchstone, swallowed by love, smashed his sword on a stone he mistook for a rival. He kissed a wooden stick and a cow’s udder, graced by her touch. He even wooed a plant as his beloved’s likeness.

আরো পড়ুনঃ Describe the Bedroom Episode (বাংলায়)

41. Who is Sir Rowland de Boys’?

Ans: He is the father of Oliver and Orlando.

42. What is Rosalind’s name in disguise?

Ans: Ganymede.

43. Who says Sweet are the uses of adversity?

Ans: Duke Senior.

44. Who loves Audrey before the arrival of Touchstone in the Forest of Arden?

Ans: William.

45. Why did Rosalind and Celia go to the Forest of Arden?

Ans: Duke Fredrick banishes Rosalind, and she goes to the forest of Arden. Celia accompanies her as she is passionate about Rosalind.

46. Who is Rosalind?

Ans: Rosalind is the heroine of As You Like It and the daughter of Duke Senior.

47. Who is Duke Frederick?

Ans: He is the younger brother of Duke Senior.

48. Who is Celia?

Ans: Celia is the daughter of Duke Frederick and cousin of Rosalind.

49. Who is Touchstone?

Ans: Touchstone is a court fool and a clown.

50. Who is Orlando?

Ans: Orlando is a younger brother of Oliver and the hero of the play As You Like It.

51. Who is Audrey?

Ans: She is a simple country woman in love with William and later with Touchtone.

52. Why did Oliver hate Orlando?

Ans: Oliver hated Orlando due to his popularity.

53. Who is Charles?

Ans: He is a professional wrestler.

54. Where is the daughter of Duke Senior after his banishment?

Ans: She is in the court.

55. What sports does Rosalind plan to be merry?

Ans: The game of falling in love to be merry.

56. What does Rosalind say about the Goddesses of Nature and Fortune?

Ans: She says, “Indeed, there is Fortune too hard for Nature when Fortune makes Nature’s natural the cutter-off of Nature’s wit.”

57. What does Rosalind give Orlando, and why?

Ans: Rosalind gives Orlando a chain from her neck as a gift for his victory against the professional wrestler Charles.

58. What does the name ‘Aliena’ mean?

Ans: The name ‘Aliena’ means stranger.

59. What does the name ‘Ganymede’ suggest?

Ans: In Greek mythology, Ganymede was a Trojan youth who was so beautiful that he was carried off to be Zeus’ cup-bearer and made immortal.

60. Why is Duke Senior in the Forest of Arden?

Ans: Being banished by his younger brother, Duke Fredrick, Duke Senior is in the forest of Arden.

61. “Sweet are the uses of adversity.” Explain it.

Ans: It means that we mustn’t lose heart when life presents challenges; instead, embrace them as opportunities for growth and positivity.

62. Which two things does Rosalind ask from Corin?

Ans: The two things are food and shelter.

63. What is the meaning of Jaques’ “ducdame” song?

Ans: Jacques, in his “ducdame” song, criticizes those who abandon luxury for men’s whims as foolish as an ass and endure forest hardships. They will eventually join Jaques.

64. What does a motley fool mean?

Ans: A fool who wears a multi-coloured dress is called a motley fool.

65. What are the seven stages in a man’s life?

Ans: They are: (1) infancy. (2) childhood, (3) the lover, (4) the soldier, (5) the justice, (6) old age and (7) mental dementia and death.

66. What is a natural philosopher?

Ans: A philosopher who derives arguments from their observations of nature is termed a natural philosopher.

67. Why is Silvius heartbroken? Or, Why is Silvius sad?

Ans: Silvius is in unrequited love with Phebe, who heartlessly rejects his affection and scorns him, leaving him heartbroken and desolate.

68. What advice does Rosalind give to Phebe?

Ans: Rosalind counsels Phebe to apologize to Silvius, display kindness, and consider his proposal, urging her to amend her earlier cruelty.

Arms and The Man

69. “What an army!”-Who says this?

Ans: Bluntschli.

70. Who is Raina’s mother?

Ans: Catherine Petkoff.

71. What is ‘Professional’ to Bluntschli?

Ans: Soldiering is professional to Bluntchli.

72. Who is Louka?

Ans: She is the maid-servant of the Petkoffs.

73. What is the background of Arms and the Man?

Ans: The historical 185 war between Bulgaria and Serbia.

74. What does ‘arms’ in Arms and the Man suggest?

Ans: Arms suggest War.

75. Why does Raina not want to let Bluntschli stay in her room?

Ans: Because he has insulted Sergius.

76. What is Slivinitza?

Ans: A town in western Bulgaria.

77. Who is Chocolate Cream Soldier?

Ans: Captain Bluntschli.

78. What is an anti-romantic comedy?

Ans: A sort of comedy that breaks romantic notions.

79. Where has the title of the play Arms and the Man been taken from?

Ans: From Dryden’s translation of Virgil’s epic The Aeneid, beginning with “Arms and the man Laing.”

80. What was written at the back of the photograph of Raina?

Ans: “Raina, to her Chocolate Cream Soldier: a Souvenir.”

81. Whom does Captain Bluntschli call Don Quixote?

Ans: Bluntschli calls Sergius Don Quixote.

82. What, according to Raina, is ‘higher love”?

Ans: It is a kind of spiritual love which does not allow the lovers to do something ignoble.

83. How old is Raina?

Ans: 23.

84. Why do Raina’s parents agree to marry their daughter off to Bluntschli?

Ans: Raina’s parents agree to marry their daughter to Bluntschli for his vast wealth.

85. Who is the man in the title of the play Arms and the Man?

Ans: Bluntschli.

86. Why did Bluntschli enter Raina’s bedroom?

Ans: To take shelter and save his life from the Bulgarians.

87. When did the Servo-Bulgarian war take place?

Ans: In 1885.

88. Why did G.B. Shaw write Arms and the Man?

Ans: To attack war and its glorification and to prove that marriage is a biological necessity, not romance.

89. From where did Raina derive her romantic ideas about Sergius?

Ans: From her reading of the romantic poetry of Byron and Pushkin, the English and the Russian poets and her seeing of the sentimental operas at Bucharest.

90. What is a cavalry charge?

Ans: It is an attack made by horse soldiers.

91. How old is Captain Bluntschli?

Ans: 34.

আরো পড়ুনঃ Describe the Bedroom Episode (বাংলায়)

92. Who loses the bet on the old coat?

Ans: Petkoff.

93. On what occasions does Raina tell lies?

Ans: Raina tells lies twice. (i) She lied to the Russian offer to save Bluntschli from them. (ii) The story of the ice pudding was her second lie.

94. How did Bluntschli know Raina’s real nature of telling lies?

Ans: By his common sense and experience of the world.

95. Who is Nicola?

Ans: He is the man-servant of the Petkoff family.

96. Who is described as a Byronic hero in Arms and the Man?

Ans: Sergius.

97. Why does Louka tell Sergius that she is worth six of Raina?

Ans: She is not as flirtatious and cheating as Raina, making her six times superior to Raina.

98. What is an opera?

Ans: It is a type of drama in which music is fundamental.

99. What kind of girl is Louka?

Ans: She is spirited, proud, and bold.

100. “Nine soldiers out of ten are born fools”-Who is the speaker? Why does he say this?

Ans: The Man who enters Raina’s bedroom at night says this. By these words, he means that most soldiers are very foolish.

101. What is a professional soldier?

Ans: Who takes soldering as a profession is called a professional soldier.

102. Who was Don Quixote?

Ans: Don Quixote was the romantic hero of the novel of the same name by the Spanish writer Cervantes.

103. When was Shaw awarded the Nobel Prize?

Ans: In 1925.

104. What is ‘the New Drama’?

Ans: It differs from the traditional drama that emphasizes ‘natural speech’ and realistic social issues.

105. What is the importance of the year 1885 in Arms and the Man?

Ans: Because the war between Serbia and Bulgaria took place in the year.

106. What is the Dragoman Pass?

Ans: A mountain in the west Bulgaria.

Riders to The Sea

107. What is Donegal?

Ans: Donegal is a country in north Ireland where the body of Michael is recovered.

108. What is a hooker?

Ans: A hooker is a kind of small Irish sailing boat.

109. “No man at all can be living forever, and we must be satisfied.” -Who says this?

Ans: Maurya.

110. How old is Cathleen?

Ans: 20.

111. What will Bartley sell at Connemara?

Ans: Two horses: one is his red mare and another is Michael’s grey pony.

112. Who are the first to die in Riders to the Sea?

Ans: Probably Stephen and Shawn.

113. What is a ‘jobber’?

Ans: A jobber is a broker engaged in selling cattle and horses.

114. How many sons did Maurya have, and who were they?

Ans: Maurya had six sons. They were Stephen, Shawn, Sheamus, Patch, Michael and Bartley.

115. What is Galway fair?

Ans: It is a fair that will take place in Galway, Ireland’s westernmost province, directly opposite the Aran Islands.

116. How did Bartley die?

Ans: Bartley was riding the red mare with the grey pony rushing behind him. The grey pony knocked him into the water, and he was carried by the strong waves to the white rocks and crushed against them.

117. Who are the ‘Riders’ mentioned in the play ‘Riders to the Sea”?

Ans: The ‘riders’ are initially identified as Maurya’s husband, father-in-law, and her six sons. However, the majority of the Aran Islands’ fishermen are riders.

118. What is the message of ‘Riders to the Sea”?

Ans: “No man at all can be living forever, and we must be satisfied.”

119. Where did Michael buy the stick for his mother?

Ans: From Connemara.

120. Who were the surviving children of Maurya at the beginning of the play?

Ans: Cathleen, Nora, and Bartley.

121. What kind of play is ‘Riders to the Sea”?

Ans: It’s a one-act tragedy.

122. Name the sons of Maurya who died in the sea.

Ans: Stephen, Shawn, Sheamus, Patch, Michael and Bartley.

123. Where was the dead body of Michael found?

Ans: On shore in County Donegal, on the Irish mainland north of their home island of Inishmaan.

124. Why does Maurya want Bartley not to sail to Connemara?

Ans: Because she thinks the storm will force the sea to become rough and the boat ride to Connemara will be extremely dangerous.

125. What is Galway Fair famous for?

Ans: For trading cattle or horses and other commodities of the people from around.

126. What does the ‘Holy water’ signify?

Ans: The Holy Water symbolizes purification, sanctity and traditional Catholicism.

127. Why did Bartley want to go to the Galway fair?

Ans: Bartley wanted to go to the Galway fair to sell his horses.

The Lion and The Jewel

128. What is favourite?

Ans: youngest wife of the Bale.

129. Who are the characters in ‘The Lion and the Jewel”?

Ans: The characters in the play are Baroka, Lakunle, Sidi, Sadiku, etc.

130. How old is ‘Sadiku”?

Ans: Nearly 70.

আরো পড়ুনঃ What Supernatural Elements Does J.M. Synge Use in “Riders to the Sea”? (বাংলায়)

131. What does Baroka foresee about the village?

Ans: He will not practice his societal power in the modern village.

132. Which village is Baroka the village chief of?

Ans: Ilujinle.

133. What is Ogun?

Ans: Ogun is the god of war, hunting, and metalworking.

134. What is Lakunle’s future plan?

Ans: He wants to modernize the village.

135. What is ‘ayo”?

Ans: A popular counting game played with seeds on a board with rows of depressions.

136. Who wins the wrestling match?

Ans: Baroka.

137. How does Baroka seduce Sidi?

Ans: Baroka seduces Sidi by defeating the wrestler and telling her his plans to modernize the village.

138. How does Lakunle wish to die?

Ans: He prays to Heaven to strike him dead. He asks Earth to swallow him and requests the lightning to turn him to dust and ashes.

139. What was the name of Baroka’s father?

Ans: Okiki.

140. What is Harmattan?

Ans: The dry, cold wind from the north brings heavy dews and haziness to the mornings of November, December and January.

141. Who is Ailatu?

Ans: Ailatu is the youngest wife of Baroka.

142. What is a pail?

Ans: A pail is a beautifully decorated water pot.

143. What is ‘unwomanly’ to Lakunle?

Ans: Carrying a load on the head is ‘unwomanly’ to Lakunle.

144. Who is “the madman of Ilujinle”?

Ans: Lakunle is “the madman of Ilujinle”.

145. What is the bride price?

Ans: Bride-price is money or property given by the bridegroom to his bride’s family.

146. What is Lakunle’s attitude to bride price?

Ans: He hates it and considers it a savage tradition.

147. To what does Lakunle compare the payment of paying bride price?

Ans: He compares it “To pay the price would be to buy a heifer off the market stall.”

148. Who is Baroka?

Ans: He is the chief of the village of Ilujinle.

149. What genre is The Lion and the Jewel?

Ans: Post-Modernism.

150. Who considers himself to be a Christ figure?

Ans: Lakunle considers himself to be a Christ figure.

151. What does the name ‘Ilujinle’ mean?

Ans: ‘Ilujinle’ means ‘deep or distant village’.

152. Who is Wole Soyinka, and what is her full name?

Ans: She is a Nigerian playwright named Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka.

153. When was Wole Soyinka awarded the Nobel Prize for literature?

Ans: In 1986.