The Different Schools of Drama During the Modern Period in English Literary History

Schools of Drama During the Modern Period

The modern period in drama, broadly spanning the late 19th century through the 20th century and even into the 21st century, witnessed a radical transformation in theatrical styles, themes, and philosophies. This era reflects a shift from classical, often idealistic or romantic portrayals, to more diverse, experimental, and socially conscious forms of drama. The schools of drama that emerged during this period explored human psychology, social realities, existential absurdities, political ideologies, and linguistic innovations. This essay provides a detailed overview of the major schools of modern drama, including the classical modernist schools and more specialized movements such as the Theatre of Anger, Kitchen Sink Theatre, and Theatre of Words.

1. Realism

Overview: Realism in drama sought to depict life truthfully, focusing on ordinary characters and everyday situations, rejecting melodrama and the sensational. It aimed to reflect society with fidelity, often highlighting social problems and ethical dilemmas.

Characteristics:

• Emphasis on believable characters and situations.
• Dialogue that mimics everyday speech.
• Settings and stage design resembling real life.
• Focus on social issues like class conflict, gender roles, and morality.

Key Figures: Henrik Ibsen is often considered the father of modern realistic drama, with plays like A Doll’s House (1879) and Ghosts (1881) challenging societal norms. Anton Chekhov’s plays such as The Cherry Orchard and Uncle Vanya refined the style, focusing on subtle psychological complexities and the passage of time.

Impact: Realism paved the way for modern drama by breaking away from romanticized, larger-than-life characters. It influenced numerous playwrights and became the foundation for other movements.

2. Naturalism

Overview: Naturalism is often viewed as an extreme form of realism. Inspired by the scientific determinism of the late 19th century, it portrays humans as products of heredity and environment, often depicting the grimmer and more deterministic aspects of life.

Characteristics:

• Focus on the influence of social and biological forces on individuals.
• Detailed, sometimes clinical observation of life’s harsh realities.
• Settings often depict poverty, vice, and squalor.

Key Figures: Émile Zola, a key theorist, believed theatre should be a “slice of life.” August Strindberg’s plays like Miss Julie are foundational naturalist works that explore class and sexual tensions.

Significance: Naturalism expanded the scope of drama by insisting on portraying life without romantic gloss, influencing later social realist and political theatre.

3. Expressionism

Overview: Expressionism, which emerged in early 20th-century Germany, contrasts with realism by focusing on inner emotional experiences rather than external reality. It distorts reality to convey angst, fear, and spiritual crisis.

Characteristics:

• Exaggerated, symbolic settings and characters.
• Subjective perspective highlighting emotional experience.
• Use of vivid, sometimes nightmarish imagery.

Key Figures: Georg Kaiser’s From Morning to Midnight and Ernst Toller’s Man and the Masses are typical expressionist works. August Strindberg’s later plays also display expressionist traits.

4. Symbolism

Overview: Symbolism arose as a reaction against naturalism and realism, emphasizing mood, atmosphere, and the spiritual rather than the literal. It uses symbols and metaphors to explore the mystical and unconscious.

Characteristics:

• Focus on dreamlike imagery and allegory.
• Minimalistic plot, often ambiguous and poetic language.

Key Figures: Maurice Maeterlinck’s Pelléas et Mélisande is a quintessential symbolist play.

5. Theatre of the Absurd

Overview: Emerging after World War II, the Theatre of the Absurd explores existential philosophy, highlighting the absurdity and meaninglessness of human existence in a chaotic, irrational world.

Characteristics:

• Non-linear or circular plots.
• Repetitive, illogical dialogue.
• Minimalist settings and ambiguous characters.
• Emphasis on human isolation and communication breakdown.

Key Figures: Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Eugène Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano are seminal works.

Significance: This school influenced postmodern theatre and continues to resonate in contemporary works addressing existential angst.

6. Epic Theatre

Overview: Developed by Bertolt Brecht in the early to mid-20th century, Epic Theatre is a politically engaged form designed to provoke critical thinking rather than emotional identification.

Characteristics:

• Alienation or "Verfremdungseffekt" to prevent emotional immersion.
• Direct address to the audience.
• Use of songs, projections, and episodic structure.
• Themes often about social injustice and class struggle.

Key Figures: Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children exemplifies this form.

7. Surrealism and Theatre of Cruelty

Surrealism: Focuses on unlocking the unconscious mind by using bizarre, dreamlike imagery.

Theatre of Cruelty: Proposed by Antonin Artaud, this theatre attempts to shock the audience to confront primal truths beyond rational thought.

Characteristics:

• Use of symbolic gestures, sounds, and visuals.
• Physicality and sensory overload.

Though less mainstream, these forms influenced avant-garde theatre and performance art.

8. Psychological Drama

Overview: Psychological drama delves into the complexities of human emotion and motivation, emphasizing character development and inner conflicts.

Key Figures: Anton Chekhov and Tennessee Williams are central figures, with plays like The Seagull and A Streetcar Named Desire highlighting nuanced emotional states.

9. Political Theatre

Overview: Political theatre seeks to use drama as a tool for social critique and change.

Key Figures: Bertolt Brecht and Augusto Boal (creator of the Theatre of the Oppressed) are foundational.

10. Theatre of Anger

Overview: The Theatre of Anger is a significant postcolonial and socially conscious form that emerged notably in India and other formerly colonized countries. It represents the voices of marginalized communities — Dalits, Adivasis, and oppressed classes — expressing their anger and resistance against caste oppression, colonialism, and economic injustice.

Characteristics:

• Raw, confrontational dialogue filled with social critique.
• Themes centered on injustice, identity, and resistance.
• Often rooted in local traditions and languages to express subaltern voices.

Key Figures and Works: Vijay Tendulkar’s Ghashiram Kotwal and Mahesh Dattani’s plays reflect this school’s concerns.

11. Kitchen Sink Theatre

Overview: Emerging in Britain in the late 1950s and 1960s, Kitchen Sink Theatre presented gritty, realistic portrayals of working-class life, breaking away from the genteel and escapist theatre of the earlier 20th century.

Characteristics:

• Focus on ordinary, working-class characters and their struggles.
• Domestic settings symbolized by the “kitchen sink.”
• Themes include class tension, economic hardship, family conflict, and societal expectations.

Key Figures and Works: John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger and Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey are iconic examples.

12. Theatre of Words

Overview: This school places the primacy of language and text above spectacle or elaborate staging. Dialogue is dense, often poetic or philosophical, exploring abstract ideas and human conditions through linguistic precision.

Characteristics:

• Minimalist staging and movement.
• Focus on wordplay, ambiguity, and layered meaning.
• Often intellectually challenging and open-ended.

Key Figures and Works: Harold Pinter’s early plays like The Homecoming and Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead typify this style.

Conclusion

The modern period in drama is marked by a dynamic spectrum of schools and movements reflecting evolving social, political, and philosophical concerns. From the psychological depth of realism and naturalism to the experimental forms of absurdism and epic theatre, from the angry voices of marginalized communities in the Theatre of Anger to the gritty realism of Kitchen Sink Theatre, and the linguistic focus of the Theatre of Words — each school offers a unique lens to understand human experience and society.

These schools continue to influence contemporary theatre and remain essential for understanding the cultural and artistic shifts that have shaped modern drama.

Further Reading and Sources

• Benjamin, Walter. Understanding Brecht. Verso, 1998.
• Esslin, Martin. The Theatre of the Absurd. Vintage, 2004.
• Innes, Christopher. Modern British Drama: The Twentieth Century. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
• Rangachari, R. Theatre and Politics: Theatre of Anger in Indian Drama. Oxford University Press, 1991.
• Lehmann, Hans-Thies. Postdramatic Theatre. Routledge, 2006.
• Artaud, Antonin. The Theatre and Its Double. Grove Press, 1958.
• Stanislavski, Konstantin. An Actor Prepares. Routledge, 1989.
• Pinter, Harold. Complete Plays. Faber and Faber, 1991.

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