This document provides an overview and summaries of various literary works and topics within Renaissance literature, English literature, Indian writing in English, modernist literature, American literature, post-colonial literature, and African literature. Some of the works discussed include Shakespeare's Hamlet, Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, Sheridan and Goldsmith's comedies, T.P. Kailasam's The Purpose, Beckett's Waiting for Godot, Pinter's The Birthday Party, O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra, Cesaire's A Tempest, and Soyinka's The Swamp Dweller. For each work or topic, key elements like themes, characters, and literary aspects are

1. Topic: Plays
Prepared by: Drashti Mehta
PG Enrollment No:PG13101021
Course M.A.
Email id: drashti.mehta.111993@gmail.com
Submitted to: Smt. S.B. Gardi, Department of
English,Maharaja KrishnakumarsinghjiBhavnagar
University
Bhavnagar University
Bhavnagar(Gujarat-India)

2. The Renaissance
Literature
• “A story of exceptional
calamity leading to the death
of a man occupying a high
position or status”.
• Shakespeare’s Conception of
Tragedy
• Concept of Madness
• Cross examination of Sanity
and Insanity
• View of Psycho
• Shock
• Hamlet’s control over his
Mind
• Soliloquies which are his self
communing, express a
sensitive and wide awake
moral conscious
• Balanced mind
• Decisive Power
• Quick temper
• Shakespeare- a psychologist
• Brutality
• Ophelia’s Conduct
• Feminism
• “Frailty Thy name is Woman”
Hamlet
William Shakespeare

3. Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlow
• Good V/S Evil
• Knowledge
• Power
• Power Corrupts
• Man V/S God
• Legend
• Religious aim
• Disobedience
• Dilemma in Faustus
• Maturity at the end
• Will of Dr. Faustus
• “Knowledge is Power, but
Power Corrupts and Absolute
Power Corrupts Absolutely”.

4. The Anti-sentimental Comedy
• Sheridan and Goldsmith:
The School for Scandal
The Rivals
She Stoops to Conquer

5. Indian Writing in English
• The Purpose- T.P.
Kailasm
• Original Character of
Eklavya- Eklavya of
Purpose
• Modern Eklavya
• Learned Archery
• The Best Archer
• Eklavya’s Guru Daxina
• Arjuna in The Purpose
• Arjuna’s education
• Rivalary
• Pride
• Arjuna at the Beginning
of the play-at the end
of the play
• Envy of Arjuna
• Comparison of Arjuna-
Eklavya

6. Modernist Literature
• Waiting for Godot-
Samuel Backet
• Theatre of Absurd
• Theme of Waiting
• Godot’s Character never
appears
• Modern play
• Setting
• Props
• Time
• Nothingness

7. The Birthday Party-Harold Pinter
• Absurdity
• One man’s story
• Tragedy
• Black comedy
• Birthday- Ambiguity

8. The American Literature
• Eugene O’Neill- Mourning Becomes Electra
• Electra complex
• Oedipus complex
• Study of American society
• Relation of Mother-Daughter
• Son- Mother
• Father- Daughter

9. Post Colonial Literature
• A Tempest- Aime
Cesaire
• The Tempest- A
Tempest
• Mullato- Black
• Racism

10. The African Literature
• The Swamp Dweller-
Wole Soyinka
• Setting of Swamp
• Poverty
• Theme of an waiting