Elective English 2016

(Drama)

Answer Question no. 1 and any three from the rest

1. Write on any five of the following: 6x5= 30

a. Significance of the Bear and Squirrel game in Look Back in Anger

Ans: The game of Bear and Squirrel in Look Back in Anger is a metaphor employed by the
playwright to showcase the world of fantasy in which Jimmy and Alison lives. The game gives
them a way to access a simple affection for each other that they cannot achieve in real life. As
the play opens, it is evident that the marriage between the two individuals is gradually
disintegrating because of the disparity in social classes. Jimmy belongs to a lower class of the
society and he has a hidden anger towards the higher class of the society to which Alison
belongs. Their relationship is a site of class and societal conflict, and this means that their love
becomes fraught with anger and fighting. When they act like animals, whose only concerns are
food, shelter, cleanliness, and sex, they can forget that conflict and feel a simpler version of love
for each other. The fact that they keep stuffed animal versions of the bear and squirrel in the
apartment reflects a childlike innocence that these characters find it difficult to maintain in their
troubled world, but that they still hope for.

b. The reason why Abigail decided to join the nunnery in The Jew of Malta

Ans: Abigail is the daughter of Barabas, the rich jew of Malta. She is an obedient daughter who
does everything her father commanded of her. She pretends to become a nun so as to retrieve her
father’s wealth from the nunnery, which was originally their home. Lodowick, the governor’s
son, loves Abigail but she is in love with Mathias. Both Lodowick and Mathias are good friends.
Barabas knowing the love triangle make a deceitful scheme to take his revenge on the governor
by making Lodowick and Mathias engage in duel fight over her daughter. As intended, both the
gentlemen died in the fight but after Abigail comes to know about her father’s wicked plans she
decides to join the nunnery for real in order to atone for his sin.
c. The importance of the epilogue in Shaw’s Saint Joan.

Ans: The purpose of an Epilogue in a play is to call the attention of the spectators to some salient
features in the theme of the play. In many dramas the Epilogue is written in verse. But the
epilogue of Shaw’s drama Saint Joan is different from the usual epilogues. It is actually another
scene. Shaw could have called it Scene VII instead of ‘epilogue” and avoided some of the
criticism. In the Shaw’s Epilogue, the scene depicted is the dream of one of the characters,
namely, Charles the King who was the Dauphin when the events of the main play took place.
The fact that Joan was canonized is revealed in the Epilogue. Some of the persons who were
dead by that time also appear like the Bishop, the Chaplain, and the Soldier and, of course, Joan.

d. The major love intrigues in Love for Love

Ans: Valentine has fallen under the displeasure of his father by his extravagance, and is besieged
by creditors. His father, Sir Sampson Legend, offers him £4000 (only enough to pay his debts) if
he will sign a bond engaging to make over his right to his inheritance to his younger brother Ben.
Valentine, to escape from his embarrassment, signs the bond. He is in love with Angelica, who
possesses a fortune of her own, but so far she has not yielded to his suit. Sir Sampson has
arranged a match between Ben, who is at sea, and Miss Prue, an awkward country girl, the
daughter of Foresight, a superstitious old fool who claims to be an astrologer. Valentine,
realizing the ruin entailed by the signature of the bond, tries to move his father by submission,
and fails; then pretends to be mad and unable to sign the final deed of conveyance to his brother.
Finally Angelica intervenes. She induces Sir Sampson to propose marriage to her, pretends to
accept, and gets possession of Valentine's bond. When Valentine, in despair at finding that
Angelica is about to marry his father, declares himself ready to sign the conveyance, she reveals
the plot, tears up the bond, and declares her love for Valentine.

e. The episode with Malvio in the dark-room in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

Ans: After Maria, Toby, and their crew trick Malvolio into thinking Olivia loves him and wants
him to behave foolishly, they lock him in a dark room and hold him prisoner. (They get away
with it because Malvolio's behavior leads Olivia to believe he's insane and possessed by
demons.) Once Malvolio's bound in the dark room, Feste pretends the room is as bright as day
and says Malvolio's "mad" or "ignorant" if he believes the room is dark. Darkness, then, becomes
synonymous with Malvolio's supposed insanity

f. Bosola exposure of the secret marriage of the Duchess with Antonio in The Duchess of
Malfi

Ans: Bosola has been kept by Ferdinand, Duchess’ brother, as a spy in her chamber. From time
to time Bosola has to inform Ferdinand about his sister. All this while Bosola has been
suspecting the duchess of having an affair with Antonio and his suspicion of the duchess being
pregnant was confirmed when he deliberately gives the duchess an apricot and she feels sick. But
in order to hide the truth, Antonio spread falsified news that the duchess’ jewels have been stolen
and commanded the palace guards to shut all the gates and confine themselves to their respective
rooms. During the night Bosola sneaks out into the courtyard where he finds Antonio and he is
reprimanded for disobeying the order. As Antonio leaves he drops a piece of paper which
happens to be the note of duchess conceiving a baby. Bosola instantly sends Castrucio to Rome
on the information he has gathered.

2. Discuss the character of Barabas as a villain in The Jew of Malta. 15

Ans: Barabas, extremely revengeful and ambitious character, is the protagonist of the play The
Jew Of Malta. He challenges the power with a great cunning. The accumulated tributes, Malta
has to pay to the Turks, are more than this country can afford, that is why the governor of Malta
is determined to ally to the Catholic Spain if this huge European power keep at bay to the Turks.
Spain would take advantage of the sales of Turkish slaves in Malta and many other advantages in
business. Malta wouldn’t have to pay the tribute to Turkey and could keep the money collected
among its Jew population. This selfishness characterizes all the agreements between the
Mediterranean governments. The word that designates these actions is “politics” and the Jew,
Barabas, perceives this selfishness is the ruler’s main principle: “I, policie? That’s their
profession, /and not simplicity as their suggest.” Besides, the rulers speak frankly about this, as
we can see when Del Bosco is asked “what wind drives you in thus into Malta Rhode? And one
of his Bashaws answered: “the wind that bloweth the entire world besides, /desires of gold.”
In this world in which each nation and each man take care only of their own self-interest, the Jew
of Malta appears at the beginning of the play as victim. Ferneze states Malta as the unique
priority and states this:” to save the ruine of a multitude: /and better one want for a common
good, then many perish for a private man”. But actually, their taxes on the Jews are hugely
unfair. Moreover, Farneze, expect to keep the confiscated fortunes, once the alliance with Spain
lets Malta to avoid the tributes that owes to the Turks. These unfair circumstances give Barabas
the opportunity to create eloquent speeches against intolerance. He reproaches the Christians for
using the scriptures to confirm the measures which go against the Jews: “What? Bring your
scripture to confirm your wrongs? / Preach me not out of my possessions. /some Iewes are
wicked, as all Christians are: / but say the tribe I descended of were all in general cast away for
sinne, / shall I be tried by their transgression? / the man that dealeth righteously shall lieu: /and
which of you can charge me otherwise?”

The references to the bible in this extract emphasize how piteous he shows himself in this
moment. Barabas is right when he calls “theft” and not “taxes” to the requisition of his wealth,
and we cannot avoid feeling affected by his sad situation. The funny thing is that, as a Marlowe’s
dramatic and moral strategy, in the prologue Barabas has been presented as the same Machiavelli
and the Devil’s son, and Machiavelli in the prologue states this: ”I count religion but a childish
toy, /And hold there is no sinne but Ignorance”.

At the very beginning, Barabas is shown as an unbelievable wealthy man and extremely shrewd
and interested just in his own contentment. He is determined to let the Turks to invade Malta and
slaughter everyone, he confesses in a soliloquy, if he would have the opportunity to get away
with the situation.” I’le helpe to slay their children and their wiues, /to fire the churches, pull
their houses downe. /take my goods too, and seize upon my lands.” He is completely decided to
cheat on the others Jews; he also turns his back on his daughter when she abandons her loyalty to
him.

Later on we realize that his former speech about the sad situation of the Jews is just a theatrical
trick created for the situation and refused in his soliloquies, he is a Jew because he was brought
up as a Jew, but he is mainly a Maquiavelli and an immoral figure of vice. This vicious identity
is clearer and clearer along the play, thus the Jew of Malta is developed more by disclosure of
character than by change of personality. Barabas does not change but we progressively discover
how he really is.

Barabas is a hypocrisy and disguise master, and he is surrounded by a group of thugs and
courtesans that turn against him as the same time that he turns against them. His achievements in
conspiracy and politics drives him to rule Malta, making agreements firstly with the Turks and
then with Farneze. Brabas’ evilness is more persistent than even his own life as he lets us know:
“Stand close, for here they come: why, is not this/ a kingly kinde of trade of purchase Townes/
by treachery, and sell ‘em by deceit? /Now tell me, worldlings, underneath the sunne, / If greater
falsehood ever has bin done“. Even in the moment of his death, when he is finally betrayed by
Ferneze, he yearns for longing his wealth and domination and contemplating his Empire once
more as we also saw in Faustus. ”and had I but scap’d this stratagem, /I would have brought
confusion on you all, / Damn Christians, dogges, and Turkish Infidels.” It is interesting how
Marlowe gets Brabas’ huge ambition wakes in the readers a great admiration.

There is no doubt that Barabas received a severe punishment when, at the end, he falls inside a
caldron made by himself; he fell in his own trap and died shouting boastings and challenges.
Anyway, this is an appropriate punishment for a life full of crimes. However, it is difficult to
contemplate his end from an instructive and moral point of view because, Ferneze, his nemesis,
is neither seen as virtuous character. Although he wants to look pious, (“No, Barabas, to staine
our hands with blood / is farre from us and our profession”) he believes in his own policy, which
has overcome Barabas evilness. He defeats Barabas by betraying him and then attributes his
victory to God. This is an act typical of Maquiavelli’s disciple, who assigns the highest value to
the State survival and uses religion as a mean for shaping the public opinion. If Farneze is an
important figure in this play, is not because of his Christian virtue but because of his
Maquiavellic virtue

Maybe, Marlowe is inviting us to admire this shrewd governor whose policy ensures Malta’s
survival and Barabas’ destruction. Marlowe destroys Barabas just for showing the strength of a
really Maquiavellic strategist. Marlowe presents to his Elizabethan audiences a proposal which
completely disagrees with any religious doctrine.

3. Critically discuss Saint Joan as a historical play.

Ans: Shaw has authentically portrayed St. Joan, taking into consideration all the earlier records
available to us through the translation of T. Douglas Murray. Many of the remarks of Joan in the
play are the same as set down in the long records of the trial. Joan’s meeting with Baudricourt
and Dauphin, the siege of Orleans, the coronation at Rheims, her trial recantation and its
withdrawal, her burning at the stake and the incident of accepting a cross offered by an English
soldier and many other details have been faithfully and truthfully presented by Shaw in his play.

Many have written books on Joan and her activities but the facts have been interpreted
differently by different writers. Highly scurrilous remarks are found in Shakespeare’s play in
presenting the maid. Schiller’s account has no bearing on the historical facts. Voltaire gives us a
ridiculous picture. Marc Twain’s presentation is excessive adulation. Anatole France expresses
disbelief in her miraculous achievements; Andrew Lang does not differentiate her from hard
headed brawny military Generals.

‘Saint Joan’ is a drama, it is not mere transcript of history, but an imaginative treatment of the
facts of history blended with fiction. In spite of much authenticity, there is much modification in
details and minor matters, much shifting, ordering, condensing and compressing of material. In
this way this historic play is a blend of fact and fiction.

“Joan of Arc, a village girl from Domrémy, was born in about 1412; burnt for heresy, witchcraft,
and sorcery in 1431… declared Blessed in 1908; and finally canonized in 1920. She is the most
notable Warrior Saint in the Christian calendar, and the queerest fish among the eccentric
worthies of the Middle Ages.” These are Shaw’s words to describe Jeanne d’Arc. She was a
teenage peasant girl who crowned a reluctant king, rallied a broken people, reversed the course
of a great war, and pushed history onto a new path. Both warrior and mystic, reviled as a heretic
and witch, revered as a savior and eventual as a saint, Joan of Arc strikes a chord in history that
reverberates across the centuries and calls out to us even today. She is a woman about whom
Shaw said there were only two opinions: “One was that she was miraculous; the other that she
was unbearable.”

In Shakespeare’s Henry VI, the presentation of the Maid ends in mere scurrility, Schiiller’s
account of her has no contact with history and Voltire has made her ridiculous. But as for Saint
Joan of Shaw, she was gifted with sound commonsense, and her cuccessful plans were rational
and wise; but her faith is religion was mystical. “Her powers were human, but her confidence
was devine.” “ The romance of Joan’s rise, the tragedy of her execution, and the comedy of the
attempts of posterity to make amends for that execution,” have been presented with rare fidelity.

In the preface, Shaw says, “to understand Joan’s history, it is not enough to understand her
character; you must understand her environment as well.” It is true that the truth to history has
been achieved by medieval atmosphere. He himself has taken care, “to let the medieval
atmosphere blow through my play freely.” He brought the medieval institution like the church,
the Holy Inquisition, the Feudalism, the divine inspiration, the torture, the executioner etc. the
medieval atmosphere has been further accentuated by light skillful touches . The credulity of the
Middle Ages, their superstitions, as belief in witchcraft and magic, their faith in religion, God
and miracles, have all been emphasized.

Shifting and Ordering of Material; Character- Creation: Saint Joan is not a mere transcript or
photographic reproduction of history. It is a work of art and as such in the interest of dramatic
effectiveness, the dramatist has restored to much ordering and selection of material. While the
records of the trial mere accurate and elaborate, and so very helpful, the dramatist could not get
much help from history as regards his characters. They are all historical figures, no doubt, but
not much could be known about their character and personality. The dramatist has himself to fill
up and amplify the barest hints that he could get from history. As he himself tells us, "But I
really know no more about there men...for them Shakespeare's manner." the minor characters
specially are, therefore, admirable pieces of character -creation. Besides this, he was limited by
the facts of stage-representation. It was for this reason that he has indulged in much condensation
and compression of material. The trial of Joan and her burning at the stake have been presented
in the drama as the business merely of half and hour or so, while in reality the trial of the Maid
dragged on for more than a year

Shaw used the records of the original trial and appeals preserved by the Roman Catholic Church
as his primary sources for the play. Saint Joan’s story has been told in poetry, novels, plays, and
films in many different ways and with many different views of her as a person. Very little was
known about her even in her own time and no pictures remain or perhaps ever existed. Her story
has often been romanticized. Shaw’s play may very well be closer to the truth than most other
versions were.
4. Discuss the role of mistaken identity in in Twelfth Night

The ploy of mistaken identity is the main device behind the plot of the two
Shakespearean comedies “Comedy of Errors” and “Twelfth Night”. Both plays deal with twin
characters whose identity is mistaken by one or more of the characters in the play. Shakespeare
obviously used the Plautine comedies as a source in his writings of both comedies. Furthermore,
we can also account that he used his early comedy “Comedy of Errors” as a source for “Twelfth
Night”, because of the use of the twins and the mistaken identity in the plot. Although the major
difference is that the twins in “Twelfth Night” are not completely identical since they are a boy
and a girl. With this he takes the basic concept deeper than he has before, since a twin girl is not
likely to be mistaken for her twin brother. This only happens because she has chosen to disguise
herself into a man. Anyhow, identical twins or not, their resemblance is also used as a device in
the plot, just as in “Comedy of Errors”.

In “Twelfth Night” the confusing situations for the other characters with the identity of the
disguised Viola – as a man called Cesario –only start arising near the end of the play, when her
twin brother Sebastian arrives at the premises of Olivia. Of course, Viola herself knows that her
identity is being mistaken because she is aware of the fact that she has deliberately disguised
herself as a man. She knows this, but the other characters don’t. She finds herself in difficult
situations, especially when Viola falls in love with her not knowing that she is a woman, and this
arises inner questions of identity with Viola herself. However, the confusing situations her
mistaken identity causes with the others only start when Sebastian comes into the same
environment as Viola. Olivia, in the belief that Sebastian is actually Cesario, asks him to marry
her and Sebastian, who is completely confused since he has never seen Olivia before, accepts the
proposal overwhelmed by her beauty. But of course, Sebastian is not Cesario.

“ OLIVIA: Whither, my lord? Cesario, husband, stay.

DUKE: Husband?

OLIVIA: Ay, husband; can he that deny?

DUKE: Her husband, sirrah?

VIOLA/CESARIO: No, my lord, not I.” (V,1, 138-143)

It has already become clear that the concept of mistaken identity is not entirely similar in both
plays. The use of the device of mistaken identity, in which a character is supposed to be someone
other than himself by one or more of the other characters, can be of two different ways.
Sometimes the error of mistaking someone for someone else is purely fortuitous, and sometimes
it is the result of intentional disguise. In the “Comedy of Errors”, the errors are purely fortuitous,
nature alone has conspired to ridicule human complacency, for out of the sea, that Shakespearean
symbol of the mysterious and the uncontrollable, come two doppelgangers. In “Twelfth Night”
however, Viola intentionally disguises herself as a man and takes on the name of Cesario. She
also has a twin brother, who gets mistaken for Cesario but only at the end of the play. She
actually is a woman, disguised as a man, and the rest of the characters mistake her for being a
man. In either case, this unlikely expansion of a classical formula is a nightmare for the victims
but fun for the audience, who sit like Gods on Olympus, and laugh with the ignorance of these
petty human beings on the stage. In actual life, however, it is far more likely to be deceived by an
intentional false disguise than that of a fortuitous mistake, for the latter one is more likely to be
cleared up, if not by a close look at clothes and facial expressions, then at least by a few
conversations with the person in question. Of course, when we think about the clothes and
lifestyle of the Elizabethan upper class, with its artificiality of dress (which left almost no part of
the body its natural shape), the wide use of face-painting and grotesque wigs, masks and veils,
we can safely say that they must have hindered a proper recognition. As Shakespeare keeps on
striving towards the perfection of this theatrical device of mistaken identity, we observe that his
comedies of the second period, including “Twelfth Night” represent a greater realism: the
mistakes are all intentional disguises. As far as possible, we are also made to feel that these
deceptions would have probably succeeded in real life as well. Something else worth
mentioning, is that in “Twelfth Night” Viola disguises as a boy and therefore has to dress like
one. However, in Shakespeare’s times women were not allowed to perform on stage in the world
of theatre. So, Viola’s part was in those times already played by a boy, which makes the
disguising aspect a lot more easier than dressing up as Viola since the actor in question just had
to dress like a man would usually do. Furthermore, by making the twin girl Viola transform into
a man, being something she is not, he sends the message that the sexes are arbitrary. In “Twelfth
Night” he alters the identity of a female individual and he uses this disguise, just as he uses the
fortuitous error of mistaking identity in “Comedy of Errors”, to heighten irony, develop theme
and enhance a comic innuendo.

the concept of mistaken identity, plays centre on the twins, whose mistaken identity offers the
main element for the plot and theme. However, when we look a little closer at the comedy of
“Twelfth Night” we come to realize that the concept of mistaken identity is not only applied to
the twins, but also to some of the other characters. Malvolio is fooled into believing that Feste,
who is disguised as a preacher, is actually Sir Topas the curate.

“MARIA: Nay, I prithee, put on this gown and this / beard; make him believe thou art Sir Topas
the / curate; do it quickly. I’ll call Sir Toby the whilst.

CLOWN: Well, I’ll put it on, and I will dissemble / myself in’t; and I would I were the first that
ever dissembled / in such a gown.” (IV, 2, 1- 6)

Also Malvolio himself disguises in new garments in the hopes of winning Olivia and becoming a
nobleman. The multiple disguises that occur in the play are all accomplished with the change of
garments. Viola dresses up like a man, Feste like a preacher, and Malvolio like a nobleman. The
garments in the play are a symbol of the changes in gender as well as in class distinction.

Through these disguises, the play raises questions about our real identity, about what makes us
who we really are. Are things like gender and class written in stone or is it possible that they can
be altered? As we see, Shakespeare takes the concept of mistaken identity to a much deeper level
than in the “Comedy of Errors”. The audience is challenged to think about these questions that
are raised, to consider the place of women in society and the ambiguity of gender, whilst in
“Comedy of Errors” the device of mistaken identity is used mainly for farce.

The mistaking of identity also has an influence on the concept of love. In “Twelfth Night” Viola
falls for the Duke Orsino, but it is impossible for her to pursue her feelings since she is
pretending to be a man. Due to their mistaken identities, neither one of them sees their love
returned because they are mistaken for someone they are not. It is not until the end of the play
when their real identity is cleared up that both can be with the people they love and live happily.

Although both comedies centre on the mistaken identity of twin characters, it should have
become clear that this concept is not exactly the same in both Shakespearean comedies.
Shakespeare borrowed the device from the Classics, adapting it to his own means. In the
“Comedy of Errors” he is as bold to add a second set of twins, the twin Dromios, to make the
whole play even more confusing. He takes this basic concept even deeper with his comedy of
“Twelfth Night” where he makes the twins a boy and a girl and bases the theatrical device on
intentional disguise. But the ploy of mistaken identity still remains an ideal ingredient for a
crowd-pleasing comedy, accounting for multiple humorous situations. Another important
element mentioned are the consequences their mistaken identity arouses. Again, Shakespeare
treats these in a slightly different way in both plays. In the “Comedy of Errors” Shakespeare lets
the anarchy and confusion start at the very beginning of the play, whereas in “Twelfth Night” the
other characters only start to get confused close to the end, when Sebastian comes to the scene.
But, we can not say that there are no consequences and confusion before Sebastian’s occurrence
on the scene. There are, but of a different kind. Viola intentionally disguised herself as a man,
which accounts for a number of difficult situations she has to handle, like the one when she
realizes she loves Orsino but can not tell him because he believes that she is in fact a man. This
change of identity leaves Viola with a lot of inner confusions and fear of how to handle the
situations. Of course, at the end everything will be resolved with Sebastian taking over the
aspects of Viola’s disguise that she no longer needs to wear. It is he that has actually married
Olivia and who is actually male.

The concept of mistaken identity is taken deeper by Shakespeare by his use of intentional
disguise. In the “Comedy of Errors” the errors are purely fortuitous, whilst in “Twelfth Night”
they are a result of intentional disguise. The latter is far more plausible to happen in everyday
life, and therefore we can conclude that “Twelfth Night” presents a greater realism. The use
mistaken identity plots makes the character go through a learning process in which he will come
to understand himself and his situation a lot better than before. And this is an essential aspect of
life…

5. What, according to you, is a Comedy of Manners? Does Love for Love fall into this
category? Give reasons for your answer?

Comedy of Manners is a dramatic comedy that depicts and often satirizes the manners and
affectations of a contemporary society. A comedy of manners is concerned with social usage and
the question of whether or not characters meet certain social standards. Often the governing
social standard is morally trivial but exacting. The plot of such a comedy, usually concerned with
an illicit love affair or similarly scandalous matter, is subordinate to the play’s brittle
atmosphere, witty dialogue, and pungent commentary on human foibles. The comedy of
manners, which was usually written by sophisticated authors for members of their own social
class, has historically thrived in periods and societies that combined material prosperity and
moral latitude.

One of the greatest exponents of the comedy of manners was Molière, who satirized the
hypocrisy and pretension of 17th-century French society in such plays as L’École des femmes
(1662; The School for Wives) and Le Misanthrope (1666; The Misanthrope). In England the
comedy of manners had its great day during the Restoration period. Although influenced by Ben
Jonson’s comedy of humours, the Restoration comedy of manners was lighter, defter, and more
vivacious in tone. Playwrights declared themselves against affected wit and acquired follies and
satirized these qualities in caricature characters with label-like names such as Sir Fopling Flutter
(in Sir George Etherege’s Man of Mode, 1676) and Tattle (in William Congreve’s The Old
Batchelour, 1693). The masterpieces of the genre were the witty, cynical, and epigrammatic
plays of William Wycherley (The Country-Wife, 1675) and William Congreve (The Way of the
World, 1700). In the late 18th century Oliver Goldsmith (She Stoops to Conquer, 1773) and
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (The Rivals, 1775; The School for Scandal, 1777) revived the form.

Love for Love is a comedy about love and money. It involves a romantic triangle between
Valentine, his father Sir Sampson, and the woman they both fall in love with: Angelica. Things
get really messy when Sir Sampson, who is mad at his son for wasting so much money, proposes
to Angelica. Love for Love is a typical Restoration comedy. In it we find the usual themes of
romance, trickery and a focus on social class and social hypocrisy.

This play is also based on relations and the consequence of thoughtless actions. Valentine has
fallen under the displeasure of his father by his extravagance, and is besieged by creditors. His
father, Sir Sampson Legend, offers him £4000 which is only enough to pay his debts if he will
sign a bond engaging to make over his right to his inheritance to his younger brother Ben.
Valentine, to escape from his embarrassment, signs the bond. He is in love with Angelica, who
possesses a fortune of her own, but so far she has not yielded to his suit. Sir Sampson has
arranged a match between Ben, who is at sea, and Miss Prue, an awkward country girl, the
daughter of Foresight, a superstitious old fool who claims to be an astrologer. Valentine,
realizing the ruin entailed by the signature of the bond, tries to move his father by submission,
and fails; then pretends to be mad and unable to sign the final deed of conveyance to his brother.
Finally Angelica intervenes. She induces Sir Sampson to propose marriage to her, pretends to
accept, and gets possession of Valentine's bond. When Valentine, in despair at finding that
Angelica is about to marry his father, declares himself ready to sign the conveyance, she reveals
the plot, tear up the bond, and declares her love for Valentine.

6. Examine the relationship between Jimmy and Alison in Look back in anger

Ans: The relationship between Alison and Jimmy started off badly. They met at a party where
there were a lot of high-class people and Jimmy stood out as the man, who came in a worn jacket
and battered trousers. He was educated but not educated enough to fit in the group of people they
called higher-class. That is why Alison noticed him and that is why he could not stop staring at
her. She was everything he despised but at the same time he felt this wild attraction because she
was so subtle and elegant. Nothing seemed to bother her or at least she hid it very well. She
was taught to hide her feelings no matter what. He on the other hand was so
impulsive and appeared so rough that all the ladies could not help, but gaze at this somewhat
attractive man.

Their marriage presented a shock for many people. She was an upper-class girl in her
early twenties who used to live by the book of rules. He was a young stallion who could not be
tamed and used every single opportunity he had to express his rebellious beliefs. Here we can
face a great gap between two social classes. After they got married they moved into an apartment
in Poplar where they shared their private life with Jimmy ́s friend, Hugh Tanner. That was a bad
idea for they should have had some time to get to know each other, not to embark into
a relationship triangle without knowing anything about how to lead a married life. After Hugh
left, Jimmy ́s rage fell upon Alison for he blamed her for Hugh ́s departure. Later on, they met
Cliff and together with Jimmy they opened up a sweet stall. Now Alison occupied the spot
suitable for the wife of a working-class man. She was doing laundry, cleaning up
Jimmy ́s mess, ironing their clothes without complaining. Jimmy blamed her for that. She was
quiet and accepted everything that had come upon her for she had been taught that way. Jimmy
was mad at her because he wanted her to scream and show if she is angry or sad, not to just gaze
into every day as if she had no feelings at all. He said at one occasion, he wished she would
become pregnant and would lose her baby, so she could finally become a human being and show
how a loss could affect her too. The dramatic irony is, she really lost the baby she was carrying
for some months. Before the incident with her baby, she had left Jimmy. Helena occupied her
spot and Alison left with her father because she could not take his insults and
abuses anymore. When he pushed Cliff into her so she hit the ironing board and burnt herself,
she knew something had to be done if she wishes to keep the child who was growing inside of
her. After some time she returned because she felt so empty inside now that she lost the one
thing that could bring her joy and happiness, that one reminder of her relationship with Jimmy.
After she had put up Jimmy ś ignorant behavior for he did not want to admit he is actually glad
she returned, she finally started screaming at him, weeping and expressing all her pain. He
finally saw the damage he is doing to her although we cannot say he really
understood it. He tries to console her with the bear and squirrel game. They were no normal
couple nor had they pretended to be. The game gives them a way to access a simple affection for
each other that they cannot achieve in real life. When they act like animals, whose only concerns
are food, shelter, cleanliness, and sex, they can forget that conflict and feel a simpler version of
love for each other. The fact that they keep stuffed animal versions of the bear and squirrel in the
apartment reflects a childlike innocence that these characters find it difficult to maintain in their
troubled world, but that they still hope for.