Direction: Study the passage carefully and answer the questions out of the set of options given after each question.
The playwright has special restrictions not imposed on the novelist or short-story writer. He is firmly restricted in time by the patience and endurance of the audience. He is restricted in space by the physical limitations of the stage and the kind of visual backgrounds his theatre affords. And he is restricted in subject matter by the interests and capacities of his audience. He must catch his audience’s attention at once and hold it steadily. However casual a speech may seem, every word must count. Every speech not only reveals character but hints at something to come or carries the situation forward.
Form the very first line, the playwright must put his story into motion. At the same time, he gives the audience the information that is necessary for an understanding of what is happening—who the people are, how they are related to each other and what problems they are going to face. But these detailed explanations cannot be dull and routine. They must come easily to the surface as the action progresses.
1. A suitable title for the passage can be
(A) All Play And Little Work
(B) The Limitations of a Playwright
(C) The Play and the Novel
(D) All the World Is a Stage
2. The playwright is restricted by
(i) time (ii) money crunch (iii) limitation of stage (iv) tastes of the audience
(A) (i), (ii) & (iii)
(B) (ii), (iii) & (iv)
(C) (i), (iii) & (iv)
(D) all the four.
3. The success of a playwright often depends on
(A) his ability to catch the audience’s attention.
(B) spicy and sparkling dialogues
(C) strong characters.
4. These detailed explanations cannot be dull and routine’ refers to
(A) details of stage setting and scenery
(B) details of characters, action and their problems
(C) information about the theme and conflict
5. These details should come
(A) at the beginning
(B) progressively as the play unfolds
(C) through speeches and dialogues.
Solutions:
1.(B)
2.(C)
3.(A)
4.(B)
5.(B)
