Page 339 - DENG403_BRITISH_DRAMA

Unit 30: Arnold Wesker—Introduction to the Author and the Text

Dramatist : A writer of dramas or dramatic poetry; playwright. Notes
Kitchen sink drama : The kitchen sink drama is placed in an ordinary domestic setting and
typically tells a relatively mundane family story. Family tensions often
come to the fore with realistic conflict between husband and wife, parent
and child, between siblings and with the wider community. The family
may also pull together in unity against outer forces that range from the
rent-collector to rival families.
Trilogy : A series or group of three plays, novels, operas, etc., that, although
individually complete, are closely related in theme, sequence, or the like.

30.5 Review Questions

1. Give a brief sketch of birth and early childhood of Arnold Wesker.
2. Illustrate that Arnold Wesker was an apt playwright.
3. Arnold Wesker is a prolific British dramatist known for his contributions to kitchen sink
drama. Illustrate this statement in context of his contribution.
4. Explain that Roots is a kitchen sink drama.
5. Elucidate that Root is written in the country dialect of the people on which it focuses.

Answers: Self Assessment

1. (a) 2. (b) 3. The Merchant of Venice
4. Roots 5. True 6. False
7. (a) 8. (b) 9. Ronnie
10. Norfolk farm labourers 11. True 12. True

30.6 Further Readings

Arnold Wesker. 1959. Roots: The Second Play of the Chicken Soup Trilogy. Penguin
Books.
Robert Wilcher. 1991. Understanding Arnold Wesker. University of South Carolina
Press, Columbia, S. Carolina.

Online links http://www.arnoldwesker.com/synopses/roots.htm
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/theatre-in-wales/2011/

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