World Theatre History

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the most significant Russian playwright of the 20th century.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
- Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) is universally regarded as one of the greatest playwrights and short-story writers in history. His major plays, such as The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard, written at the turn of the 20th century, revolutionized theatre with their focus on internal drama, subtext, and realism.
- Shakespeare was English and from a much earlier period.
- Stanislavsky was a revolutionary Russian director and acting theorist, but not primarily a dramatist.
- Michael Chekhov, Anton's nephew, was a brilliant actor and acting teacher, not a notable dramatist.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Anton Chekhov is the most celebrated 20th-century Russian dramatist.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question requires matching a list of famous plays from both Indian and Western theatre with their respective playwrights.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
- (A) Othello: This is one of the great tragedies written by the English playwright (II) Shakespeare.
- (B) Silence! The Court is in Session: This is the English title for the landmark Marathi play Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe, written by (III) Vijay Tendulkar.
- (C) Antigone: This is a classic Athenian tragedy written by the ancient Greek playwright (IV) Sophocles.
- (D) Hayavadana: This is a famous modern Indian play that uses folk forms, written by the Kannada playwright (I) Girish Karnad.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The correct set of matches is A-II, B-III, C-IV, D-I.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the author of the play The Merchant of Venice.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The Merchant of Venice is one of the most well-known and widely studied plays in English literature. It was written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare, likely between 1596 and 1598. The play is famous for its complex characters, including the moneylender Shylock, and its exploration of themes like justice, mercy, and prejudice.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The play The Merchant of Venice was written by William Shakespeare.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the author of the ancient Greek tragedy Medea.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Medea is one of the most famous and powerful plays of Greek antiquity. It tells the story of the sorceress Medea seeking revenge on her unfaithful husband, Jason. The play was written by the Athenian tragedian Euripides and was first produced in 431 BCE.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The play Medea was written by Euripides.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the earliest of the three great Athenian tragedians whose works have survived.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The golden age of Greek tragedy in the 5th century BCE is defined by the works of three major playwrights. Their chronological order is:
1. Aeschylus (c. 525 – c. 456 BCE): Often described as the "father of tragedy," he is the earliest of the three. He is credited with introducing the second actor, which allowed for dialogue independent of the chorus.
2. Sophocles (c. 497 – c. 406 BCE): He came after Aeschylus and is credited with introducing the third actor and developing characterization more deeply.
3. Euripides (c. 480 – c. 406 BCE): The last of the great tragedians, known for his psychological realism and questioning of traditional values.
Aristophanes was a comic playwright, not a tragedian.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Aeschylus is regarded as the first of the great Greek tragedians.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the theatre practitioner who developed the concept of the 'V' effect.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The 'V' effect, or Verfremdungseffekt, is a German term that translates to "alienation effect" or "distancing effect". It is the central theoretical concept of the German playwright and director Bertolt Brecht's "Epic Theatre". The goal of the V-effect is to make the familiar strange, to prevent the audience from empathizing emotionally with the characters, and instead encourage them to think critically and intellectually about the social and political issues presented in the play.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The Theory of the 'V' effect was proposed by Bertolt Brecht.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question requires matching famous modern plays with their respective playwrights.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
- (A) Three Sisters: This is a major work of modern theatre, a naturalistic play written by the Russian playwright (IV) Anton Chekhov.
- (B) Hedda Gabler: This is a landmark of theatrical realism and one of the most famous plays by the Norwegian playwright (III) Henrik Ibsen, often called the "father of modern drama."
- (C) Death of a Salesman: This is a classic of American theatre, a tragedy about the American Dream, written by (II) Arthur Miller.
- (D) Waiting for Godot: This is the quintessential play of the Theatre of the Absurd, written by the Irish playwright (I) Samuel Beckett.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The correct set of matches is A-IV, B-III, C-II, D-I.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the play that features the characters Lucky and Pozzo (misspelled as Pojo).
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The characters Vladimir, Estragon, Pozzo, and Lucky are the central figures in Samuel Beckett's absurdist masterpiece, Waiting for Godot. In the play, Pozzo is a bombastic master who leads his slave, Lucky, by a rope and forces him to carry his belongings and "think" on command. Their appearance in both acts provides a major point of action and philosophical debate.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The characters Lucky and Pozzo belong to the play Waiting for Godot.