The Swan Song-Svietlovidoff-One Act Play-B.A. Semester 4

                         Questions & Answers on ‘The Swan Song’

A.   Answer in one word or in a phrase or a sentence:

Q1. What was the last solo performance enacted by Svietlovidoff before leaving the stage?

Ans. He recited very touching lines from Shakespeare’s Othello.

Q2.Why does Svietlovidoff feel dismayed?

Ans. HE feels dismayed because he is alone and in old age.

Q3.What was Nikita Ivanich’s occupation?

Ans. He is a prompter.

Q4. How does the protagonist describe the prime days of his life?

Ans. He calls them glorious days when his audience appreciated him a lot.

Q5. What was the condition that the woman who Svietlovdoff loved put on their marriage?

Ans. She told the actor to quit the stage if he would like to marry her.

Q6. How long has Svietlovidoff been an actor?

Ans.. He has been an actor for forty-five years.

Q7. How does Svietlovidoff realise that old age is no more a burden?

Ans. In the end, he realises that old age is not a burden if the person is a genius and has talent

Q8.How did the audience bid farewell to the actor?

Ans.. The audience bid the actor farewell by calling his name sixteen times and giving him garlands.

B.   Answer the following questions in about 30 words each:

Q1. What was the last solo performance enacted by Svietlovidoff before leaving the stage?

Ans. Svietlovidoff was once a great artist of the stage. But later on, he started playing the role of a joker. Before leaving the stage after 45 years of his acting, he recites a few lines from Othello, a famous play written by William Shakespeare. It was his solo performance.

Q2. Why does Svietlovidoff feel dismayed?

Ans. Svietlovidoff has lost his faith in the audience. He also feels that his worship of art was an illusion. He comes to know the bitter reality that the audience loves only the performances of the artist. But they never bother to know about his personal life. At the age of sixty-eight years, he feels dismayed due to all this. He feels alone and dejected at the callous attitude of the audience.

Q3.What was Nikita Ivanich’s occupation?

Ans. Nikita Ivanich does the job of a prompter on stage. He is also an old man like Svietlovidoff. He has no place to live and no one to look after him. He passes his nights in the dressing room of the theater.

Q4. How does the protagonist describe the prime days of his life?

Ans. Svietlovidoff tells Nikita that he was a great actor in the prime time of his life. People applauded (praised) him for his acting on the stage. He also tells him that he was a very handsome, bold, and enthusiastic young man. He had also served in the army and the artillery.

Q5. What was the condition that the lady Svietlovidoff loved put in front of him?

Ans. Svietlovidoff was a handsome, daring, and eager young man. A rich lady loved him. When he requested her to marry him, she put a condition on him. She told him to quit the stage for that. She also told him that she could love an actor but never marry him.

Q6. How long has Svietlovidoff been an actor on stage?

Ans. Svietlovidoff has been an actor on stage for forty-five years. But now, he is of sixty-eight years. In his youth, he was a great actor. After the rejection from the woman he loved, he started playing as a baffoon in his frustration.

Q7. How does Svietlovidoff realise that old age is no more a burden?

Ans. Towards the end of the play, Nikita encourages Svietlovidoff by telling him that he is a genius. He is capable of performing powerful roles at that time also. Svietlovidoff feels encouraged and recites several lines from Shakespeare’s King Lear and Othello. Then he realises that old age is no burden or hurdle if a man is a genius and has a talent.

Q8. How did the audience bid farewell to the actor?

Ans. Svietlovidoff narrates to Nikita that the audience was mad in joy. They called his name sixteen times. They had also brought garlands for him. Thus they applauded his last performance with great enthusiasm.

 

Answer the following questions in about 100 words each:

Q1. How does Svietlovidoff prove to Nikita that his histrionic talents have not been exhausted?

Ans. Svietlovidoff is an old actor of sixty-eight years. He acted on stage for forty-five years. After giving his last performance, he drinks and falls asleep in the dressing room of the theatre. On waking up, he finds himself alone. His loneliness and the influence of wine make him remember his past. All this makes him feel sad. He thinks that his energy is lost due to old age. He is alone. No one is there to care for him.

Then Nikita meets him. He reassures him that he is still a powerful actor. He is a genius. This makes Svietlovidoff feel rejuvenated. He performs a few lines from King Lear and then Othello with full energy and talent. He feels that old age is no hurdle if a man is a genius and has talent. Thus he proves to Nikita that his histrionic (very emotional, energetic but not sincere) talent is not exhausted.

Q2. Comment on the use of dramatic irony in ‘The Swan Song’.

Ans. In this play ‘The Swan Song’ we may say that dramatic irony has been used by the dramatist. Svietlovidoff thinks that all is over and he is in old age. He cannot perform as he used to perform at a young age. He is in despair. He feels lonely because he has no one in his house. He also feels that his audience did not love him in reality. They only loved his acting.

 Even the woman he loved was not ready to marry him if he did not quit acting. All these remembrances made him disappointed. But he does not know that he has another audience that would always remember him. These are the readers. This is the use of dramatic irony in this play.

Q3. ‘Language and rendition of dialogues in an actor’s performance on the stage are pivotal.’ Explain the statement in the context of ‘The Swan Song’.

Ans. It is true that language and rendition in an actor’s performance on the stage are pivotal. The first requirement for the success of a play is the language of the dialogues. The second requirement is the performance or the rendition of the dialogues. Both the requirements combine together to appeal to the ears and minds of the audience. Then the play is sure to achieve success. In this play, Svietlovidoff proves this by reciting a few lines from King Lear and Othello. When Nikita recites a few lines of the role of a joker, he does not appreciate him. He realises that he can still perform powerful roles. His old age is not a hurdle in his acting. A man needs only talent and enthusiasm for his performance.

Q4. What does Svietlovidoff remember about the lady he loved?

Ans. Svietlovidoff tells Nikita that a woman fell in love with him when he first appeared on the stage in his youth. She loved him for his acting. She was beautiful, graceful, young, innocent, pure, and radiant like summer dawn. He remembers the day when she stood just in front of him. She had never seemed as lovely to him as she did then.

She spoke to him with her beautiful eyes. He tells Nikita Ivanich that he shall never forget her tender, soft and deep eyes even in the grave.

Feeling enraptured with her beauty, he fell to his knees in front of her and begged for accepting his proposal for marriage.

But she put on the condition that he must give up the stage if he wants to marry her. She told him that she could love an actor but cannot marry him.

Q5.What is the similarity between Svietlovidoff and King Lear?

Ans.

C.    Answer in about 300 words each:

Q1. Discuss the appropriateness of the title ‘The Swan Song’.

Ans. The title of the play ‘The Swan Song’ is based on popular belief. It is believed that a swan sings a beautiful song before it dies. Here in this play, Svietlovidoff’s last performance on the stage becomes his swan song because it is his last performance. It is his beautiful performance like a swan song. He tells Nikita that the audience called his name sixteen times. They were mad in enthusiasm and joy. They had also brought garlands for him. But after the performance, he entered the dressing room, drank wine, and fell asleep there. When he woke up, he was alone there in the dark pit on the night. All the theatre crew including the audience had left for their home. No one woke him up to take him to his house.

Now he laments the apathy he received from his own fellows. Then he lands down into his memory lane and remembers how the audience was selfish. They loved his performances but not him. His own worship of art was an illusion. The lady whom he loved refused him to marry. She wanted him to quit the stage. He also realises the limitation of age. Nikita becomes a medium for him to vent out his frustration. He could not make a family because he had an obsession with acting. But at the fag end of his life, he becomes a victim of loneliness and alienation. He weeps and cries in front of Nikita. But Nikita encourages him by saying that he is a genius and has the power to perform well. Then he performs a few lines from Shakespeare’s play, first from King Lear and then from Othello. At last, he concludes that old age is no hurdle if a man is a genius and has a talent.

Thus his last performance and his reminiscences become Svietlovidoff’s swan song. Thus the title is quite appropriate.