Before Breakfast-Questions-Answers

 Before Breakfast: Qs & Ans.

A.      Long Answer-type Qs (Word limit About 300 words)

Q1. Describe how far has O’Neil succeeded in delineating the tension in marriage through the monologue of Mrs. Rowland?

Ans. O’Neil has very successfully delineated tension in a marriage through the monologue of Mrs. Rowland. This theme of the play achieves universal appeal because, in this modern world, this type of tension is generally found in married couples. The sources of the tension are several, like unemployment, extra marital relationship and even ego-clash in married life.

Here in this one act play, there is only one character, Mrs. Rowland. She keeps on speaking while preparing breakfast and even when she is having it. She seems to be frustrated from her married life. She also utters as to why she should suffers. She taunts her husband by calling him a good-for-nothing fellow and a half man. She says that it is because of her they are not dying of hunger. She does sewing to earn some money. We also find that she feels concerned for her husband when she hears some groan. She thinks that he has made a cut while shaving his face.

There are several reasons for Mrs. Rowland’s anger and frustration. Her husband is jobless. She thinks that he does not go in search of job. He wastes his time with his useless friends in writing useless poems and short stories. He is a drunkard and is in the habit of pawning the valuables of the house. Recently, he has pawned a watch. There is nothing in the house now to know about time. Another thing that irritates Mrs. Rowland most is that he meets girls and makes them fools. Recently she has come to know about Helen, who seems to be pregnant. Her husband’s silence makes Mrs. Rowland angrier and she keeps on venting out her bitterness in her speeches. Her words are too much pungent and piercing to her sensitive husband. She fails to understand the predicament of a jobless husband. If she had problems with him, she could have made a choice of taking divorce from him. But she did not do so but drove him to take a drastic step of committing suicide. He may be intolerable for her, but he did not utter a word during the whole monologue. The readers feel his presence by some sounds coming from the bedroom as we hear groans and the sound of falling chair, etc.

Thus we may conclude that the writer has very successfully brought about the deep tension that is found in married life these days.

Q2. Justify the title of the one-act play “Before Breakfast’.

Ans. The title of the one-act play ‘Before Breakfast’ is quite appropriate. There is only one active character in this one-act play, that does no action but speaks about the person whose presence is felt. This character, who can be called the protagonist, is Mrs. Rowland. Her monologue centres on her husband. Mrs. Alfred.

It is morning time and Mrs. Rowland is about to prepare breakfast for herself and, of course, for her husband also. Her monologue ends up with her last expression of concern ‘Alfred’ and that is before her husband’s breakfast. The motif (idea) of breakfast recurs (is repeated) in Mrs. Rowland’s monologue several times.

She tells him tauntingly that there is not much material present in the kitchen for preparing breakfast. She says, ‘All we got this morning is bread and butter and coffee;…’ She has old stale bread. After preparing it, she slams the loaf of  bread on the table.’  She utter: ‘The bread's stale. I hope you'll like it. You don't deserve any better,…’

Then she tells him that the coffee will be ready in a minute and she will not wait for him to come there.

After that she sips her coffee and keeps on speaking her sarcastic words about her husband. who is supposed to be sleeping in his bed room.

She seems to be frustrated from her own married life. She also utters as to why she should suffers. She taunts her husband by calling him a good-for-nothing fellow and even a half man. She says that it is because of her they are not dying of hunger. She does sewing job to earn some money. We also find that she feels concerned for her husband when she hears some groans. She thinks that he has made a cut while shaving his face.

There are several reasons for Mrs. Rowland’s anger and frustration. Her husband is jobless. She thinks that he does not go in search of job. He wastes his time with his useless friends in writing useless poems and short stories. He is a drunkard and is in the habit of pawning the valuables of the house. Recently, he has pawned a watch. There is nothing in the house now to know about time. Another thing that irritates Mrs. Rowland most is that he meets girls and makes them fools. Recently she has come to know about Helen, who seems to be pregnant. Her husband’s silence makes Mrs. Rowland angrier and she keeps on venting out her bitterness in her speeches. Her words are too much pungent and piercing to her sensitive husband.

At last she hears a sound of something falling in Mr. Alfred’s bedroom. She runs to the door feeling much worried and calls pathetically ‘Alfred’.

Her monologue ends up with a sting in the tail. The audience or the readers is left to guess what would have happened.

Thus the whole monologue of Mrs. Rowland belongs to before breakfast time. Thus the title of this one-act play is quite appropriate.

Q3. Discuss ‘Before Breakfast as a dramatic monologue.

Ans. Of course, the one-act play ‘Before Breakfast’ is a dramatic monologue. It is a monologue because all the speeches in the play are delivered by only one character named Mrs. Rowland. This monologue becomes dramatic when the readers/audience feels the presence of another character in the background. Such a character mostly remains silent and shapes the tone and manner of the speaker’s speech. It further brings out the thoughts and feelings of the speaker to the readers/audience. They make their point of view not only towards the speaker but also about the character that is silent.

We come to know a lot about Mrs. Rowland’s character through her speeches. She speaks a lot of sharp and hard words to make her husband involve in a quarrel. But her husband’s response is almost zero. Only one or two painful groans are heard. But the lady keeps on speaking non-stop until he takes the drastic step of committing suicide. There may be other reasons for the suicide. But here, we have to blame Mrs. Rowland for forcing her husband to kill himself. So we believe that Mrs. Rowland is not at all reasonable towards tackling her husband. Her words are too much pungent and piercing to her sensitive husband. She fails to understand the predicament of a jobless husband. If she had problems with him, she could have made a choice of taking divorce from him. But she did not do so but drove him to take a drastic step of committing suicide. He may be intolerable for her, but he did not utter a word during the whole monologue. He may have faults that were intolerable for her. He is jobless, drunkard and is in the habit of pawning the valuables of the house. Recently, he has pawned a watch. There is nothing in the house now to know about time. Another thing that irritates Mrs. Rowland most is that he meets girls and makes them fools. Recently she has come to know about Helen, who seems to be pregnant. But Mrs. Rowland’s apathetic attitude towards her husband cannot be condoned (forgiven/exempted). Thus ‘Before Brekafast’ is a dramatic monologue and it reminds us of Robert Browning’s several dramatic monologues also.

B.      Short Answer-type Questions in 100 words each:

Q1. What do you learn about the family background of the Rowland’s from the play ‘Before Breakfast’?

Ans. In this play, there is only one character and she is Mrs. Rowland. The presence of her husband is felt only through her monologue. She keeps on speaking till the play ends a sad note. She speaks about her husband more than she tells us about his or her own family. We just come to know from Mrs. Rowland’s monologue that her husband’s father was a millionaire. But he was under big debt when he died. Her husband was a Harvard graduate. She also speaks about her family’s humble background. She says that her father was just a grocer. But he was an honest person, who never cheated anyone.

Q2.Why does Mrs. Rowland not want to leave her house and go back to her parents?

Ans. Mrs. Rowland vents out (expresses) her bitterness towards her husband in her monologue. It does not mean that she does not have any love or concern for her husband. She had made her own choice to marry a millionaire’s only son, Mr. Rowland. She was happy until she came to know that he did nothing but drink a lot and waste his time with his useless friends. In fact, she thinks of her family’s respect. She does not want to bring a bad name to her family and, of course’ to herself also by abandoning her husband. She does not want to prove that her marriage was an utter failure. These may be the reasons in her mind for not leaving her house and go back to her parents.

Q3. Comment on Mrs. Rowland’s attitude towards her husband.

Ans. Mrs. Rowland’s attitude towards her husband is not so good. She keeps on venting out her bitterness in her speeches. Her words are too much pungent and piercing to her sensitive husband. She fails to understand the predicament of a jobless husband. If she had problems with him, she had a choice of taking divorce from him. But she does not do so but drives him to take a drastic step of committing suicide. He may be intolerable to her, but he did not utter a word during the whole monologue. The readers feel his presence by some sounds coming from the bedroom as we hear groans and the sound of falling chair, etc. Her attitude is apathetic (unsympathetic) to her husband.

Q4. Why does Mrs. Rowland shrieks and come running out of the bedroom at the end of the play?

Ans. Mrs. Rowland shrieks and comes running out of the bedroom at the end of the play. This does not happen all of a sudden. It is Mrs. Rowland’s bitter remarks about her husband that lead to the tragic end of the play. Her husband is jobless. He is a drunkard, who pawns the valuables of the house. She thinks that he does not go in search of job. He only wastes his time by sitting with his idle friends. She also blames him for befooling girls like Helen, who is pregnant now. She talks about his family tauntingly. Her bitter words seem to drive Mr. Alfred to take a drastic step of committing suicide. She realises this when she hears a sound of something fallen to the floor in her husband’s bedroom. It makes her run shrieking out of the bedroom.

Q5. How do you think that Mrs. Rowland’s dreams are shattered according to her?

Ans. Mrs. Rowland says that she married Mr. Alfred by her own choice. He was said to be the only son of a millionaire. Her husband was also a Howard graduate. He was a poet and short story writer. After her marriage, Mrs. Rowland’s dreams were shattered. She came to know that her husband was a wine addict and jobless too. According to her, he does not go in search of job. Instead, he wastes his time with his idle friends. He writes worthless poems and short-stories that no one is going to buy. In addition, he meets girls and befools them. His latest victim is Helen. She also tells us that his father was under a lot of debt. It is she who is keeping the household go on somehow. Thus her dreams of a rich and luxurious life are shattered.

Q6. Describe the tragic end of the play ‘Before Breakfast’.

Ans. The play ‘Before Breakfast’ ends up at a very tragic note that even Mrs. Rowland had never expected.

We know that she keeps on speaking in the whole play. But at times, she stops to listen to her husband’s responses. But those are only some sounds. Towards the end of the play, she hears the sound of something dripping on the floor. After that she hears as if a chair has overturned. It was soon followed by a thudding sound.  It alarmed her. She rushed to look into the room. What she saw inside made her frantic. She ran outside the house crying loudly. Here the play ends. The reader/audience is left to imagine that Mr. Alfred must have committed suicide. Thus the play ends at a very tragic note.

 

C.      Answer the following questions in two or three sentences:

Q1.What does Mrs. Rowland do to fend for her family?

Ans. Mrs. Rowland’s husband is jobless. So in this case, she has to run her family. She does sewing job to earn some money to make food and fulfils necessary requirements of the house.

Q2.Why does Mrs. Rowland feel that nobody will give her husband a job?

Ans. Mrs. Rowland feels that no one will give her husband a job because he usually did not shave his face. He remained in bed for most of time. He did not look decent. So his wife assumed that no one will give him a job.

Q3. In what way, according to Mrs. Rowland, is her father different from her father-in-law?

Ans. Mrs. Rowland says that her father was quite different from her father-in-law. Her father ran a grocery shop. He was not so rich but he was an honest. Her father-in-law was said to be a millionaire. But he was under a huge (very big) debt.

Q4. What does Mrs. Rowland find in her husband’s pocket?

Ans. Mrs. Rowland was suspicious of her husband. She knew that her husband meets several girls and befools them with his poetic words. So she searched her husband’s pockets and found a letter. It was written by Helen, his recent victim.

Q5. (a) Who is Helen? (b) What makes Mrs. Rowland think that she may be an artist or a poet?

Ans. Helen is a girl who is supposed to be in love with Mr. Alfred. Mrs. Rowland found a letter from her husband’s vest coat. She read it and guessed from its style of writing and subject matter that she might be an artist or a poet.

Q6. What did Alfred do with the money that he got by pawning his watch?

Ans. In Mrs. Rowland’s opinion, Mr. Alfred was jobless drunkard and he passed his time with his idle friends. He even befooled girls. For these he required money to spend. So he used to pawn things of his house. Recently he has pawned a watch.

Q7. Why is Mrs. Rowland frustrated?

Ans. Mrs. Rowland had her own dreams and aspirations. She must have thought of a rich and luxurious life because she had married rich father’s son. But soon her dreams were shattered. Her father-in-law died in a huge debt. Mr. Alfred did nothing but waste his time in idle pursuits. He was a drunkard. He used to pawn things to spend money on wine and other bad habits. All these things were the causes of Mrs. Rowland’s frustration.

D.     Answer the following questions in one word/phrase or a sentence:

Q1.What does Mrs. Rowland do to fend for her family?

Ans. She does sewing job to earn some money to fend her family.

Q2.Why does Mrs. Rowland feel that nobody will give her husband a job?

Ans. Her husband is lazy and does not shave his face.

Q3.In what way, according to to Mrs. Rowland, is her father different from her father-in-lay?

Ans. Her father is not so rich and he is honest.

Q4. What does Mrs. Rowland find in her husband’s pocket?

Ans. She found a letter written by a girl, Helen.

Q5. (a) Who is Helen? (b) What makes Mrs. Rowland think that she may be an artist or a poet?

Ans. (a) Helen is Mr. Alfred’s a new girl friend. (b) Mrs. Rowland thought as such from the letter’s style and language.

Q6. What did Alfred do with the money that he got by pawning his watch?

Ans. He spent it on wine, etc.

Q7. Why is Mrs. Rowland frustrated?

ANs. Her husband turned out to be a jobless drunkard.

 

Motivational Quotes on Education-Life and Education- #3

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.