Class 11 English Lesson 19: A Sunning Morning : Reference to the Context

 

Reference to the Context

a.      Look at the extract below and answer the questions that follow:
“Yes, you are only twenty. (She sits down on the bench.) Oh, I feel more tired today than usual. (Noticing Petra, who seems impatient.) Go, if you wish to chat with your guard.”

i.       Who is the speaker?

Dona Laura is the speaker.

ii.     Who does ‘you’ refer to?

‘You’ refers to Dona Laura’s maid Petra.

iii.  Who is the ‘guard’ the speaker is talking to?

The ‘guard’ is the ‘park’s guard’ the speaker is talking to.

b.     Read the extract dialogue from the play and answer the questions that follow:

DONA LAURA: (Indignantly.) Look out!

DON GONZALO: Are you speaking to me, senora?

DONA LAURA: Yes, to you.

DON GONZALO: What do you wish?

DONA LAURA: You have scared away the birds who were feeding on my

                          crumbs.

DON GONZALO: What do I care about the birds?

DONA LAURA: But I do.

DON GONZALO: This is a public park.

             i.            Who is Dona addressing by saying “Lookout”?

Dona is addressing Don Gonzalo by saying, “Lookout.”

           ii.            What was Dona doing?

Dona was feeding breadcrumbs to pigeons in the park.

        iii.            Who scared the birds? Are they pet birds?

Don Gonzalo scared the birds. No, they aren’t pet birds.

         iv.            Where are the speakers at the time of the conversation?

           v.            The speakers are in a park at the time of the conversation.

c.      What is the effect of flashbacks in the play when Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo knew that they were lovers in the past?

The flashback makes the drama more meaningful and effective. That gives clear information to the readers about their unsuccessful love affair of the past. The memory is still fresh in their minds, and that unites them again as new friends. After, flashback, they recognize each other and feel emotionally close. That makes the readers think that they were separated because of some causes.

d.     Discuss how the play is built around humour and irony.

The play is full of irony. Two old-time lovers hide their identities and talk to each other as strangers. However, they know that they are old-time lovers. Laura calls herself the best friend of the Silver Maiden, and Gonzalo says that it was his cousin. From inside, they are lovers; from outside, they are strangers. Similarly, that irony creates humour. Laura makes Gonzalo speechless in many situations because of her witty statements. They try to fool each other by fabricating false stories, but from inside they know they are lying. They know they lie too much. But appear as if they don’t know each other personally.

When Gonzalo says he had visited America when he was six, Laura says he might have gone with Columbus. Similarly, when Gonzalo cleans his shoes with his handkerchief, Laura asks whether he uses his shoe brush as a handkerchief. Gonzalo makes up a heroic ending for himself, and Laura shows the emotional depth of the Silver Maiden. 

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_khC1DezsA

e.      How is the title ‘A Sunny Morning’ justifiable? Discuss.

This play is set in a park in Madrid, Spain, on a sunny morning. In this setting, the entire play has been presented. A sunny morning has provided an ideal setting for a reunion of two former lovers in their golden years. They argue, know each other, conceal their identities, admire, tell fabricated stories about their deaths, and prefer to meet again the next sunny morning, and so on. From start to finish, the entire play continues to make us laugh hysterically while remaining in this setting of a sunny morning.

As a result, the title ‘A Sunny Morning’ is quite appropriate, as it depicts a reconciliation of former lovers in a park with great humour.

 

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