UGC-NET (NTA) Exam, Performing Arts, January-2025

Total Questions: 100

91. Read the following passage and answer the questions.

The theatre, which is in no thing, but makes use of everything-gestures, sounds, words, screams, light, darkness-rediscovers itself at precisely the point where the mind requires a language to express its manifestations.
And the fixation of the theatre in one language-written words, music, lights, noises-betokens its imminent ruin, the choice of anyone language betraying a taste for the special effects of that language; and the dessication of the language accompanies its limitation.
For the theatre as for culture, it remains a question of naming and directing shadows: and the theatre, not confined to a fixed language and form, not only destroys false shadows but prepares the way for a new generation of shadows, around which assembles the true spectacle of life.
The writer locates the essence of theatre in:

Correct Answer: 4. Performative Core of Human existence
Solution:

The theatre "rediscovers itself at precisely the point where the mind requires a language to express its manifestations." This shows that the essence of theatre is not in isolated gestures or words but in its power to externalize the inner, abstract realities of the human mind.
By using gestures, sounds, words, light, and darkness collectively, theatre becomes a living expression of the performative core of human existence.

92. According to the writer, the art of theatre cannot have a fixed form of language because of: [The text warns that "the fixation of the theatre in one language... betokens its imminent ruin." This reveals that theatre's fundamental nature is fluid and multifaceted-its survival depends on remaining open to multiple forms and expressions. Fixing theatre to one language or technique would dry up its vitality, contradicting the very essence of the art form.]

Correct Answer: 4. The basic nature of the Art form
Solution:

The text warns that "the fixation of the theatre in one language... betokens its imminent ruin." This reveals that theatre's fundamental nature is fluid and multifaceted-its survival depends on remaining open to multiple forms and expressions.
Fixing theatre to one language or technique would dry up its vitality, contradicting the very essence of the art form.

93. Choose the appropriate function of the art of theatre that the passage aims for:

A. Creating a fixed language for itself
B. Confined itself to an aesthetic form
C. Giving concrete shape to the abstract forms of life
D. Destroying old and false shadows of life
E. Giving expression to the subconscious reality of human mind
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Correct Answer: 4. C, D and E Only
Solution:

Function of the art of theatre:
C. Giving concrete shape to abstract forms of life: Theatre expresses what is intangibleturning thoughts, feelings, and subconscious ideas into visible, audible experience.
D. Destroying old and false shadows of life: The passage says theatre "destroys false shadows," clearing away outdated illusions.
E. Giving expression to the subconscious reality of the human mind: Theatre begins where "the mind requires a language," making subconscious realities perceivable.
A (creating a fixed language) and B (confining itself to an aesthetic form) contradict the text's insistence on avoiding fixation or limitation.

94. According to the passages, what similarity does the writer observe between theatre and culture?

Correct Answer: 4. functions
Solution:

"For the theatre as for culture, it remains a question of naming and directing shadows."
The comparison highlights a shared function: both theatre and culture give form to unseen aspects of life and guide understanding. It is about what they do, not about their forms, structures, or languages.

95. According to the author, what can bring about the destruction of theatre?

Correct Answer: 1. Fixation with a language
Solution:

The passage explicitly states: "the fixation of the theatre in one language... betokens its imminent ruin." Limiting theatre to one expressive medium leads to its destruction, while using a variety of tools-gestures, sounds, light, darkness-keeps it alive and evolving.

96. Read the following passage and answer the questions.

The Balinese theatre has revealed to us a physical and nonverbal idea of the theatre, in which the theatre is contained within the limits of everything that can happen on a stage, independently of the written text, whereas the theatre as we conceive it in the Occident has declared its alliance with the text and finds itself limited by it.
For the Occidental theatre the Word is everything, and there is no possibility of expression without it; the theatre is a branch of literature, a kind of sonorous species of language, and even if we admit a difference between the text spoken on the stage and the text read by the eyes, if we restrict theatre to what happens between cues, we have still not managed to separate it from the idea of a performed text.
What does the writer claim to understand about the oriental theatre through Balinese theatre? 

Correct Answer: 1. Its corporeality and non-verbality
Solution:

The passage praises Balinese theatre for revealing a physical and nonverbal concept of theatre, where performance is contained within all that can occur onstage, independent of written text. This contrasts with the Western dependence on the script.

97. The given passage seems to compare:

Correct Answer: 4. Oriental and Occidental idea of theatre
Solution:

The writer explicitly contrasts Balinese theatre (Oriental) with Occidental theatre. Balinese practice shows a nonverbal, physical approach, while the Western model limits theatre to the spoken or written word. The passage is a direct comparison of these two cultural approaches.

98. For the writer, the Occidental theatre is all about:

Correct Answer: 3. Performing a written text
Solution:

Occidental theatre is described as declaring "its alliance with the text" and being limited by it. Even when differentiating between text spoken on stage and text read, it remains inseparable from the idea of a performed text, making performing a written text its defining characteristic.

99. The writer considers occidental theatre as a branch of literature; because:

Correct Answer: 1. Its dependence on the written text
Solution:

The author calls Occidental theatre a branch of literature because it cannot separate itself from the written word-it is treated as a “sonorous species of language" and remains tied to textual expression, unlike Balinese theatre's independence from it.

100. As per the passage, according to the writer, the true theatre is about:

Correct Answer: 4. Everything that can happen on stage
Solution:

The passage's opening defines Balinese theatre as a "physical and nonverbal idea... contained within the limits of everything that can happen on a stage." According to the writer, this holistic inclusiveness-gestures, movement, sound, light, and all stage happenings-represents the true theatre beyond the written word.