A Sunny Morning Excercise: Class 11 One Act Plays Solution

A Sunny Morning Summary

The play ‘A Sunny Morning’ was written by Spanish dramatists, Serafin Alvarez Quintero and Joaquin Alvarez Quintero and it was translated from the Spanish by Lucretia Xavier Floyd. The setting of this play is a sunny morning in Madrid, Spain on a bench in the park. The play presents a light comedy that narrates the reunion of two lovers now in their seventies at a park who in their youth were passionate lovers but torn apart by the cruelty of fate.

In a sunny morning, Dona Laura enters the park with her maid, Petra. She is in her seventies so she takes help of Petra. She becomes happy to be in the park. She sits down on the bench and starts feeding the breadcrumbs to the birds. She tells Petra to meet her guard as she is in her twenties.

Then, Don Gonzalo with his servant Juanito enters the park and finds his bench occupied by the three priests. Don is also in his seventies and he has got out. So his servant tells him to sit on the side of the bench where Dona Laura is sitting. He says that he will not sit down there because he wants his own bench in the park.

After having no hope of the priests leaving of the bench, he sits down at the extreme edge of Dona Laura’s bench. Laura blames him that he has scared away the birds that are eating the breadcrumbs fed by her. In reply, he says that are not the pet birds. He speaks rudely with her. They discuss for a while about the birds and the bench where the three priests are sitting on. Gonzalo murmurs about the authorities to manage more benches in the park. Laura thinks that he is an ill-natured person. They discuss about the bench. Laura blames him that he sits on her bench without any permission. He says that is a public bench and it is not necessary to take any permission to sit on. She teases him when he brushes the dust from his shoes with his handkerchief as if he uses a shoe brush as a handkerchief. He grumbles about the condition of the park that it is dusty…

They talk informally about their eyesight when Gonzalo takes out the book to read with his enormous pair of glasses and reading glass. Then they take a pinch of stuff (powdered tobacco) and sneeze for three times together thinking that it is a good coincidence for them. Then they feel better. Gonzalo starts reading the line, “Twenty years pass. He returns.” Then Laura also takes the book and reads the same line loudly. At this point, they recognized each other that they were the lovers in the past.

They start giving false descriptions about their past to conceal their real identities so that they can keep everything secret. They present their tragic separation between the lovers in their descriptions yet they try to prove how much they loved each other. At last, they prove each other that they are a better/worse liar about their love story.

Gonzalo says that there was his cousin who loved “The Silver Maiden” very much and he used to give her a bunch of flowers. When he returned in the afternoon, his lover would give him a bunch of flowers as she used to spend her long time on the window. He adds that there was a fight between his cousin and a merchant and the merchant was badly wounded by him. Then he flew away to hide himself. He even remembered her at the last moment of his life.

Petra enters with her handful flowers saying that those flowers were given to Laura by the guard. She receives with a pleasure. A few loose flowers fall to the ground when she takes them from Petra. Then, they bid good bye promising to meet in the next morning if it is again sunny.

When Dona Laura with her maid, Petra moves ahead, she turn back where she sees Gonzalo is stooping to pick up the violets dropped by her with a great effort. She is surprised him looking at picking the flowers. Finally, they wave farewell smile once more and disappear from there. The curtain falls.

Laura also says that “The Silver Maiden” also loved him very much. She left her house and went to the beach one afternoon. She wrote his name on the sand, sat down on the rock, gazed upon the horizon and finally she was taken away by the tide into the sea.

A Sunny Morning Questions And Answer: Understanding the text

Answer the following questions.

a.What makes Dona Laura think that Don Gonzalo is an ill-natured man? Why do neither Dona Laura nor Don Gonzalo reveal their true identities? 

Ans: Dona Laura thinks that Don Gonzalo is an ill-natured man because Don has scared away the birds that Dona is feeding them breadcrumbs; and also, he has not responded her politely. Neither Dona Laura nor Don Gonzalo reveal their true identities because they were lovers in their youth and try to hide this fact.

b.At what point of time, do you think, Laura and Gonzalo begin to recognise each other? 

Ans: I think Laura and Gonzalo begin to recognize each other when she takes the book from Don and starts reading the line- “Twenty years pass. He returns…”

c.When does Dona Laura realise that Don Gonzalo was her former lover ? 

Ans: Dona Laura realizes that Don Gonzalo was her former lover when Laura tells him about the villa in Maricela and Gonzalo tells her about the Silver Maiden named Laura Llorente.

d.Why do Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo spin fictitious stories about themselves? 

Ans: Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo spin fictitious stories about themselves because they want to conceal their past love stories and do not want to show their real identities as they cannot be together then after due to their old age.

e.How do Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo feel about each other?

Ans: Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo feel comfortable about each other when they know each other and share their love stories. They want to meet again and again in the park.

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? 

Ans: The speaker is Dona Laura.

ii.Who does ‘you’ refer to?

Ans: You’refers to Petra, Don Laura’s servant.

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

Ans: The ‘guard’ is the security guard of the park the speaker is talking to.

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

a.Who is Dona addressing by saying “Look out”? 

Ans:Dona is addressing to Don Gonzalo by saying “Look out”.

b.What was Dona doing? 

Ans: Dona was feeding the breadcrumbs to the birds.

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

Ans: Don Gonzalo scared the birds. They are not pet birds because they come in the park.

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

Ans: The speakers are in the park at the time of the conversation.

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

Ans: The effect of flashback in the play has created an interesting and romantic momentum which makes them recall their past days and enjoyment of the lovely time with the lovers. This dramatic device, flashback makes the audience pay their attention to their love and enjoy each dialogue they have.

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

Ans: This play “A Sunny Morning” is built around irony and humour. There is a good mixture of irony and humour in the play. The playwright has used irony and humour to create entertainment for the to together whole over the day. They try to fool each other by hiding their realities and identities. Their dialogues are full of humours and irony to connect their present and the past about their love.

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

Ans: The title ‘A Sunny Morning’ is justifiable because the scene of the play is taken in a sunny morning in a park in Madrid. Here, the sunny morning has provided a pleasing momentum to the old characters to recall their romantic love when they were in their youth. The weather of the sunny morning in the park is very favourable to reveal their romantic love although they try to conceal it. Because of their familiarity, they do not respond very decently to each other. They dig up their true love story through false descriptions. In the play, as the morning is sunny, they provide full laughter, romance, and entertainment to the audience through their humorous and ironic expressions. The morning also indicates their reconciliation/reunion after a long time. So, the title is justifiable because it begins and ends up in the same setting with a promise to meet the next day if the morning is sunny again.

Reference beyond the text

a.What do you predict will happen in the next meeting between Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo? Discuss.

Ans: I guess they will meet in the next sunny morning because they have made a promise for it. Whatever they have talked about their love in this sunny morning in the park is not about all the details they have. They want to go back to their romantic love completely so as to dip in it. They will feel as if they are in their youth to express their hearty and deep love. They will make similar type of ironic and humorous expressions to present their love interestingly, romantically, and pleasingly so that the audience will also dip in their love. Finally, they will embrace and kiss each other to reveal their deep love and show their reconciliation although they are in their old age.

b.Was it wise for Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo to keep their identities secret? How might their secrets affect future meetings?

Ans: Yes, it was a good idea for Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo to keep their identities secret because they are in their old age and have a feeling of shyness to be same as in their young time. They are in their seventies and it is really a matter of shamefulness to expose their love. I think it is not interesting to show love directly that they had; instead, if they reveal it indirectly through false descriptions, it becomes more romantic and pleasing for them. In addition, if they do not keep secret, there can be a chance to have a feeling of being together because they have gone through their own family life and it may cause a problem in the future. Opening secrecy may not lead them to make more promises to meet in the future as secrecy creates curiosity and suspense to discover more regarding the matter. 

c.Write the summary of the play..

Ans: The play ‘A Sunny Morning’ was written by Spanish dramatists, Serafin Alvarez Quintero and Joaquin Alvarrez Quintero and it was translated from the Spanish by Lucretia Xavier Floyd. The setting of this play is a sunny morning in Madrid, Spain on a bench in the park. The play presents a light comedy that narrates the reunion of two lovers now in their seventies at a park who in their youth were passionate lovers but torn apart by the cruelty of fate.

In a sunny morning, Dona Laura enters the park with her maid, Petra. She is in her seventies so she takes help of Petra. She becomes happy to be in the park. She sits down on the bench and starts feeding the breadcrumbs to the birds. She tells Petra to meet her guard as she is in her twenties.

Then, Don Gonzalo with his servant Juanito enters the park and finds his bench occupied by the three priests. Don is also in his seventies and he has got gout. So his servant tells him to sit on the side of the bench where Dona Laura is sitting. He says that he will not sit down there because he wants his own bench in the park.

After having no hope of the priests leaving of the bench, he sits down at the extreme edge of Dona Laura’s bench. Laura blames him that he has scared away the birds that are eating the breadcrumbs fed by her. In reply, he says that are not the pet birds. He speaks rudely with her. They discuss for a while about the birds and the bench where the three priests are sitting on. Gonzalo murmurs about the authorities to manage more benches in the park. Laura thinks that he is an ill-natured person. They discuss about the bench. Laura blames him that he sits on her bench without any permission. He says that is a public bench and it is not necessary to take any permission to sit on. She teases him when he brushes the dust from his shoes with his handkerchief as if he uses a shoe brush as a handkerchief. He grumbles about the condition of the park that is dusty.

They talk informally about their eyesight when Gonzalo takes out the book to read with his enormous pair of glasses and reading glass. Then they take a pinch of stuff (powdered tobacco) and sneeze for three times together thinking that it is a good coincidence for them. Then they feel better. Gonzalo starts reading the line, “Twenty years pass. He returns.” Then Laura also takes the book and reads the same line loudly. At this point, they recognized each other that they were the lovers in the past.

They start giving false descriptions about their past to conceal their real identities so that they can keep everything secret. They present their tragic separation between the lovers in their descriptions yet they try to prove how much they loved each other. At last, they prove each other that they are a better/worse liar about their love story.

Petra enters with her handful flowers saying that those flowers were given to Laura by the guard. She receives with a pleasure. A few loose flowers fall to the ground when she takes them from Petra. Then, they bid good bye promising to meet in the next morning if it is again sunny.

When Dona Laura with her maid, Petra moves ahead, she turn back where she sees Gonzalo is stooping to pick up the violets dropped by her with a great effort. She is surprised him looking at picking the flowers. Finally, they wave farewell smile once more and disappear from there. The curtain falls.