INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH CULTURE SOCIETY

This paper explores how elements of Expressionism appear in Ritwik Ghatak’s Bengali play Jwala (Agony). Expressionism was an artistic movement that developed in Europe during the early twentieth century, especially around the time of the First World War. It focused on showing strong inner emotions rather than presenting reality exactly as it is. Artists used exaggeration, distortion, and intense imagery to express fear, pain, and confusion caused by a rapidly changing and troubled world.

The paper explains how these features can be seen in Jwala. The play tells the stories of six characters, five of whom are dead. Each of them had taken their own life because of poverty, unemployment, illness, displacement, or social failure. Their spirits meet and talk about their past lives, trying to understand what led to their tragic ends. The stage setting, descriptions of the characters, and style of dialogue all show clear Expressionist qualities. The atmosphere is dark and unsettling, the characters appear in distorted and frightening forms, and their speech often feels emotional, broken, or exaggerated. These techniques help express the inner suffering of the characters more deeply.

However, the paper argues that Ghatak’s main goal was not to create a purely Expressionist play. Instead, he used Expressionist methods to highlight serious social problems of post-independence India and to show the need for unity and collective struggle. For this reason, Jwala can be seen as a socially motivated play influenced by Expressionism rather than a complete Expressionist work.