Statement I: The book The Life of the Drama was written by Eric Bentley.
Statement II: The book The Life of the Drama highlights the lives of certain seminal twentieth century dramatists.
In the light of the statements given above, choose the correct answer from the options given below:

The correct option is: Statement I is true but Statement II is false.

Let us analyze the two statements step-by-step to understand why this option is correct:

Analysis of Statement I:
Statement I states: "The book The Life of the Drama was written by Eric Bentley."
Eric Bentley (1916-2020) was a prominent British-American theater critic, playwright, singer, editor, and translator. Published in 1964, The Life of the Drama is indeed one of his most celebrated works of drama criticism, where he examines the essential elements of the theatrical experience (such as plot, character, dialogue, thought, and enactment) and explores the main dramatic genres (melodrama, farce, tragedy, comedy, and tragi-comedy). Therefore, Statement I is true.

Analysis of Statement II:
Statement II states: "The book The Life of the Drama highlights the lives of certain seminal twentieth century dramatists."
Although Bentley references various playwrights throughout history to illustrate his arguments, the primary focus of The Life of the Drama is not biographical. The book does not serve as a collection of biographies or highlights of the individual lives of twentieth-century dramatists; rather, it is a structural and aesthetic analysis of the nature of drama itself and how theatrical forms function. Therefore, Statement II is false.

In conclusion, Statement I is true, and Statement II is false.