Drama and its Elements

Drama is a literary composition involving conflict, action crisis and atmosphere designed to be acted by players on a stage before an audience. This definition may be applied to motion picture drama as well as to the traditional stage.

A drama is ideally enacted in a theater, open or closed, and the performances are by actors, live, before an audience that either sits around or before the stage. A single drama is a collaborative effort. The cumulative efforts are pooled for the various modes of production, flow of the text and research in the form of literature adopted.

Types of Drama:

1. Tragedy -- In general, tragedy involves the ruin of the leading characters. To the Greeks, it meant the destruction of some noble person through fate, To the Elizabethans, it meant in the first place death and in the second place the destruction of some noble person through a flaw in his character. Today it may not involve death so much as a dismal life, Modern tragedy often shows the tragedy not of the strong and noble but of the weak and mean,
2. Comedy -- is lighter drama in which the leading characters overcome the difficulties which temporarily beset them
3. Problem Play -- Drama of social criticism discusses social, economic, or political problems by means of a play.
4. Farce -- When comedy involves ridiculous or hilarious complications without regard for human values, it becomes farce.
5. Comedy of Manners -- Comedy which wittily portrays fashionable life.
6. Fantasy -- A play sometimes, but not always, in comic spirit in which the author gives free reign to his fantasy, allowing things to happen without regard to reality.
7. Melodrama -- Like farce, melodrama pays almost no attention to human values, but its object is to give a thrill instead of a laugh. Often good entertainment, never any literary value.

Types of Drama of Historical Interest:

1. Medieval mystery plays -- dealt with Bible stories and allegorical mysteries.
2. Chronicle plays -- dealt directly with historical scenes and characters.
3. Masques -- were slight plays involving much singing and dancing and costuming. .
   
   
   
   Elements of Drama                           
   Plot                                                              
   Character                                                  
   Point of View                                               
   Language                                                      
   Tone                                                             
   Symbolism                                               
   Theme
    Structures of Play 
   Exposition 
   Complication 
   Crisis 
   Climax 
   Catastrophe 
   Resolution
   
   
    

   Drama Literary Terms

   
   

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   1. Allusion - an indirect reference by casually mentioning something that is generally familiar (In literature we find many allusions to mythology, the Bible, history, etc.)
   2. Aside - Lines whispered to the audience or to another character on stage (not meant to be heard by all the characters on stage)
   3. Catastrophe - the final event in a drama (a death in a tragedy or a marriage in a comedy)
   4. Comedy - A light play with a happy ending
   5. Comic Relief - A bit of humor injected into a serious play to relieve the heavy tension of tragic events
   6. Crisis or Climax - the turning point in the plot (This occurs when events develop either for or against the main character and a crucial decision must be made.)
   7. Dramatic Irony - occurs when the audience knows something that the character on stage is not aware.
   8. Foreshadow - Lines that give a hint or clue to future events (It doesn't tell the future but hints at it.)
   9. Irony - A method of expression in which the ordinary meaning of the word is opposite to the thought in the speaker's mind . Events contrary to what would be naturally expected

10. Metaphor - an implied comparison between two different things; identifying a person or object as the thing to which it is being compared.

11. Metonymy - a figure of speech whereby the name of a thing is substituted for the attribute which it suggests. Example: The pen (power of literature or the written word) is mightier than the sword (force).

12. Nemesis - agent of retribution (the person who punishes)

13. Personification - giving the quality of life to inanimate things

14. Poetic Justice - The operation of justice in a play with fair distribution of rewards for good deeds and punishment for wrong doing

15. Simile - an expressed comparison between two different things using 'like' or 'as' -

16. Soliloquy - A single character on stage thinking out loud (a way of letting the audience know what is in the character's mind)

17. Tragedy - A serious play having an unhappy ending

18. Tragic Flaw - A character trait that leads one to his/her own downfall or destruction

DRAMA and its History

Drama is a literary composition involving conflict, action crisis and atmosphere designed to be acted by players on a stage before an audience. This definition may be applied to motion picture drama as well as to the traditional stage.

A drama is ideally enacted in a theater, open or closed, and the performances are by actors, live, before an audience that either sits around or before the stage. A single drama is a collaborative effort. The cumulative efforts are pooled for the various modes of production, flow of the text and research in the form of literature adopted.

Athenian Drama:

Athenian drama or Western drama was originated in Greece. The city-state of Athens is credited with the production of tragedy, comedy, and satyr. Drama in Athens was institutionalized through competitions. The Greeks came up with the idea of an actor who speaks and impersonates. The main lead was expected to deliver dialogue while interacting with the chorus. This form of drama involved non-dramatic poetry and complete texts. The Persians, by Aeschylus, is a historical tragedy that is also the oldest surviving drama. 

Roman Drama:

Early Roman theater was not only more varied than Greek drama, but also more extensive. Initially, they were sophisticated works of Roman literature, tragedies and comedies. In the 2nd century BCE, drama was part and parcel of the Roman culture. There was a writers' guild who delivered dialogue and text for even plays that were set on street corners and crossings. They contributed to a variety of poetic forms and complex plots. The bifurcation of the production work thus led to the enaction of double-plots, involving the complexity of human behavior.

 Medieval Drama:

Medieval drama basically involved religious enactment. These plays were enacted within the premises of the cathedrals. They were usually miracle and mystery plays. They focused on propagating morality with the help of specially interspersed interludes. Many of the plays were then written in verse. Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe were prominent playwrights of this era. The plays highlighted past kings and Tudor monarchy.

Modern Drama:

Modern drama is the result of innovative contributions, like the roles of imitators. Modernist drama is realist and has scope for experimentation and social critique.Important playwrights of Modern drama include Anton Chekhov, Maurice Maeterlinck, George Bernard Shaw and Arthur Miller, among many.
Photo Left. Victor Hugo's Les Miserable, a story of Jean Valjean, escaped convict whose life is transformed and turned toward goodness by an act of Christian charity. 

Other Shades of Dramatics:

While Indian drama initially involved dramatic episodes, it evolved to include human concerns. The earliest form of theory on drama is the Natya Shastra by Bharata. Chinese theater has stuck by the popular opera from Beijing. Japanese drama developed only in the 15th century. The musical instruments and techniques were handed down generations by word of mouth. Drama is one of the types of literature that has gained popularity during the years. Among the various forms of drama, Western opera grew and thrived during the Renaissance in Italy. Music and theater were combined. Pantomimes told of fables. In a pantomime, there is always a lesson to be learned, as the hero emerges victorious.  Photo Right, Miss Saigon

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BUTTERFLY

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.

We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

Essay Assignment

Your assignment is to compose three essays. Please follow the specifics of each output. Bring your drafts on Wednesday, September 15, 2010 for a one-on-one session with me.

Please follow the specifics of each of the essays.

1. Each essay should have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

            a. Introduction – 3-5 sentences

            b. Body – 6-10 sentences

            c. Conclusion- 3-5 sentences

3. Write your own title in each of your essays.

4. Take note of the consistency of your paragraphs; person, number, tense.

5. The drafts should be written in a one whole sheet of paper.

Essay 1- Topic- “Biggest Mistake In My Life” (Use the past form of the verb and Narrative type)

Essay 2- Topic- “What I want to achieve in the future?” (Use the future tense of the verb and Descriptive type )

Essay 3- Topic- "My Opinion on Early Marriage" (Use present form of the verb and Persuasive type)

ESSAY

An essay is a short piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. It is the simplest literary form with only three important parts;
1. ) the beginning- it should present the subject of the essay and should motivate the reader to read further
2. ) the body- contains the development and explanation of the writer’s ideas. It should be controlled by a singleness of purpose, a unity of intention.
3. ) the ending- it maybe a short paragraph that summarizes the central idea of the entire essay. It can also point out some ideas discussed in the body.

It is a form of literature which provides the reader an opportunity to see the importance of expressing ideas in form.

"Essay" is derived from Michel de Montaigne's first collection of short prose writing- Essais or "attempts". From its beginning it was considered as attempt to communicate.

The Four Types of Essays

The Expository Essay (explanation) – describes or explains a topic. For example, an essay entitled “The Care and Maintenance of a Bicycle” would be an expository essay

The Narrative Essay (recounting) – uses a single well told story as the basis for drawing a conclusion or making a statement of opinion.  For example “My Most Exciting Bicycle Adventure” would be a narrative essay. It uses tools such as flashbacks,flashforwards, and transitions that often build to a climax. The focus of a narrative is the plot. When creating a narrative, authors must determine their purpose, consider their audience, establish their point of view, use dialogue, and organize the narrative. A narrative is usually arranged chronologically.

The Persuasive Essay -combines reasoned arguments with the emotion required to persuade the reader to take action.  For example, an essay entitled Save the Ozone and Stimulate your Heart:  Leave Your Car at Home and Bicycle” would be a persuasive essay.

Descriptive Essay -writing is characterized by sensory details, which appeal to the physical senses, and details that appeal to a reader’s emotional, physical, or intellectual sensibilities. Determining the purpose, considering the audience, creating a dominant impression, using descriptive language, and organizing the description are the rhetorical choices to be considered when using a description. A description is usually arranged spatially but can also be chronological or emphatic . The focus of a description is the scene. Description uses tools such as denotative language, connotative language, figurative, metaphor , and simile to arrive at a dominant impression.