9953028 曹馨予
The typical starting point
The most common residue
A literary work
A puzzling blueprint
 No
rules ,some observations may bring new
experience
 Do not read all written in the same way
(we should adjust our minds to the dramatic form)
 Basic
skill：imaginatively & perceptively
 Conveys intentions through dialogue
 Must be aware of the implications
 Must be alert to the nuances of interactions
among characters
 Practice！
action → what characters do & why they do
Francis Fergusson
Purpose：awareness of some desire or goal
Passion：strength of desire , suffering or emotional turmoil
Perception：understanding comes from the struggle
An effective dramatic action should…
※be complete and self-contained
※be deliberately shaped→to reveal its purpose and
to evoke the audience responses
※have variety , engage and maintains interest
※be internally consistent
Pinpoint the source of unity
Less often use a character as the source of unity , many
twentieth-century use a central theme or set of ideas.
※ Play usually has one major source of unity, it also uses
secondary source , because every script involves a
sequence of incidents , uses characters , and implies a
theme or set of idea.
Cause-to-effect (most common):
In the opening scenes ,the playwright sets up the
necessary condition out of which later events develop.
※Not use this method , the pattern may be loose
The Beginning
give essential information and make the
audience want to stay and see more.
Point of attack(early , late or middle point )
 The Middle
is any new element (ex：discoveries or disasters)
that changes the direction of the action
 The End
the resolution or denouement (to balance and
satisfies audience expectations)
Subplots
(contrast to or commentary on the main plot )

Delineates one or Differentiates one from others

Physical or biological
Sometimes all of this information does not supply from a dramatist but actors.

Societal
all of the factors that place a character in a particular social environment.

Psychological
the inner working of mind

Moral
reveals what characters are willing to do get what they want , especially when they
faced a difficult choice.
※developed most fully in serious plays
The most satisfactory dramatic characters are usually
easily recognizable types with some unusual or complex qualities.
(not completely good or bad)
Includes the themes , arguments ,and overall meaning of
action , present in all plays.
Meaning in drama is usually implied rather than
state directly.
The devices to project ideas：
Chorus , soliloquies , aside
The tools to project ideas：
Allegory , symbol
 Diction
language : The playwright’s primary means of expression
 Music
Sound of the actor’s voices , Incidental songs , Background music.
Functions: establish mood , characterize , suggest ideas ,
compress characterization or exposition, lend variety , be
pleasurable in itself
 Spectacle
all the visual elements , lighting , setting , costumes , and
properties
playwright does not have full control over them
older plays contains almost no stage directions that became
usual since 19th

Tragedy
→the oldest known of drama , presents serious action
→raises significant issues about the nature of human
existence , morality , or human relationship
→the protagonist arouse our sympathy and admiration
→few plays during the past century have been called
tragedies

Comedy
→audience view the situation objectively.
→not intensely
→arouses emotions ranging between joy and scorn
Other forms
→Tragicomedy：a serious play that ends happily

→Melodrama：good triumphs over evil
Period/nation/movement/author
※It is grounded in assumptions about what is
truthful and valuable
※style results from the manner in which a
playwright manipulates the means of
expression
※ style results from the manner in which the
play is presented in the theatre