The Least You
Should Know
About Drama
Drama Background
Notes
Mr. Holley
What is Drama?
Mystery writer and
movie director
Alfred Hitchcock
once said,
“Drama is life with
the dull bits cut.”
What Makes Drama Unique?
Drama has one characteristic peculiar to
itself—it is written primarily to be
performed, not read. It is a presentation of
action a. through actors (the impact is
direct and immediate), b. on a stage (a
captive audience), and c. before an
audience (suggesting a communal
experience).
Uniqueness of drama continued…
Of the four major points of view, the dramatist is
limited to only one—the objective or dramatic.
The playwright cannot directly comment on the
action or the character and cannot directly enter
the minds of characters and tell us what is going
on there. But there are ways to get around this
limitation through the use of 1. soliloquy (a
character speaking directly to the audience), 2.
chorus (a group on stage commenting on
characters and actions), and 3. one character
commenting on another.
The Power of Drama
• Originally, drama had religious
purpose. The first theaters were
sacred spaces.
• Actors must pretend to become
their characters. Spectators must
pretend to accept stage illusions
and identify with the characters
(“suspend their belief in
reality”).
• Drama is a collective experience
because the event is shared
live between actors and
audience.
Live Theater Vs. TV and Film
Film and TV
• Performances are
“frozen”—performers are
not affected by the
reactions of those who are
watching.
• Editing actors’
performances constructs
an “artificial reality.”
• Camera’s “eye” controls
spectator’s point of view.
Live Theater
• Actors respond to the
reactions of their
audience.
• Stage actors perform
continuously, in “real time”.
• Spectator is freer and can
choose what to look for.
Reading Plays Vs. Reading Fiction
Reading Plays
• “Economical”—it must tell
its story in a short time,
with relatively few words
and little description.
• Little description in a play.
You need to use your own
imagination to create the
scene and character
voices.
Reading Fiction
• Writers can use
description, switch easily
from scene to scene, and
use a narrator to help
interpret the action for the
reader.
Drama Literary Terms
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Conflict
Character
Setting
Plot
Play Structure
Points of View
Dialogue
Imagery and Symbolism
Irony
Themes and Ideas
Conflict
•
Conflict is the “skeleton” on
which the rest of the play is
constructed.
• Three types of conflict:
1. Conflict between characters.
2. Conflict between a character
and outside forces.
3. Conflict within an individual
character.
• If the central conflict involves
characters who are not evenly
matched, audiences tend to
side with the “underdog.”
(Audience is drawn into caring
about the outcome of the
conflict)
Character
• Definition of plot: “character in
action.”
• Playwright communicates
character through the way a
character looks, talks, and
behaves.
• Just as people do in real life, welldrawn stage characters make
conflicting choices because they
have conflicting—and sometimes
hidden—feelings, beliefs, needs,
and desires.
• Hidden aspects are interesting
because the audience gets to see
deeper aspects of characters only
as the play unfolds.
Types of Characters
• Flat character—is known by one or two traits
• Round character—is complex and many
sided
• Stock character—is a stereotyped character
(i.e. mad scientist; absent minded-professor)
• Static character—remains the same from the
beginning of the plot to the end
• Dynamic character—undergoes permanent
change
Setting
• By setting the play in a specific
space and time, the actions of
the characters and reactions of
the audience are rooted in a
specific culture and
environment.
• Setting affects mood by
establishing the “feel” of an
environment through the
senses: lighting, temperature,
sounds, and so on.
• Setting affects the psychology of
the characters by shaping their
backgrounds, attitudes, goals,
and emotions.
• In modern plays, setting reflects
the inner thoughts and feelings of
the characters.
Plot
• Plot is story—the structure of
important events that occur during
the course of the play.
• Good plot:…
1. Has “dramatic unity”—all the
actions of the play relate to the
central conflict.
2. Follows strict cause and effect.
3. Involves change, action, and
movement.
• Three kinds of dramatic changes:
1. Physical changes in the characters.
2. Changes in relationships between the
characters.
3. Changes in attitude.
• “Plot Manipulation”—a good plot
should not have any unjustified or
unexpected turns or twists; no false
leads; no deliberate and misleading
information.
Play Structure
• Exposition: The means by which the playwright
communicates various background information to the
audience.
• Point of attack: The “point of no return” moment in the
plot when the chain of events that leads eventually to the
climax is set in motion.
• Complication: Introduces a new plot element that affects
the course of action of the play.
• Crisis: The moment (or series of moments) when the
conflict comes to a head.
• Resolution: The moment or scene at the end of the play
which contains the final solution to the problem.
Points of View
• Omniscient—a story told by the
author, using the third person; her/his
knowledge, control, and prerogatives
are unlimited; authorial subjectivity.
• Limited Omniscient—a story in
which the author associates with a
major or minor character; this
character serves as the author’s
spokesperson or mouthpiece.
• First Person—the author identifies
with or disappears in a major or minor
character; the story is told using the
first person “I”
• Objective or Dramatic—the opposite
of omniscient; displays authorial
objectivity; compared to a roving
sound camera. Very little of the past
or the future is given; the story is set
in the present.
Dialogue
• Dialogue is the foundation on which
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drama is built.
There are four main functions of
dialogue:
To allow playwrights to portray characters
to the audience.
A character’s manner of speaking—
accent, rhythm, tone, choice of words—
gives important clues about his or her
background.
How characters speak also reveals their
present inner thoughts and feelings.
Allows the characters to communicate
with each other—”personality in
action.”
Dialogue doesn’t always rely on words,
however. Silence can communicate, too.
Subtext is the “real” or “true’ message—
when a character says one thing but is
really thinking or feeling something else.
Imagery and Symbolism
Imagery
Symbolism
• A play is like a poem—it presents a
concentrated version of reality, using • In many plays, certain objects on
only the most essential parts to
stage also take on special meaning,
present the story.
standing for more than themselves.
• An image can be understood on
• Real objects (i.e. ring, gun) take on
two levels:
important symbolic meanings that
1. Denotation: the literal meaning.
remind the audience of key ideas or
2. Connotation: all the other ideas that the characters associated with them.
are associated with it.
• Same images and symbolic objects
recur throughout the play, often
• Some playwrights use poetic
changing meaning as the play grows.
language as “word pictures” to
expand the scope and meaning of
what happens on the stage.
• Playwrights use images that draw on
the audience’s emotional
associations to express more than
one idea at a time.
Irony
• Irony should not be confused with “sarcasm” which is simply language designed to
cause pain.
• Irony is used to suggest the difference between appearance and reality, between
expectation and fulfillment.
• Three types of irony:
1. Verbal irony—the opposite is said from what is intended.
2. Dramatic irony—the contrast between what a character says and what the reader
knows to be true.
3. Irony of situation—discrepancy between appearance and reality, or between
expectation and fulfillment, or between what is and what would seem appropriate.
Themes and Ideas
• Themes give drama structure and
focus. Many themes help audiences
recognize universal ideas that relate
to their own lives.
• A theme can be:
1. a revelation of human character
2. may be stated briefly or at great length
3. A theme is not the “moral” (lesson) of
the story
• In some cases, plays are written solely
to communicate ideas rather than to
portray character or plot realistically.
Dramas of ideas, such as political
theater or propaganda films, are
explicitly written to communicate a
message, to educate audiences about
an issue, and to change minds.
• The most satisfying drama doesn’t take
sides because realistic drama is “threedimensional” and characters are
complete human beings—not totally
“good” or “bad”.
The Four Main Types of Drama
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Tragedy
Comedy
Melodrama
Farce
Tragedy
• Tragic drama is one of the most powerful of all dramatic forms. It has
captured the imaginations of dramatists from the Greeks to Shakespeare to
contemporary playwrights.
• There are may definitions of what makes a play a tragedy, but most
definitions share at least some common characteristics:
1. Tragic drama deals with profound and universal problems, such as the nature
of fate or the meaning of life. It also involves powerful emotions, such as
ambition, jealousy, greed, or hate.
2. Tragic drama often centers on a tragic hero who becomes caught in a
dramatic conflict that eventually leads to ruin or death. Usually the tragic hero
is at least partially responsible for his or her ruin.
3. Some theorists blame the tragic hero’s downfall on a tragic flaw, such as pride
or blindness, which contributes to the tragic hero’s own destruction.
4. Despite the fact that the play ends in disaster for the tragic hero, the effect of
tragedy on its audience is uplifting rather than depressing (a catharsis—
emotional release at the end). Our sympathy for tragic heroes allows us to
identify with their situations. The lessons they learn in the tragic ending
broaden our own understanding of life, causing us to feel noble emotions such
as awe, pity, and compassion.
Comedy
• Comic drama has traditions that can be traced from the Greeks through
modern television comedy.
• In contrast to the profound themes of tragedy, comedy deals with
smaller, everyday problems (i.e. rivalries, mistaken identities,
obstacles to love, and so on).
• Comic characters have no tragic flaws. In contrast to tragic heroes,
who must end in ruin to learn important lessons, comic heroes do not
suffer greatly and always survive, no matter how complicated the
situations they face.
• The comic conflict always ends more happily than it began. Just
as classical tragedy usually ends in ruin and death, classical comedy
often concludes symbolically, with a marriage celebration.
• In contrast to tragedy, the effect of comedy on the audience is more
entertaining than uplifting, but effective comedy can also deepen
our understanding or life. Often the comic playwright’s intent is to
show us a mirror image of ourselves. By getting us to laugh at
humorous characters and situations, they encourage the comic side of
being human.
Melodrama and Farce
Not every play, film, or television drama fits the
definition of tragedy or comedy. Often dramas fall
into the category of two related dramatic forms:
melodrama or farce.
Melodrama
Melodrama—arouses pity and fear
through cruder means. Good and
evil are clearly depicted in white
and black motifs. Plot is
emphasized over character
development. The melodramatic
plot aims for thrills and theatrical
excitement. Many of today’s popular
dramatic forms—such as murder
mysteries, horror movies, soap
operas, and Westerns—fall into the
melodrama category. Unlike
tragedy, melodramas are very easy
to understand. It is very clear who
the “heroes” and “villains” are, and
how we should feel about them.
Farce
Farce—aimed at arousing
explosive laughter using crude
means. Conflicts are violent,
practical jokes are common,
and the wit is coarse. The
plots of farces are often based
on complicated situations and
frenzied action (i.e. unlikely
coincidences, chase scenes,
mistaken identity). Farce
emphasizes physical humor
and rarely springs from
“character in action,” the basis
of more sophisticated comedy.