The Art of Drama

Drama is the word we use when we want to
indicate that we are studying something, like
plays or screenplays, in the written form when
it is really intended for performance.

The written form of the play or film will give
important instructions to the director or others
involved with the production that may not be
apparent to the audience during the
performance.
Theme

What is the main (or one of the main) ideas
or lessons that the writer is trying to convey
to the audience through the play that would
be relevant to the audience members’ lives?
– How do the elements of the play work to
convey this idea or lesson?
Stage Directions
In a play, these instructions are called stage
directions.
 They may include;

– References to set and props
– Directions or actions for actors
– Lighting changes

In a film, these may include camera angles
or changes, as well.
Difference Between Drama and Fiction

A main difference between drama and
fiction is that in drama, the action must be
carried out largely by the dialogue and
actions of the characters. In fiction, this can
be helped along by the narrative point of
view.
Similarities Between Drama and Fiction

There are a number of similarities between
drama and fiction:
– The settings are equally important and likely to be
equally symbolic.
– Characters will have the same general functions
» In a play, the main character is the protagonist, while the
character who opposes the protagonist is the antagonist
» The characters will have motivation, or an incentive or
reason for their behavior
» Sometimes the characters will have a flaw or defect,
called hamartia, and that defect will often lead to the
character’s downfall.
Similarities, continued
– Dramas, like works of fiction, will rely heavily
on plot to communicate the story and theme.
» The common pattern of most dramas is depicted in
Freytag’s Pyramid, below
Freytag’s Pyramid

A German critic, Gustave Freytag, derived his
pyramid from Aristotle’s concept of unity.
– Basically, a plot will present a problem or conflict
that will need to be resolved by its end.
– The play provides the audience with needed
information in the beginning of the play, generally
called exposition, and then increase the dramatic
tension with various plot complications.
– As the action rises to its climax, the point of
highest tension, the audience anticipates the
resolution.
Another Version of the Pyramid

Barbara F. McManus, professor of classics
emerita at the College of New Rochelle, has
created an alternate diagram of the pyramid.
Questions for Analyzing a Plot
(Understanding Movies, pages 332-337)
What does the exposition include?
 What are the rising plot points or twists?
 What, where, or when is the climax?
 How does the film get resolved? Is that
resolution satisfying to viewers? Why or
why not?

Setting

Physical Location and Cultural Background
– How does the playwright use the setting to
convey character traits, theme, conflict, or
irony?
– How or why is the cultural or physical
environment important to the readers’
understanding of the play?
– How important is the setting to the play as a
whole?
Style

Imagery, symbolism, sentence structure, or
type of dialogue by characters’ (soliloquy or
asides)
– Are characters distinguished from each other by
their styles—their use of imagery, diction, and
sentence structure?
– How does the playwright use language to
develop characters or to convey them?
– Does the playwright use any structural devices
to convey meaning? How?
Character

People created by writer (and actors during
the performance)
– Main character: protagonist
– Protagonist’s opposing force: antagonist
– Motivation, personality, physical description
Questions for Character Analysis
– What type of characters are presented? Are they
stereotypes or individuals? Dynamic or static? If they
are dynamic, how do they change and grow? How is
their depth or complexity revealed by the writer?
– What does the dialogue tell us about the characters?
Does it individualize them? Do stage directions
contribute to this process?
– How does the writer impart to the audience the
thoughts, feelings,, and ideas of the characters?
– What are the characters’ motivations? What actions
reveal the characters’ traits, personalities, or
motivations?
Sources





Field, Syd. Screenplay: The Foundations of
Screenwriting. New York: Dell Publishing,
1994.
Henderson, Gloria and William Day and Sandra
Waller. Literature and Ourselves. New York:
HarperCollins College Publishers, 1994.
Giannetti, Louis. Understanding Movies.
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall,
1999.
Internet Movie Database. http:// www.imdb.com
Niccol, Andrew. Gattaca. Dir. Andrew Niccol.
Sony Pictures, 1994.