Good Morning!
Welcome to class.
The Western History of Drama Analysis
Note: You can take notes if you want, it is not required.
I warn you I used to lecture college kids, so I go fast.
Let me know if I need to slow down.
Despite centuries of thinking, all
modern Western literary analysis
comes down to this guy…
Poetry is the
province either of
one who is naturally
clever, or of one who
is insane.
ARISTOTLE
In 335 BCE, he wrote a book of
dramatic theory called Poetics.
In it he describes what good poetry, in Greek it
means “making”, looks like.
In Ancient Greece, the term poetry applied to
poetry and drama (there were no novels).
Drama consisted of the tragedy, the comedy,
and the Satyr play.
Tragedy was the favorite genre of
ancient Greece.
During festivals, three tragedies would
be performed and one Satyr play.
Satyr plays were silly. They were filled
with mock drunkenness, sex, pranks,
and silent gags.
Aristotle’s Theories in The Poetics
Have been obeyed, from Shakespeare to
Hollywood.
It is important to remember Aristotle observed, not wrote, the rules of
Drama.
Aristotle believed that…
• it is man’s innate nature to imitate.
• we imitate in art to learn about things and
concepts.
• Poetry imitates through words, and drama
through action!
The Six Elements of Theater
• Are found in The Poetics.
• First applied only to tragedy (and by “tragedy”,
Aristotle means not “comedy”), but now
expanded to all dramatic analysis.
• Most dramas you see follow these rules.
Element 1. Action/Plot
• The most important, according to Aristotle,
element.
• The events of the play
• The story as opposed to theme
• The “what happens”
• In a plot there is a pattern of movement:
initial entanglement, rising action, climax, ant
the falling action to dénouement.
Element 2. Character
• The second most important aspect.
• The people in the play.
• Aristotle believed that each should have its
own distinct personality, age, appearance,
beliefs, background, and language.
Element 3: Thought/Theme/Ideas
What the play is supposed to
mean.
“The abstract issues and
feelings that grow out of the
dramatic action.”
Element 4: Language
• The word choices made by the author, and the
enunciation of the actors.
• Language and dialog move the plot along,
provide exposition, and define the characters.
Element 5: Music
• Ancient plays all had music as an integral part.
(remember choruses?)
• Is no longer in all plays, but it could…
– Set tempo
– Set mood
– Create effects
– Creates patterns
– Drive plot forward
• Diehard Aristotelian critics have expanded the term
to include all sound in a production (even the
changes in an actors voice)!
Element 6: Spectacle
• Comprises the visual elements of a play.
• Includes: set design, costumes, properties (the
things actors hold… “props”), special effects,
and lighting.
• Aristotle considers this the least important
element of theater, but it is still important
enough to merit being an “element”.
Brünnhilde can change from this
to this without much loss of meaning.
Note the Winged helmet…
White FaceWickedness,
untrustworthy
Note: Huangmei opera places very little emphasis on costume…
Red Facecourage, loyalty,
honesty
Stock Characters, of course, still rely on
spectacle for identification purposes.
Stock characters are characters based on a common
literary or social stereotype.
They are clichés. We know them, and we identify them
through their props, costumes, and makeup.
Harlequin and Pierrot
The “French Maid” is an interesting
example…
they commonly functioned as
“soubrettes” in turn of the century
plays. Soubrettes are stock characters
that are vain, girlish, mischievous,
gossipy, street wise, flirty, and often
sexually aggressive.
Their prevalence in theater may have diminished, but
the infamous “French Maid” is still with us.
Some of what Aristotle wrote is not of
relevance today…
•
•
•
•
Like most of his scientific theories (aether?)
The types of souls (vegetative? Animal?)
Revolution of planets
Ideas on women: basically inferior, colder (in
temperature therefore less perfect), need to be
controlled by husbands in home, don’t educate them
(but you can train them in gymnastics!)
A woman is an infertile
male!
Despite all that …
Aristotle’s treatise on the elements of Drama/Theater
allow us insight on the time-honored traditions of
dramatic form and elements. It also tells us what to
focus on in our analysis. Plot. Character. Theme.
I will warn you, Ibsen will challenge many of
Aristotle’s ideas. Setting, movement, and props also
have great significance. Spectacle is very important!
DRAMA TERMS
DRAMATIS PERSONAE- the characters in the play
CATASTROPHE- the final resolution in a plot which unravels the
plot and closes the piece. Made up of the:
1. Denouement (the explanations/un-ravelling) and the 2. achievement (the
end result)
Climax
Rising Action
Falling Action
Achievement
EXPOSTION
Denouement
More Terms
CATHARSIS- the “emotional cleansing”. An extreme change in emotion, the release of
pent-up energy (it can happen to the characters in the play or the audience)
FOIL- a secondary character that contrasts with the main character setting off his
personality.
Ex: Don Quixote and Sancho Panza
Sometimes Subplots can serve as foils for the main plot.
FOURTH WALL- the imaginary “wall” at the front of the stage… the imaginary
boundary between fiction and reality.
GESTURE- the physical movements of characters during a play
REVERSAL- the point at which the action of the plot turns in an unexpected direction
for the protagonist.
SETTING- the time and place of literary work
STAGE DIRECTION- comments that provide the reader with information about the
dialogue, setting and actions of a play. (Ibsen provides a lot!)
Ok, Today’s Activity
We are going to begin reading the book, we will
end when Helmer leaves the room…
Popcorn readings style.
Questions to Whole Class
What “elements of the theater” have you seen so
far?
In Pairs,
Analyze and make inferences about the character of
Nora and Torvald.
List character traits with textual evidence.
How does the dialogue between the two add to an
understanding of their characters? How does
spectacle enhance their characters?
Be prepared to share your lists with the class.