Palasin, Ronnel C.

ENG504 Literary Crticism

Dr. Nimfa G. Dimaculangan
Assignment No.1

Drama is a word of Greek origin meaning "action" and referring to a

performance on the stage in which actors act out the events and characters of a
story. A dramatic work is usually called a play, but if you want to specify what type of
drama it is, you can call it a comedy, a. tragedy, a farce or tragicomedy or other
names. As well as a play, drama usually involves

o a playwright or dramatist, that is, the author of the play;

o a stage, that is, the area in a playhouse or theatre where the play is
performed;
o an audience, that is, the people who go to the theatre to watch the
performance.

Watching a live performance, while sitting in a playhouse with a crowd of

other spectators, is the best way of appreciating any play.

Whenever you read a play, if you have no chance of seeing it performed, you
should try to create a mental image of its performance. In order to help you, we shall
try to make you familiar with some basic dramatic conventions, that is, established
ways of writing plays which have been used so often that they have become typical
of the genre.

Today a play can be performed not on1y in a theatre hut also on the radio or
on media TV. The use of these two-mass media has made drama easily accessible
to the vast majority. The cinema has also contributed to the popularity of drama by
offering memorable fi1m versions of some of the most important works in the history
of British theatre.

Theatre
• Comes from the term “theatron”
• The place where ancient Greeks sat to watch plays, and is translated as “seeing
place”
Aristotle (384-322 BC) was a Greek philosopher whose writings still influence us
today. He was the first to write about the essential elements of drama more than
2,000 years ago. While ideas have changed slightly over the years, we still discuss
Aristotle's list when talking about what makes the best drama.

Aristotle’s Six Elements of Drama

Plot: This is what happens in the play. Plot refers to the action; the basic storyline of
the play.
Theme: While plot refers to the action of the play, theme refers to the meaning of the
play.
Characters: Characters are the people portrayed by the actors in the play. It is the
characters who move the action, or plot, of the play forward.
Dialogue: This refers to the words written by the playwright and spoken by the
characters in the play.
Music/Rhythm: Music featured in drama or the actors' voices as they speak.
Spectacle: This refers to the visual elements of a play: sets, costumes, special
effects, etc.

Elements of Modern Drama

Aristotle’s list has changed slightly, although you will notice that many of the
elements remain the same. (Characters, Plot, Theme, Dialogue remains the same.)
•Convention (techniques used by the playwright to create the desired stylistic effect)
•Genre (the type of play. Some examples of different genres include comedy,
tragedy, mystery and historical play)
•Audience (This is the group of people who watch the play)

Plot Structure
There are six stages in a plot structure.
Initial incident: The event that “gets the story going”
Preliminary event: Whatever takes place BEFORE the action of the play that is
directly related to the play
Rising action: A series of events following the initial incident and leading up to the
dramatic climax
Climax: The turning point or high point of a story, when events can go either way
Falling action: The series of events following the climax
Denouement: the conclusion from the French word “unraveling”

Types of Drama
Drama is used to describe plays that address a serious subject.
Comedy is a form of drama that has a happy ending. Humor comes from the
dialogue and situations.
Tragedy is a form of drama in which events lead to the downfall of the main
character, often a person of great significance, like a king or hero.
The two masks associated with drama represent the traditional generic division
between comedy and tragedy.
FEW ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
Theatre
Where a play takes place
Set
• Construction on the stage that shows time/place
• Could be called Scenery
Dramatic Speech
Dialogue-conversation between or among characters
Soliloquy- is a speech that one gives to oneself.
Monologue-speech given by a single person to an audience.
Conflict
The internal or external struggle between opposing forces, ideas, or interests that
create dramatic tension.
Stage Directions
• Found in brackets [ ]
• Describe scenery and how characters speak
• C, Center Stage
• L, Stage Left
• R, Stage Right
• U, Upstage or Rear
• D, Downstage or Front
Props Small movable items that the actors use to make actions look real.
Characterization
• Is the playwright’s technique for creating believable characters.
• Indirect
• Direct
References:

Drama http://www.mgtundoedu.altervista.org/what_is_drama.htm

Background of drama https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drama

Elements of drama https://www.slideshare.net/RahilaKhan6/drama-70272781