CREATIVE

WRITING
Prepared by:
Ma. Charlievy R. Reynoso
DRAMA
 A masterpiece like drama can only be achieved
through the organization of its elements. How
these elements interact with each other, along
with the techniques and literary devices in drama
lies the success of its being valued.
With this, the playwright’s major concern is
making a sense in combining these elements
in harmony if not; it would not create an
impact to the audience.
 The term "drama" comes from a Greek word
meaning "action" (Classical Greek: δρ μα, drama),ᾶ
which is derived from "I do" (Classical Greek: δράω,
drao).
It is a literary work intended to be presented on a
stage in front of an audience or a group of
audience.
This usually involves a conflict between the main
character who is the protagonist, the antagonist,
and the supporting characters.
 Considered as a genre of poetry in
general, the dramatic mode has been
contrasted with the epic and the lyrical
modes ever since Aristotle's Poetics (c.
335 BC)—the earliest work of dramatic
theory.
Ancient religious ceremonies had been viewed
as the cradle of the earliest forms of drama. In
ancient Greece, Greek drama originated from
rituals to venerate Dionysus, the god of wine
and fertility. In such ceremony, dancing of the
chorus was introduced among singers and
dancers. Aeschylus and Sophocles added the
second and third character respectively.
At which point drama is
different from novel or
poetry?

A drama is almost exclusively written in

dialogue while a novel is generally written in
basic prose. Both types of work have similar
story elements such as characters, plot,
settings, etc.
POPULAR TYPES OF
DRAMA
Comedy – Comedies are lighter in tone
than ordinary works, and provide a happy
conclusion. The intention of dramatists in
comedies is to make their audience laugh.
Hence, they use quaint circumstances,
unusual characters, and witty remarks.
Tragedy – Tragic dramas use darker themes,
such as disaster, pain, and death.
Protagonists often have a tragic flaw — a
characteristic that leads them to their
downfall.
 Farce – Generally, a farce is a
nonsensical genre of drama, which
often overacts or engages slapstick
humor.
Melodrama – Melodrama is an exaggerated drama,
which is sensational and appeals directly to the
senses of the audience. Just like the farce, the
characters are of a single dimension and simple, or
may be stereotyped.
 Musical Drama – In musical dramas,
dramatists not only tell their stories
through acting and dialogue, but
through dance as well as music. Often
the story may be comedic, though it
may also involve serious subjects.
Elements
of
Drama
The elements of drama can be categorized into
three major areas namely: literary elements,
technical elements, and the performance elements.
It was Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, who first wrote
about the essential elements of drama around 2000
years ago. This became the standard elements used
in modern times (Buhisan, 2016).
Name Focus
Plot happenings on the play
Theme main idea
Characters Actors
Dialogue Storylines
Music/Rhythm s o u n d o f t h e
dialogue/musicality
Spectacle visual elements
TABLE 1: LITERARY ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
Name Focus
Set/Scenery technical equipment
Costumes Clothing
Props Objects
Lights c h o i c e , i n t e n s i t y,
placement
Sound effects heard
Makeup cosmetics/prosthetics

TABLE 2: TECHNICAL ELEMENTS OF DRAMA

name focus
acting use of body, face and voice
c h a r a c t e r force influencing behaviour
motivation
character analysis process evaluation of
elements
empathy mode of relating to the
experiences

TABLE 3: PERFORMANCE ELEMENTS OF

DRAMA
Literary device is a literary or linguistic technique that produces a
specific effect, especially a figure of speech, narrative style, or plot
mechanism to help the author achieve his or her purpose. (Literary
Terms, 2016)
Uses:
1. beautify the piece of literature (aesthetic purpose);
2. give deeper meanings to it, testing the very understanding of the
readers along with providing them enjoyment of reading;
3. help motivate readers’ imagination to visualize the characters and
scenes more clearly ;and
4. allow the readers to compare a work of one writer to that of the
other to determine its worth.
 There are two kinds of literary devices
Literary Elements
For example: plot, setting, narrative structure,
characters, mood, theme, moral etc.

Literary Techniques
Examples of these are metaphor, simile, alliteration,
hyperbole, allegory
1. Imagery: It is the use of figurative language to create visual
representations of actions, objects and ideas in our mind in such a
way that they appeal to physical senses. For example:

The cloud was dark and gloomy. -The words “dark” and “gloomy” are
visual images.

2. Simile and Metaphor: Both compare two distinct objects and

draws similarity between them. The difference is that Simile uses “as”
or “like” while Metaphor makes a direct comparison. For example:

“You are like an angel from heaven.” (Simile)

The man was a tiger when proviked. (Metaphor)
3. Hyperbole: It exaggerates for dramatic effect. For example:

Habacuc is very thirsty. He can drink an ocean

4. Personification: It gives a thing, an idea or animal human qualities.

For example:

The sun smiled at me.

5. Alliteration: It refers to the same consonant sounds in words

coming together. For example:
Better butter always makes the batter better.
6. Allegory: It is a literary technique in which an abstract idea is given
a form of characters, actions or events. For example:

“Animal Farm”, written by George Orwell, is an example allegory using

the actions of animals on a farm to represent the overthrow of the
last of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II and the Communist Revolution of
Russia before WW II. In addition, the actions of the animals on the
farm are used to expose the greed and corruption of the Revolution.
Irony: It is use of the words in such a way in which the intended
meaning is completely opposite to their literal meaning. For example:

They you for coming on time. We had missed the first trip.