Drama

Elements:Conflict- the central struggle between two or

more forces in a play.

Plot – the unique arrangements of events in a play.

Subplot – a secondary arrangement of incidents involving not the protagonist, but someone less important.

ElementsProtagonist- the primary figure or figures in a

playExposition- the part of the play in which we meet

the characters, learn about past events, and find out what is occurring at the moment.

Dramatic Question:The problem to be solved or the confusion to

be cleared up through the play.

Climax:A moment, usually late in a play, when tension

reaches its greatest height. At this moment, we sense that the play’s dramatic question is about to be answered (1124)

Resolution/ Denouement The outcome or resolution of the basic problem

which the play addresses.Example- The final scene from Hamlet

Rising and Falling ActionThe events in a play which lead toward the

resolution of the dramatic question at the climactic moment.

The events occurring after the climax of the play.

Unity of Time, Place & ActionAn interpretation of the theories of Aristotle to

suggest that a good play must display a unity of action,time, and place.

The events must take place within twenty-four hours in a single location. The play must be entirely serious or entirely comedic.

Symbols:As in fiction and poetry, things suggest larger

meanings. The glass unicorn in “The Glass Menagerie”

represents the individual who exhibits a difference from the larger society. When the unicorn is broken, the sense of individuality is lost.

Tragedy:A play that portrays a serious conflict between

humans and some superior overwhelming forces.

Aristotle asserts that in a tragedy the protagonist’s reversal of fortune occurs because of an error or weakness, generally referred to as a tragic flaw.

Tragic StyleAccording to Aristotle, tragedy should arouse

pity and fear.Tragedy distances itself from the protagonist . In tragedy, fear or immediate anxiety for our

own well-being emerges.We, as an audience, feel our own vulnerability

in the face of life’s dangers and instability because we see that neither position nor virtue can protect even the great from ruin (1135).

Comedy: komos (a revel)Thought to have originated in festivities to

celebrate spring, ritual performances in praise of Dionysus, god of fertility and wine(1141).

The attitude of the audience, when a character, through weakness or error is in peril, is one of amusement.

Satiric Comedy: “Human weakness or folly is ridiculed from a

vantage point of supposedly enlightened superiority”(1141).

Often critical of people for their manners and their morals.

High Comedy:Relies more on wordplay and wit rather than

physical action.Points out the pretension and hypocrisy of

human behavior. Often uses the epigram, a brief, witty

statement that memorably expresses some truth, large or small(1142).

Comedy of Manners:“A witty satire set in elite or fashionable

society.

Low Comedy“ It places greater emphasis on physical action

and visual gags, and its verbal jokes do not require much intellect to appreciate”(1143)

Types of Low ComedyBurlesque- “ …a broadly humorous parody or

travesty of another play or kind of play”(1142).Farce-”… a broadly humorous play whose

action is usually fast-moving and improbable”(1142).

Example: “Arsenic and Old Lace”

Commmedia Dell’ArteArtist Comedy- An Italian late Renaissance kind

of theater developed by comedians who traveled from town to town, regaling crowds at country fairs and market places.

Familiar characters were Harlequin, a clown; Columbine, his peppery sweetheart; and Pantaloon, a doddering duffer (1142)

SlapstickA kind of farce featuring pie-throwing, fisticuffs,

and other violent action.

Romantic Comedy A comedy which features main characters who

are generally lovers. The plot concerns their successful strivings to be united.

The audience views these characters with kindness.

Theater of SophoclesPlays were performed at festivals such as the

Great Dionysia, a citywide celebration of sacrifices, prize ceremonies, and processions, as well as three days of drama (1158)

Three tragic plays, as well as a satyr play, were offered by various authors.

Staging:The Greeks held festivals in hillside

amphitheaters holding as many as 17,000 spectators .

The performance space consisted of the orchestra, a level circular dancing space and a slightly raised stage built in front of the skene or stage house , originally a canvas or wooden hut for costume changes.

Deus ex machina (god out of the machineA hook and pulley system for raising and

lowering actors playing gods- any means of bringing a play to a quick resolution.

Actors in Greek DramaThe actors used masks ( personae, the source

of our word person). The masks contained exaggerated mouthpieces sought to augment the projection of sound. The masks often represented character types such as the old king, the young soldier, or the shepherd. Female roles were played by men.

Dramatic Structure The conventional structure allowed for no more

than three actors on the stage at any one time along with a chorus of fifteen. The actor’s speeches alternated with the chorus’ singing and dancing.

Greek chorus – offered commentary, advice, warning, spectacle, background information and a means to allow the actors to step away for costume changes or a respite

Structure of the TragedyPrologue- a preparatory sceneParados – the song for the entrance of the

chorusEpisodes – similar to acts and scenes in

modern plays in which the action occursExodus- The last scene in which the characters

and the chorus concluded the action and departed.

Aristotle’s concept of Tragedy Tragic Hero- the protagonist , hero or primary

character who is a person of high estate .Hamartia- the error or transgression or tragic

flaw which brings about his fall.Hubris- a frequent failure of the Greek hero

which is defined as an excess of pride or defiance of the Gods.

Example: Oedipus

Katharsis:An idea that tragedy produces a sense of

purification or relief of pent up emotions.

Recognition / AnagnorsisThe discovery by a main character of some

knowledge previously not revealed or the perception of one’s true identity. The revelation of the unthinkable.

Oedipus discovers that he has killed his father and married his mother.

Reversal/ peripety A response to the revelation. In the case of

Oedipus, he blinds himself and goes into exile.Aristotle refers more simply to the action which

intended to be helpful, actually has the opposite effect .

The Theater of ShakespearePlays were performed in daylight with very

simple scenery. However, the staging was enhanced through elaborate costumes, music, and sound effects.

At the back of the stage were doors for exits and entrances. Above the stage was a balcony or porch.

In the stage floor was a trapdoor .

Shakespearean TheaterThe stage building was round or octagonal with

galleries for the audience.The groundlings paid a penny to stand in the

yard in front of the stage.

The Modern TheaterRealism-”…the attempt to reproduce faithfully

the surface appearance of life, especially that of ordinary people in everyday situations(1553).

Prominent playwrights- Ibsen, Chekhov.

Conventions of RealismBox set as opposed to the picture frame stage

with action within the proscenium arch.Three walls were joined in two corners and a

ceiling tilted as if seen in perspective. Actors spoke from wherever the dramatic situation placed them.

Stanislavsky fostered acting instruction in which actors matched their own memories for personal experiences like the character’s experience.

Naturalism

A kind of realism in fiction and drama dealing with the more brutal or unpleasant aspects of reality.

The characters were seen as products of heredity and environment

Examples: Eugene O’Neill- “ The Hairy Ape” Arthur Miller was influenced by O’Neill

American ModernismThornton Wilder- “ Our Town” , “The Skin Of

Our Teeth”

Arthur Miller- All My Sons, Death of a Salesman

Tennessee Williams- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof , A Streetcar Named Desire, The Glass Menagerie

Sources:Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. Drama. New

York: Longman,2010. Print.