Varieties of Drama
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Transcript of Varieties of Drama
VARIETIES OF DRAMA
The Stage and the School Chapter 6Dr. Neighbours
2 Recognized varieties of drama: Tragedy
Generally end in catastrophes
Often have a death at the end
ComedyUsually lightheartedClever dialogue and
amusing characters
Tragicomedies:Have qualities of both comedy and tragedy
“Dramas”:Do not fit the definition of tragedy but are serious in nature
60 Words to Add to Your Cultural Vocabulary……1. Allegory2. Ambiguity3. Anticlimax4. Anticipation5. Aside6. Avant-garde7. Burlesque8. Caricature9. Catharsis10. Children’s theatre11. Comedy12. Comedy of manners13. Constructivism14. Epic Theatre15. Exaggeration
16. Existentialism17. Expressionism18. Fantasy19. Farce20. Foreshadowing21. Hamartia22. High comedy23. Hubris24. Incompletion25. Incongruity26. Low comedy27. Melodrama28. Monodrama29. Naturalism30. Parody
60 Words to Add to Your Cultural Vocabulary……(cont.)31. Pathos32. Performance art33. Plant34. Play of ideas35. Presentational36. Protagonist37. Protection38. Psychological drama39. Puppet theatre40. Realism41. Recognition42. Relief43. Representational44. Romantic comedy45. Romanticism
46. Running gag47. Satire48. Schmaltz49. Screen scene50. Sentimental comedy51. Style52. Stylization53. Symbolism54. The “whodunit”55. Theatre of Involvement56. Theatre of the Absurd57. Theatrical conventions58. Theatricalism59. Total Theatre60. Tragedy
PART ONE:COMEDY AND TRAGEDY
Tragedy
About TRAGEDY: Considered to be
humanity’s highest literary achievement
Sober, thoughtful plays based on proud human emotions and conflicts that do not change with time or place Quality is called
transcendence: “transcending time and place”
Focus is on a protagonist Character is a significant
person engaged in a struggle but ultimately fails Overcome by opposing
forces Struggle may be internal or
external May be characteristics of the
person (internal) or divine or human forces (external)
Tragic character has no control
Philosophical guide to Tragedy
Philosophy: “The love of Wisdom;” how and why one thinks as he/she does; understanding beyond the tangible
Pathos: meaning pity, sorrow, suffering
The quality of the drama that arouses feelings in the audience that include pity and compassion for the tragic protagonist.
The inevitable outcome creates this feeling Audiences’ emotions intensify the impact of the events
because they can relate to the human quality Catharsis:
A sense of release the audience feels when the tragedy ends because the pathos has been purged
Audiences obtain a sense of relief
Five Characteristics often Found in Tragic Characters
Tragic characters can be significant rulers, such as Macbeth or King Lear, or common citizens like Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman or Blanche DuBois in Streetcar Named Desire
1. They have a flaw or make an error that has serious consequences
2. They make no apology for their actions3. They set goals based on unyielding beliefs4. They know that almost everything worth
having demands some sacrifice5. They are willing to make the sacrifice
themselves, never asking another to make sacrifices for them
Aristotle's Definition of Tragic Character
Found in his work Poetics
An average or better person who, during the course of the play, is brought from happiness to misery
Through suffering he/she acquires a sense of awareness of truth, of self, or of others
Also becomes alienated and isolated from society His actions that cause the difficulties are brought
about by Hamartia: A character weakness or error in judgment Also called tragic flaw Most common form of Hamartia is hubris:
○ Hubris:excessive pride
Tragic comparisons
What are the forces that the tragic characters are against?What is the protagonist's weakness?Does the play communicate a sense of inevitability?
•Hamlet:•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YHMYkUrV7A
•Macbeth:•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaLBfH3o1TU&feature=related
Comedy
About COMEDY: Derived from Greek words
komos and ode, meaning “revel song”
Usually societal and conciliatory – all the characters come together at the end of the play Even villains There’s a “happy ending”
Often depends on circumstance unique to a particular time and place, most enduring have transcendence
Built around character, situations, and dialogue
Some bring great laughs Some only cause inner smiles Comedy is not always funny,
but is always amusing, delighting, or at least please an audience
Protagonist overcomes opposing forces or achieves desired goals or both
Protagonist is often less-than-average person
Protagonist may be an idealist, a romantic, an extreme pragmatist, a blunderer, a dreamer, or even a rogue
Tragedy versus Comedy
Tragedy Comedy
Inevitable – there is no way to change or to stop the outcome
Universal theme and appeal Emotional Protagonist fails to achieve
goals Protagonist alienate from
society Protagonist average or better Protagonist falls from
leadership, losing respect dreams, position
Predictably unpredictable – you can expect the unlikely
Often time and place oriented Intellectual, mental Protagonist achieves goals
Protagonist often becomes leader of new society, even villain is usually accepted
Protagonist less than average Protagonist achieves success,
often as a result of own mistakes or shortcomings
What makes people laugh?•What is funny today may not be tomorrow•Sometimes we laugh out of embarrassment•Sometimes we laugh for no reason at all•What is humorous in one city may not be in another
7 common causes of laughter:1. Exaggeration
Overstatements Overstated physicality's Personality types
2. Incongruity Anything that seems out of place, out of time, or out of character Comes in many forms – unnatural action, a test or turn of events, or the irrelevant
3. Anticipation The looking forward to a potential laugh Sight gags Plays roll in “mistaken identity” humor Techniques: Plants or foreshadowing, running gag, incompletion
○ Plants: an idea, line, or action emphasized early in play, also called foreshadowing
○ Running gag: a minimum of three exposures to the plant○ Incompletion: a line or bit of action is started but never finish; audience completes
with laughter
7 common causes of laughter:4. Ambiguity
Double meaning, puns, word play5. Recognition
Discovering hidden or obscure meanings Audience is amused to recognize the meanings
6. Protection Cruel, violent, grotesque, and abusive actions and events cause
laughter because the audience is protected by knowing these things are not real and are not damaging as they seem
Examples are found in most cartoons7. Relief
A build in pressure and then releases it This would be like catharsis in tragedy Relief of pressure is humorous when the pent-up emotions are
allowed to explode in laughter