2. Definition
• A drama tells a story, usually of human conflict,
through dialogue and action.
• “A story in dramatic form, typically emphasising
conflict in key characters and written to be
performed by actors” (from Harris, et al. The Literacy
Dictionary, IRA, 1995)
• “…three necessary elements in drama: (1) a story (2)
told in action (3) by characters who impersonate the
characters of the story” (Thrall and Hibbert, A
Handbook to Literature, Odyssey Press,1960)
3. Quick History of Drama
• Started in 6th Cent BC (600-500 BC) Greece.
• Drama - comes from the Greek word meaning
“action” or “to do.”
• First actor was Thespis; thus, the term thespian
(theater actor/actress).
• Wore big masks so their facial expression could be
seen from afar. (The amphitheater is big.)
4. Development of Drama
• Western Drama: Began in Greece (600 BC)
– Greek tragedies
– Roman liturgical plays
• Miracle plays
• Passion plays
– Italian Renaissance Operas (1500)
• Music plays an important role
– English Renaissance: Elizabethan Theater (1500)
• Queen Elizabeth promoted drama.
• William Shakespeare wrote and staged his plays.
5. Forms of Western Drama
1. Tragedy - a death of a hero or a simple downfall of
the hero.
2. Comedy - All’s well and ends well.
a) No particular hero.
b) Ends happily ever after; ends with a festivity (e.g.
dancing, eating).
c) Themes: ridicules social norms; basically, comedy tends
to be irreverent
3. Offshoots of tragedy:
a) Melodrama - fight between good and evil
b) Suspense - begins with someone’s death
6. Purpose
• To entertain
• To provoke thought and emotion
• To present a visual and aural experience for the
audience
7. Drama…
• Plays on your emotions.
• Asks you to believe and be involved in it.
• Makes you feel for the hero and the heroine.
• Subject matter: reflection of the drama of everyday
life – concentrates life, focuses it and holds it up for
examination.
8. Audience
• The fact of a live audience has an important impact on the
way plays are created
• Essential feature of a play – involves fact that audience and
actors have a common experience.
– Drama plays before a live audience of real people who respond
directly and immediately to it.
• Drama usually conceived by playwright for a particular
response.
9. Conventions
• Greek
– Worked with familiar story material
– Relied on messengers to report off-stage action
– Relied on chorus for interpretation, echo of reactions
common to community
– Written in metered verse arranged in elaborate stanzas
10. Conventions
• English Drama
– Minor characters play an important role in providing info
& guiding interpretation.
• Casually comment among themselves on major characters and
plot development
– Soliloquy
• Enables major character to reveal his thoughts
– Asides
• Remarks made to the audience but not heard by those on stage
11. Conventions
• Realism
– Realistic depiction of everyday life
– Characters may be unconventional & their thoughts
turbulent and fantasy-ridden
12. Conventions
• Contemporary
– Key word – experimentation
– Narrator replaces the messenger, chorus and the
confidante
– Flashbacks often substitute for narration.
13. Dialogue
• Provides substance of a play
• Decorum what is said is appropriate to the role and
situation of the character
• Exposition of play falls on dialogue of the characters
– Establishes relationships, tensions, conflicts
14. Plot
• Drama uses the resources of the theater to show
human actions in such a way that we gain a deeper
understanding of the human experience.
• Structured story which develops the action of the
play
– More than a story – involves causes & results, interactions
of characters and a devt in time
– Allows story to develop logically, presenting characters in
an unfolding situation
15. Plot
• Open Conflict plays
– Rely on suspense of a struggle in which the hero, against all odds, is
not doomed
• Dramatic thesis
– Foreshadowing, in the form of ominous hints or symbolic incidents,
conditions the audience to expect certain logical developments
• Coincidence
– Sudden reversal of fortune plays depict climatic ironies or
misunderstandings
• Dramatic Irony
– Fulfilment of a plan, action or expectation in a surprising way, often
opposite of what was intended
16. Dramatis Personae
• Some mystery should be left in the revelation of
character in a play, just as a great deal of mystery is
always left in the revelation of character in life, even
in one’s own character to himself (Tennessee
Williams)
17. Dramatis Personae
• There is usually at least one antagonist and oneThere is usually at least one antagonist and one
protagonist.protagonist.
• Characters’ names are listed at the beginning of theCharacters’ names are listed at the beginning of the
drama/play, usually in the order of their appearance.drama/play, usually in the order of their appearance.
This listing often includes brief informationThis listing often includes brief information
including: age, appearance, role in the play, and/orincluding: age, appearance, role in the play, and/or
relationship to other characters in the play.relationship to other characters in the play.
18. Character
• Studying Character
– Costumes
– Appearance
– What they say
– What others say about them
– Interaction between characters
– Times of silence
– Motivation – what makes a character tick?
19. Things to look out for
• How is character revealed?
• Does the language of the play demand a particular style of
acting or direction?
• How significant are sound effects, on stage and off? Is music
necessary?
• How important are stage effects & the use of such aspects as:
a revolving stage, different acting levels etc
• How impt is costume in giving life to the play & in reinforcing
the ideas and intention of the playwright?
• How important is the audience to the success of the play?
20. Setting
• The place(s) where the action occurs; created
through the manipulation of sets, lights, scenery, and
references.
– Often revealed through stage directions.
– Ranges from bare minimum to very elaborate, realistic or
left to the imagination
21. Stage Directions
• Stage directions describe setting, lighting, movement
of characters and props, intonation of dialogue,
costumes
• Setting for each scene is usually given in italics at the
beginning of the text for that scene.
22. Activity
• In your prose/drama package groups, work out a
scene that begins:
– “Ma’am, it is done.”
23. Reflection
• What do you think are the challenges faced by a
tutor in the teaching of drama and how can these be
overcome?
• Are there differences in management of a mixed
gender class and a single gender class? If yes, what
are the differences and how can they be managed?
