What is Drama?

Bedford Glossary of critical and literary terms Ross Murfin and Supriya Ray Drama is a serious literary work usually intended for performance before an audience. Drama is from a Greek word Dran meaning a to do/a thing done The Origins of Drama The most persistent theory is that Drama emerged from rituals Ancient rituals Greeks (comedies, tragedies) English (morality plays)

Rituals and theatre employ the same basic elements; music, songs, costumes, performance, spectacle, speech, stage, audience, mask Functions of Drama in primitive society 1. Binding community members together reinforcing their shared goals, shared values and common history, preserving culture and the rituals also shaped the yearly calendar. Rituals were also communal in the sense that they created a community of artists, of actors and of spectators who came to form the audience. 2. In modern drama professional theatre, Drama is more often the unique expression of the playwright and actors. Each performance is made up of the individuals involved rather than the community despite the differences the theatre back then mirrors the roles we play in our respective society and it reflects both the themes and subjects that concerns people. Today our concerns are survival, race, gender and challenge us to rethink issues of equity, equality and religion also politics. Plot story line, structure Plot is what happens (storyline) while structure is how what happens is arranged to achieve particular effects(dramatic). Drama is essentially the development and resolution of conflict. Conflict is very central in a play. Conflict is the heart and soul of drama. Suspense is created by conflict. NB: Always look at the play as a performance and the impact the play has on an audience. When the title of the work is the same as the main character it is termed as eponymous

Characters The vital center of a play. They bring plays to life. They are literary imitations of human beings. Dramatic characters come together and affect each other. They make things happen by coming into conflict. Through conflict they reveal themselves and advance the plot. A play is both theatre and literature. Staging The spectacle a play presents in performance; its visual details. Spectacles include: position of actors on stage (blocking), non-verbal gestures and movements, scenic background, props and costumes (stage property), lighting and sound effects. Sound is often used to add emotional dimension, stage directions. Three Unities of Drama 1. Time 2. Place 3. Action Functions of scenes in a play 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. To provide comic relief To establish setting To advance action To introduce/develop characters To give impression of the passing of time To give antecedent explanation etc.

Before analyzing antecedents analyze speeches in a play what is: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The situation in the play The character of the speaker The dramatic purpose of the speech The probable effect of the speech on the audience The nature and effect of dramatic devices used

Language/style in Shakespearean plays most of his plays are written in blank verse (iambic pentameter), unrhymed, follows regular patterns of speech Blank verse is closest to the rhythm of the everyday English speech, flexible and adaptable. Prose used for comic effects, by secondary characters, for stylistic variations in letters Couplet used most often at the end of a scene or act.

Language reveals characters. Through language meaning is enacted and is expressed. Dialogue is verbal and non- verbal. The verbal dimension of dialogue is usually reinforced by action, gesture and movement. Language makes things happen and in effect becomes action. Dialogue Exra Pound, Modern American Poet describes drama as persons moving about on a stage using words. Dialogue is inextricably linked to characters. Dialogue in plays typically has three major functions: 1. To advance the plot 2. To establish setting 3. To reveal characters Music This can encompass the rhythm of dialogues and speeches in a play or it can be aspects of melody or musical composition. Music is not always apart of a play, but it can be included to mean all the sounds of production. Music creates patterns and establishes tempo or pace in theatre. It is used to push the plot forward and move the stay to higher level of intensity. The characters wants and desires can be strengthened through the lyrics and music.