Elements of

Drama

Aristotles elements of drama

PLOT what happens in a play; the order of events, the story as opposed to the theme; what
happens rather than what it means.

THEME what the play means as opposed to what happens (plot); the main idea within the
play.

CHARACTER the personality or the part an actor represents in a play; a role played by an
actor in a play.

DICTION/LANGUAGE/DIALOGUE the word choices made by the playwright and the

enunciation of the actors delivering the lines.

MUSIC/RHYTHM by music Aristotle meant the sound, rhythm and melody of the speeches.

SPECTACLE the visual elements of the production of a play; the scenery, costumes, and
special effects in a production.

1. Plot

The plot has been called the body of a

play and the theme has been called its
soul. Most plays have a conflict of some
kind between individuals, between man
and society, man and some superior force
or man and h himself. The events that this
conflict provokes make up the plot.

Freytag's Plot Triangle

Freytag's

2. Thought/Theme/Ideas

What the play means as opposed to what

happens (the plot). Sometimes the
theme is clearly stated in the title. It may
be stated through dialogue by a character
acting as the playwrights voice. Or it may
be the theme is less obvious and
emerges only after some study or
thought. The abstract issues and feelings
that grow out of the dramatic action.

Plot and theme should go hand in hand. If

the theme is one of nobility, or dignity, the
plot must concern events and characters
that measure up to that theme. As we a
nalyze many plays, we find that some
posses an excellent theme, but are
supported by an inconsequential plot.

3. Characters
These

are the people presented in

the play that are involved in the
perusing plot. Each character should
have their own distinct personality,
age, appearance, beliefs, socio
economic background, and
language.

Most plays contain major characters and

minor characters. The delineation and
development of major characters is
essential to the play.

protagonist

Etymologically, it means the first

contestant. In the Greek drama, where the
term arose, all the parts were played by
one, two, or three actors (the more actors,
the later the play), and the best actor, who
got the principal part(s), was the
protagonist. The second best actor was
called the euteragonist.

Chorus

A group of actors who function as a unit was a

characteristic feature of the Greek tragedy. The
members of the chorus shared a common
identity, such as Asian Bacchantes or old men of
Thebes. The choragos (leader of the chorus)
sometimes spoke and acted separately. In some
of the plays, the chorus participated directly in
the action; in others they were restricted in
observing the action and commenting on it.

Another type of character is the stereotype

or stock character, a character who
reappears in various forms in many plays.
Comedy is particularly a fruitful source of
such figures, including the miles gloriosus
or boastful soldier (a man who claims
great valor but proves to be a coward
when tested), the irascible old man (the
source of elements in the character of
Polonius), the witty servant,

Chorus

A group of actors who function as a unit, called a

chorus, was a characteristic feature of the Greek
tragedy. The members of the chorus shared a
common identity, such as Asian Bacchantes or
old men of Thebes. The choragos (leader of the
chorus) sometimes spoke and acted separately.
In some of the plays, the chorus participated
directly in the action; in others they were
restricted in observing the action and
commenting on it.

Characterization playwrights

technique for making

believable characters

4. Language

The word choices made by the playwright and

the enunciation of the actors of the language.
Language and dialog delivered by the
characters moves the plot and action along,
provides exposition, defines the distinct
characters. Each playwright can create their
own specific style in relationship to language
choices they use in establishing character and
dialogue.

Dramatic Speech

Dialogueconversation
between or among
characters
Monologue-long
speech by one
single character
(private thoughts)

Dialogue provides the substance of a play.

Each word uttered by the character
furthers the business of the play,
contributes to its effect as a whole.
Therefore, a sense of DECORUM must be
established by the characters, ie., what is
said is appropriate to the role and situation
of a character.

5. Music

Music can encompass the rhythm of dialogue

and speeches in a play or can also mean the
aspects of the melody and music compositions
as with musical theatre. Music is not a part of
every play. But, music can be included to mean
all sounds in a production. Music can expand to
all sound effects, the actors voices, songs, and
instrumental music played as underscore in a
play.

Music creates patterns and establishes

tempo in theatre. In the aspects of the
musical the songs are used to push the
plot forward and move the story to a
higher level of intensity. Composers and
lyricist work together with playwrights to
strengthen the themes and ideas of the
play. Characters wants and desires can
be strengthened for the audience through
lyrics and music.

The spectacle in the theatre can involve

all of the aspects of scenery, costumes,
and special effects in a production. The
visual elements of the play created for
theatrical event. The qualities determined
by the playwright that create the world and
atmosphere of the play for the audiences
eye.

Stage Directions

Found in brackets [ ]
Describe scenery and
how characters speak
C, Center Stage
L, Stage Left
R, Stage Right
U, Upstage or Rear
D, Downstage or
Front

Set

Construction on
the stage that
shows time/place
Could be called
Scenery

Props

Small movable
items that the
actors use to make
actions look real

Genre of Drama

Tragedy

In essence, tragedy is the mirror image or negative of

comedy. For instead of depicting the rise in
circumstances of a dejected or outcast underdog,
tragedy shows us the downfall of a once prominent and
powerful hero. Like comedy, tragedy also supposedly
originated as part of a religious ritual--in this case a
Dionysian ceremony with dancers dressed as goats or
animals (hence tragoedia, literally a "goat-song)
pantomiming the suffering or death-rebirth of a god or
hero.

Tragedy depicts the downfall of a

basically good person through some
fatal error or misjudgment, producing
suffering and insight on the part of the
protagonist and arrousing pity and fear
on the part of the audience.

A true tragedy should evoke pity and fear on

the part of the audience. According to
Aristotle, pity and fear are the natural human
response to spectacles of pain and suffering-especially to the sort of suffering that can strike
anybody at any time. Aristotle goes on to say
that tragedy effects "the catharsis of these
emotions"--in effect arrousing pity and fear only
to purge them, as when we exit a scary movie
feeling relieved or exhilarated.

The tragic hero must be essentially

admirable and good. As Aristotle points
out, the fall of a scoundrel or villain evokes
applause rather than pity. Audiences
cheer when the bad guy goes down. On
the other hand, the downfall of an
essentially good person disturbs us and
stirs our compassion. As a rule, the nobler
and more truly admirable a person is, the
greater will be our anxiety or grief at his or
her downfall.

Characters

In a true tragedy, the hero's demise must

come as a result of some personal error or
decision. In other words, in Aristotle's view
there is no such thing as an innocent victim of
tragedy, nor can a genuinely tragic downfall ever
be purely a matter of blind accident or bad luck.
Instead, authentic tragedy must always be the
product of some fatal choice or action, for the
tragic hero must always bear at least some
responsibility for his own doom.

Comedy

According to aristotle the basic formula for

comedy has had more to do with
conventions and expectations of plot and
character than with a requirement for lewd
jokes or cartoonish pratfalls. In essence: A
A comedy is a story of the rise in
fortune of a sympathetic central
character.

Characters in comedy

Traditionally, comedy has to do with the

concerns and exploits of ordinary people. The
characters of comedy therefore tend to be plain,
everyday figures (e.g., lower or middle-income
husbands and wives, students and teachers,
children and parents, butchers, bakers, and
candlestick-makers ) instead of the kings,
queens, heroes, plutocrats, and heads of state
who form the dramatis personae of tragedy.

Comic plot

Comic plots, accordingly, tend to be about

the kind of problems that ordinary people
are typically involved with: winning a new
boyfriend (or reclaiming an old one),
succeeding at a job, passing an exam,
getting the money needed to pay for a
medical operation, or simply coping with a
bad day.

The difference between tragedy

and comedy
Tragedy

We feel
We're unique
We strive for the ideal
We despair the human condition
We can't change
We're crippled for life
God punishes us
It's someone else's fault
We die!

Comedy

We think
We're like everyone else
We accept the real
We celebrate our humanness
We change in the nick of time
We learn from life
Other people humble us
We asked for it
We live!

Farce.
The characters of farce are typically
fantastic or absurd and usually far more
ridiculous than those in other forms of
comedy.
Romantic Comedy
the primary distinguishing feature is a love
plot in which two sympathetic and wellmatched lovers are united or reconciled.

Satirical Comedy.
The subject of satire is human vice and
folly.

Critical Terms

Anagnorisis ("tragic recognition or insight"): according to Aristotle, a moment of

clairvoyant insight or understanding in the mind of the tragic hero as he suddenly
comprehends the web of fate that he has entangled himself in.
Hamartia ("tragic error"): a fatal error or simple mistake on the part of the
protagonist that eventually leads to the final catastrophe. A metaphor from archery,
hamartia literally refers to a shot that misses the bullseye. Hence it need not be an
egregious "fatal flaw" (as the term hamartia has traditionally been glossed). Instead,
it can be something as basic and inescapable as a simple miscalculation or slip-up.
Hubris ("violent transgression"): the sin par excellence of the tragic or overaspiring hero. Though it is usually translated as pride, hubris is probably better
understood as a sort of insolent daring, a haughty overstepping of cultural codes or
ethical boundaries.
Nemesis ("retribution"): the inevitable punishment or cosmic payback for acts of
hubris.
Peripateia ("plot reversal"): a pivotal or crucial action on the part of the protagonist
that changes his situation from seemingly secure to vulnerable.