Drama PDF

# What is Drama? The term 'drama' originates from the Greek language, which means 'to do'. In a drama, we come across objective representation of the conflicts, actions, events and crisis from the lives of the concerned characters. Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance...

# What is Drama? The term 'drama' originates from the Greek language, which means 'to do'. In a drama, we come across objective representation of the conflicts, actions, events and crisis from the lives of the concerned characters. Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. It is primarily a performing art. It is the most powerful literary expression as action is presented on the stage, engaging the audio-visual faculties of the audience. ## Difference between drama and other literary genres - One difference between drama and other forms of literature is: performance. - Drama is different from poetry and prose narrative because it can both be read as a text and watched on stage. The ultimate experience of drama is the presentation on stage before an audience. - the concept of MIMESIS or imitation is often emphasized in relation to drama. - MIMETIC implies that drama is imitating life. # Elements of Drama - **Plot** The plot refers to the story that a play tells. Normally, the events are arranged sequentially. This does not happen all the time. Some of the plays distort the sequence of events. What you do is to reconstruct the play. The fact that the plot of a play is not sequential or chronological does not necessarily suggest that you will have any difficulty understanding it. - **Exposition, Complication, Climax, Denouement or Resolution and Conclusion** These four elements are related to the plot of a play. Exposition refers to the phase of the plot in which the characters are just being introduced. It is at this stage that a lot is revealed to us about the characters before they are seen in action. The exposition may give us some insight into the past of the characters if this is important for us to understand them. The complication emerges when in the course of the play there is an obstacle on the way of the protagonist. The climax marks the height of the conflict in the play. At this point the stage is set for the major act that will lead to the resolution of the major problem in the play. What follows the climax is the denouement which in French means the "untying of a knot". It is also known as resolution or conclusion. - **Setting** Setting generally refers to the location of a literary work. The setting is a reference to the placement of a work in both time and place. The locale or environment in which a play is set will determine a lot about it. The setting is often related to the focus or concern of the play. - **Theme** Each play makes a statement about the social world. This may emerge from an exploration of the entire play. The theme is the central message of a play. It is however possible to have sub-themes along with major dramatists who seek to make statements that have universal validity in their works. Generally, plays that treat common human problems make statements that have timeless relevance and consequently have more appeal as they speak to people of all ages and at all places. - **Characterisation** A play cannot be successful without people. Characters do not just occur in a play. Playwrights take care to create the right kind of characters to serve their purpose. Characterisation means the pattern adapted in the creation of characters in a work. This includes roles and tendencies assigned to particular characters. There are different ways of classifying the characters. - **Major/main character and minor character.** The main or major character is the one that is the most important in the story poem or play. Usually the main character appears from the beginning to the end of the story. While a minor character is the one that takes part in the action of a story but is not the focus of attention. These help the main character to accomplish his mission. - **Flat character and round character.** Flat character is usually one-sided and often stereotypical while round character on the other hand is fully developed and exhibits may traits- often both faults and virtues. - **Dynamic character and static character.** Dynamic character is the one who changes or grows in the course of the. While a static character is the one who does not change. - **Protagonist and antagonist.** A protagonist is the main character in a literary work. An antagonist is a character or a force that is in conflict with the main character or protagonist. # Other Important Terms In Drama - **Act:** This is a major unit/part of action in a drama or play. There is no rule specifying how long a play can be. William Shakespeare made the five-act structure the standard for his plays. Many playwrights have since adopted other standards. - **Scene:** This is a smaller section of a subdivision of one act. So a scene is a section presenting events that occur in one place at one time. - **Costume:** The clothes worn by actors in a play or film/movie or worn by somebody to make them look like somebody or something else. E.g. a student, a housemaid, a judge, etc. - **STAGE DIRECTORS:** They help give shape to actions on stage and they represent the playwright's intervention. A few plays make use of the NARRATOR whose duty is to give some insight into actions to be anticipated. # Dramatic Techniques - **Suspense** Suspense is a technique by which the playwright keeps the reader/audience in anxious expectation of what will happen next. It is a good way of sustaining their interest in the play. It is a common strategy in drama. - **Comic Relief** This is a moment of light or seemingly unserious action which is marked by laughter after some serious or tragic action. As the name suggests, it is intended to create some atmosphere of relief in a play. The comic relief is often provided by clowns (characters that are meant to entertain others) in the plays of Shakespeare. They crack jokes or do some other funny things that will make the audience laugh and thereby get rid of the tension that might have been created earlier by a serious action or experience. - **Flashback** The flashback technique enables the playwright to bring an experience in the past to the present to illuminate a problem or our understanding of a matter. - **Foreshadowing** This is a technique which enables a playwright to an experience in the future. It creates anxiety and anticipation of the experience. - **Irony** It is the expression of ideas which are exactly opposite to the implied meaning. Or is a disagreement or incongruity between what is said and what is understood, or what is expected and what actually occurs. Irony can be used intentionally or can happen unintentionally. It creates anxiety when it intensifies a tragic experience. There are three scenarios in which irony occurs. 1. **Verbal irony** is when the intended meaning of the statement or work is different (often the opposite of) what the statement or work literary says. 2. **Situational Irony** occurs when what happens is contrary to what is expected; or the actual outcome of a situation is the opposite of what is expected. 3. **Dramatic Irony** occurs when events or facts not known to the character on stage in a fictional work, are known to another character and the audience or reader. - **Deus Ex Machina** This is a technique through which a supernatural force is brought in to facilitate some action or experience. This technique originally involved bringing a god to the stage to solve a problem. - **Alienation Effect** This is a technique popularised by the German playwrights and theatre directors to inject some detachment into the way actors and the audience relate with their plays. This will prevent much emotional involvement and it may involve interaction between the actors and the audience. # Tragedy ## 1) The Origin of Tragedy Scholars seem to have agreed that the roots of tragedy must be traced to the Greece of the fifth century BC. Aristotle's theory of tragedy was formulated in the fourth century BC. Many people believed that Aristotle simply prescribed rules with which tragedy should be judged. On the contrary, his outlook seems to have been shaped by his familiarity with classical tragedies that had been performed. His theory may then be seen as an attempt to describe what he had carefully observed. Even though tragedy, as a dramatic form, is generally believed to have originated from Greece, it has evolved over the ages, incorporating changes and modifications of principle and practice in modern times. ## 2) Classical Tragedy: The Aristotelian Tradition Aristotle's Poetics remains a good guide to the Greek tradition of tragedy which is commonly referred to as classical drama. As earlier stated, his ideas must have been shaped by his exposure to tragedies that were staged in his own days. It is however apparent that his outlook on tragedy was largely shaped by Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, which also serves as his favourite example. Aristotle defined tragedy as: A representation of an action that is worth serious attention, complete in itself, and some amplified; in a language enriched by a variety of artistic devices appropriate to the several parts of the play; presented in the form of action, not narration; by means of pity and fear bringing about the purgation of emotion? (cited in English: 473). It is necessary to analyze the elements of Aristotelian theory of tragedy as noted as in the quotation, for a proper understanding. They help us to understand the classical principles of tragedy. - **a) The Tragedy Hero or Tragic Hero** The hero in classical tragedy was expected to be a man of noble birth. The nobility of the character is essential to make his fall tragic. This simply implies that the fall of an ordinary man was not considered remarkable enough to provoke dramatic interest. This explains why tragic heroes in most of these plays are either kings or other highly placed persons. - **b) Elevated Language** The language of tragedy, in the classical tradition, was also expected to be elevated. The ideal language for this form of drama was therefore seen as verse. It is reasonable to conclude that only elevated language would be suitable for the class of people that were the object of tragedy. Language was certainly seen as a reflection of the status of character and the seriousness of the subject of tragic plays. - **c) The Three Unities** Time, place, action: The Aristotelian principles also recognised the need to ensure that the action of the play is shaped by what have come to be known as the three unities. One of the principles is that the action of the play should not extend beyond a day. The unity of place has to do with the concentration of the action to a locale. The unity of action implies that only one action should be seen on the stage at any time. In addition, there should be only one plot. This equally extends to the purity of genre, implying that there should not be any digression. The plot must be so tight that it will not make any room for a comic relief. - **d) Hubris - The Hero's Tragedy Flaw or Tragic Flaw** One other feature of classical tragedy, as clarified by Aristotle, has to do with the weakness of the tragic hero. The tragic hero was expected to have a weakness in his character which will make his fall possible. - **e) Catharsis - Purgation of Emotion** The last element of classical tragedy has nothing to do with the play or the hero. It is directly related to the effect of the fall on the audience. The fall of the tragic hero is expected to elicit the purgation of emotion (what Aristotle called catharsis) due to the relief that the hero will cause. # Shakespeare and the Classical Tradition of Tragedy The English writer William Shakespeare lived between 1564 and 1616 and is rightly considered a great playwright of all time. He wrote many plays, many of which are described as tragedies. Shakespeare's work is best seen as building on the existing tradition - the classical tradition of tragedy - in the sense that, like other Elizabethan playwrights, he recognised the Greek tradition as one on which to draw, while at the same time injecting his own original ideas. Such originality accounts for the production of his plays. His main tragedies include Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Anthony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus and Timon of Athens. Even though Shakespeare was a dramatist and not a theorist like Aristotle, we should be interested in his contribution to the making of tragedy as a dramatic form. In this case too, it is proper to assess his work in relation to the standard set by the classical tradition of tragedy to see the extent to which he upheld the tradition and the remarkable departures in his work. We may just consider Shakespeare's work against each of the principles defined by Aristotle. What you will discover is that many of the principles are upheld and only a few are disregarded. A major feature of classical tragedy which also operates in Shakespeare's plays has to do with the social status of the tragic hero. The hero must be highly placed. This is sustained in Shakespeare's tragedies. His tragic heroes are kings, princes or war generals. Each of them is at least presented as a distinguished member of the society. Othello who is the hero of a play of the same title is a respected general. There are also kings like Hamlet and Lear, while Macbeth is a nobleman. The element of hubris itself is evidenced in Shakespearian tragedies. For instance, we are made to see Othello as jealous and almost gullible. These facilitate his errors and eventual fall. The tragic hero in Shakespeare is generally not faultless. Most of the time, his own weakness is largely responsible for his fall. The language of Shakespearian tragedies is additionally elevated. This is apparent in the use that he makes of verse. In fact the speeches of the tragic heroes are generally embellished and - this has been a factor that endears his work to so many readers. The observation of the prescriptions with regard to the status of the tragic heroes and the adoption of a befitting language for them in Shakespeare, coupled with the operation of the element of tragic flaw in them, should give you the impression that some other elements of classical tragedy will naturally become applicable with their fall - the elements of reversal of fortune, of anagnorisis that the tragic figure experiences, and catharsis that the audience also partakes of, as the emotions of fear and pity are elicited by the tragic end of the characters. But you should not be hasty to conclude that Shakespeare upholds all the principles outlined in the Aristotelian Tradition. He discountenances the idea of the unities of place, action and time beyond the day his tragedies end in them. This factor shows that Shakespeare only complied with the Greek Tradition to the extent that it was relevant to his own intention; after all, traditions are made by man. # Modern Tragedy You may have noticed that the Aristotelian principles of tragedy have been very influential. The fact that it is possible to assess the work of Shakespeare using the principles is a clear testimony of this. While it is true that Shakespeare tries to depart from the tradition, he at least upholds some of its principles. We may, in fact, say that the classical tradition of tragedy has been the main standard from which all other traditions define their principles. Apart from the Greek tradition of tragedy which Aristotle tried to characterise, you should note that there is also a modern tradition of tragedy. Modern tragedy makes a clear departure from the classical convention. This development is associated with the work of dramatists like Henrik Ibsen and Arthur Miller. At the heart of the concern of modern tragedy is the desire to assert that not only the highly placed or the noble are fit as subject of tragedy. In other words, the ordinary man is equally fit as a subject of a tragedy. Aristotle had thought that only people of high birth could be tragic heroes. A play like Death of a Salesman by the American playwright is a good example of a modem tragedy. The tragic hero in the play is Willy Loman who is by no means a man of high birth. What is suggested in the play, as in all other plays operating within this tradition, is that anyone can be a tragic hero. In addition, all other requirements prescribed by Aristotle with regard to the form, duration, language and character of tragic hero are discountenanced. # COMEDY AND TRAGICOMEDY ## 1) The Nature of Comedy Comedy comes from the Greek word Komos which means "a revel" and its origin is traced to activities surrounding ritual performances in honour of the Greek god of fertility and wine called Dionysus. Comedy is a form of drama often considered as the exact opposite of tragedy. It is remarkable that the popular emblem of drama, a pair of masks, appears to confirm this relationship between comedy and tragedy. While the sorrowful one is representing tragedy, the one smiling designates comedy. Apparently, comedy is generally characterised by an element of the comic. But while a whole play may be described as comic, an aspect of a play may just constitute the comic element. This means that you may find the comic element in a play, even when it is not a comedy. Another principle which is used in judging whether a play is a comedy or not is whether it ends on a happy note. A tragedy is often seen as ending on a sad note, often with the death of the hero. A third principle that we may apply to identify a comedy also emphasises its differences from the tragedy. It suggests that a tragedy appeals to our emotion while a comedy appeals to our reason. In other words, comedy makes us think due to the issues it raises. ## 2) Origin of Comedy Comedy, just like Tragedy, is believed to have originated in Greece. Aristotle saw it as inferior and thus detracts from the importance of its subject. Aristophanes (448-385 BC) is believed to have contributed a lot to the making of the form. He made comedy a medium for the correction of social ills. Interestingly, the leaders of Athens were not spared. If satire was the main concern of Aristophanes' comedy, Menander, was identified with a different tradition of comedy, one that focused primarily on love. There have also been significant contributions to the development of comedy in various places, including Italy, France and England. Moliere promoted a tradition of comedy in France in the seventeenth century. Shakespeare has also written a number of comedies which, expectedly, have defined an identity for his comedy. Shakespeare's comedies draw extensively on various sources and are often set in outlandish places. Most of his comedies are concerned with love; music is employed to enliven the unique world that they represent. One of the best known of his comedies is The Merchant of Venice. ## 3) Forms of Comedy Comedy is broadly divided into two forms: high comedy and low Comedy. High comedy is that type of comedy that elicits a form of laughter that is thoughtful. It is friendly while trying to correct man. Examples of high comedy are comedy of festivities, comedy of manners and situational comedy. Low comedy, on the other hand, is unsparing in ridiculing man. This is also reflected in the form of laughter it provokes. Examples of low comedy are Comedy of Marionette, slapstick comedy and farce. ## 4) Tragicomedy We have examined two main forms of drama - tragedy and comedy. You will be right if you wonder whether there is a form that stands in between the two. The form in this case blends the attributes of tragedy and comedy. The form is called Tragicomedy. It elicits both tragic and comic feelings. A tragicomedy normally has two plots that must eventually merge.