Title: DRAMA OVERVIEW
1DRAMA OVERVIEW
- MORE THAN ANY OTHER LITERARY FORM, DRAMA IS A
VISUAL COL-LABORATIVE MEDIUM, DESIGNED TO BE
PERFORMED BY ACTORS IN FRONT OF AN AUDIENCE.
2DRAMA OVERVIEW
- GENERALLY SPEAKING, DRAMA IS MORE DOMINATED BY
DIALOGUE THAN ARE FICTION POETRY.
3DRAMA OVERVIEW
- A PLAY (THE COMMON TERM FOR A DRAMATIC
COMPOSITION) ALSO HAS A NUMBER OF DISTINGUISHING
CON-VENTIONAL ELEMENTS (DIVISION IN-TO ACTS
SCENES, STAGE DIREC-TIONS, A LIST OF CHARACTERS,
AND OTHERS).
4ORIGINS OF DRAMA
- WESTERN DRAMA ORIGINATED IN ANCIENT GREECE. THE
WORD DRAMA ITSELF COMES FROM THE GREEK
DRANMEANING TO DO, TO ACT.
5GREEK DRAMA (cont.)
- FOR SEVERAL CENTURIES BEGINNING AROUND 530
B.C.E., PLAYWRIGHTS COMPETED DURING RELIGIOUS
FES-TIVALS RELATING TO DIONYSUS, GOD OF WINE
FERTILITY.
6GREEK DRAMA (cont.)
- PLAYS CAME TO BE PERFORMED IN LARGE OUTDOOR
AMPHITHEATERS. (THE WORD THEATER COMES FROM THE
GREEK WORDS FOR SEEING PLACE.)
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9GREEK DRAMA (cont.)
- ACTORS WORE STYLIZED MASKS THAT SYMBOLIZED THEIR
CHARAC-TERISTICS.
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12GREEK DRAMA (cont.)
- ANOTHER CONVENTION OF GREEK DRAMA WAS THE CHORUS,
WHICH DANCED SANG BETWEEN SCENES IN THE
ORCHESTRA (THE ROUND AREA AT THE FOOT OF THE
AMPHITHEA-TER).
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14GREEK DRAMA (cont.)
- THE CHORUS REPRESENTED THE VALUES OF THE
COMMUNITY, AND ITS SCENE-ENDING ODES PROVIDED
COMMENTARY ON THE PLAY AND CLUES TO WHAT WAS TO
COME.
15GREEK DRAMA (cont.)
- ANOTHER CONVENTION WAS THE DEUS EX MACHINA (GOD
FROM THE MACHINE)AN ELABORATE MECHANISM FOR
LOWERING ACTORS PLAYING THE ROLES OF GODS ONTO
THE STAGE.
16GREEK DRAMA (cont.)
- THE MOST IMPORTANT GREEK PLAY-WRIGHT WAS
SOPHOCLES, AUTHOR OF OEDIPUS REX, CONSIDERED BY
MANY TO BE THE MOST INFLUENTIAL DRAMA EVER
WRITTEN.
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18ROMAN DRAMA
- THOUGH ROMAN DRAMA BASICALLY ADAPTED THE
CONVENTIONS OF GREEK DRAMA, THE PLAYWRIGHT SENECA
(1ST CENTURY C.E.) HAD A BIG INFLUENCE ON THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE 5-ACT PLAY THE REVENGE
TRAGEDIES (E.G., HAMLET) OF ELIZA-BETHAN ENGLAND.
19MEDIEVAL DRAMA
- DURING THE MIDDLE AGES (500-1350) THE CLASSICAL
TRADITION WAS LOST, AND PLAYS BECAME VEHICLES FOR
RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION. THE TWO MOST COMMON TYPES
OF PLAYS WERE MIRACLE PLAYS MORALI-TY PLAYS.
20MEDIEVAL DRAMA (cont.)
- MIRACLE PLAYS DRAMATIZED BIBLE STORIES OR THE
LIFE MARTYRDOM OF A SAINT.
21MEDIEVAL DRAMA (cont.)
- MORALITY PLAYS (SUCH AS THE 15TH-CENTURY
EVERYMAN) DRAMATIZED ALLEGORIES OF THE CHRISTIAN
SOUL IN QUEST OF SALVATION EMPLOYED PERSONIFIED
ABSTRACTIONS SUCH AS SHAME, LUST, MERCY, ETC. AS
CHARACTERS.
22ELIZABETHAN DRAMA
- AFTER ITS BIRTH IN ANCIENT GREECE, DRAMAS NEXT
GREAT PERIOD OF DEVELOPMENT WAS IN ENGLAND
DUR-ING THE REIGNS OF QUEEN ELIZABETH (1558-1603)
KING JAMES I (1603-1625).
23ELIZABETHAN DRAMA (cont.)
- EXEMPLIFIED BY THE PLAYS OF WM. SHAKESPEARE,
DEALING LARGELY W/ THE ACTIONS, INTRIGUES,
RO-MANCES OF KINGS, QUEENS, OTHER HIGHBORN
CHARACTERS.
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25ELIZABETHAN DRAMA (cont.)
- AS IN GREEK DRAMA, NO WOMEN WERE ALLOWED ON THE
STAGE. - PLAYS OFTEN BLENDED ACTION, HUMOR, VIOLENCE W/
POETRY PHILOSOPHICAL INSIGHTS.
26ELIZABETHAN DRAMA (cont.)
- EARLY PLAYS WERE PERFORMED IN INNYARDS OPEN
SPACES BETWEEN BUILDINGS.
27ELIZABETHAN DRAMA (cont.)
- THEATERS WERE CIRCULAR ONLY PARTLY ROOFED, WITH
THE AUDI-ENCE ON THE SIDES AS WELL AS IN FRONT OF
THE RAISED STAGE.
28ELIZABETHAN DRAMA (cont.)
- THEATERS HELD UP TO 2500 PEOPLE IN AN INTIMATE
SETTING, INCLUDING 500-800 GROUNDLINGS
(COMMON-ERS WHO STOOD IN THE PIT AT THE FOOT OF
THE STAGE).
29ELIZABETHAN DRAMA (cont.)
- THOUGH SCENERY PROPS WERE LIMITED, COSTUMES
SOUND EF-FECTS WERE QUITE ELABORATE.
30ELIZABETHAN DRAMA (cont.)
- STAGES INCLUDED A SECOND-LEVEL BALCONY, DOORS AT
THE BACK FOR ENTRANCES EXITS, A CURTAINED
ALCOVE, AND A TRAP DOOR IN THE STAGE FLOOR FOR
THE ENTRANCES EXITS OF SPIRITS.
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33ELIZABETHAN DRAMA (cont.)
- ONE CONVENTION WAS THE ASIDE COMMENTS DIRECTED
ONLY TO THE AUDIENCE THAT MAKE THEM PRIVY TO A
CHARACTERS THOUGHTS THAT ALLOW THEM TO
PERCEIVE IRONIES INTRIGUES UNKNOWN TO OTHER
CHARACTERS.
34ELIZABETHAN DRAMA (cont.)
- ANOTHER CONVENTION WAS THE SOLILOQUY (FROM THE
LATIN FOR TALKING TO ONESELF).
35ELIZABETHAN DRAMA (cont.)
- A SOLILOQUY, WHICH IS NOT PART OF THE DIALOGUE OF
THE PLAY, IS A SPEECH DELIVERED BY A LONE ACTOR
ON THE STAGE FOR THE PURPOSE OF REVEALING HIS OR
HER THOUGHTS, MOTIVES, INNER NATURE.
36ELIZABETHAN DRAMA (cont.)
- PROBABLY THE MOST FAMOUS SOLI-LOQUY IS HAMLETS
TO BE OR NOT TO BE SPEECH.
37ELIZABETHAN DRAMA (cont.)
- IN ELIZABETHAN DRAMA, THE CHOR-US OF GREEK DRAMA
EVOLVED INTO A PERSON WHO SOMETIMES SPOKE THE
PROLOGUE EPILOGUE OF A PLAY, PROVIDING
AUTHORIAL COM-MENTARY AS WELL AS EXPOSITION
REGARDING THE SUBJECT, TIME, SET-TING, ETC. OF
THE PLAY.
38ELIZABETHAN DRAMA (cont.)
- SOME PLAYS HAVE WHAT IS CALLED A CHORAL CHARACTER
(E.G., THE FOOL IN KING LEAR) WHO STANDS APART
FROM COMMENTS ON THE ACTION OF THE PLAY.
39MODERN DRAMA
- THE MOST POPULAR FORM OF DRAMA IN THE 19TH
CENTURY, ESPECIALLY IN THE U.S. ENGLAND, WAS
MELO-DRAMA.
40MODERN DRAMA (cont.)
- MELODRAMAS ARE LOVE STORIES ACTION-PACKED,
INTRIGUE-FILLED PLOTS W/ HAPPY ENDINGS FLAT,
STEREOTYPED CHARACTERS REPRE-SENTING EXTREMES OF
GOOD EVIL.
41MODERN DRAMA (cont.)
- THE LATE 19TH EARLY 20TH CENTU-RIES SAW THE
RISE OF REALISM, WHICH PRESENTS THE CRISES AND
CONFLICTS OF ORDINARY PEOPLES EVERYDAY LIVES
(WORK, FAMILY, RELATIONSHIPS, ETC.).
42MODERN DRAMA (cont.)
- THE PICTURE-FRAME STAGE BECAME THE NORM, OFTEN
REPRODUCING SETTINGS IN REALISTIC DETAIL. - SCENERY PROPS ARE IMPORTANT.
43MODERN DRAMA (cont.)
- FOUR-ACT PLAYS BECAME THE NORM, AND CONVENTIONS
SUCH AS ASIDES SOLILOQUIES FELL INTO DISUSE.
44MODERN DRAMA (cont.)
- THE 20TH CENTURY ALSO SAW THE RISE OF THE THEATER
OF THE AB-SURD, W/ ITS SEEMINGLY UNINTELL-IGIBLE
PLOTS IRRATIONAL BEHAV-IOR.
45MODERN DRAMA (cont.)
- IN WAITING FOR GODOT, FOR IN-STANCE, TWO TRAMPS
AMUSE THEM-SELVES W/ AIMLESS CONVERSATION
MEANINGLESS ACTIVITY WHILE WAITING IN A WASTE
PLACE FOR A PERSON NAMED GODOT WHO NEVER COMES
(AND WHO MAY OR MAY NOT EXIST).
46MAJOR TYPES OF DRAMA
- TRAGEDY FOCUSES ON LIFES SOR-ROWS
DIFFICULTIES, RECOUNTING A SERIES OF IMPORTANT
EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SIGNIFICANT PERSON,
TREATED W/ SERIOUSNESS DIGNI-TY, AND
CULMINATING IN AN UNHAP-PY CATASTROPHE.
47TRAGEDY (cont.)
- THE BASIC STRUCTURE PURPOSE OF TRAGEDY WERE
FIRST DEFINED IN ARISTOTLES POETICS.
48TRAGEDY (cont.)
- ACCORDING TO ARISTOTLE, A TRAG-IC HERO IS A GREAT
MAN OR WO-MAN WHO SUFFERS A REVERSAL OF FORTUNE
(LIKE OEDIPUS IN OEDIPUS REX) B/C OF A WEAKNESS,
ERROR IN JUDGMENT, OR ACCIDENT.
49TRAGEDY (cont.)
- ARISTOTLE CALLED THIS ERROR ETC. HAMARTIA, WHICH
DURING THE RENAISSANCE EVOLVED INTO THE CONCEPT
OF THE TRAGIC FLAW.
50TRAGEDY (cont.)
- ARISTOTLE ALSO SAID THAT WATCH-ING THE HEROS
DOWNFALL (THE CATASTROPHE) AND SEEING THE DRAMAS
RESOLUTION (RESTORA-TION OF ORDER), . . .
51TRAGEDY (cont.)
- . . . THE AUDIENCE EXPERIENCES A CATHARSISI.E.,
RELIEF FROM THE TENSIONS OF THE PLAY (A PURGING
OF PITY AND FEAR) AND A SENSE OF HAVING GAINED
INSIGHT, ENLIGHT-ENMENT.
52TRAGEDY (cont.)
- TRAGIC HEROES AROUSE PITY B/C THEY ARE NOT EVIL
B/C THEIR MIS-FORTUNE EXCEEDS WHAT THEY DE-SERVE
THEY AROUSE FEAR B/C THE AUDIENCE RECOGNIZES
THEMSELVES IN THE HERO THE POSSIBILITY OF A
SIMILAR FATE.
53TRAGEDY (cont.)
- PLAYS FROM ELIZABETHAN TO MOD-ERN TIMES HAVE
DEVIATED GREATLY FROM THE ARISTOTELIAN NORM. FOR
EXAMPLE, SOMETIMES THE HERO IS NOT A GOOD PERSON
(MACBETH).
54TRAGEDY (cont.)
- ALSO, AFTER THE 18TH CENTURY, TRAG-IC HEROES
BEGAN TO BE DRAWN FROM THE MIDDLE LOWER CLASSES
IN WHAT ARE CALLED DOMESTIC TRAG-EDIES, THUS
LAYING THE FOUNDA-TION FOR MODERN DRAMAS LIKE
DEATH OF A SALESMAN.
55TRAGEDY (cont.)
- COMIC RELIEF WAS ALSO INTRO-DUCED INTO TRAGEDIES,
AND THE GENRE OF TRAGICOMEDY (ESSENTIAL-LY A
TRAGEDY W/ A HAPPY ENDING) EVOLVED.
56TRAGEDY (cont.)
- SINCE MODERN TRAGEDIES DO NOT ALWAYS FOLLOW THE
CONVENTIONS OF CLASSICAL TRAGEDY, SOME CRIT-ICS
ARGUE THAT THEY ARE NOT TRUE TRAGEDIES THAT
THEIR PROTAGO-NISTS NOT TRAGIC HEROES.
57COMEDY
- A COMEDY IS A PLAY OF A LIGHT, AMUSING NATURE IN
WHICH CHAR-ACTERS OVERCOME ADVERSITY TO ACHIEVE
SUCCESS A HAPPY END-ING, OFTEN IN THE FORM OF
MAR-RIAGE.
58COMEDY (cont.)
- PROBLEMS ARE EITHER NOT VERY SERIOUS OR ARE
TREATED IN A LIGHT-HEARTED MANNER, CONVEY-ING THE
SENSE THAT NO GREAT DIS-ASTER WILL BEFALL THE
CHARAC-TERS.
59COMEDY (cont.)
- THE DISTINCTION IS OFTEN MADE BE-TWEEN LOW COMEDY
(WHICH IS CRUDE, PHYSICAL, EVEN VIOLENT) HIGH
COMEDY (WHICH IS MORE THOUGHTFUL INTELLECTUAL
IN ITS APPEAL).
60COMEDY (cont.)
- IN ROMANTIC COMEDY, LOVERS MUST ENDURE HUMOROUS
TRIALS TRIBULATIONS EN ROUTE TO A LIFE OF
HAPPILY EVER AFTER (A MID-SUMMERS MIGHT DREAM,
SLEEP-LESS IN SEATTLE).
61COMEDY (cont.)
- A COMEDY OF MANNERS IS A SAT-IRICAL PORTRAYAL OF
THE CONVEN-TIONS MANNERS OF A SOCIETY, USUALLY
THE DOMINANT ONE AT THE TIME A PLAY IS WRITTEN.
62COMEDY (cont.)
- THE COMEDY OF MANNERS DELIGHTS IN THE FAULTS
FOIBLES OF HUMAN-ITY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME IS
MORE REALISTIC CRITICAL THAN ROMAN-TIC COMEDY.
63COMEDY (cont.)
- THE COMEDY OF MANNERS WAS HIGH-LY DEVELOPED IN
THE LATE 17TH CEN-TURY IN WITTY PLAYS THAT
EXPOSED THE HYPOCRITICAL CONVENTIONS RIDICULOUS
ARTIFICIALITIES OF HIGH SOCIETY.
64COMEDY (cont.)
- THE COMEDY OF MANNERS EVOLVED INTO SATIRIC
COMEDY, WHICH RIDICULES THE VAIN FOOLISH,
TREATING THEM W/ SARCASM MAKING THEM SEEM
LUDICROUS REPULSIVE.
65COMEDY (cont.)
- ANOTHER POPULAR FORM OF COM-EDY IS FARCE, WHICH
PRESENTS EXAGGERATED CHARACTER TYPES IN
IMPROBABLE OR LUDICROUS SITUA-TIONS, AND EMPLOYS
SEXUAL MIX-UPS, BROAD VERBAL HUMOR, A LOT OF
ANTIC PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.