Just College Things

Drama 1

What is the meaning of Drama?

- Drama is a unique form of Literature where a story is acted out for an audience through the combination of performance, music, dance, props, etc. This allows the audience to feel like they're part of the action.

- According to the Ancient Greeks, Drama means to act or perform on the stage for entertainment purposes and to teach the audience a lesson.

- Drama can be written in Prose, Verses, or a mix between both.

What are the types of Drama?

1) Comedy:

- Comedy is a type of drama that aims to make the audience laugh. Its tone is light and it mostly has a happy ending. Such tradition came from the Ancient Greek theatre, where comedy first emerged as a form of drama

2) Tragic:

- Murders, deaths, insanity, and pain are among the most common ideas in tragedies. Main characters usually have some kind of weakness or defect that causes their downfall. Tragedy first appeared in the theatre of Ancient Greece. Like comedy, it lived through Roman Empire, Medieval times, Renaissance, and other eras.

- Aristotle believed that the main characteristic of Tragedy was the change of fortunes of the main character because of his flaws. The philosopher also believed that such drama has to implant a feeling of fear and pity in the audience.

3) Tragicomedy:

- Tragicomedy is a special kind of drama that combines the features of tragedy and comedy. Plautus was the first to write a tragicomedy and to use the term. He was the first to note that in our daily lives we have features of both tragedy and comedy. Therefore, Drama also can combine them both.

4) Melodrama:

- Melodrama is the last one of the four types of drama. It is a kind of drama in which everything is hyperbolized. The main point of a melodrama is not to tell a story but to awaken feelings in the audience. They are mostly love stories with beautiful heroines, charming heroes, and scary villains. It first appeared in France at the end of the 18th century. Later, it reached Britain and became one of the most popular types of drama in the 19th century.

What are the elements of Drama?

1) Plot:

- Plot is the organized pattern or sequence of events that make up a story.

2) Cast of Characters:

- These are the people acting in the play. There are several types of characters to be remembered such as the Protagonist, the Antagonist, and a few other characters.

3) Stage:

- It's where the play takes place. 

4) Setting:

- When and where does the story take place. (Giving you a time and a location.)

5) Theme:

- It's the main idea that the play revolves around. (Ex: Macbeth's theme was Jealousy.)

6) Conflict: (Problem)

- A problem that faces the characters in the play that they must try to solve.

7) Climax:

- A climax is when the tension within a scene builds to its highest point. It's the most exciting moment.

8) Denouement: (Solution)

- It is the point in a story in which the conflict is resolved. Borrowed from French, the word derives from Latin and literally means "untie the knot," which refers to the narrative entanglements the author has woven through the first four stages of plot development.

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