ELEMENTS, TECHNIQUES AND LITERARY DEVICES IN DRAMA

What is Drama?

Drama is another literary genre with various characteristics which are distinct from the other types of literary works. In literature,
drama is defined as:

 a mode of fictional representation through dialogue and performance

 a type of play which is written for theater, television, radio and film
 a composition in the forms of either verse or prose for the purpose of portraying life or character or telling a story which
often involves conflicts and emotions through action and dialogue
 comes from the Greek words δρᾶμα (an act, a play) and δράω (to act, to take action)
 its writer is known as dramatist or playwright

Types of Drama

Drama is classified into different categories according to mood, tone, and actions shown in the plot. Below are some of
the most famous types of drama written nowadays.

1. Comedy

This is known to be a broad genre of film, television, and literature. Nonetheless, its ultimate goal is but simple – to make
the audience laugh. In order to achieve such goal, a playwright often uses quaint circumstances, unusual characters, and witty
remarks.

The following are the sub-genres of comedy:

 romantic comedy
– It focuses on lighthearted, humorous plot lines which are often centered on romantic ideas like how
true love is able to overcome many obstacles.

 sentimental comedy
- It began in the 18th century as a reaction to the immoral tone of English Restoration play. This sub-
genre of comedy focuses on the middle-class protagonists who are able to successfully overcome a
couple of moral trials.

 comedy of manners
- It is also referred to as the anti-sentimental comedy which writes about the manners and feelings of
modern society. It also questions societal standards.

 tragic comedy
- It portrays characters who take on tragedy with humor in order to bring out happy endings out of
serious situations.

The following are the common examples of comedy:

 The Simpsons
 America’s Funniest Home Videos
 A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare

2. Tragedy
As a type of drama, tragedy is basically rooted on its literal meaning which connotes something that is unpleasant and
unwelcome. This type of drama involves two important elements: (1) its intense seriousness in dealing with matters in which
survival is at stake and (2) its involvement of the whole community in matters of ultimate and common concern. A tragic flaw, a
characteristic which often leads to a downfall, is usually present among the story’s protagonists.

Tragedies come in different types which include:

 Greek Tragedy
- Typically, it involves a protagonist of high rank who commits a mistake in judgment (flawed) and
accepts his fall from grace. Typically, it includes the elements of Gods, mythology, conflict,
suffering and catharsis. Among the great Greek tragedians were Sophocles, Euripides and
Aeschylus.

 Roman Tragedy
 - These are mostly adaptations of Greek tragedies. The Roman philosopher Seneca wrote nine plays
which still exist at present and adopted by Elizabethan and Jacobean playwrights during the late
16th and early 17th centuries.

 Elizabethan and Jacobean Tragedy

- Elizabethan tragedies, which are not all written by Shakespeare, often involve main characters of
high status (nobility, military rank, among others) who committed an error or flawed, encounter a
reversal of fortune and die towards the end of the play. On the other hand, Jacobean tragedies
usually have the characteristic of revenge tragedies.

 Revenge Tragedy
- This type of tragedy often involves one character who seeks revenge upon another character in the
story for an evil doing. The most common examples of this are Hamlet by Shakespeare and The
Duchess of Malfi by John Webster.

 Tragicomedy
- This is a single dramatic work which consists of a combination of tragic and comic elements. One
popular example of this is the play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett.

 Domestic Tragedy
- Unlike the Elizabethan period tragedy, it portrays a common man in a domestic setting as the
tragic hero in the story. The best examples for this are Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Eugene
O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh.
3. Farce

This type of drama features exaggerated or absurd forms of comedy. It is a nonsensical genre of drama in which the
characters intentionally overact and get themselves into a slapstick or physical humor. Webster’s Dictionary refers to it as “a light
dramatic composition marked by broadly satirical comedy and improbable plot”. Recently, it is known as something serious that
has turned comical.

4. Melodrama

This is an exaggerated type of drama which shows classic one-dimensional characters like heroes, heroines, and villains
who deal with sensational, romantic, and threatening situations. Examples of melodrama are the play The Glass Menagerie by
Tennessee Williams and Margaret Mitchell’s novel, Gone With the Wind.

5. Opera

This type combines theater, dialogue, music and dance to tell grand stories of tragedy or comedy; hence, it is known as a
versatile genre of drama.

6. Docudrama

This new genre involves dramatic portrayals of historic events or non-fictional happenings. It is more often presented in
movies such as Apollo 13 and 12 Years a Slave.

The Structure of Drama

1. Plot

We refer to plot as the dramatic structure of a play. Nonetheless, it should not be forgotten that the narrative structure is
not the only consideration to think of since majority of these plays are created to be played either in a theater, a movie or a
television.

There are three major divisions or acts in a physical format of a play. A three-act play is composed of three acts which
show a fuller and longer exposition of the theme and conflict of the story. On the other hand, a one-act play involves one unit of
time, place and action only.

Typically, plays are written in many different forms, but the typical structure often consists of the following:

1.Exposition and This part introduces the characters and establishes the setting of the story. The
Introduction introduction can either present the conflict right at the very beginning or in the
middle of the action. Regardless of the structure, this part shows the situations
 that involved the characters to the conflict and sets the tone of the play.

2. Conflict This is where the challenges that the protagonist is about to face are presented.
This conflict may arise from various forces, including the society, nature,
environment, God, or even from the main character himself/herself.

3. Rising Action or From the emergence of a conflict, the play now rises toward a dramatic tension
Complication which often turns into a confrontation. As this dramatic tension intensifies, it
provides emotional tension between characters, giving the audience more details
concerning them which were not known in the introduction and conflict. This
part also makes the conflict more complicated.

4. Turning Point, Climax This part is where the audience finds out if the protagonist either wins or loses in
or Crisis the battle that he or she is struggling with. This is known as the highest point in a
story.

5. Falling Action At this point, the audience somehow gets a sense of the conclusion, but may still
have some unsettled questions at work within the plot.

6. Denouement or This marks the ending of the play where we can see if the protagonist won
Resolution against the antagonist. It also shows whether or not the order is brought back and
the conflict has been resolved.

Dramatic Elements

While it is important for a playwright to understand the structure of drama, it is also necessary that he or she is fully
aware of the many different techniques and devices – dramatic elements – involved in making a play more effective, interesting
and meaningful. Here are some of them:

Action It refers to what the characters say or do to achieve their goals.

Antagonist It refers to the character or situation that is in conflict with the protagonist.

Arc It is the storyline of the play; something that the audience wants to find out.

Aside This is when the actor speaks directly to the audience while the other actors on stage
supposedly did not hear a word he or she says. In the Renaissance drama, it was used to
make the actor’s inner feelings known to the audience while in the 19 th century, it was
used to insert comedy or melodrama.

Backstory It refers to past events involved in the play.

Complications This is the introduction of new characters, information or other events which often
causes conflicts.

Conflict It refers to the problem which arises due to the opposing intentions of the protagonist
and the antagonist.

Discovery This is when the protagonist finally realizes the reality of the situation.

Double plots It is the use of a subplot in moving towards and outside of the main plot. This is usually
observed in Elizabethan drama.

Dramatic It refers to what the audience intends to accept as true for the story’s sake. This may
convention include the actors acting to represent the characters of the story, the stage set up to
appear realistic in time and location, and so on.

Flashback In order to clarify the situation, it uses description or enactment of what happened in the
past which usually has something to do with the present conflict.

Foreshadowing It refers to the use of hints at the future just to create audience’s anticipation.

Inciting incident It refers to that occurrence which introduces the main character and gets the plot going.

In Medias Res It is the opening scene in the middle of the action.

Intrigue It refers to a scheme created by one of the characters which often results in a more
complicated plot.

Music It is used on the stage to set the mood and tone of the play.

Monologue It refers to the speech delivery of an actor in the presence of other actors who simply
listens, but not talk.

Protagonist It is the main character in a play who often comes with a mission or has a quest to
conquer.

Reversal It occurs when the protagonist either fails or succeeds.

Scenes These are portions of an act which let the audience relax briefly from the tension of the
story

Soliloquy It is an actor’s speech delivery to express thoughts at the time when he or she is alone.

Stakes These refer to what the characters stand to either gain or lose when they succeed or fail.

Surprise It is what happened in the story which the audience does not expect at all.

Suspense It involves happenings that cause a sense of uncertainty about the things that will
happen to the characters

2. Setting

Setting is the term used to describe the place or the locale where the story of the play is located. Moreover, it also
includes the date, time and the action involved in the play.

In general, setting has two main categories:

 Realistic plays
- Refer to those whose conventions are under the realistic plane and are taken from real people,
objects and situations. In this category, the setting is created with the aim to reproduce the external
presence of life.
 Non-realistic plays
- It is the exact opposite of realistic plays in which it is drawn out from stylized and unconventional
events. It involves characters who are not real people, but are allegorical or symbolical. The setting
in this category can be a dream-like forest, a barren and deserted mountain, the underworld or any
fictional spot.

3. Character

It refers to a person or any entity with human characteristics who acts, speaks, narrates or is referred to in a literary work.
A character can be major (or principal) or minor (supporting). The general classifications of characters in drama are as follows:

 Hero or heroine – also known as the protagonist whose conflict is also the main conflict of the play
 Villain or villainess – the character with evil qualities and often contradicts with the hero(ine)
 Superhero or superheroine – the character with supernatural powers
 Antihero or antiheroine – a character who is more ordinary compared to traditional hero(ine)

4. Dialogue

Among the components in a play, this is the most important. This is basically the reason why the action of the play
moves. Since the nature of drama is performative, it is the dialogue, which takes place between the characters, that often reveal the
tone and the characters in the play.

When writing the dialogues, consider the following pointers:

 Characters should not give flawless talks.

 Character should refrain from using clichés.
 Characters should not often use character names.
 Characters should not deliver lengthy speeches.
 Characters do not directly mention the theme of the play