Reading and
Writing Drama
Objectives
identify the various elements,
techniques, and literary devices in
drama and understand intertextuality
as a technique of drama.
DEFINITION
Drama is a literary work that’s intended to be
presented on a stage in front of an audience or a
group of audience. This usually involves a conflict
between the main character who is the
protagonist,the antagonist, and the supporting
characters.
‘Dramatist’ or ‘playwright’.
person who writes drama for
stage directions
It is considered the type of literature that
takes advantage of people’s visual and
auditory senses.
According to scholars, the first forms of
drama originated in Greece at about 2500
years ago,and it evolved from being
simple choral readings in humble
platforms to complete theatrical
productions that involveS elaborate sets
and dozens of fully made-up actors with
fantastic co stu m es
Drama vs Theater
Drama is the actual written material or the
script (derived from the Greek word draw
which means to do or to act)
theater is from the Greek word
theasthai which means to
behold.It is the actual production
and is the enactment and
interpretation of the written
m aterial
ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
LITERARY ELEMENTS
in the
Modern
Theater
PLOT
refers to the action, the
basic storyline of the play. It
serves as the skeleton of the
story that brings the actions
into a cohesive and more
organized form.
Exposition or Introduction
The exposition is the introduction to the story.
The characters and setting are introduced. The
background information provided by
exposition helps connect to the audience to the
emotional stakes of the narrative.
In Snow White, the queen is obsessed
with being beautiful and consumed
with jealousy over Snow White’s
greater beauty.
Conflict
The conflict is the primary problem that
drives the plot of the story, often a main
goal for the main character to achieve or
overcome. The main character must fight
against another person or group or
against a non-human force such a storm.
THEME
– refers to the meaning of the play. It is
the main idea or lesson to be learned
from the play.
In some case, the theme of a play
is obvious, other times it is quite
subtle. It is called the soul of
thestory and mostly involves
conflict between individuals,
man and society, m a n a nd a
superior force, and man and
himself.
CHARACTERS –
the people (sometimes animals
or ideas) portrayed by the actors
in the play. It is the characters
who move the action or plot.
Characterization is the way
anauthor presents a character.
DIA L O GU E
-this refers to the words written
by the playwright and spoken by
the characters in theplay. The
dialogue helps moves the action
of the play along.
DEFINITION
DEFINITION
Soliloquy is a literary device in the form of
a speech or monologue spoken by a single
character in a theatrical play or drama.
The purpose of a soliloquy is for
the character to express their inner
thoughts and feelings that are not
intended to be heard or known by
other characters in the play or the
audience members.
Aside- short comment or
speech that a character
delivers directly to the
audience, or to himself, while
other actors on the stage
appear not to hear.
Only the audience knows that the
character has said something to them.
CONVENTION
these are the techniques and
m e t h o d s u s e d b y t h e
playwright and director to
create the desired stylistic
effect
GENRE
– refers to the type of play.
Some examples of different
genres include comedy,
tragedy, mystery and
historical play.
Comedy – Comedies are
lighter in tone than
ordinary works, and
provide a happy
conclusion.
The intention of dramatists in
comedies is to make their audience
laugh. Hence, they use quaint
circumstances, unusual characters,
and witty remarks. i.e. All’s Well that
ends Well by William
Shakespeare
Tragedy – Tragic dramas use
darker themes, such as disaster,
pain, and death. Protagonists
often have a tragic flaw — a
characteristic that leads them to
their downfall. i.e. Romeo and
Juliet by William Shakespeare
Farce –It makes use of highly
exaggerated and funny situations
aimed at entertaining the
audience. It uses elements like
physical humor, deliberate absurdity,
bawdy jokes, and
drunkenness just to make people
laugh. i.e. The Importance of Being
Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Melodrama – is an exaggerated
drama, which is sensational and
appeals directly
to the senses of the audience. Just
like the farce, the characters are of
a single dimension and
simple, or may be stereotyped. i.e.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Musical Drama – In musical dramas,
dramatists not only tell their stories
through acting and
dialogue, but through dance as well
as music. Often the story may be
comedic, though it may
also involve serious subjects. i.e. Les
Miserables by Victor Hugo
AUDIENCE
– group of people who watch the
play. Many playwrights and
actors consider the audience to
be the mo st impo rtan t elemen t o f
drama, as all of the effort put in
to writing and producing a play
is for the enjoyment of the
audien ce.
Technical elements
SCENERY (SET) – the theatrical
equipment, such as curtains, flats,
backdrops, or platforms, used in a
dramatic production to
communicate the environment.
COSTUMES- clothing and
accessories are worn by actors to
portray character and period.
PROPERTIES (PROPS) – are any
article, except costume or scenery,
used as part of a dramatic
production; any moveable object
that appears on stage during
performance, from a telephone to
a train
LIGHTS – light elements mean that
every placement, intensity, and color
of lights have to be set as needed to
help communicate environment,
mood or feeling.
SOUND – the effects an audience hears
during performance to communicate
character, context, or environment
MAKEUP – includes costumes, wigs, and
body paint used to transform an actor into a
character
PERFORMANCE ELEMENTS
ACTING – the use of face, body, and
voice to portray character
CHARACTER MOTIVATION – the
reason or reasons for a character ’s
b e h a v i o r. I t i s a n i n c e n t i v e o r
inducement for further action for a
character in drama.
PERFORMANCE ELEMENTS
C H A R A C T E R A N A LY S I S – i n
responding to dramatic art, the
process of examining how the
elements of drama – literary, technical,
and performance – are used
PERFORMANCE ELEMENTS
EMPATHY – the capacity to relate to
the feeling of another.
