Drama

1
Drama

• Characteristics of the Genre

2
History

• Drama began with the early Greeks who produced
  religious oriented plays to celebrate the
  resurrection of the tragic god of vegetation,
  Dionysus.
• The Greeks were a polytheistic culture, believing
  in many gods.

3
Dionysus

• Was the son of a god, Zeus, and a mortal, Semele.
• Was raised by the nymphs (nature spirits) and
  celebrated for bringing the rebirth of vegetation
  in the spring with a great festival.

4
The festival of Dionysus

• Featured a huge drama festival, kind of an
  Olympics of Drama, in which all of the big
  playwrights participated
• Lasted five days
• Hundreds of people from many towns would gather
  to feast, pay tribute to the gods, and watch the
  dramas.

5
The Drama Competition

• Each playwright presented four plays three
  tragedies and a satyr play.
• Satyr plays became our modern comedies and
  satires.
• The priest was the only actor.
• The priest was followed by a procession of
  priestesses.

6
The Priestesses

• In later years, the priestesses became the
  chorus.
• The chorus sang, danced, and interpreted the
  actors speech and mood.

7
The Goat

• In myth, Dionysus was supposed to have been
  reborn after an angry goddess ripped him to
  pieces.
• In the early days, a goat (tragos) was
  dismembered on stage to symbolize the death of
  Dionysus. From tragos comes the word tragedy.

8
Rules of Drama from Ancient Greece to Elizabethan
England

• Royalty made the best subject matter.
• The importance of catharsis-purifying of the
  emotions through art
• Men actors only
• The idea of the tragic flaw hubris arrogance
  arising from pride or passion.

9
Types of Drama

• Comedy entertains, makes us laugh, and has a
  happy ending.
• Tragedy a drama in which the main character is
  destroyed by some combination of chance and
  character flaw
• History A serious play in which there is some
  combination of royalty and world-changing events

10
More Types of Drama

• Melodrama A slightly serious drama played at a
  game level which exploits exciting actions and
  uses stereotypical characters
• Satire Drama that ridicules people, ideas,
  customs, or organizations

11
The Actors Words

• Words spoken by the characters in a play are
  called dialogue.
• A solo speech of a single character is called a
  monologue.
• A solo speech, representing the thought of a
  character, which is not heard by the other actors
  on stage is called a soliloquy.

12
Parts of a Play

• One event or exchange among characters in the
  same time and place is a scene.
• A set of related scenes presented without a break
  is an act.
• Narrative in a script that explains where the
  characters are and what they are doing is called
  stage direction.

13
Dramatic Elements

• The inner growth and change of a character is
  shown by the five layers of characterization.
• The main character is called the protagonist.
• The force which stands in the way of the main
  character is called the antagonist.

14
Dramatic Elements

• The part of the plot in the first scene which
  explains what has happened before and which
  introduces the characters, setting, and basic
  conflict is called the exposition.
• The confrontation of the main character with some
  strong opposing force is called the conflict.

15
Dramatic Elements

• The point of greatest suspense and tension when
  the protagonist and antagonist meet for the last
  time is the climax.

16
Literary Elements often used

• The time and place in which the events occur is
  called setting.
• The feelings the audience experiences from the
  overall experience of a play is the mood.
• Hints dropped by the author to prepare the reader
  for future events are called foreshadowing.

17
More Often Used Literary Elements

• The image of a situation or event from the past
  which interrupts the main action of the play is
  called a flashback.
• A contrast between what is said and what is meant
  is called irony.