Drama is a type of literature telling a story, which is intended

to be performed to an audience.  Embed

Generally, while drama is the printed text of a play, the word theatre often refers to
the actual production of the text on the stage. Theatre thus involves action taking place on
the stage, the lighting, the scenery, the accompanying music, the costumes, the
atmosphere, and so on. 

Elements of drama 

Plot: The events in a play. 

Setting: The time and place of a literary work. 

Characters: People or creatures in a play. 

Dialogue: Conversation in a play. 

Theme: The central thought of a play; the idea or ideas with which a play deals. 

Scenery: The various elements that are used to create a particular visual setting for a
play. 
Types of drama 

Tragedy: In the Greek sense, a play that ends with the death of at least one of the main
characters. In modern usage, it refers to a play that doesn’t have a happy ending. 

Comedy: In the Greek sense, it is a play that doesn’t end in death. In modern usage, it
refers to a play that ends happily or that is humorous. 

Tragicomedy: a play in which serious and comic elements are mixed. 

Origins and a Brief History of Drama Drama is generally thought to have started in Greece
between 600 and 200 BC, although some critics trace it to Egyptian religious rites of
coronation.

Greek Drama: In Greece, dramatic performances were associated with religious festivals.
The Greeks produced different types of drama, mainly tragedy and comedy. Famous Greek
tragedians include Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. The best writer of comedy was
Aristophanes. Greek theatre mask 

Roman Drama: The Romans inherited the drama traditions from the Greeks. The expansion
of the Roman Empire helped spread drama to many places in Europe and the Mediterranean
world. Seneca is the most important Roman tragedian. 

A Roman Theatre 

Medieval Drama: The Middle Ages start with the fall of the Roman Empire. Most of Classical
learning was lost in medieval times. The middle Ages were dominated by religion and the
study of theological matters. The Christian doctrine and Christian values were the measure
of everything.

During the Middle Ages, drama was looked down upon as evil and a means of
corruption. However, faced with the need to spread the word of God to the illiterate
masses, the Church came to devise some form of dramatic performance to help in teaching
Christian beliefs and biblical stories. 

The Renaissance: The Renaissance is the period that followed the Middle Ages. It started in
Italy in the fourteenth century and spread to other parts of Europe. The word Renaissance
is a French word which means rebirth.

The Renaissance period witnessed a new interest in learning and discovery of the
natural world. The works of the Greek and Roman writers were rediscovered. The invention
of the printing press helped make the production of books easier and cheaper, hence,
available to more people.  Humanism: The humanist movement stressed the role of man
and reason in understanding the world and rejected the predominance of religious
thinking. 

 Renaissance Drama During the Renaissance, the works of Greek and Roman
dramatists were rediscovered and imitated. Plays were no longer restricted to religious
themes. This happened first in Italy and spread then to other parts of Europe. In England,
drama flourished during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603), who was a patron of
literature and the arts. Theatres were built in London and people attended plays in large
numbers. The most important dramatists were William Shakespeare and Christopher
Marlowe. 

The Globe Theatre in London 

 William Shakespeare Christopher Marlowe 

Dramatic Terms Playwright: The writer of plays (dramatist)

 1. Stage directions: Instructions written in the script of a play, describing the setting
and indicating actions and movements of the actors.
2. Soliloquy (Monologue): A speech in a play in which a character, usually alone on the
stage, talks to himself or herself so that the audience knows their thoughts.
3. Protagonist: The main character in a play.
4. Antagonist: The character opposing the main character.
5. Tragic hero: A character of high repute, who, because of a tragic flaw and fate,
suffers a fall from glory into suffering.
6. Tragic flaw: A weakness or limitation of character, resulting in the fall of the tragic
hero. 

 Dramatis Personae : " People of Drama" in Latin; a list of the characters in a play, usually
found on the first page of the script.

Blank Verse: Unrhymed iambic pentameter verse. It is the preeminent dramatic verse
English (as in the plays of Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare).

Chorus: The course in Greek drama is a group of actors who speak or sing together,
commenting on the action. In Elizabethan drama, the course consisted of one actor who
recites the prologue and epilogue to a play and sometimes comments on the action (As in
Doctor Faustus). 

Presentation on theme: "A drama is a story acted on stage for an audience."— Presentation
transcript:

A drama is a story acted on stage for an audience. 

Dramatic Elements - are needed to bring a story to life on stage:

1.setting script speech

2. characterprops non-verbal actions conflict

3.costumes

4. plot

5. scenery

6.theme

7.make-up sound/lightingcast
Dramatic Elements Sort
Fold a sheet of paper in thirds, creating a column for each of the types of dramatic elements:
Literary, Technical, Performance.Sort the above elements of drama into the three columns.

4  Performance Elements: bring story to life on stage

Literary Elements:create the storyTechnical Elements:produce the dramaPerformance
Elements:bring story to life on stage

5  Theme Conflict Character Plot Setting Script Sound/Lighting Costumes

Literary Elements:create the storyTechnical Elements:produce the dramaPerformance
Elements:bring story to life on
stageThemeConflictCharacterPlotSettingScriptSound/LightingCostumesMake-
upPropsSceneryCastSpeechNon-verbalactions

6  Literary Elements 

7  Dramatic Elements Discussion

Discuss the technical and performance elements that were in the play.Discuss how the
technical and performance elements helped bring out the literary elements.
8  ERQ PracticeA. Describe how a technical or performance element was used in the play using
at least two examples.B. Analyze how this element helped bring out a literary element.For
instance:How the scenery helped you understand the plotHow the props helped you understand
a characterHow the costumes helped you see a characterHow the nonverbal gestures helped
you get the themeHow the scenery helped you understand the setting

9  ERQ ModelThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer play included performance elements such as the
actors’ ways of speaking. For instance, when the actress portrayed Becky she spoke in a light,
chirpy voice. On the other hand, when she played the Widow, she talked in a dragging, rough
voice. The performance element of speaking helps to bring out the literary element of
character. By adopting different ways of speaking, the actress brought a variety of characters
to life. When she spoke in the light, chirpy voice, she showed that Becky was a young, energetic
girl. When she spoke in the rough, dragging voice, she showed the Widow was old and feeble.

10  Structure of a DramaA drama is a story performed by actors for an audience. A drama has
many parts. The written form of a drama is a script. The cast of characters is a list of who is in
the play. Stage directions tell actors what to do; they are written in italic print. Dialogue is the
conversation between characters. A monologue is when one character speaks at length to
another. A soliloquy is when a character is alone on stage and thinks aloud. A scene has a fixed
setting and continuous time frame. An act is made up of several scenes.

11  Annotating a DramaWhile reading Act 1 of The Miracle Worker, stop to annotate the
different dramatic structures (you can chunk so there are about two per page).For each
annotation, explain how that structure contributes to the meaning of the drama.What does it
help you understand about the setting?What does it help you understand about a character?
What does it help you understand about the plot?What does it help you understand about the
conflict?What does it help you understand about the theme?

12  Dialogue  shows how characters are trying to be polite

Stage directions  show the character of both Anne and Helen; shows the plot developing as
they first meet and interactDialogue  shows how characters are trying to be politeStage
directions  show the character of HelenDialogue  shows conflict between Keller and Anne

13  Dramatic Structure ERQ

Use your text annotations to answer the following ERQ. Remember to APE: Answer the
question, use Proof from the text, and Explain how the proof answers the question.Explain how
the dramatic structure helps a reader understand The Miracle Worker. Include specific
examples from the text.

14  Dramatic Structure ERQ Model

The dramatic structures in The Miracle Worker, such as stage directions and soliloquies, help
the reader understand the theme of perseverance in the play. One scene contains stage
directions that describe Anne repeatedly spelling words into Helen’s hand. This dramatic
structure of stage directions helps the reader visualize how hard Anne is working to
communicate with Helen, despite how hard Helen is fighting it. Later in the same scene, Anne
talks to herself saying, “Don’t worry. They’ll find you, you’re not lost. Only out of place.” This
soliloquy, another structure in this drama, reveals how Anne is struggling to reassure herself
and keep going in her new position as Helen’s teacher.