Drama Notes

What is Drama?• A play is a story acted out, live and

onstage.

Structure of a Drama

• Like the plot of a story, the plot of a drama follows a rising-and-falling structure

Kinds of Plays• A play may be a tragedy,

a comedy, or, in modern drama, a mixture of the two.– A tragedy depicts serious

and important events that end unhappily.

– A comedy ends happily. Although most comedies are funny, they may also make us think and question.

Tragedy• Most classical tragedies deal with

serious subjects—fate, life, and death—and center on a tragic hero.

Tragic Heroes• Are usually noble

figures• Have a tragic flaw, a

personal failing that leads to their downfall

• Examples: rebelliousness, ambition, passion, excessive pride

Innocent Heroes

• Some tragedies, such as Romeo and Juliet, portray the suffering of innocent characters who are not responsible for their own downfall.

Comedy• In a comedy, the characters usually

face humorous obstacles and problems that are resolved by the end of the play.

Comedic Heroes• May be ordinary people instead of

nobility• Eventually overcome their flaws and

achieve happiness

Comedy• The conflict in comedies is usually

romantic.– Someone wants to marry but faces an

obstacle—opposing parents or rival suitors.

– Complications can involve misunderstandings, mistaken identities, disguises, or transformation.

– The obstacle is always overcome.

Modern Drama• Many of today’s dramas can’t be neatly defined as either comedy and tragedy.

• Modern plays:– Often mix the serious with the

humorous– Focus on characters that

audiences will identify with rather than look up to

Performance of a Play

• Plays are meant to be performed. A play comes to life in each unique performance.

Performance of a Play

Stage DirectionsPlaywright describes setting and actions

InterpretationActors, directors, and designers interpret these directions creatively

PerformanceAudience experiences the story through the actor’s speech and actions

The Stage• A stage is like

a small world unto itself. A stage– Can be grand

or intimate–Has its own

coordinates

upstage

downstage

stage leftstage right

The Stage• The stage’s set might be:

• A set can be changed from scene to scene—sometimes with machinery and sometimes with just a change in lighting.

realistic and detailed

abstract or minimal

The Stage• Other important elements of set

design are costumes and props.–Costumes tell us about the

characters and the time and place. They can be elaborate or minimal.–Props are items that the

characters carry or handle onstage.

“Romeo, the love I bear thee can afford

No better term than this: thou art a villain”

“Romeo, the love I bear thee can afford

No better term than this: thou art a villain”

The Characters• The actors and

director bring characters to life by– Deciding how to

interpret and speak the lines of the play

– Building on the playwright’s stage directions for actions and movements

The Characters• Characters’ speech takes

the form of–Dialogue: conversation

between characters–Monologue: a long speech

by one character to one or more other characters

– Soliloquy: a speech by a character alone onstage, speaking to himself or herself or to the audience

Aside• Sometimes a character

speaks to the audience or to another character in an aside, dialogue that is not supposed to be heard by the other characters onstage.

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

• Tragedy: a narrative about serious and important events that lead to a disastrous outcome– A tragedy usually ends with the

deaths of the main characters– Their downfall may be the result of• Character flaws that lead to unwise

actions• Fate (events beyond the characters’

control)• A little bit of both

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

• Shakespeare’s tragic plays usually follow a five-part sequence:

Act IExposition

Act VClimax and resolution

Act IIICrisis, or turning

point

Act IIRising action, or complications

Act IVFalling action

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

• Exposition– Establishes

setting– Introduces

characters– Explains

background– Introduces

characters’ main conflict

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

• Rising action consists of a series of complications that occur when the main characters take action to resolve their problems.

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

• The crisis, or turning point, is the moment when a choice made by the main characters determines the direction of the action.– In a tragedy, the action heads

downward, toward disaster.– In a comedy, the action heads

upward, toward a happy ending.

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

• The crisis is the point when all the forces of conflict come together to create the greatest drama and tension of the play.– Look for the turning point as you read

Act III of Romeo and Juliet.

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

• Falling action presents events that result from the action taken at the turning point.–With each event,

we see the characters falling deeper into tragedy.

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

• Climax is the moment of greatest emotional intensity in the plot– In a tragedy, the

final and greatest climax occurs near the end of the play and usually consists of the deaths of the main characters.

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

• Resolution (or denouement) is the final part of the play– All the loose ends are tied up, and the

play is over

Foil• A foil is another character in a story

who contrasts with the main character, usually to highlight one of their attributes

Shakespeare’s use of Language

• Prose: normal written/spoken language that does not rhyme or have rhythm; the type of language the lower class typically speaks in Shakespeare’s plays

• Verse: writing that has a rhythm and may rhyme; the type of language the upper class typically speaks in Shakespeare’s plays