‘’DRAMA’’

Drama is one the major genre of literature. We can define drama as ‘’a literary
composition involving conflict, action crisis and atmosphere designed to be acted
by players on a stage before an audience.’’ Definition of Drama. Drama is a
mode of fictional representation through dialogue and performance. It is one of
the literary genres, which is an imitation of some action. ... In simple words,
a drama is a composition in verse or prose presenting a story in pantomime or
dialogue.
The history of drama stretches back to some of mankind's earliest civilizations.
About Twenty five hundred years ago, two thousand years before
Shakespeare. Western theatre was born in Athens.
Drama in Ancient Greece:
Drama as we know it got its start back in ancient Greece. Many of the plays written
during the Classical period, from 525 BC to 385 BC, are still performed today.
The Rise of Comedy:
During the period between 350 BC and 250 BC, comedy came to be much more
prominent in the theater. Outlandish buffoonery, political farces and sexual
innuendo were prominent features of the comedy plays of this era. Eventually,
comedy became a bit more refined; it was this New Comedy that then influenced
modern comedic playwrights. Sadly, the Dark Ages was a time when drama
became nearly extinct.

Types of drama:
Following are the major types of drama.
Tragedy:
In general, tragedy involves the ruin of the leading characters. To the Greeks, it
meant the destruction of some noble person through fate, To the Elizabethans,
it meant in the first place death and in the second place the destruction of
some noble person through a flaw in his character. Today it may not involve
death so much as a dismal life, Modern tragedy often shows the tragedy not of
the strong and noble but of the weak and mean.
 Comedy: is lighter drama in which the leading characters overcome the
difficulties which temporarily beset them.
Problem Play:
Drama of social criticism discusses social, economic, or political problems by
means of a play.
Farce:
When comedy involves ridiculous or hilarious complications without regard
for human values, it becomes farce. The Three Stooges.
Fantasy:
A play sometimes, but not always, in comic spirit in which the author gives free
reign to his fantasy, allowing things to happen without regard to reality.
Melodrama:
Like farce, melodrama pays almost no attention to human values, but its
object is to give a thrill instead of a laugh.

Elements of Drama:
There are six main elements of drama which serve as the basis of producing a
successful play. These essential elements of drama include the plot of the story, the
theme, the genre in which the story belongs, the characters, the setting, and the
audience.
Setting identifies the time and place in which the events occur.
Characters are the people in the play and thus considered as the principal material
in a drama.
Plot lays out the series of events that form the entirety of the play. It serves as a
structural framework which brings the events to a cohesive form and sense.
Theme is considered as the unifying element that defines the dramatized idea of
the play. It is the over-all sense or implication of the action.
Style refers to the mode of expression or presentation of the play which points out
the playwright’s position or viewpoint in life.