DRAMA ANALYSIS

“THE STEPS IN ANALYZING DRAMA”

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Faculty of Humanities

Udayana University

2021
Introduction

A drama is a literary work that portrays fictional or non-fictional events through the
use of written dialogue that is intended to be performed in front of an audience on the stage.
Dramas are commonly referred to as plays, and their authors are referred to as "playwrights"
or "dramatists". In drama, people analyze the play of the drama in order to obtain the drama's
points and gain a thorough understanding of the whole drama. A play analysis is not the same
as a synopsis. An analysis necessitates the reader's interpretation (explication). The emphasis
of a review may be on a single aspect of a play (plot, character, dialogue, etc.). The emphasis
of an explication (or interpretation) of a work may be on a particular aspect of the play (line-
by-line or word-by-word). Not only does an explication explain what the work means, but it
also explains how the author achieves his or her goal. There are ten key points or steps that
should be taken when analyzing a drama play.

1. Identify the key elements

To obtain a better understanding of the play, the first step in drama analysis is
to recognize the main elements. In this phase, some key elements should be
established, such as the title and playwright. We must analyze the title to see whether
it reflects a conflict or a human condition. The play's setting or time frame, including
where it takes place, when it takes place, and in what situation it takes place. The
protagonist and antagonist, as well as the relationship between each character and
their role in the play's plot, were established, as were the characters' points of view or
perspectives. It may be a social, intellectual, or political problem, for example. The
main conflict can be determined by the nature of the issues posed, whether it is an
external or internal conflict. The resolution refers to how we can work out how to
solve the problem. Then, find out what the drama's plot's climax is.

2. Identify the type of play

The second step in analyzing drama is to recognize that many plays have
subgenres such as comedy, tragedy, history, satirical comedy, and romantic comedy.
As a result, we must determine which subgenres the drama we are analyzing belongs
to. There are certain characteristics or features in each style of play that characterize
them and can be picked up in those subgenres in order to determine the elements of
that type of play.
3. Identify the historical context

The third step is identifying the historical context. Historical context is the social,
political, cultural, economic, and environmental situations that influence the events or trends
we see happen during that time. In analyzing historical events, context can help us understand
what motivates people to behave as they did. Many plays make a point about the period in
which they had been created, by identifying the time period to see if there are any similarities
between the drama and what is going on in society at the moment.

4. Analyze the character

The fourth step is analyzing the character. Character analysis is the process of
evaluating a character's traits, role in the story, and conflicts. By analyzing those three areas,
you will be able to think critically, ask questions, and draw conclusions about the character.
Characters often act out the author's themes, so understanding a character and dissecting his
or her actions or dialogue may reveal how a play's theme develops.

5. Identify the Dramatic Devices for Analysis

Fifth step is to identify the dramatic devices to see what might help create the theme
of the play. These include of five devices such as 1) the plot pyramid we can found a
paradigm of dramatic structure outlining the seven key steps in successful drama; 2)
Foreshadowing, its significance becomes clear later in the play. And Flashback is an
interruption of a play's chronology (timeline) to describe or present an incident that occurred
prior to the main time-frame of the play's action; 3) Monologue in soliloquy narration, in a
soliloquy only the audience can hear the private thoughts of the characters; 4) Dramatic irony
is A device in which a character reverses or fulfills expectations in a way that the audience or
reader has not expected, because they have a more complete understanding of events or
individuals than the character; and 5) Foil characters is a secondary character whose situation
often parallels that of the main character while his behavior or response or character contrasts
with that of the main character.
When identify the dramatic devices for analysis, we must answer the questions such
as:
a. Where are the devices effective?
b. How do these devices advance the plot?
c. What connection do these elements create for audience?
d. How these devices advance the plot?
 e. What do these elements reveal about a character?
6. Plot, Settings, and Organization
The sixth step is to determine the plot, setting and what the organization. A play’s
general organization is controlled by plot and setting. Consider whether the play employs
realistic or non-realistic conventions. How is the plot organized? Is the play based in reality
or in a fictional world? How does the setting affect the audience? In addition, please consider
the importance of the events that the author chooses to present compared to the events that
occurred off-stage.
It is also important to consider the appearance of the stage as a background element.
If we are reading a drama, we can check the stage notes at the beginning of each action. If
we are watching a play, we can see the stage. Consider the placement of objects and the
proximity of actors. How did the staged notes reveal information about the setting and
theme? Does the author use any objects or colors to develop the theme? Think about the
significance of these things as they pertain to the themes.

7. Develop a Thesis Statement

In analyzing steps of drama, developing a thesis statement is such an important thing.

Thesis statement is a short statement which provide an insight into what the drama is going to
be about. It is usually identified the aspect of the drama, thus will help us to figure out an
idea of how we are going to write an analysis of the play in order to arrange a manageable
analysis.

8. Create an Organized Outline

Creating an outline before write down an analysis help us to make sure that our
analysis is well organized, when it is contained a relevant content. An outline is a detailed
guide that shows how all the supporting ideas relate to each other. It helps us to distinguish
between ideas that are of equal importance and ones that are of lesser importance and then
build the analysis based on the outline's framework by write a body paragraphs which is
directly related to the thesis statement. And then, before you look for evidence to back up
your claims, write a subject sentence with your own ideas.

9. Gather evidence / Supporting details

The next steps is gather the evidence or supporting details. Gathering the evidence
here means that to collect or bring together into a group. Some arguments that support the
details of informations about the drama. Find the examples from the text in case to support
your claims. How to do that is find the examples of one drama tragedy. Then, analyze and
demonstrate how tragedy contributes to suspense.

10. Create a rough draft of your analysis

The last steps is create a rought draft of your analysis. A rough draft is a completed
but unpolished version of your paper. The sole purpose of a rough draft is to give you a place
to start to formally put together your ideas with evidence. Commonly rough draft look like a
completed paper with an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. A rough draft should
include a straightforward thesis statement, topic sentences, and specific, citation-based proof.
After you finishing it, do not forget to always check your analysis in aim to reduce some
mistakes.

Conclusion :

All in all, drama is A drama is a literary work that uses written dialogue to depict
fictional or non-fictional events and is intended to be performed in front of an audience on
stage. A good drama is when the drama understandable by the audience. Through the
analysis, will simply mean that you are questioning the text in order to gain a better
understanding of the author's message, style, or even characters in the drama. There are 10
steps, as the way how to analyze drama : identify the key elements; identify the type of play;
identify the historical context; analyze the character; identify the dramatic devices for
analysis; plot, settings, and organizations; develop a thesis statement; create an organized
outline; gather evidence or supporting details; create a rough draft of the analysis. These ten
steps will guide you to make an obvious drama analysis.

References :

Kirkland, M. (2016, November 17). Drama Analysis [Video].

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPL8AOrNO5M (accesed on 22 March 2021)