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Creative-Writing-11-12 Q2 W1 M1 LDS Elements of Drama

ALG RTP
Education (Bohol Island State University)

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Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
REGION I
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CANDON CITY
Candon City, Ilocos Sur

CREATIVE WRITING
Quarter 2 – Week 1 – Module 1
Prepared by: Lavinia V. Vez

Lesson
Elements of Drama
1
I. OBJECTIVES:
1. Identify the various elements, techniques, and literary devices in drama.
(HUMSS_CW/MPIj-IIc-15)
2. Define drama.
3. Differentiate the types of drama.

II. GUIDE QUESTIONS:

1. What is drama?
2. What are the types of drama?
3. What are the elements of drama?

III. DISCUSSION:
Blessed day everyone!
Today, we are going to discuss drama particularly on the various elements, techniques,
and literary devices used.
The word drama comes from the Greek verb “dran,” which means “to do.” A drama, or
a play, is a piece of writing that is presented almost exclusively through dialogue. Like a short
story or novel, it has elements. However, the way in which it is presented to the audience is
different, because unlike a short story or novel, the play is meant to be performed in front of
an audience, not read.
The earliest known plays were written around the fifth century B.C. and produced for
festivals to honor Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility.
People who write the script of the play are called playwrights.

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There are different types of drama.

1. Tragedy
This type of drama shows the downfall or death of a tragic hero, or main character to
attain heroic stature. In ancient Greek plays, the hero was a good person brought down by a
tragic flaw, or defect in character. In a modern play, the hero can be a normal person destroyed
by an evil in society. It emphasizes human greatness.

2. Comedy
This type of drama often shows a conflict between opposite age groups, genders, or
personality types. Typical comedies involve confusion, jokes, and a happy ending. It stresses
human weaknesses.
⚫ High Comedy: The humor arises from subtle characterization, social satire, and
sophisticated wit.
⚫ Low Comedy: Emphasizes absurd dialogue, bawdy jokes, visual gags, and
physical humor.
3. Tragicomedy
This is a play with the sincerity and earnestness of tragedy but without its inevitability
of impending disaster, attitude of comedy but without its underlying spirit of humor; uses
tense situations and moments of extreme conflict, but the tragedy is averted and transcended.

Here are also the different elements of drama.

1. Script
Plays are not written in paragraphs like a novel or short story. Instead, they are written
as lines of dialogue in the form of a script. The script consists of a dialogue, stage directions
and instructions to the actors and director.
2. Stage Directions
Dramas are made up of mostly dialogue, with very few descriptive passages. In lieu of
heavy descriptions, dramas use stage directions. Stage directions are the notes, which are often
in italics or parentheses, that help the actors interpret the scene for the audience. They identify
parts of the setting or the use of props or costumes, give further information about a character,
or provide background information.
3. Acts and Scenes
Typically, these scripts are broken down into one or more acts, or major divisions of
the play. And each act is then subdivided into a scene, or smaller divisions within the act.
Usually, a change in setting means there will be a change in either the act or the scene.
4. Cast of Characters
Before the dialogue in a script, the playwright will often include a cast of characters.
Typically, each character, both major and minor, is listed alongside a brief description of the
character's role in the story.
This list is usually given to audience members on a printed playbill, or program, as they
enter the theatre, so that they may identify the major characters and the actors who will play
them. Of course, the biggest difference between characters in prose and characters in drama is
that live people, or actors, are representing the characters in drama. The actors are chosen based

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on both their physical and verbal ability to interpret the character. Sometimes it's important that
an actor have certain physical characteristics, such as red hair or stocky nature, because it is an
important aspect of the play.
5. Plot
The plot structure of the play doesn't really differ from that in prose. There is an
exposition, a rising action, a climax, falling action, and the resolution.
6. Speech
The characters’ speech may take any of the following forms:
a. Dialogue: conversations of characters onstage
b. Monologue: long speech given by one character to others
c. Soliloquy: speech by a character alone onstage to himself or herself or to the audience
d. Asides: remarks made to the audience or to one character; the other characters onstage
do not hear an aside.

Here are also other important terms used in drama.

Atmosphere: the interaction between the audience and the mood of a drama performance.
Character: a person or individual in the drama that may have defined personal qualities and/or
histories.
a. Flat characters (or two-dimensional characters) demonstrate a lack of depth or change
in the course of a drama event.
b. Rounded characters (or three-dimensional characters) feature more elaborate and
complex traits and histories and are changed by dramatic action in the drama event.
Chorus: a group of performers who comment on the setting and scene letting the audience
know important background information that is not disclosed in the characters dialogue.
Conflict: internal or external problems the characters face in the play. The theme or moral
centers around this and protagonist and antagonist play a huge role in its resolution.
Dramatic tension: drives the drama and keeps an audience interested. The tension comes when
opposing characters, dramatic action, ideas, attitudes, values, emotions and desires are in
conflict creating a problem that needs to be resolved (or unresolved) through drama.
Epilogue: a section or speech at the end of a play or drama that comments on the conclusion
or information that happens after the play. This information helps the overall theme.
Language and texts: referring to the use of spoken or written words that observe particular
conventions and language registers that communicate ideas, feelings and other associations.
Texts refer to the use of published texts, online materials and other compositions the
reference of which adds meaning to the drama.
Metaphor: creating an image or idea of one thing by saying it is something else. For example,
‘He is a lion of a man.’ In drama, the use of metaphor can be more subtle such as a metaphor
of a mouse created through a character having a squeaky voice and small darting
movements. Design and stylistic elements can also be metaphors for characterization or
provide meaning in terms of theme.
Mood: describes the feelings and attitudes, often combined of the roles or characters involved
in dramatic action often supported by other elements of drama as well as design elements.
The mood is the emotional impact intended by the playwright, director and/or other
members of the creative team.

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Playwright: the author of a play

Prologue: an introductory(beginning) section of a drama or play. This section gives
background information the audience needs to know in order to understand the characters
and setting.
Relationships: refer to the qualities of the connection between two or more characters or roles.
That relationship may be fixed (largely unchanged by the dramatic action) or variable
(challenged or changed by the dramatic action). The relationship may be cooperative (as in
a friendship), adversarial (as in enemies), neutral (neither positive nor negative) or non-
existent (as in total strangers). Those relationships will be defined by shared interests,
common objectives, cultural values and/or human need.
Role: a performer can present in performance a role that represents an abstract concept,
stereotyped figure, or person reduced to a particular dominant trait (occupation, human
condition or social vocation) that lacks depth or a backstory normally present in a
‘Character.’
Script: the written form of a play.
Set: construction on the stage that helps to show the time and place the events occur. Usually
consists of backdrop scenery and props.
Situation: the condition or circumstances in which a character or characters are presented often
at the opening of a performance.
Space: the place where dramatic action is situated and the qualities of that place including
temperature, features, light levels, population levels and other environmental factors that
may be presented to or imagined by the characters/audience.
Symbol: symbolic parts of the scenography or design represent and add further meaning to
themes, narrative, emotion, mood and atmosphere. Different colors are symbolic. Other
symbols might be found in a sound effect, music, style, images. Some symbols are literal
while others infer meaning.
Theater: place where the play takes place.
Time: both the time of day, time of the year and time in history or the future. Time also reflects
changes in time within a scene or drama event. Time also refers to the flow of time over
the length of a drama event: fragmented time, cyclical time, linear time and so forth.

IV. EXAMPLE:
Here is a brief example of a play script:

Act One
Scene One
Candon National High School. Teacher’s office. Right after school lets out.
JOSE, an eccentric English teacher, sits at his desk. He sorts through a stack of papers
and struggles to find what he is looking for.
JOSE (Talking to himself.)
Why is my life such a mess?
ANDRES, a put-together looking man, enters.
ANDRES

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Because you’re Jose.

ANDRES chuckles as JOSE rolls his eyes.

V. GENERALIZATION
Drama or play originated in Greece. It is written in a form of a script, and which is
intended to be performed before an audience. Major types of drama are tragedy, comedy, and
tragicomedy. Various elements of drama include script, stage directions, acts and scenes, cast
of characters, plot, and speech. There are also other important terms discussed which are used
in writing or study of drama.

VI. EXERCISES:

A. Directions: Complete the following paragraphs about drama and its types by filling-in the
missing word or phrase in each statement. Write your answers on your answer sheet. Incorrect
spelling will not be considered.

The word drama comes from the Greek verb 1. __________, which means “to do.”
A drama, or a play, is a piece of writing that is presented almost exclusively through 2.
__________. Like a short story or novel, it has 3. __________. However, the way in which it
is presented to the audience is different, because unlike a short story or novel, the play is meant
to be 4. __________ in front of an audience, not read. The earliest known plays were written
around the fifth century B.C. and produced for festivals to honor 5. __________, the god of
wine and fertility.
6. __________ shows the downfall or death of a hero, or main character to attain 7.
__________. In ancient Greek plays, the hero was a good person brought down by 8.
__________, or defect in character. In a modern play, the hero can be a normal person
destroyed by an evil in society. It emphasizes 9. __________.
10. __________ often shows a conflict between opposite age groups, genders, or
personality types. It involves confusion, jokes, and a happy ending. It stresses 11.
__________. In 12. __________, the humor arises from subtle characterization, social satire,
and sophisticated wit. 13. __________ emphasizes absurd dialogue, bawdy jokes, visual gags,
and physical humor.
Tragicomedy is a play with the sincerity and earnestness of 14. __________ but without
its inevitability of impending disaster, attitude of 15. __________ but without its underlying
spirit of humor. It uses tense situations and moments of extreme conflict, but the tragedy is
averted and transcended.

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B. Directions: Choose the letter of the correct answer to each of the questions below. Write
your answer on your answer sheet.
1. What is drama?
A. a story that is written to be performed or acted out
B. the characters that perform in a play
C. the written words and directions for actors to follow
D. trouble caused by “friends”

2. How is the play or drama organized?

A. by acts and scenes C. by episodes
B. by chapters D. by pages and numbers

3. What are the two parts that make up the script of a play?
A. asides and soliloquys
B. dialogue and stage directions
C. monologues and dialogues
D. stage directions and scenery

4. What is a synonym for drama?

A. novel C. poem
B. play D. story

5. Which of the following can be found within a script?

A. acts and scenes C. setting description
B. dialogue D. all of the above

6. Imagine you are writing a play and want to convey an in-depth expression of a
character’s thoughts, but without another character hearing what he or she has to say.
Which of the following methods would you use?
A. a dialogue C. a soliloquy
B. a monologue D. an aside

7. Which of the following refers to instructions that tell the actors what they are supposed
to do during acting?
A. director C. stage directions
B. scene D. teleprompter

8. Which of the following refers to remarks made to the audience or to one character, but
the other characters onstage do not hear it?
A. Asides C. monologue
B. Dialogue D. soliloquy
9. What is a long speech given by one character to others?
A. asides C. monologue
B. dialogue D. soliloquy

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10. Which of the following is a speech by a character alone onstage to himself or herself or
to the audience?
A. asides
B. dialogue
C. monologue
D. soliloquy

C. Directions: Find the correct term under Column B to match the description or definition
under Column A. Write only the letter of your answer on your answer sheet.
Column A Column B
1. The author of a play A. Act
2. The written form of a play B. Cast of characters
3. A story intended to be performed in front of an C. Conflict
audience D. Dialogue
4. A major division within a play E. Drama
5. A list of all the characters in the play, usually in F. Epilogue
the order of Appearance G. Monologue
6. The words, speeches, or conversation spoken by the H. Mood
characters I. Playwright
7. Introductory section that gives background J. Poet
information the audience needs to know K. Prologue
8. A section or speech at the end of a play or drama L. Relationships
that comments on the conclusion or information M. Scene
that happens after the play N. Script
9. Where the play takes place O. Set
10. Internal or external problems the characters face in P. Situation
play Q. Stage
11. A long uninterrupted speech that is spoken by a R. Theater
single character S. Tone
12. Divisions of acts that occur in different settings
13. feelings and attitudes, often combined of the roles
or characters involved in dramatic action
14. The qualities of the connection between two or
more characters or roles
15. construction on the stage that helps to show the
time and place the events occur

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Lesson
LITERARY TECHNIQUES
2 AND DEVICES
I. OBJECTIVES:
1. Identify the various elements, techniques, and literary devices in drama
HUMSS_CW/MPIj-IIc-15
2. Determine some literary techniques used in drama.
3. Identify some techniques used in drama.

II. GUIDE QUESTIONS:

1. What are other elements used in drama?
2. What are the literary techniques used in drama?
3. What are the rhetorical devices used in drama?

III. DISCUSSION:
In this lesson, we are going to discuss the other important elements of drama, these are
the literary techniques used by the author that make the writing more entertaining and
enjoyable. Some of these are:
1. ALLITERATION: repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or stressed
syllables.
2. ALLUSION: reference to a person, place, or event or to another literary work or
passage. Serves to illustrate or clarify or enhance a subject.
3. BLANK VERSE: non-rhyming poetry, usually written in iambic pentameter.
4. COMIC RELIEF: in a tragedy, a break in the seriousness for a moment of comedy or
silliness.
5. DOUBLE ENTENDRE: a word or phrase with more than one meaning, usually when
the second meaning is risqué.
6. DRAMATIC IRONY: when the audience or reader knows something that the
characters in the story do not know.
7. EUPHEMISM: a substitution of a more pleasant expression for one whose meaning
may come across as rude or offensive.
8. FORESHADOWING: hints of events to occur later in a story.
9. IMAGERY: pictures created by the author’s use of words. They are the playwright’s
way of creating an atmosphere is which to tell his story. Imagery is the recurrent uses
of “word pictures”. It provides an imaginative, yet vivid, specific description. Imagery
is created through the use of figurative language created by some of the following
devices:
a. Hyperbole. Exaggeration used to create a specific effect.
b. Metaphor. A figure of speech used to imply rather than directly express a
comparison between two objects.

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c. Simile. A figure of speech used to directly express a comparison between two

objects.
d. Paradox. When a character says something that sounds contrary or absurd, but
which holds some truth to it.
e. Personification. A figure of speech in which a quality or idea is represented by
human qualities, or nature is portrayed as having human feelings, intelligence or
emotions.
10. OXYMORON: when two opposite terms are used together
11. PUN: a play on words, especially those that sound alike, but have different meanings.
12. REVERSAL: point at which the action of the plot takes an unexpected turn; usually the
protagonist learns something about himself and might even regret his decisions, or
realizes the affect his decision may have on himself or others.
13. SUSPENSE: excitement or tension readers feel as they wait to find out how a story
ends, or a conflict is resolved
14. UNDERSTATEMENT: weakly stating or expressing feelings or ideas for effect

IV. EXAMPLES:

Here are some examples of drama in literature:

Example #1: Much Ado About Nothing (By William Shakespeare)
Comedy:
Much Ado About Nothing is the most frequently performed Shakespearian comedy in
modern times. The play is romantically funny, in that love between Hero and Claudio is
laughable, as they never even get a single chance to communicate on-stage until they get
married.
Their relationship lacks development and depth. They end up merely as caricatures,
exemplifying what people face in life when their relationships are internally weak. Love
between Benedick and Beatrice is amusing, as initially their communications are very sparky,
and they hate each other. However, they all of sudden make up, and start loving each other.

Example #2: Oedipus Rex (By Sophocles)

Tragedy:
Sophocles’ mythical and immortal drama Oedipus Rex is thought to be his best classical
tragedy. Aristotle has adjudged this play as one of the greatest examples of tragic drama in his
book, Poetics, by giving the following reasons:
The play arouses emotions of pity and fear and achieves the tragic Catharsis. It shows
the downfall of an extraordinary man of high rank, Oedipus. The central character suffers due
to his tragic error called Hamartia; as he murders his real father, Laius, and then marries his
real mother, Jocasta. Hubris is the cause of Oedipus’ downfall.

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Example #3: The Importance of Being Earnest (By Oscar Wilde)

Farce:

Oscar Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest, is a very popular example of
Victorian farce. In this play, a man uses two identities: one as a serious person, Jack (his actual
name), which he uses for Cesily, his ward, and as a rogue named Ernest for his beloved woman,
Gwendolyn.
Unluckily, Gwendolyn loves him partially because she loves the name Ernest. It is when
Jack and Earnest must come on-stage together for Cesily, then Algernon comes in to play
Earnest’ role, and his ward immediately falls in love with the other “Ernest.” Thus, two young
women think that they love the same man – an occurrence that amuses the audience.

Example #4: The Heiress (By Henry James)

Melodrama:
The Heiress is based on Henry James’ novel the Washington Square. Directed for stage
performance by William Wyler, this play shows an ungraceful and homely daughter of a
domineering and rich doctor. She falls in love with a young man, Morris Townsend, and wishes
to elope with him, but he leaves her in the lurch. The author creates melodrama towards the
end, when Catherine teaches a lesson to Morris, and leaves him instead.

IV. GENERALIZATION
Literary techniques and devices are also important elements of a drama. These are
incorporated by the playwright in making the story and the script more entertaining and
enjoyable for the audience.

V. EXERCISE:

A. Directions: Unscramble the letters to form the literary devices or techniques used in drama.
Write your answer on your answer sheet.

1. CCEEFIILMOR ________________________________________
2. BDDEEEELNNORTU ________________________________________
3. ABEEKLNRSV ________________________________________
4. ADEEEMNNRSTTTU ________________________________________
5. AACDIIMNORRTY ________________________________________
6. AAEIILLNORTT ________________________________________
7. EEHIMMPSU ________________________________________
8. MNOOORXY ________________________________________
9. AEELRRSV ________________________________________
10. ADEFGHINOORSW ________________________________________

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B. Directions. Identify the literary devices used in the following examples. Choose your answer
from the word bank then write the word on your answer sheet.

Allusion Simile Metaphor Personification Paradox Hyperbole

1. Her lips tasted as sweet as sugar.

2. She gave us a million of pages to read as homework.
3. He soared and plunged through the air in a one engine plane.
4. “Fair is foul.”
5. Your words are razors to my wounded heart.
6. The spot was as small as a pea.
7. She was the Eve of tomorrow.
8. The cruel, crawling sea.
9. “Men work together…Whether they work together or apart” (Robert Frost)
10. His job is like pulling a sword out of a stone.

VI. REFERENCES:

Dobson-Efpatridis. n.d. "File Picker." File Picker. Accessed November 15, 2021.
https://www.filepicker.io.
Horn, Anissa. n.d. Slide Player. Accessed November 15, 2021. https://slideplayer.com.
n.d. "Literary Devices." Literary Devices. Accessed November 15, 2021.
https://literarydevices.net.
Vez, Lavinia V. 2020. "Creative Writing _Quarter 2_Module 1- MELC 6." unpublished.

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Creative Writing 12 of 12
Lesson 2
A.
1. Comic Relief
2. Double Entendre
3. Blank Verse
4. Understatement
5. Dramatic Irony
6. Alliteration
7. Euphemism
8. Oxymoron
9. Reversal
10. Foreshadowing
B.
1. Simile
2. Hyperbole
3. Mataphor
4. Paradox
5. Mataphor
6. Simile
7. Allusion
8. Personification
9. Paradox
10.Allusion
Lesson 1
C. Lesson 1 Lesson 1
1. I B. A.
2. N 1. dran
1. A
3. E 2. dialogue
2. A 3. elements
4. A
5. B 3. B 4. performed
4. B 5. Dionysius
6. D 6. tragedy
7. K 5. D 7. heroic stature
8. F 6. C 8. tragic flaw
9. R 7. C 9. human greatness
10. C 8. A 10. comedy
11. human weaknesses
11. G 9. C 12. high comedy
12. M 10. D 13. low comedy
13. H 14. tragedy
14. L 15. comedy
15. O
VII. ANSWER KEY:
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