DRAMA

In literature, drama is defined as:

 a mode of fictional representation through dialogue and performance
 a type of play which is written for theater, television, radio and film
 a composition in the forms of either verse or prose for the purpose of portraying life or character or telling a
story which often involves conflicts and emotions through action and dialogue
 comes from the Greek words δρᾶμα (an act, a play) and δράω (to act, to take action)
 its writer is known as dramatist or playwright
Types of Drama
1. Comedy
This is known to be a broad genre of film, television, and literature. Nonetheless, its ultimate goal is but
simple – to make the audience laugh. In order to achieve such goal, a playwright often uses quaint
circumstances, unusual characters, and witty remarks. What makes this category different from the other types
is that its writer uses lighter tone.
The following are the sub-genres of comedy:
 romantic comedy – It focuses on lighthearted, humorous plot lines which are often centered on
romantic ideas like how true love is able to overcome many obstacles.
 sentimental comedy - It began in the 18th century as a reaction to the immoral tone of English
Restoration play. This sub-genre of comedy focuses on the middle-class protagonists who are able to
successfully overcome a couple of moral trials.
 comedy of manners - It is also referred to as the anti-sentimental comedy which writes about the
manners and feelings of modern society. It also questions societal standards.
 tragic comedy - It portrays characters who take on tragedy with humor in order to bring out happy
endings out of serious situations.
2. Tragedy
As a type of drama, tragedy is basically rooted on its literal meaning which connotes something that is
unpleasant and unwelcome. Generally, it has darker themes and portrays subjects which include death, disaster,
and all sorts of human suffering in a manner that is dignified and thought-provoking. This type of drama
involves two important elements:
(1) its intense seriousness in dealing with matters in which survival is at stake
(2) its involvement of the whole community in matters of ultimate and common concern.
A tragic flaw, a characteristic which often leads to a downfall, is usually present among the story’s
protagonists.
Tragedies come in different types which include:
 Greek Tragedy- Typically, it involves a protagonist of high rank who commits a mistake in judgment
(flawed) and accepts his fall from grace. Typically, it includes the elements of Gods, mythology,
conflict, suffering and catharsis. Among the great Greek tragedians were Sophocles, Euripides and
Aeschylus.
 Roman Tragedy - These are mostly adaptations of Greek tragedies. The Roman philosopher Seneca
wrote nine plays which still exist at present and adopted by Elizabethan and Jacobean playwrights
during the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
 Elizabethan and Jacobean Tragedy - Elizabethan tragedies, which are not all written by Shakespeare,
often involve main characters of high status (nobility, military rank, among others) who committed an
error or flawed, encounter a reversal of fortune and die towards the end of the play. On the other hand,
Jacobean tragedies usually have the characteristic of revenge tragedies.
 Revenge Tragedy - This type of tragedy often involves one character who seeks revenge upon another
character in the story for an evil doing. The most common examples of this are Hamlet by Shakespeare
and The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster.
 Tragicomedy - This is a single dramatic work which consists of a combination of tragic and comic
elements. One popular example of this is the play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett.
 Domestic Tragedy - Unlike the Elizabethan period tragedy, it portrays a common man in a domestic
setting as the tragic hero in the story. The best examples for this are Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and
Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh.
3. Farce
This type of drama features exaggerated or absurd forms of comedy. It is a nonsensical genre of drama
in which the characters intentionally overact and get themselves into a slapstick or physical humor. Webster’s
Dictionary refers to it as “a light dramatic composition marked by broadly satirical comedy and improbable
plot”. Recently, it is known as something serious that has turned comical.
4. Melodrama
This is an exaggerated type of drama which shows classic one-dimensional characters like heroes,
heroines, and villains who deal with sensational, romantic, and threatening situations.
5. Opera
This type of drama combines theater, dialogue, music and dance to tell grand stories of tragedy or
comedy; hence, it is known as a versatile genre of drama. This genre requires their performers to be both actors
and singers since they will be expressing their emotions and intentions through song instead of a dialogue.
6. Docudrama
This new genre involves dramatic portrayals of historic events or non-fictional happenings.
The Structure of Drama
1. Plot- We refer to plot as the dramatic structure of a play. Nonetheless, it should not be forgotten that the
narrative structure is not the only consideration to think of since majority of these plays are created to be played
either in a theater, a movie or a television.
There are three major divisions or acts in a physical format of a play. A three-act play is composed of
three acts which show a fuller and longer exposition of the theme and conflict of the story. On the other hand, a
one-act play involves one unit of time, place and action only.

Typically, plays are written in many different forms, but the typical structure often consists of the following:

1.Exposition and This part introduces the characters and establishes the setting of the story. The
Introduction introduction can either present the conflict right at the very beginning or in the middle
of the action. Regardless of the structure, this part shows the situations that involved
the characters to the conflict and sets the tone of the play.
2. Conflict This is where the challenges that the protagonist is about to face are presented. This
conflict may arise from various forces, including the society, nature, environment,
God, or even from the main character himself/herself.
3. Rising Action or From the emergence of a conflict, the play now rises toward a dramatic tension which
Complication often turns into a confrontation. As this dramatic tension intensifies, it provides
emotional tension between characters, giving the audience more details concerning
them which were not known in the introduction and conflict. This part also makes the
conflict more complicated.

4. Turning Point, This part is where the audience finds out if the protagonist either wins or loses in the
Climax or Crisis battle that he or she is struggling with. This is known as the highest point in a story.
5. Falling Action At this point, the audience somehow gets a sense of the conclusion, but may still have
some unsettled questions at work within the plot.
6. Denouement or This marks the ending of the play where we can see if the protagonist won against the
Resolution antagonist. It also shows whether or not the order is brought back and the conflict has
been resolved.

Dramatic Elements
While it is important for a playwright to understand the structure of drama, it is also necessary that he or
she is fully aware of the many different techniques and devices – dramatic elements – involved in making a play
more effective, interesting and meaningful. Here are some of them:

Action It refers to what the characters say or do to achieve their goals.

Antagonist It refers to the character or situation that is in conflict with the protagonist.
Arc It is the storyline of the play; something that the audience wants to find out.
Aside This is when the actor speaks directly to the audience while the other actors on stage
supposedly did not hear a word he or she says. In the Renaissance drama, it was used to
make the actor’s inner feelings known to the audience while in the 19 th century, it was used
to insert comedy or melodrama.
Backstory It refers to past events involved in the play.
Complications This is the introduction of new characters, information or other events which often causes
conflicts.
Conflict It refers to the problem which arises due to the opposing intentions of the protagonist and
the antagonist.
Discovery This is when the protagonist finally realizes the reality of the situation.
Double plots It is the use of a subplot in moving towards and outside of the main plot. This is usually
observed in Elizabethan drama.
Dramatic It refers to what the audience intends to accept as true for the story’s sake. This may
convention include the actors acting to represent the characters of the story, the stage set up to appear
realistic in time and location, and so on.
Flashback In order to clarify the situation, it uses description or enactment of what happened in the
 past which usually has something to do with the present conflict.
Foreshadowing It refers to the use of hints at the future just to create audience’s anticipation.
Inciting It refers to that occurrence which introduces the main character and gets the plot going.
incident
In Medias Res It is the opening scene in the middle of the action.
Intrigue It refers to a scheme created by one of the characters which often results in a more
complicated plot.
Music It is used on the stage to set the mood and tone of the play.
Monologue It refers to the speech delivery of an actor in the presence of other actors who simply
listens, but not talk.
Protagonist It is the main character in a play who often comes with a mission or has a quest to conquer.
Reversal It occurs when the protagonist either fails or succeeds.
Scenes These are portions of an act which let the audience relax briefly from the tension of the
story
Soliloquy It is an actor’s speech delivery to express thoughts at the time when he or she is alone.
Stakes These refer to what the characters stand to either gain or lose when they succeed or fail.
Surprise It is what happened in the story which the audience does not expect at all.
Suspense It involves happenings that cause a sense of uncertainty about the things that will happen to
the characters

2. Setting
An effective playwright does not only consider the plot when writing drama. Equally important to that
matter is to also think of the setting in a play. Basically, setting is the term used to describe the place or the
locale where the story of the play is located. Moreover, it also includes the date, time and the action involved in
the play.
In general, setting has two main categories:
 Realistic plays
-Refer to those whose conventions are under the realistic plane and are taken from real people, objects and
situations. In this category, the setting is created with the aim to reproduce the external presence of life.
 Non-realistic plays
-It is the exact opposite of realistic plays in which it is drawn out from stylized and unconventional events. It
involves characters who are not real people, but are allegorical or symbolical. The setting in this category can be
a dream-like forest, a barren and deserted mountain, the underworld or any fictional spot.

3. Character
As discussed in the lesson on fiction, character refers to a person or any entity with human
characteristics who acts, speaks, narrates or is referred to in a literary work. A character can be major (or
principal) or minor (supporting). The general classifications of characters in drama are as follows:
 Hero or heroine – also known as the protagonist whose conflict is also the main conflict of the play
 Villain or villainess – the character with evil qualities and often contradicts with the hero(ine)
 Superhero or superheroine – the character with supernatural powers
 Antihero or antiheroine – a character who is more ordinary compared to traditional hero(ine)

4. Dialogue
Among the components in a play, this is the most important. This is basically the reason why the action
of the play moves. Since the nature of drama is performative, it is the dialogue, which takes place between the
characters, that often reveal the tone and the characters in the play.
When writing the dialogues, consider the following pointers:
 Characters should not give flawless talks.
 Character should refrain from using clichés.
 Characters should not often use character names.
 Characters should not deliver lengthy speeches.
 Characters do not directly mention the theme of the play.
NAME: _______________________________________________________ SCORE: _______________
GRADE LEVEL AND SECTION : _________________________________ DATE: ________________

DRAMA QUIZ
I. Multiple Choice. Instructions: Recall what you have learned or read about drama as a genre of
fiction. Read and answer the following statements. Encircle the letter of your answer for each item.
1. Which of the following is not part of the typical structure of a play?
a. exposition b. conflict c. climax d. tragedy
2. Which part of the play displays whether or not the protagonist won and problems are resolved?
a. climax b. conflict c. denouement d. exposition
3. It refers to what the characters say or do to achieve their goals in a play.
a. complications b. action c. conflict d. backstory
4. What element of drama refers to the events that took place in the past?
a. complications b. action c. conflict d. backstory
5. It is used to refer to an actor’s speech delivery in the presence of other characters who do not
speak but listen.
a. music b. flashback c. monologue d. intrigue
6. What element of drama refers to the character or situation that stands against the protagonist?
a. antagonist b. arc c. intrigue d. flashback
7. What is known as the mainstay of the musical drama?
a. intrigue b. flashback c. music d. antagonist
8. What element of drama is known as something that happens out of the audience’s expectation?
a. soliloquy b. surprise c. stakes d. scenes
9. What element of drama is known as portions of an act?
a. soliloquy b. surprise c. stakes d. scenes
10. Which of the following elements of drama refers to what the characters stand in order to gain or
lose whenever they succeed or fail.
a. soliloquy b. surprise c. stakes d. scenes

II. True or False. Write TRUE if the statement is true and FALSE if it is not true based on the
discussion above.
1. Drama is a mode of fictional representation through the use of dialogue and performance.
2. The writer of a drama is called a poet.
3. Comedy is a type of drama which aims to entertain the audience.
4. Tragedy is characterized by a lighter theme.
5. Farce is a type of drama that involves exaggerated or absurd forms of comedy.
6. An effective playwright only puts into consideration the plot of the play.
7. The conflict is where the challenges that the protagonist is about to face are presented.
8. Falling action is the last component of a plot.
9. To make a play become more effective and interesting, a playwright must consider several
techniques and devices or dramatic elements.
10. The setting of a play is always realistic.

III. Identification. Read the description in each item below. Find the correct word/s inside the
box that each description refers to. Write the letter of your answer after the number.
a. arc d. foreshadowing g. opera i. music
b. docudrama e. reversal h. In Medias Res j. complications
c. flashback f. dialogue
1. It refers to the use of hints at the future just to create audience’s anticipation.
2. It is used to set the mood and tone of the play.
3. This is known as the most versatile genre of drama.
4. It causes the action of the play to move.
5. This new genre of drama involves dramatic portrayals of historic events.
6. It occurs when the protagonist either fails or succeeds.
7. This is the introduction of new characters, information or other events which often causes
conflicts.
8. It is the storyline of a play.
9. It is the opening scene in the middle of the action.
10. It is often used to clarify the present situation through description or enactment of what
happened in the past.