ELEMENTS OF DRAMA

Theme: The theme of a drama refers to the central idea of the play. It can either be clearly stated through dialogue or action or can be inferred after watching the entire performance. Plot: The order of events occurring in a play is referred to as the plot of the drama. It is the basic storyline that is narrated through a play. The entertainment one derives from a play depends largely on the sequence of events that occur in the story. The logical connection between the events and the characters, which enact the story form an integral part of the plot of drama. Characters: The characters that form a part of the story are interwoven with the plot of the drama. Each character in a play has a personality of its own and has a distinct set of principles and beliefs. Actors who play various roles in a drama have the very important responsibility of bringing the characters to life. Dialogue: The story of any play is taken forward by means of the dialogue. The story is narrated to the audiences through the dialogue written by the playwright. The success of a drama depends hugely on the contents of the dialogue and the quality of dialogue delivery by the actors of the play. Music/Rhythm: While music is often featured in drama, in this case Aristotle was referring to the rhythm of the actors' voices as they speak. Spectacle: This refers to the visual elements of a play: sets, costumes, special effects, etc. Spectacle is everything that the audience sees as they watch the play. Convention: These are the techniques and methods used by the playwright and director to create the desired stylistic effect. Genre: Genre refers to the type of play. Some examples of different genres include, comedy, tragedy, mystery and historical play. Audience: This is the group of people who watch the play. Many playwrights and actors consider the audience to be the most important element of drama, as all of the effort put in to writing and producing a play is for the enjoyment of the audience.