DRAMA

Its Elements
 DRAMA
Drama is a
composition in prose
form that presents a
story entirely told in
dialogue and action
and written with the
intention of its
eventual performance
before an audience.
Drama has a two-fold nature:
LITERATURE and
THEATRE.
THEATRE
Setting identifies the time and place in which
the events occur. It consists of the historical
period, the moment, day and season in which
the incidents take place. It also includes the
sceneries in the performance which are usually
found in the preliminary descriptions.
Characters are the people in the play and thus
considered as the principal material in a
drama.
 Character Aspects
Physical
• Physical identifies peripheral
facts such as age, sexual
category, size, race and color.
It deals with external
attributes which may be
envisaged from the description
of the playwright or deduced
from what the characters say
or what other characters
verbalize about his
appearance.
Social
• Social embraces all aspects
that can be gleaned from the
character’s world or
environment as exemplified by
the economic status,
occupation or trade, creed,
familial affiliation of the
characters.
 Character Aspects
Psychological Moral
• Moral discloses the decisions
Psychological discloses the inner
mechanism of the mind of the
of the characters, either
character as exemplified by his socially acceptable or not,
habitual responses, attitudes, exposing their intentions, thus
longings, purposes, likes and dislikes. projecting what is upright or
It is considered as the most not.
indispensable level of character
categorization because routines and
emotions, thoughts, attitude and
behavior enable the readers to know
the character intrinsically.
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.
 Types of Plot
Natural Plot Episodic Plot
• Natural Plot is a • Episodic Plot – each episode
chronological sequence of independently comprises a
events arrangement where setting, climax, and resolution;
actions continuously take therefore, a full story in itself
place as an end result of the is formed.
previous action
 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.
It defines the problem, emphasizes the ethical
judgment and suggest attitude or course of
action that eliminates the crisis is an acceptable
way.
 STYLE
Style refers to the mode of expression or
presentation of the play which points out the
playwright’s position or viewpoint in life.
 Major Dramatic Attitude
Realism
• Realism is an accurate
detailed, and life-like
description in a play where
things are presented as real as
can be set in actual life, with
dialogues sounding like day-
to-day conversation.
Non-realism
• Non-realism is method of
presentation identified as
something stylized or
theatricalized whereby artist
uses his feral imagination
in projecting his ideas.
TYPES OF DRAMA
 Tragedy is a type of drama that shows the downfall
and destruction of a noble or outstanding person,
traditionally one who possesses a character weakness
called a tragic flaw. The tragic hero, through choice or
circumstance, is caught up in a sequence of events that
inevitably results in disaster.
Comedy is a type of drama intended to interest and
amuse the audience rather than make them deeply
concerned about events that happen. The characters
overcome some difficulties, but they always overcome
their ill fortune and find happiness in the end.
Tragicomedy is a play that does not adhere strictly to
the structure of tragedy. This is usually serious play that
also has some of the qualities of comedy. It arouses
thought even with laughter.
Farce is a play that brings laughter
for the sake of laughter, usually
making use grossly embellished
events and characters. It has very
swift movements, has ridiculous
situations, and does not stimulate
thought.
A literary work that contains
ridiculous plots, exaggerated
characters and over-the-top
situations for comedic effects.
 Melodrama shows events that follow each
other rapidly, but seems to be governed
always by chance. The characters are victims
in the hands of merciless fate.