Literary Terms in English Drama a topic from B.A. English 3rd year syllabus. A very precise and detailed presentation may help the learners.

1. LITERARY TERMS
IN
ENGLISH DRAMA

2. WHAT IS A LITERARY TERM?
Literary term is a technique or a device used by a writer to tactfully emphasize, embellish, or
strengthen their compositions.We can define Literary term in many ways. It is a tool to coin
new thought and meaning into a word or an action. Literary terms also include name of
different structures and formats in a given text like plot or diction of a literary piece.Writers
utilize utmost meaning of a word by their different techniques, and they make their writing more
appealing and interesting with full of figurative language and imagery.

3. TYPES OF DRAMA
Tragedy
Comedy
Melodrama
The Heroic Play
Problem Play
Comedy of Manners
Comedy of Errors
Comedy of Humour
Sentimental Comedy
Dark Comedy
Farce
Mime
The Drama of Ideas
Propaganda Plays
Chronicle Plays
Tragedy-Comedy
Expressionistic Drama
EpicTheatre
Verse Drama
Dance Drama
Radio Play

4. TRAGEDY
• Tragedy is a form of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events
that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying
catharsis, or a "pain that awakens pleasure", for the audience. While many cultures have developed
forms that provoke this paradoxical response, the term tragedy often refers to a specific tradition
of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of Western
civilization.
• In modernist literature, the definition of tragedy has become less precise.The most fundamental
change has been the rejection of Aristotle's dictum that true tragedy can only depict those with
power and high status.
• Athenian tragedy—the oldest surviving form of tragedy—is a type of dance-drama that formed an
important part of the theatrical culture of the city-state.Only one complete trilogy of tragedies has
survived, the Oresteia of Aeschylus

5. COMEDY
• Comedy is a type of drama that aims to make the audience laugh. Its tone is light and it mostly
has a happy ending.The classic conception of comedy came from the Ancient Greek theatre,
where comedy first emerged as a form of drama.
• Comedy can be further divided into subcategories, for example, lampoon, farce, satire, black
comedy, etc.
• Each type of comedy has its audience. Interestingly, such preferences may also depend on the
cultural background of people.

6. MELODRAMA
• It is a kind of drama in which everything is hyperbolized. Usually, themes depicted in
melodramas are simple and without any unpredictable plot twists.There are quite a lot of
stereotypes in such dramas.
• However, the main point of a melodrama is not to tell a story but to awaken feelings in the
audience. Melodramas are mostly love stories with beautiful heroines, charming heroes, and
scary villains.
• Melodrama originated much later than comedy, tragedy, and tragicomedy. It first appeared in
France at the end of the 18th century.
• The influence of melodrama on society was so great that it lived to our days and even
penetrated other areas of literature and entertainment.

7. THE HEROIC PLAY
• Heroic play, also called heroic drama or heroic tragedy, a type of play prevalent in Restoration
England during the 1660s and 1670s.
• The heroic play was written in rhyming pentameter couplets. Such plays presented characters
of almost superhuman stature, and their predominant themes were exalted ideals of love,
honor, and courage.The heroic play was based on the traditional epic and romance.The most
popular writer of heroic plays was John Dryden, whose Conquest of Granada, in two parts
(1670, 1671), had all the requisite elements of poetry, battle, courage, death, and murder.

8. PROBLEM PLAY
• The problem play is a form of drama that emerged during the 19th century as part of the wider
movement of realism in the arts, especially following the innovations of Henrik Ibsen. It deals with
contentious social issues through debates between the characters on stage, who typically represent
conflicting points of view within a realistic social context.
• The critic F. S. Boas adapted the term to characterize certain plays by William Shakespeare that he
considered to have characteristics similar to Ibsen's 19th-century problem plays.As a result, the
term is also used more broadly and retrospectively to describe any tragicomic dramas that do not
fit easily into the classical generic distinction between comedy and tragedy.
• Boas used the term problem play to refer to a group of Shakespeare's plays which seem to contain
both comic and tragic elements. Measure for Measure,All'sWellThat EndsWell, and Troilus and
Cressida.

9. COMEDY OF MANNERS
• A comedy of Manners is a play concerned with satirising the society’s manners. A manner is the
method in which everyday duties are performed, conditions of society, or way of speaking. It implies
a polite and well-bred behaviour.
• The Comedy of manners, also called anti-sentimental comedy, is a form of comedy that satirizes the
manners and affections of contemporary society and questions social standards. Social class
stereotypes are often represented through stock characters(a stereotypical fictional person or type
of person in a literary work).
• A Comedy of Manners often sacrifices the plot, which usually centres on some scandal, to witty
dialogues and sharp social commentary.
• Satirizes the manners and affections of a social class often represented by stereotypical stock
characters. Restoration Comedy is the highpoint of Comedy of Manners

10. COMEDY OF ERRORS
• A series of humorous or disastrous events.
• Origin of Comedy of Errors -This expression comes from the title of one ofWilliam
Shakespeare’s plays, written in the year 1600.
• In this play, two brothers are separated at birth and experience many amusing mix ups when
they arrive in the same location by chance.
• Examples
This expression comes from the name of Shakespeare’s play “Comedy of Errors” (1594)
Goldsmith’s “She stoops to conquer” 1773)

11. COMEDY OF HUMOUR
• The comedy of humours refers to a genre of dramatic comedy that focuses on a character or
range of characters, each of whom exhibits two or more overriding traits or 'humours' that
dominates their personality, desires and conduct.
• Comedy of humours, a dramatic genre most closely associated with the English playwright Ben
Jonson from the late 16th century.
• The term ‘humour’ as used by Ben Jonson is based on an ancient physiological theory of four
fluids found in the human body.According to this theory, there are four fluids in the human
body which determine a man’s temperament and mental state.
• Every Man in His Humour (1598) and The silent woman (1609) by Ben Johnson

12. SENTIMENTAL COMEDY
• In the 1800 in Britain a new form of drama emerged known as the sentimental comedy.
• The sentimental comedy of the age was a reaction against the comedy of manners.
• In the 18th century was infect a reaction against the comedy of manners which was popular during
the Restoration bun, rude and sever dialogues.
• The aim of the writers of comedy of manners was to make bun of holly character middle class
morality was ridiculed and the writer made attempt to bring virtue and virtuous characters satirize.
• Humour was replaced by pathos and humorous situations in pathetic situation.
• The writer of the sentimental comedy were moralists and wanted to teach morals through the
medium of there place.
• The sentimental comedies were really moral comedies and sense of morality and virtue governed
them from beginning to end

13. DARK COMEDY
• Dark comedy is a comedic style that makes fun out of ordinarily taboo subject . It is also refers
to as dark comedy or dark humor. No matter what you call it, the goal is to amuse by
presenting something shocking and unexpected.
• Common topics for Dark comedy : Murder, Violence, Death, Political corruption,Human
sexuality, War and terrorism
• The term did not technically originate until 1935 when Surrealist theorist Andre Breton was
interpreting the work of Jonathan swift.

14. FARCE
• A comic technique often present in other types of plays, farce is one of the main types of low
comedy. A farce is based on improbable characters and implausible coincidences and events.
• Farces include practical jokes, clowning, and many physical indignities, such as ear pulling, shin
kicking, and pie throwing.Farces usually include chase scenes—through gardens or houses,
around furniture, or in and out of doors. Charley’s Aunt, written in 1892 by BrandonThomas, is
an example of a full-length farce. It includes a hilarious chase scene through the Oxford
Botanical Gardens.

15. MIME
• Mime is a form of silent art that involves acting or communicating using only movements,
gestures, and facial expressions.A person performing mime is also called a mime.
• Non-verbal communication dates all the way back to the first human beings. Before there was
spoken language, gestures and facial expressions were used to communicate.As spoken
language developed, these gestures and facial expressions were retained as a form of simple
entertainment.
• Many people associate mime with French culture. However, mime is an ancient art that dates
back to the early Greeks and Romans. It was in France, though, where mime flourished. It
became so popular that mime schools were established throughout France, and a great
tradition of French mimes soon followed.

16. THE DRAMA OF IDEAS
• "Drama of Ideas", pioneered by George Bernard Shaw, is a type of discussion play in which the clash
of ideas and hostile ideologies reveals the most acute problems of social and personal morality.This
type of comedy is different from the conventional comedy such as Shakespearean comedies.
• In a Drama of Ideas there is a little action but discussion. Characters are only the vehicles of ideas.
The conflict which is the essence of drama is reached through the opposing ideas of different
characters.The aim of Drama of Ideas is to educate people through entertainment.
• Examples: Arms and the Man is an excellent example of the Drama of Ideas. Here very little
happens except discussion.The plot is built up with dynamic and unconventional ideas regarding war
and love. Shaw criticizes the romantic notion of war and love prevailing in the contemporary
society.

17. PROPAGANDA PLAYS
• Propaganda is the spreading of rumors, false or correct information, or an idea, in order to
influence the opinion of society. It may advance an idea or bring into disrepute an opposite
idea. In literature, writers use propaganda as a literary technique to manipulate public opinion
for or against one idea or another. In history, we can search a plethora of literary works used
as propaganda to shape public perceptions, and direct their behavior to get a response.
Generally, propaganda is a technique for convincing people, but which is misleading in nature,
or promotes a false viewpoint.
• The U.S. dropped leaflets in a propaganda campaign in Iraq, to let the people know that Saddam
Hussein was the real culprit they were looking for.
• People use name-calling as propaganda, such as “My enemy is a drug addict.”

18. CHRONICLE PLAYS
• A history play, also known as a chronicle play, is a dramatic work where the events of the plot
are either partially or entirely drawn from history.
• Emerged during Renaissance period. -Partially or entirely based on historical events or
persona. -Having some facts from history written from writers point of view. -Mixing of fact
with fiction and can't claim true .
• History is one of the three main genres inWestern theatre alongside tragedy and comedy,
although it originated, in its modern form, thousands of years later than the other primary
genres. For this reason, it is often treated as a subset of tragedy.A play in this genre is known
as a history play and is based on a historical narrative, often set in the medieval or early
modern past.

19. TRAGEDY-COMEDY
• Tragicomedy is a genre that blends elements of both comedy and tragedy.A tragicomedy can
either be a serious play with a happy ending—which is not the case with a straightforward
tragedy—or a tragic play interspersed with moments of humor in order to lighten the mood.
• The definition of tragicomedy was first used by the Roman playwright Plautus. He was a comic
writer, and his only play with mythological implications was called Amplitron. Generally, comic
plays did not feature gods and kings, but Plautus was only accustomed to writing comedies.
• There are many films which can be considered examples of tragicomedy, as they combine both
tragic and comic aspects.
• The Merchant ofVenice is a famous example of tragicomedy because there are elements of
both tragedy and comedy.

20. EXPRESSIONISTIC DRAMA
• In drama, expressionism is a non-realistic or super-realistic style that uses various external
effects (settings, lighting,music, etc.) to represent internal states of mind. Structurally,
expressionist plays tend to be made up of a series of short scenes, rather then extended acts
as in more naturalistic plays. Expressionism flourished in the 1920’s, especially in Germany and
then in the United States.
• A noteworthy example is Eugene O’Neill’s “The Emperor Jones,” which uses a mounting tom-
tom rhythm throughout to indicate the title character’s fears as he fled through the jungle,
along with dramatic lighting effects as figures from Jones’s past appear on stage to dramatize
his internal struggles.

21. EPIC THEATRE
• Epic theatre, German episches Theater, form of didactic drama presenting a series of loosely
connected scenes that avoid illusion and often interrupt the story line to address the audience
directly with analysis, argument, or documentation.
• Epic theatre is now most often associated with the dramatic theory and practice evolved by
the playwright-director Bertolt Brecht in Germany from the 1920s onward.
• Its dramatic antecedents include the episodic structure and didactic nature of the pre-
Expressionist drama of the German playwright Frank Wedekind and the Expressionist theatre
of the German directors Erwin Piscator (with whom Brecht collaborated in 1927) and Leopold
Jessner, both of whom made exuberant use of the technical effects that came to characterize
epic theatre.

22. VERSE DRAMA
• The Poetic Drama also known asVerse Drama is a great achievement of the modern age. It is
a mixture of high seriousness and colloquial element. It is a symbolic and difficult.
• In EnglishVerse Drama, the dialogue is written in verse, which is usually blank verse.Almost all
the heroic dramas of the English Restoration Period were written inVerse Drama.
• It's verse form is blank verse or free verse.
• Beginning :The 18th and 19th century contributed little to the development of poetic drama
due to the unfavorable condition. Beginners: Stephen Phillips Jon Mansfield Gordon Bottomley
• Conclusion:Thus poetic drama is completely a new phenomenon in the history of English
drama.

23. DANCE DRAMA
• Throughout history there has been dramatic dance, which expresses or imitates emotions,
character, and narrative action, and purely formal dance, which stresses the lines and patterns of
movement itself.
• Elements:The 8 elements approaches biomechanics, vocabulary development, improvisation,
choreographer, musicality, practice development, belly dance history, costuming and performance
preparation and experience.
• Types of Dance Drama
Ballet.
Folk dance
Modern Dance
Interpretive Dance

24. RADIO PLAY
• Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on
audio media, such as tape or CD.
• Radio plays are theatrical performance that are purely auditory they are meant to be performed on
the radiophones the name! There is no visual aspect, so performers must rely on their vocal
performances as well as sound effects and music to convey the story to the audience.
• Elements:
Role : character in the play.
Time: when the action takes place.
Place: where the action takes place.
Action :what happens in the drama.
Tension: Conflict within and between characters and their environment.

25. SUBMITTED TO:
MRS MONIKA CHOUDHRY,
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
PRARAMBH STATE INSTITUTE OF
ADVANCED STUDIES IN TEACHER
EDUCATION, JHAJJAR, HARYANA,
INDIA
SUBMITTED BY:
GROUP 2
(GROUP REPRESENTATIVE – VAIBHAV VERMA)

26. P R A R A M B H S TAT E I N S T I T U T E O F A D VA N C E D S T U D I E S
I N T E A C H E R E D U C AT I O N
Group 2 members of B.A.B.Ed. 6TH Sem Batch 2018-2022:
NAME NOS
Dipika 18120
Divya 18121
Fiza 18122
Katyani Bhardwaj 18124
Vaibhav Verma 18126
Akshita Ray 18127
Lakshay Sharma 18128
Nilesh Kaushik 18129
Neha Ranjan 18130
Jigyasa 18131
Tamanna 18132
Hemant Gautam 18133
Jyoti 18134
Kajal 18135
Shweta 18136

27. INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION
• (18120) Dipika + (18121) Divya (the Drama of Ideas, Tragedy-Comedy, the Heroic Play)
• (18122) Fiza Khan (Propaganda Plays)
• (18124) Katyani Bhardwaj (Mime, Epic Theatre)
• (18126) Vaibhav Verma (Designing, Formatting, Correspondence) (Farce)
• (18127) Akshita Ray (Expressionistic Drama)
• (18128) Lakshay Sharma (-nil-)
• (18129) Nilesh Kaushik (Comedy of Errors, Comedy of Humour)
• (18130) Neha Ranjan (Comedy, Melodrama)
• (18131) Jigyasa (Chronicle Plays)
• (18132) Tamanna (Comedy of Manners, Sentimental Comedy)
• (18133) Hemant Gautam (-nil-)
• (18134) Jyoti (Dance Drama, Radio Play)
• (18135) Kajal (Verse Drama, Dark Comedy)
• (18136) Shweta Kumari (Tragedy, Problem Play)

28. SOURCES
• Chronicle Plays (Interpreting a play: the merchant of Venice and developing composition skills by Macmilan education
Page no.12)
• Comedy ( https://www.legit.ng/1219307-4-types-drama-literature.html)
• Comedy of Errors ( https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Comedy-of-Errors)
• Comedy of Humour ( https://www.britannica.com/art/comedy-of-humours)
• Comedy of Manners ( https://thedramateacher.com/comedy-of-manners/)
• Dance Drama ( https://www.britannica.com/art/dance/Drama)
• Dark Comedy ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_comedy)
• Epic Theatre ( https://www.britannica.com/art/epic-theatre)
• Expressionistic Drama (Interpreting a play: the merchant of Venice and developing composition skills by Macmilan
education Page no.13)
• Farce ( https://www.klmsdrama.com/uploads/1/2/0/7/120721966/ch.-6-varieties-of-drama-240xv6o.pdf Page no. 281)
• Literary term (https://literaryenglish.com/literary-terms-used-in-english-drama/)
• Melodrama ( https://www.legit.ng/1219307-4-types-drama-literature.html)
• Mime ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mime_artist)
• Problem Play ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_play)
• Propaganda Plays ( https://literarydevices.net/propaganda/)

29. SOURCES
• Radio Play ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_drama)
• Sentimental Comedy ( https://englishsummary.com/sentimental-comedy/#gsc.tab=0)
• The Drama of Ideas ( https://englishliterature24.blogspot.com/2013/11/drama-of-ideas.html)
• The Heroic Play ( https://www.britannica.com/art/heroic-play)
• Tragedy ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy)
• Tragedy-Comedy ( https://literarydevices.com/tragicomedy/)
• Verse Drama (https://www.englitmail.com/2017/06/poetic-
drama.html?m=1#:~:text=The%20poetic%20drama%20is%20a,blank%20verse%20or%20free%20verse)
• ClipArt's were retrieved from: http://clipart-library.com/