Drama uses live performances to mirror life and provide insights into human behavior and psychology. It deals with motives, problems, and passions through characters interacting on stage. Drama began in Ancient Greece as choral performances for religious festivals and has evolved into various genres like comedy, tragedy, and other forms that use dialogue and action to tell stories. It develops plot and themes through elements like masks, symbols, and chorus.
2. DRAMA
-> mirrors life onstage
-> provides readers and
viewers fresh insights
into human behavior
3. AS IT DEALS WITH…
• MOTIVES
• PROBLEMS
• PASSIONS
• PYSCHOLOGICAL ENCOUNTERS IN LIFE
4. CHARACTERS ARE REPRESENTED BY STAGE
PERFORMERS WHO ENGAGE THE AUDIENCE IN AN
INTERACTIVE COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE.
5. DRAMA
• Is a literary work written to be performed
onstage and intended to create an illusion of
reality
• 2 MAIN ELEMENTS:
–DIALOG
–ACTION
6. DIALOG AND ACTION build
up:
Chorus (Greek)
Soliloquy
Symbols
Masks
Orchestra, etc.
7. DRAMA: Etymology
DRAN (Greek) = ‘to do, to act, or to perform’
Originally an ART FORM but is now considered as a
LITERARY GENRE.
DRAMA: Basis
MIMESIS- the imitation of life which centers on either a
physical or spiritual kind of conflict.
9. A HISTORY OF DRAMA
Drama began in ancient
Greece dating back to 543
B.C.
It started as choral
performances of dancing
and singing honoring the
Greek god, Dionysus, the
god of wine.
10. The history of drama
GREEK DRAMA
-part of religious and agricultural festivals
-thank and praise the gods
11. Eugene O’Neill
First American dramatist
who made a distinctive
trend out of Naturalism
The Emperor Jones (1920)
Anna Christie (1921)
The Hairy Ape (1922)
16. Types of Drama or Play
Major Types:
1. Comedy designed to be entertaining and
humorous where misfortune ends in triumph or
happiness.
2. Tragedy serious drama where the
protagonists begin happily and end in misery and
failure
17. Subtypes of Comedy
a) HIGH COMEDY- an intellectual comedy that relies on
wit or with clever use of language (such as the use of
epigrams) employing sarcasm and irony as sources of
humor.
b) LOW COMEDY- relies on jokes, slapstick behavior,
gags, ridicule, and humiliation as sources of humor.
c) SATIRIC COMEDY- portrays human weakness or folly
as being ridiculed from the viewpoint of what seems
to be enlightened or superior position.
18. Subtypes of Tragedy
a) Classical Tragedy-the tragedies of Ancient
Greece and Rome and the later tragedies
after them.
b) Modern Tragedy- is a serious play in which
the protagonist is an ordinary person and
the events are also ordinary.
19. Other types of DRAMA
a. Tragicomedy
b. Theater of the absurd
c. Farce
d. Melodrama
e. Masque
f. Pantomime
g. Feminist Character
20. Elements of the Drama
1) Dialog- chief tool
2) Character- lead characters: protagonist & antagonist
3) Plot or dramatic structure
4) Theme
5) Setting
21. TIPS ON HOW TO READ A PLAY
1) Using the mind’s eye or visualizing the stage production
2) Empathizing with the protagonist
3) Identifying the conflict
4) Recognizing situations with the use of colors, lights, costumes,
sounds, music, etc.
5) Understanding basic dramatic structure
6) Judging artistic value