1. INTRO TO DRAMA
ENG 110 – QVCC – Spring 2010

2. What is Drama?
Representati
Mimetic
on
Immediate
Interactive Composite
Art

3. Types of Drama

4. Tragedy
 “an imitation of
an action that is
serious,
complete in
itself, and of a
certain
magnitude.”
Aristotl
e

5. Tragedy
 Logical order of events; causal relationships
 Fatal flaw
 Tragic heroes
 Ex: Oedipus, Othello
 Fall from grace
 Domino effect
 Recognition/discovery
 Hero realizes his flaw/mistake

6. Comedy
 Flaws lead to prosperity/humor rather than
catastrophe
 Ordinary people
 Stereotypes
 Plots unpredictable

7. Comedy
 Satire
 Exposes human folly
 Critical of human conduct
 Romance
 Tolerant
and genial
 Sympathetic as opposed to corrective

8. Elements of Drama

9. Plot
Turning Point/Climax
Exposition Resolution

10. Character
 Protagonist and Antagonist
 Major and Minor
 Static and Dynamic

11. Dialogue
 1) All speech in a play
 2) conversation between two characters
 Monologue
 Speech made by one character
 Soliloquy
 Speechmade by single character that provides
audience a glimpse of their inner thoughts
 Asides
 Comments made directly to the audience

12. Dialogue
 Important element
 Provides almost all characterization, etc.
 “Live” aspect changes the way we “hear” the
dialogue

13. Dialogue
 Subtext
 Cues provided by the actors
 Actions, accents, facial expressions
 Sometimes written into the stage directions, other
times implied by the actor’s interpretation

14. Staging
 Visual details of the play
 Blocking
 Movement of actors, position of items on the set
 Costume
 Set pieces
 Actions
 Sounds

16. Stage Directions/Terms
 Upstage, Downstage, Center Stage
 Offstage vs. Backstage
 Stage Left/Stage Right vs. House Left/House
Right
 Proscenium
 In the Round
 Raked Stage

17. Symbolism and Irony and
Theme
 Same rules as in narrative fiction and poetry