Elements of drama

Elements of Drama

Act:  a subdivision of a play

Scene: a subdivision of an act in a dramatic presentation

Exposition: the explanation of necessary events at the beginning of a play, leading up to the start of the play

Conflict:  an opposition of people or other entities; the problem or struggle on which the play is based.

Complication: the intensification of the conflict in a play.

Climax: the highest point of the narrative, all actions are built towards this.

Denouement: the unravelling of the plot in a play

Peripetia: the sudden change for the good, as in a comedy.

Characterisation: the way in which a writer creates characters in a narrative, so as to attract or repel sympathy of the audience

Protagonist:  The main character in a play

Antagonist:  the villain: the person who opposes and challenges the protagonist.

Main plot: The main event a story comprises as they relate to one another in a pattern, a sequence , through cause and effect , or by coincidence.

Subplot: a plot subordinate to the main plot of a play.

Form of Drama:

Comedy:  a literary works that aims solely to provoke laughter.

History:  a play based on or depicting historical events.

Tragedy:  a literary work in which the main character suffers extreme sorrow, as a consequence of being unable to deal with unfavourable circumstances

Tragic-comedy: a literary work in which the elements of tragedy and comedy are combined.

Theatre of the Absurd: a designation of particular plays of absurdist fiction, written by a number of primarily European playwrights.

Satire: writing which exposes and ridicules the subordinates or the stupidity of people or society

Farce:  a light dramatic work in which high improbable plot situations, exaggerated characters, and often slapstick elements are used for humorous effect.

Modern Drama: the western development of drama beginning in the late 19^th century,  where the role of the play was of illumination and examination.

Melodrama: A drama characterized by exaggerated emotions, stereotypical characters and interpersonal conflicts.

Features of Drama

Monologue: a long speech made by one person

Dialogue:  a conversation or discussion between characters in a play.

Soliloquy:  a dramatic convention which allows a character in a play to speak directly to the audience, as if thinking aloud about motives, feelings and decisions.

Aside:  a dramatic convention in which a character speaks in such a way that some of the characters on stage do not hear what is said but others do.

Set:  a construction of scenery for theatrical productions

Stage direction:  advice about the requisite movements, gestures and appearance of actors incorporated in the text of a play.

Stage Conventions: elements which aid in the production of plays (e.g. props and costumes)

Chorus: a simultaneous utterance by a number of people.

Dramatic Unities:  the unities of time, place and action that are observed in classical drama.

Disguise: a means of altering one’s appearance to conceal one’s identity.

Literary Devices

Imagery: The “word pictures” that writers use to help evoke emotional response; figurative language that presents pictures from words.

Motif:  a significant word, description, idea or image that is repeated throughout a literary work.

Symbolism:  the practice of representing things by use of symbols, or  of giving things a symbolic meaning or character.

Dramatic Irony: Irony that is intrinsic in a situation of drama which is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play

Tragic Irony: a situation in which there is an absurdity or discordance that goes beyond the what is actually stated.

Juxtaposition: the instance of positioning close together, side by side, especially for comparison and contrast.