Návrat na detail prednášky / Stiahnuť prednášku / Univerzita Pavla Jozefa Šafárika / Filozofická fakulta / Britské a americké štúdiá

Intoduction to Literary studies - DRAMA (drama.doc)

Basic elements of drama

Drama

1. (play) a story told in action by astors who umprsonate chracters
2. it is written primarily to be performed, not read. It presents its action

1. through actors
2. on a stage
3. before an audience

1. as a rule the plot is based on the idea of conflict, conflict is the essence of many dramas
2. conflict: the struggle between the opposing forces.
3. inner conflict = a struggle within the heart and mind of the protagonist
4. external conflict = a struggle between the protagonist and an outside force
5. usually consist of dialogue (exchanges of speech, conversation between two or more characters in a play) and monologue (soliloquy, i.e. speech o character alone on the stage, revealing his/her thoughts) aside: a remark made by one character in the presence of others but ssumed not be heard by them
6. work written by a playwright (or dramatist)
7. may be written in both verse and prose. Classical and Renaissance drama was mostly written in verse.
8. Shakespeare s plays are often combination of prose and verse. Modern dramas are typically written in prose

Structure – dramatic progression:

Plot: (as in narrative: exposition, rising, action, climax, falling action, conclusion=catastrofphe)

Subplot: (a subordinate/minor complication, contributing to the development of the main plot

9. formal characteristics of the play:

division into acts and scenes

stage directions – dramatis personae (a list of characters that will appear in the play) the playwright s directions concerning setting, costumes, gestures etc.

Basic genres

Tragedy

10. series of events in the life of a significant person culminating in an unhappy catastrophe (a tragic solution of the conflict). The theme is treated with great dignity and seriousness. According to Aristotle its purpose is to arouse pity and fear. Action is serious and complete. Emotions are followed by catharsis, the purgation of these emotions. According to the ancient therorists it meant that after witnessing a tragedy we felt relief or our feelings were purified. The flaw (certain weakness) of the character (usually of noble stature) leads to his/her downfall ( we speak of so called tragic flaw). Yet the tragic fall is not pure loss. It involves some gain in self-knowledge. (Thomas Kyd: The Spanish Tragedy, Christopher Marlowe, W. Shakespeare: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth)
11. examples of modern tragedies: Eugene O’ Neill: Desire under the Elms, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller: Death of a Salesman)

Comedy

12. a lighter form of drama that aims primarily to amuse and that ends happily. The purpose is to provoke smiles and laughter. It exposes human limitations, human follies
13. examples: John Lyly, RObert Greene, George Peele, W. Shakespeare: Merry Wives from Windsor, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night s Dream, The Tempest, Ben Johnson: Every Man in His Humour, Volpone or the Fox, Oscar Wilde, G. B. Shaw: Neil Simon, Woody Alan...
14. Farce: aims at arousing explosive laughter. Its means are cruder than in comedy. Plot emphasized while chracterization is not so relevant. This plot is presented with coarse wit and practical jokes, the style is low, often even vulgar.
15. Burlesque: a form of comedy characterized by ridiculous exaggeration. Often satire, parody, andirony are used. A serious subject may be treated frivolously or a frivolous subject seriously. „High“ is mixed with „low“. Example: John Gay – The Beggar s Opera

Dramatic geners according to the historical development

Medieval mysteries – scriptual plays: based on stories from the Bible

               miracle plays – based on legends of saints and performed miracles

               moralities – dramatized allegories, confrontation of personified virtues and vices

Elizabethan chronicle plays – based on historical material, with a loose structure and large cast

                   tragedies of blood – based on the theme of revenge through murder

                                                    kind of revenge tragedy (Thomas Kyd, W. Shakespeare –              

        Hamlet)

                   court comedies – written to be performed at the royal court, usually based on        

                                    a mythological theme

        romantic comedy – difficulties of serious love is their central topic

Restoration heroic play – violent emotional conflicts usually in an exotic setting

        Comedy of manners – satirical play concerned with manners, morals and

                                         conventions of society. Based on witty dialogues

                                         (W. Congreve: The Old Bachelor, Richard B. Sheridan:

                                         The School for Scandal, in the 19th century: Oscar Wilde:

                                                       The Importance of Being Earnest)

19th century melodrama – has romantic plot with little regard to characterization and

                               motivation. Its tone is sentimental. The conflict is over-simplified          

             between good and evil (black and white characters)

20th century – the theatre of the absurd: avant-garde kind of drama that represents the                                                          

                       absurdity the absurdity of human life. It uses nonrealistic form. Examples:

                Samuel Beckett – Waiting for Godot, Harold Pinter, Edward Albee –Who s

            s Afraid of Virginia Woolf

                Musical: a spectacular symbiosis of texts, music,

                           dance and singing. It was established in America. Examples: Leonard

                           Bernstein – West Side Story, George Gershwin – Porgy and Bess

                           (adaptation of G. B. Shaw s comedy Pygmalion, Andrew Lloyd

                           Webber – Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Broadway musicals.

                Variety show: its main function is to amuse. It is an entertaining, humorous

                                show with very loose structure. It has no compact character.

                Cabaret: an entertaining, humorous, and satirical performance prepared by

                            several authors and composers. It consists of various sketches, songs

                            accompanied by music,   compere s introductions of individual

                            scenes...

                Performance art