Elements: Conflict- the central struggle between two or more
forces in a play. Plot the unique arrangements of events in a play.
Subplot a secondary arrangement of incidents involving not the
protagonist, but someone less important.
Slide 3
Elements Protagonist- the primary figure or figures in a play
Exposition- the part of the play in which we meet the characters,
learn about past events, and find out what is occurring at the
moment.
Slide 4
Dramatic Question: The problem to be solved or the confusion to
be cleared up through the play.
Slide 5
Climax: A moment, usually late in a play, when tension reaches
its greatest height. At this moment, we sense that the plays
dramatic question is about to be answered (1124)
Slide 6
Resolution/ Denouement The outcome or resolution of the basic
problem which the play addresses. Example- The final scene from
Hamlet
Slide 7
Rising and Falling Action The events in a play which lead
toward the resolution of the dramatic question at the climactic
moment. The events occurring after the climax of the play.
Slide 8
Unity of Time, Place & Action An interpretation of the
theories of Aristotle to suggest that a good play must display a
unity of action,time, and place. The events must take place within
twenty-four hours in a single location. The play must be entirely
serious or entirely comedic.
Slide 9
Symbols: As in fiction and poetry, things suggest larger
meanings. The glass unicorn in The Glass Menagerie represents the
individual who exhibits a difference from the larger society. When
the unicorn is broken, the sense of individuality is lost.
Slide 10
Tragedy: A play that portrays a serious conflict between humans
and some superior overwhelming forces. Aristotle asserts that in a
tragedy the protagonists reversal of fortune occurs because of an
error or weakness, generally referred to as a tragic flaw.
Slide 11
Tragic Style According to Aristotle, tragedy should arouse pity
and fear. Tragedy distances itself from the protagonist. In
tragedy, fear or immediate anxiety for our own well-being emerges.
We, as an audience, feel our own vulnerability in the face of lifes
dangers and instability because we see that neither position nor
virtue can protect even the great from ruin (1135).
Slide 12
Comedy: komos (a revel) Thought to have originated in
festivities to celebrate spring, ritual performances in praise of
Dionysus, god of fertility and wine(1141). The attitude of the
audience, when a character, through weakness or error is in peril,
is one of amusement.
Slide 13
Satiric Comedy: Human weakness or folly is ridiculed from a
vantage point of supposedly enlightened superiority(1141). Often
critical of people for their manners and their morals.
Slide 14
High Comedy: Relies more on wordplay and wit rather than
physical action. Points out the pretension and hypocrisy of human
behavior. Often uses the epigram, a brief, witty statement that
memorably expresses some truth, large or small(1142).
Slide 15
Comedy of Manners: A witty satire set in elite or fashionable
society.
Slide 16
Low Comedy It places greater emphasis on physical action and
visual gags, and its verbal jokes do not require much intellect to
appreciate(1143)
Slide 17
Types of Low Comedy Burlesque- a broadly humorous parody or
travesty of another play or kind of play(1142). Farce- a broadly
humorous play whose action is usually fast-moving and
improbable(1142). Example: Arsenic and Old Lace
Slide 18
Commmedia DellArte Artist Comedy- An Italian late Renaissance
kind of theater developed by comedians who traveled from town to
town, regaling crowds at country fairs and market places. Familiar
characters were Harlequin, a clown; Columbine, his peppery
sweetheart; and Pantaloon, a doddering duffer (1142)
Slide 19
Slapstick A kind of farce featuring pie-throwing, fisticuffs,
and other violent action.
Slide 20
Romantic Comedy A comedy which features main characters who are
generally lovers. The plot concerns their successful strivings to
be united. The audience views these characters with kindness.
Slide 21
Theater of Sophocles Plays were performed at festivals such as
the Great Dionysia, a citywide celebration of sacrifices, prize
ceremonies, and processions, as well as three days of drama (1158)
Three tragic plays, as well as a satyr play, were offered by
various authors.
Slide 22
Staging: The Greeks held festivals in hillside amphitheaters
holding as many as 17,000 spectators. The performance space
consisted of the orchestra, a level circular dancing space and a
slightly raised stage built in front of the skene or stage house,
originally a canvas or wooden hut for costume changes.
Slide 23
Deus ex machina (god out of the machine A hook and pulley
system for raising and lowering actors playing gods- any means of
bringing a play to a quick resolution.
Slide 24
Actors in Greek Drama The actors used masks ( personae, the
source of our word person). The masks contained exaggerated
mouthpieces sought to augment the projection of sound. The masks
often represented character types such as the old king, the young
soldier, or the shepherd. Female roles were played by men.
Slide 25
Dramatic Structure The conventional structure allowed for no
more than three actors on the stage at any one time along with a
chorus of fifteen. The actors speeches alternated with the chorus
singing and dancing. Greek chorus offered commentary, advice,
warning, spectacle, background information and a means to allow the
actors to step away for costume changes or a respite
Slide 26
Structure of the Tragedy Prologue- a preparatory scene Parados
the song for the entrance of the chorus Episodes similar to acts
and scenes in modern plays in which the action occurs Exodus- The
last scene in which the characters and the chorus concluded the
action and departed.
Slide 27
Aristotles concept of Tragedy Tragic Hero- the protagonist,
hero or primary character who is a person of high estate. Hamartia-
the error or transgression or tragic flaw which brings about his
fall. Hubris- a frequent failure of the Greek hero which is defined
as an excess of pride or defiance of the Gods. Example:
Oedipus
Slide 28
Katharsis: An idea that tragedy produces a sense of
purification or relief of pent up emotions.
Slide 29
Recognition / Anagnorsis The discovery by a main character of
some knowledge previously not revealed or the perception of ones
true identity. The revelation of the unthinkable. Oedipus discovers
that he has killed his father and married his mother.
Slide 30
Reversal/ peripety A response to the revelation. In the case of
Oedipus, he blinds himself and goes into exile. Aristotle refers
more simply to the action which intended to be helpful, actually
has the opposite effect.
Slide 31
The Theater of Shakespeare Plays were performed in daylight
with very simple scenery. However, the staging was enhanced through
elaborate costumes, music, and sound effects. At the back of the
stage were doors for exits and entrances. Above the stage was a
balcony or porch. In the stage floor was a trapdoor.
Slide 32
Shakespearean Theater The stage building was round or octagonal
with galleries for the audience. The groundlings paid a penny to
stand in the yard in front of the stage.
Slide 33
The Modern Theater Realism-the attempt to reproduce faithfully
the surface appearance of life, especially that of ordinary people
in everyday situations(1553). Prominent playwrights- Ibsen,
Chekhov.
Slide 34
Conventions of Realism Box set as opposed to the picture frame
stage with action within the proscenium arch. Three walls were
joined in two corners and a ceiling tilted as if seen in
perspective. Actors spoke from wherever the dramatic situation
placed them. Stanislavsky fostered acting instruction in which
actors matched their own memories for personal experiences like the
characters experience.
Slide 35
Naturalism A kind of realism in fiction and drama dealing with
the more brutal or unpleasant aspects of reality. The characters
were seen as products of heredity and environment Examples: Eugene
ONeill- The Hairy Ape Arthur Miller was influenced by ONeill
Slide 36
American Modernism Thornton Wilder- Our Town, The Skin Of Our
Teeth Arthur Miller- All My Sons, Death of a Salesman Tennessee
Williams- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Streetcar Named Desire, The
Glass Menagerie
Slide 37
Sources: Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. Drama. New York:
Longman,2010. Print.
