Understanding Drama: Key Characteristics and Genres
Characteristics of Drama
Drama aims to captivate the audience throughout the performance. It blends linguistic and dramatic elements, where the literary text complements the scenic aspects to create a complete show. Dialogue drives the action and presents the central conflict. The author’s perspective is conveyed through the plot and characters, often referred to as dimensions. The author’s feelings, ideas, and opinions are interwoven into the characters and setting.
Action
Action encompasses all events occurring during the performance, including situations affecting the characters. Traditionally, plays are divided into acts or parts, sometimes called sessions. Ancient Greek tragedies were divided into episodes, typically two to six, separated by choral interventions. Roman theater popularized the five-act structure, which Lope de Vega later reduced to three acts, a common structure today.
Characters
Characters drive the dramatic action through dialogue, often accompanied by mime and gestures. These expressions should align with the author’s notes, although the director may interpret them differently. During the Golden Age (16th-17th centuries), specific character types emerged, representing particular ideals. From the Romantic period onward, characters evolved beyond these fixed types.
Dramatic Tension
Dramatic tension is the audience’s reaction to the unfolding events. Authors maintain interest by incorporating climactic moments at the end of each act, building anticipation for the resolution.
Time
Representing time in a play can be complex. The primary consideration is the representation time, which is the duration of the performance itself (usually two to three hours).
Dialogue
Dialogue propels the action forward. Occasionally, a character might address the audience directly in an aside, unheard by other characters. Asides provide information to the audience. Monologues, often delivered by a character alone on stage, express inner thoughts and reflections, although the audience is the intended recipient. Monologues often have a lyrical and reflective quality and can be quite extensive.
Stage Directions
Stage directions guide the interpretation of the work. While they appear in the written text (usually in brackets or italics), they are not spoken during the performance.
Characterizing Elements
To enhance credibility, theater directors often use props and other elements to contribute to the overall spectacle.
Features of Theater
Drama is a major literary genre. It presents one or more conflicts directly through characters who develop the plot on stage, primarily through dialogue. Plays can be experienced through live performance or by reading the text. However, plays are intended for performance, and reading offers an incomplete experience, lacking elements like music, lighting, and actors’ movements.
Genres
Three major dramatic genres exist:
Tragedy
Greek tragedy is characterized by horror, misery, and death. The protagonist, typically a hero, acts according to established rules, representing an ideal of human behavior. The antagonist, a person or set of circumstances, opposes the protagonist’s will.
Satirical Drama and Tragicomedy
In these genres, gods do not intervene in human lives, and multiple actions can occur simultaneously. They blend elements of tragedy and comedy.
Comedy
Comedy relies on lighthearted ridicule and critique of customs and everyday problems. It aims to evoke laughter, resulting in a happy and relaxed ending, often incorporating irony.