Characteristics of Drama

Elements of Drama

Elements of Drama

Many of the elements of drama are shared with fiction and narrative. After all, these genres are all telling stories - whether real or not. Drama has conflict, plot, characters, setting, and theme, to name a few elements, but drama also has elements that are specific to its genre and that set it apart from fiction and narrative. Perhaps the biggest difference is that drama takes place on a stage, not just on the page, and that changes everything.

Academic Vocabulary

We will review the language we will use to analyze drama.

1. Cast of Characters/Dramatis Personae

2. Stage Directions

3. Costumes

4. Dialogue

5. Monologue

6. Soliloquy

7. Blocking

8. Act

9. Scene

10. Conflict

11. Staging

12. Set

13. Props

14. Lighting

15. Tragedy

16. Comedy

Unlike fiction, which typically introduces characters as they enter the story, a dramatic text reveals the names of all the characters up front in the Cast of Characters, which is sometimes written in Latin as Dramatis Personae. There are a few ways that playwrights can list characters, but you will find that most list them either in order of importance or in order of appearance.

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Characters

Types of Characters

As in other types of storytelling, plays will usually have a protagonist, antagonist, and supporting or minor characters. The protagonist is the main character who drives the action of the story. The antagonist is a character who opposes the actions of the protagonist, either intentionally or unintentionally. The supporting or minor characters may add more depth to the story or further complicate the conflict for the protagonist. One common type of supporting character is the foil. The purpose of the foil is to contrast with a main character in order to highlight an aspect or trait. And just like a novel or short story, drama can have more than one of these types of characters.

While it is rare, plays may have a narrator, which can be a person on stage who is not part of the action, a character who steps outside of the action to provide narration, or simply a voice from off-stage. In some plays, including Romeo and Juliet in this chapter, the Chorus fulfills the role of narrator, providing commentary on the action and filling in plot details.

Multiple Select

So far, who is the protagonist of Romeo and Juliet. Select all that apply.

• Romeo

• Juliet

• The Nurse

• Benvolio

Multiple Choice

In Act 1, Scene 1, who was the foil to the peace-keeping Benvolio?

• Sampson

• Romeo

• Tybalt

• Mercutio

Characterization

Direct Characterization
As you may have seen, authors of fiction sometimes use direct characterization to describe their characters, such as in this example: "He was a tall man who was angry all the time." Playwrights also use direct characterization. Sometimes playwrights list the age, gender, and other general character traits at the very beginning in the Cast of Characters. Another way to achieve direct characterization in drama is through stage directions, the playwright's instructions to the actors on how to interact with the set, props, and each other (e.g., they draw their swords and fight), or how to deliver their lines (e.g., angrily, in disbelief).

Draw

Let's return back to the same scene and now add some blocking.

Play director today and add stage directions to the following scene.

Characterization

Indirect Characterization
More common than direct characterization in drama, indirect characterization occurs through what the character says, as well as the character's appearance, gestures, movements, and body language. This often can come in the form of blocking, a type of stage directions that tells the actors where to go and how to move (e.g., exit stage left, sneaks casually toward the knife), as well as other stage directions.

Characterization

Indirect Characterization
Another tool that playwrights have at their disposal for indirect characterization is costume choices, including directions about clothes and other items the actors should wear or carry. Though these decisions are often left to the director of the play, playwrights sometimes provide specific descriptions.

Characters in drama are primarily developed through things they say, especially through dialogue, which is when characters speak to each other. The heavy reliance on developing characters indirectly through dialogue is one of the things that make drama unique as a genre. It puts an emphasis on showing the audience rather than simply telling them, what the characters are like. Put simply, audiences need to read into the dialogue to draw conclusions about the characters' beliefs and motivations.

Let's Take a Look

Indirect Characterization Example

LOUIS So you do you like watching TV?
GIRL No.
LOUIS Me, too!
[Pause.]
GIRL [Curious:] Are you listening to me at all?
LOUIS Sometimes I like to curl up with a bag of popcorn and just chow down while I watch Home Improvement. Do you like Home Improvement?
GIRL You really aren't listening to me.
LOUIS Me, too! That's a riot. Time Allen just cracks - me - up.

Multiple Choice

How would you describe the personality of Louis?

• curious

• self-absorbed

• considerate

• resentful

Other Types of Dialogue

Occasionally, characters give a speech, either to themselves, to the audience, or to another character, which is called a monologue. This type of speech is often introspective, revealing much about what the character is thinking and feeling. A type of monologue in which the character is in conversation with themselves is called a soliloquy. These are common in Shakespeare's drama, as they give us insight into the characters' inner conflicts and motivations.

Multiple Choice

Is Juliet's famous "Wherefore art thou Romeo" speech a monologue or a soliloquy?

• Monologue

• Soliloquy

• Neither

• Both

Plot and Structure

Match

Match the following definitions with the term.

• Exposition

• Rising Action

• Climax

• Falling Action

• Denouement

provides background information

Introduces major conflicts

Where the tension is the greatest

The events immediately after the climax

Events that wrap up the story

• provides background information

• Introduces major conflicts

• Where the tension is the greatest

• The events immediately after the climax

• Events that wrap up the story

Plots and Structures

Playwrights often divide their plays into sections called acts and scenes. How many acts and scenes playwrights decide to use varies according to their purpose and the set of the story they want to tell. Whether it is fiction, drama, or a television show, at its core a story is about conflict: what characters want or desire and why they do or do not get it. Conflict is at the heart of drama, it drives the characters, the action, and the plot throughout the scenes and acts and keeps the audience engaged. As in fiction, conflict in drama can come from an external force (an antagonist), from an internal struggle (a moral dilemma, for instance), or both.

In a full-length play lasting more than an hour, an act in a play denotes a major division in the structure of the plot. Scenes are the smaller sections of an act, which feature brief situations between characters through dialogue and action.

Act 1: Sympathy for the Characters

Act 2: Concern creating a possible conflict

Act 3: Suspense as the conflict comes to a head

Act 4: Rest where the consequences fall

Act 5: Satisfaction in resolution, whether positive or negative.

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Match

Match the Act with the Descriptor Word

• Act 1

• Act 2

• Act 3

• Act 4

• Act 5

Sympathy

Concern

Suspense

Rest

Satisfaction

• Sympathy

• Concern

• Suspense

• Rest

• Satisfaction

Setting

The setting is the time period, location, and environment of the play. It may change as the scenes change. The staging is how the director chooses to portray that setting on stage, including the design of the set, the lighting, and the props. The set includes all scenery, furniture, and other structures that make up the setting onstage. Props, short for properties, are all of the items actors interact within the play.

Multiple Choice

Let's return to Direct and Indirect Characterization.

Let's review.

Is this an example of direct or indirect characterization?

Joe was having fun at the party.

• Direct Characterization

• Indirect Characterization

Multiple Choice

Let's return to Direct and Indirect Characterization.

Let's review.

Is this an example of direct or indirect characterization?

Joe couldn't believe it was already 2 in the morning, he didn't want to leave yet.

• Direct Characterization

• Indirect Characterization

Multiple Choice

Julie owned a multitude of outfits and accessories, and it always took her forever to decide which combination

might impress Trent. As usual, she called her sister several times for advice. After doing so, Julie decided to give

the navy blue skirt with the white sweater a try.

What do we learn about Julie and how do we know it?

• We are told directly that Julie is indecisive.

• We are told indirectly through her speech that Julie is indecisive.

• We are told indirectly through her actions that Julie is indecisive.

• We are told indirectly through her effect on others that Julie is indecisive.

Multiple Choice

Julie held up six different outfits in front of the mirror and pondered which would go best with her navy blue

shoes, pastel eye shadow, and the diamond earrings she’d already procured from her overflowing vanity. After

ninety minutes of mixing and matching, and cell-phoning her sister three times for advice, Julie finally made up

her mind. She’d give the navy blue skirt and white sweater a try, hoping Trent would love it.

What do we learn about Julie and how do we know it?

• We are told directly that Julie is indecisive.

• We are told indirectly through her speech that Julie is indecisive.

• We are told indirectly through her actions that Julie is indecisive.

• We are told indirectly through her effect on others that Julie is indecisive.

Multiple Choice

My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America. You could open a restaurant. You could work for the government and get good retirement. You could buy a house with almost no money down. You could become rich. You could become instantly famous.

What do we learn about her mother and how do we know it?

• We are told directly that her mother is hopeful.

• We are told indirectly through her speech that her mother is hopeful.

• We are told indirectly through her actions that her mother is hopeful.

• We are told indirectly through her effect on others that her mother is hopeful.

Multiple Choice

Lord Capulet to Tybalt: "You are a saucy boy: is't so, indeed? Well said, my hearts! You are a princox; go: Be quiet, or—More light, more light!" is an example of what type of characterization about Tybalt?

• Direct Characterization

• Indirect Characterization