Drama

1. Drama

2. 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.

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.

4. Dramatic Question: The problem to be solved or the confusion to be cleared up through the play.

5. Climax: A moment, usually late in a play, when tension reaches its greatest height. At this moment, we sense that the play’s dramatic question is about to be answered (1124)

6. Resolution/ Denouement The outcome or resolution of the basic problem which the play addresses. Example- The final scene from Hamlet

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.

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.

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.

10. Tragedy: A play that portrays a serious conflict between humans and some superior overwhelming forces. Aristotle asserts that in a tragedy the protagonist’s reversal of fortune occurs because of an error or weakness, generally referred to as a tragic flaw.

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 life’s dangers and instability because we see that neither position nor virtue can protect even the great from ruin (1135).

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.

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.

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).

15. Comedy of Manners: “A witty satire set in elite or fashionable society.

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)

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”

18. CommmediaDell’Arte 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)

19. Slapstick A kind of farce featuring pie-throwing, fisticuffs, and other violent action.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 actor’s 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

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.

27. Aristotle’s 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

28. Katharsis: An idea that tragedy produces a sense of purification or relief of pent up emotions.

29. Recognition / Anagnorsis The discovery by a main character of some knowledge previously not revealed or the perception of one’s true identity. The revelation of the unthinkable. Oedipus discovers that he has killed his father and married his mother.

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 .

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 .

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.

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.

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 character’s experience.

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 O’Neill- “ The Hairy Ape” Arthur Miller was influenced by O’Neill

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

37. Sources: Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. Drama. New York: Longman,2010. Print.