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Introduction to Drama. Drama. Differences from fiction/non-fiction/poetry. Drama. Differences from fiction/non-fiction/poetry Interactive art form Many elements go into a play But, words are the basis for plays Consists mostly of D ialogue And Stage Directions. A successful play.
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Drama • Differences from fiction/non-fiction/poetry
Drama • Differences from fiction/non-fiction/poetry • Interactive art form • Many elements go into a play • But, words are the basis for plays • Consists mostly of Dialogue • And Stage Directions
A successful play • Involves a harmonious relationship between various elements • Script • Acting • Directing • Blocking • Set • Costumes • Music • Sound Effects • Lighting • Choreography • Audience
But • A successful play • makes us forget its artifice • Makes us forget that it is an amalgamation of these different elements • Suspension of disbelief
Seeing a Play Audience’s appreciation / understanding of play Directing Acting Script Interpretation
Reading a Play Audience’s (reader’s) appreciation / understanding of play Reading Script Interpretation
Literary Elements of Drama • Dialogue • Characterization • Symbolism • Setting • Foreshadowing • Irony • Dramatic Structure • Theme
Tragedy • The protagonist undergoes a reversal of fortune, from good to bad, ending in catastrophe • The reason for this fall is a tragic flaw: an error or weakness of the character’s part
Comedy • Tragedy and Comedy, although opposites, are close relatives • Comedy, like tragedy, shows people getting into trouble through error or weakness • But, comedy adopts the attitude that human failing is expected of us • It’s not our fault. We fail because everyone fails.
Types of Comedy • Satirical Comedy • Dark/Black Comedy
Modern Theatre: Realismfrom X.J. Kennedy & Dana Gioia (course manual) • realistically portrayed middle-class characters [who] face conflicts in their lives and relationships. • Ibsen’s real concern: those aspects of our natures that are hidden or repressed because of society’s expectations.” • “Instead of posing at stage center and directly facing the audience to deliver key speeches…[actors] were to behave as if they were in a room with the fourth wall sliced away, unaware that they had an audience.”
A Doll’s Housefrom Wikipedia • First premiered in 1879 • critical attitude toward 19th-century marriage norms. • Ibsen was inspired by the belief that ‘a woman cannot be herself in modern society,’ since it is ‘an exclusively male society • the need of every individual to find out the kind of person he or she really is and to strive to become that person.
From “Gender roles in the 19th century,” by Kathryn Hughes • As the 19th century progressed men increasingly commuted to their place of work – the factory, shop or office. Wives, daughters and sisters were left at home all day • The two sexes now inhabited what Victorians thought of as ‘separate spheres’, only coming together at breakfast and again at dinner.
From “Gender roles in the 19th century,” by Kathryn Hughes • “Women were considered physically weaker yet morally superior to men, which meant that they were best suited to the domestic sphere. Not only was it their job to counterbalance the moral taint of the public sphere in which their husbands laboured all day, they were also preparing the next generation to carry on this way of life. • Angel in the house
From “Gender roles in the 19th century,” by Kathryn Hughes • “Women were assumed to desire marriage because it allowed them to become mothers rather than to pursue sexual or emotional satisfaction.” • “A young man needed to be able to show that he earned enough money to support a wife and any future children before the girl’s father would give his permission.”
From “Gender roles in the 19th century,” by Kathryn Hughes • “Young and not-so-young women had no choice but to stay chaste until marriage. They were not even allowed to speak to men unless there was a married woman present as a chaperone. Higher education or professional work was also out of the question. These emotional frustrations could lead to all sorts of covert rebellion.”
From “The middle classes: etiquette and upward mobility,” by Kathryn Hughes • “From the last quarter of the 18th century, the middle classes began to grow in power and confidence…The number of people who counted as middle class began to swell, and men became defined by their jobs rather than their family background.”
From “The middle classes: etiquette and upward mobility,” by Kathryn Hughes • “The Victorians believed it should be possible, in theory, for any man to succeed in the world through his own efforts no matter how humble his origins.” • “People who didn’t rise in the world were assumed to be at fault.” • “With so many more people living in the cities, it became important to position people according to their exact place in the social hierarchy.”
From “The middle classes: etiquette and upward mobility,” by Kathryn Hughes • “The real function of a middle-class wife was to display her husband’s financial success by stocking her home with material possessions.” • “The lady of the house herself became a walking billboard for her husband’s material success.”
From “Victorian morality” Wikipedia page • Victorian: Queen Victoria’s reign (1837-1901) • “sexual restraint, low tolerance of crime and a strict social code of conduct.”
Works Cited • “A Doll’s House.” Wikipedia. Web. November 5, 2015. • Hughes, Katheryn. “Gender roles in the 19th century.” British Library. Web. November 5, 2015. • Hughes, Katheryn. “The middle classes: etiquette and upward mobility.” British Library. Web. November 5, 2015. • “Victorian morality.” Wikipedia. Web. November 5, 2015.
