DRAMA

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Definition:
Aristotle’s definitions sum up these and other numerous definitions of drama by different scholars. He
defines drama simply as an imitation of an action. He links it to the mimetic impulse in human beings like
children playing father and mother in a childhood play. This means that imitation is part of life. Human
beings have the desire to imitate others, situations or events.

However, Betolt Brecht insists that drama is not just an imitation of action, but a tool for the
demonstration of social conditions. It is not just an entertainment but an instrument of political and social
change.

From these definitions, we can conclude that drama is a way of creating or recreating a situation, an
articulation of reality through impersonation or re-enactment. An action becomes drama if it is an
imitation of an earlier action real or imagined.
Definition:
Martin Esslin in Anatomy of Drama has the following definitions of drama:

Drama can be seen as a manifestation of the play instinct as in children who are playing mother and father.

Drama is something one goes to see, which is organized as something to be seen.

It is an enacted fiction an art form based on mimetic action.

In arts, drama is the most elegant expression of thought nearest to the truth (reality).

It is the most concrete form in which art can recreate human situation, human relationship.
Attributes of Drama:
Drama has a unique nature. It has developed and been improved upon by various dramatists over the
ages. It has also been influenced by the developments and changes in the world. The unique nature of
drama makes it possible for it to be read and as also to be performed. Unlike the prose and poetry which
depend on narration, drama is presented only through dialogue. The novel is divided in chapters and the
poem is written mostly in stanzas, drama is presented in acts and scenes, movements or parts. William
Shakespeare made the five-act structure the standard for his plays. Each dramatist is free to adopt his/her
own style.

Drama can be read and enjoyed by people in the privacy of their homes, people also watch and enjoy
the plays as an audience in a theatre when the plays are presented on stage.

Imitation in drama involves a story. For it to be drama a story must be told through dialogue as the
characters interact among themselves and that story must have a beginning, middle and an end.
Elements of Drama:
Elements means the essential parts of something; following are the essential parts of drama:

Plot Action Character

Dialogue Setting Theme

Elements of Drama:
Plot:
A good plot should have a beginning, middle, and an end.
Beginning is further divided in:
Exposition: The beginning contains the exposition or the setting forth of information about earlier events, the
identity of characters and the present situation.

Point of Attack: The moment at which the main story starts as a potential conflict is identified. This is more
obvious in classical plays usually, is focused early on the potential conflict or a question and its resolution leads
to the end of the play.

Inciting Incident :This incident is usually an occurrence that sets the main action in motion. A good example
is in found in Oedipus Rex. In the play, there is a plague in Thebes, the people are suffering and lamenting.
Elements of Drama:
Plot:

The middle is made up of series of complications. A complication is a new

element which changes the direction of the action. It leads to the discovery of
new information. The series of complications culminate in crises and climax.
Climax is the high point of the story, where a culmination of events create the
peak of the conflict.

The end is the last part of the play. Here issues are unravelled, untied and
resolved. This part of the story shows the result of the climax, and its effects
on the characters, setting and proceeding events and serves as the conclusion
of the story.
It is important to note here that you may not find all these elements in one
play. Each playwright adopts his own style. Remember that Aristotle based his
theory and postulations on already –written Greek plays. Apparently, he read
and studied the plays critically to arrive at his conclusions.
Elements of Drama:
Plot:
There are different types of plots and each is designed for a particular purpose. Some plots, for instance, are
designed to achieve tragic effect and others the effects of comedy, satire, or romance. However all plays do not have
what we might call good plots, that is, with the beginning, middle and end. So, we have different types of plots.

In a play, as said earlier, we have the main plot and subject (sub) plot. The main plot deals with the major events
and the sub plot deals with other incidents which can be complete and interesting stories on their own. A skilful
playwright uses the sub plot to advance our appreciation and understanding of the main plot.

Aristotle divides plot into two – complex and simple plots. A simple plot is that in which the action is simple and
continuous and in which a change of fortune takes place without reversal of the situation and without recognition.
In a complex plot, on the other hand, the change is accompanied by a reversal of the situation or by recognition or
by both.
Elements of Drama:
Plot:
In simple terms, action is the process of doing something or the performance itself. If somebody slaps you and
you react, there is an action. The series of events that constitute the plot in any literary work is referred to as
action. It includes what the characters say, do, think and in some cases, fail to do. In drama, especially during
performance, you see the characters moving around to perform certain tasks, talk to one another, laugh, cry, fight,
shoot or do any thing according to the needs of the moment. All these are dramatic actions.

Drama is the only genre of literature in which the story is presented in dialogue from the beginning to the end.
Dramatic action includes facial expression, gestures and movements. So, what makes dialogue dramatic is the
presence of action.

It is the action that pushes the plot and helps to advance the theme.
Elements of Drama:
Action:
In simple terms, action is the process of doing something or the performance itself. If somebody slaps you and
you react, there is an action. The series of events that constitute the plot in any literary work is referred to as
action. It includes what the characters say, do, think and in some cases, fail to do. In drama, especially during
performance, you see the characters moving around to perform certain tasks, talk to one another, laugh, cry, fight,
shoot or do any thing according to the needs of the moment. All these are dramatic actions.

Drama is the only genre of literature in which the story is presented in dialogue from the beginning to the end.
Dramatic action includes facial expression, gestures and movements. So, what makes dialogue dramatic is the
presence of action.

It is the action that pushes the plot and helps to advance the theme.
Elements of Drama:
Action:
The action in drama is usually organized in a climatic order with the scenes
increasing in interest by increasing suspense and emotional intensity.

Dramatic action also includes what the character fails to do. In Hamlet, the
popular quote ‘to be or not to be’ refers to the action.

You can see that all the actions mentioned here are logical. For the action to
be logical, the characters must be well- motivated. Motivation is the drive
behind every action a character takes in a play. There must be a reason for
any action taken by every character in the play. In drama, because the action is
presented in dialogue and the playwright does not have the space to explain
the action like the novelist.
Elements of Drama:
Character:
Characterization is the playwright’s imaginative creation of characters that can effectively dramatize his
story. The action of the play is presented through such characters. He does so by imbuing the characters with
certain recognizable human traits and qualities. These qualities include physical attributes, moral,
psychological and emotional dispositions, their attitude towards other characters and situations, and
so on.
The playwright uses the characters to explicate his theme and propel the plot, His ability to craft the play in
such a way that each character blends well in the plot is called characterization. These characters are
presented and they develop in the course of the action.
The important elements in characterization are consistency and motivation.
The ability to create characters and to ensure that they blend/suit the action of the play is what we refer to as
characterization. What is created is called character.
Elements of Drama:
Character:
There are different types of characters in drama. They include the protagonist, the
dynamic character, the static character, the flat character, the round character, and
stereotypes.

Protagonist vs antagonist: He is the main character and at the centre of the story. He is
called the protagonist. Usually the story revolves around him and in fact the story is about
him. He is easily identifiable because he stands out over and above most other characters.
Everything revolves around him as he influences the action that he is going through. He
lives to sustain or oppose what happens to him. His role is usually central to the
development of the theme, and whatever happens to him or whatever he does has much
significance to the outcome of the story. the opponent is called an antagonist.
Elements of Drama:
Character:
Dynamic/ Round Character: This is a character that changes according to the course of events in the story. He
may or may not be the protagonist or the hero. In most cases, he grows from innocence to maturity or from
ignorance to knowledge, so he is consistently alert to his environment with its attendant problem and reacts
accordingly. He is found almost everywhere in the story. In his own unique way, he participates actively as much
as possible in the course of the action. He seems to have no special alignment to any group but tries not to lose his
credibility or acceptability.

Static/Flat/Stock Character: Here the character is complex and does not change in any basic way in the course
of the story. He is presented in outline and without much individualization. He is usually stable and is said to be
static because he retains essentially the same outlook, attitudes, values and dispositions from the beginning of the
story to the end of the story. He is the opposite of the round character but lakes complexity in term of
presentation. He is presented with a few and broad strokes.
Elements of Drama:
Setting:
Setting is the location of a play. It is the time and place when and where the action of
the play takes place. Setting is very important in a play because it helps us to
appreciate the background of the play. Also in productions it helps the designers to
design appropriate locale, atmosphere, and costume for the play. You can identify the
setting through the names of characters. Some playwrights use known landmarks
through dialogue or in stage direction.

Setting identifies the time and place in which the events occur. It consists of the
historical period, the moment, day and season in which the incidents take place. It also
includes the sceneries in the performance which are usually found in the preliminary
descriptions.
Elements of Drama:
Setting:
Geographical/Physical/Occupational: This is the actual geographical
location of the story and whatever surrounds the place where the story is
located. It also includes the manner of daily living of the people. This helps
in locating the story; for example, it helps you to know if the action of the
play takes place in an urban centre or a village, or a bush, or a market place
and so on. You can identify the physical setting easily in some plays
because the playwright mentions some known landmarks like the names of
towns or other important places in the town.

In the play, Hamlet, the physical setting is easy to identify because of the
fact that two of the major characters in the play are addressed as the “Prince
of Denmark” and the “King of Denmark”.

Physical setting also includes the manner of daily living of the people. This
helps in locating the story; for example, it tells if the play has an urban or
rural setting?
Elements of Drama:
Setting:

Temporal/Historical Setting: This is the period in which a story takes place. This includes the
date, the season, the general atmosphere in the locale like war, fuel scarcity, democratic or
military rule. This, like the physical setting, could be deduced from the dialogue or from the
stage direction. It could be stated in some commentaries, especially the ones on the background
of the play. Sometimes, some publishers include the commentaries in the play. In Arms and the
Man for instance, the opening part of Act 1, a date is given in the stage direction. This gives the
reader a clue to the historical setting of the play.

General Environmental Setting: The social, moral, emotional, mental and religious
backgrounds of the story. This is highlighted through dialogue, stage direction and the characters
interpersonal relationships. In Arms and the Man for instance, George Bernard Shaw presents a
graphic picture of the Bulgarian way of life. (The playwright “was able to pin the action down to
actual geographical locations and to a real life war. He took care to incorporate descriptions of
Bulgarian life” The playwright admits that many aspects of the play were based on actual facts.