Elements of Drama
Literature in Action
A Shared Experience
Literature of all kinds can help us see,
explore, and come to know ourselves and
our world.
 Drama speaks to us in a unique way; it
brings stories to life.
 Many people are involved in bringing a
playwright’s work to life:

The producer, the director, the actors, the
set and lighting designers, and even the
audience share in the act of creation.
Basic Dramatic Principles

The first question to ask in thinking about
a dramatic work is:
 WHO
WANTS WHAT?
 The character who wants something is
opposed by another character or force.
 Opposition to the wants of the main character
is the source of CONFLICT.
 The person with “the want” drives the action
of the play.
Basic Dramatic Principles
Additional problems are also known as
complications.
 The climax is the moment of greatest
emotional intensity.
 The climax is followed by the resolution,
when the conflict is resolved and the story
comes to a close.

Basic Dramatic Principles

In review, the four steps that make up the
basic dramatic principles are:
 1)
conflict
 2) complications
 3) climax
 4) resolution
Conflict Example

A lawyer who is down on her luck gets
one last chance to prove her worth by
defending a shady-looking client. If she
loses this case, she’s through.
WHAT’S THE CONFLICT?
Complications Arise…

While hunting down the important
testimony, she finds that her life is
threatened. At the same time she must
overcome her own doubts about her
client’s innocence.
WHAT COMPLICATIONS HAVE RISEN?
Climax
Finally, in a dramatic courtroom scene, she
brilliantly cross-examines a witness and
proves that he is lying.
WHAT IS THE CLIMAX?
Resolution
The jury acquits her client. The conflict is
resolved: The lawyer is back on top of her
profession.
WHAT IS THE RESOLUTION?
Characters in Crisis

Every play centers on a crisis, a situation
of danger or difficulty that places at risk
something of great value to the
characters: life, love, family pride,
anything that is precious to them.
Characters in Crisis

A crisis may arise because…
 The
characters want something for
which they must struggle with someone
else or with themselves.
OR
 The
characters want to remove a threat
to their safety or happiness.
Making a Change

Most plays are about change in:
 the
characters and
 in their relationships.
Dramatic Irony: Knowing the Future
Irony is a contrast between expectation
and reality.
 Dramatic irony occurs when the audience
watching a play know something that the
characters onstage do not know. This
sometimes includes what awaits them in
the future.
 Example – a play about the Titanic.

The Shock of Recognition
If a play succeeds, we feel what has been
called the shock of recognition – meaning
we recognize behaviors or characteristics
of people onstage within ourselves or
people we know.
 Examples:

 We
laugh when the foolish behavior of a
character reminds us of ourselves.
 We cry when the anguish of a character
reminds us of something we have gone
through.
2 Types of Drama
Comedy




Usually deals with a
light subject or
handles a dark
subject in an upbeat
way
Often present
everyday characters
in amusing situations
Humorous in tone
Often end happily
Tragedy



Events typically lead to
the downfall or death of
the main character
Main character can be an
average person or a
heroic figure with a tragic
flaw (a human trait that
brings about his/her
destruction—greed,
pride)
Teaches a powerful
lesson about human
nature
Mixture of Both
Often comedies will still teach a powerful
lesson about human nature.
 A tragedy might have comic relief—an
incident that provides a “break” for the
audience from the serious/tragic events.

Drama Today

Technology has changed how we as
audience members experience plays.
 Live
Theater
 Film/Movies
 Television Drama
 Radio Drama