Dramatic Conventions and
The Renaissance Theater
English 10
What is Drama?
 Drama:
literature in which plot and
characters are developed through
dialogue and action
 Dialogue: conversation between
characters; critical for conveying
thoughts and feelings, and every twist
and turn of the plot in drama
 Dialect: regional speech used to
emphasize a character’s roots
Elements of Drama

Plot: the sequence of events which move the
story along; in drama these are divided into:
 Scenes
– each scene has a different time or place
 Acts – scenes are grouped into acts

Stage directions: done in italic type and
separated from dialogue by parentheses
 Provide
background, ideas for setting/scenery/props
 Costumes, lighting, music, and sound effects
 Directions to actors – how they should
look/move/behave
Dramatic Conventions

Tragedy: a work in which the main character,
or tragic hero, comes to an unhappy end

Tragic Hero: the main character of a tragedy
who comes to an unhappy or miserable end
 Generally
a person of importance (king or queen)
 Exhibits extraordinary abilities

Tragic Flaw: a fatal error in judgment or
weakness of character, directly leads to his or
her downfall
Dramatic Conventions

Other Characters
 Antagonist
(usually “the bad guy”)
 Foil – a character who provides a sharp
contrast to another character.

Grendel is a foil for Beowulf
 Major
and minor characters
Dramatic Conventions

Comic Relief: eases the intensity of the action
by following a serious scene with a lighter,
mildly humorous one

Catharsis: the purging (releasing) of emotions
through art

Fate: destiny, an inevitable course of events
 Tragic
Heroes are usually fated to end up the way
they do
Dramatic Conventions
Soliloquy: a speech that a character
makes while alone on stage, reveals his or
her thoughts to the audience
 Monologue: a speech by one actor
 Aside: a remark made in an undertone to
the audience or another character, but
that other characters on stage are not
supposed to hear

Dramatic Conventions

Irony:
 Verbal
Irony: a writer or character says one
thing but means another
 Situational Irony: a character or reader
expects one thing to happen but something
else actually happens
 Dramatic Irony: the reader knows something
that a character does not know
Other Important Literary Terms

Motif: a recurring word, phrase, image,
object, idea, or action in a work of
literature

Blank Verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter

Meter: a fixed pattern of rhythm
 Ex:
iambic pentameter
The Renaissance Theater

Could not show “reality,” so the audience
had to rely heavily on its imagination.

Actors wore elaborate costumes.

Limited props -- scenery was described
through the play’s language.

Act and scene divisions were added by
later editors to allow for scene changes.
Popular Renaissance Theaters
The Theater – 1st public theater in London
 The Curtain – 2nd theater built
 The Globe – most famous theater; owned
by Shakespeare’s acting company

3
main parts of The Globe:
 The
building (16-sided polygon)
 The stage
 The tiring house (backstage)
 Admission
was 1 penny for general seating
Renaissance London