ELEMENTS OF DRAMA

Drama: A narrative that is meant to be performed by actors in front of an audience; the story is told primarily through the speech and actions of the characters

–Usually has a plot (the elements of Freytag’s Pyramid) –Contains stage directions that allow actors and directors to stage the drama and readers to “see” the action. Stage directions are typically italicized They explain how characters should look, speak, move, and behave. –Involves setting and a cast of characters (identified at the beginning of the play)

–Consists largely of dialogue (conversation between characters). Most of the plot and characterization in a play is revealed through its dialogue. –Is divided into Acts and Scenes, which indicate a change in location or the passage of time (Think chapters in a book.)

New Literary Elements (And Some Reminders) Apostrophe: Words spoken to a character, idea, or object that is not present onstage; often used when feelings become most intense Aside: Words spoken by a character in a play to the audience or to another character but that are not supposed to be heard by the others onstage

Comic Relief: A humorous scene, incident, or speech that relieves the overall emotional intensity. By providing contrast, comic relief helps audiences to absorb the earlier events in the plot and get ready for the ones to come. (In Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse provides much comic relief.)

Dramatic Irony: The audience is aware of something that the characters onstage are not.

Foil: A character who is used as a contrast to another character.

Metaphor: Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things WITHOUT using “like,” “as,” “resembles,” or “than.” Monologue: A long, uninterrupted speech by one character while other characters are onstage.

Puns: A play on the multiple meanings of a word OR on two words that sound alike, but have different meanings (see handout on “The Pillsbury Dough Boy’s Funeral”) Simile: Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things using “like,” “as,” “resembles,” or “than” Soliloquy: An unusually long speech in which a character who is onstage alone expresses his or her thoughts and feelings aloud. **We will add new literary elements as we go through the play!**

TRAGEDY A narrative (in our case, a drama) about serious and important actions that end unhappily.

Tragedy usually results in the death of the main character. In some cases, the disaster happens to innocent characters; in others, the characters are responsible for their own downfalls.

Shakespeare’s tragedies typically follow this pattern: Act I: Exposition Act II: Rising Action Act III: Crisis/Turning Point – The characters make a choice the determine the direction of the rest of the play. Act IV: Falling Action Act V: Resolution **Debate exists as to where the Climax falls. Some argue that it falls in Act III, others argue for Act V. We will decide for ourselves.