1. ENG 260 GUIDE TO READING AND WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE
Presentation 4:
Drama
ENG 260—Literature of Sports, Spring 2002

2. This presentation will discuss
ENG 260 Guide to Reading and Writing about Literature Presentation 4, Slide 2
This presentation will discuss
what drama is
play conventions
how to read a play
questions you should ask yourself as you read a play
writing about plays
ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002

3. ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002
ENG 260 Guide to Reading and Writing about Literature Presentation 4, Slide 3
What is drama?
realistic, lifelike representation of fictional events for an audience
can be performed in plays, movies, TV shows, radio programs, etc.
the written form of drama can be in the form of plays or scripts
in this course, we will deal only with written plays as dramatic literature
ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002

4. Conventional structure of plays more . . .
ENG 260 Guide to Reading and Writing about Literature Presentation 4, Slide 4
Conventional structure of plays
division into acts and scenes
most plays have two or three acts, some only one
most acts have several scenes—a scene may or may not have different scenery, props and characters from preceding one
more . . .
ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002

5. ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002
ENG 260 Guide to Reading and Writing about Literature Presentation 4, Slide 5
elements of all plays:
characters: identified by name and possibly other details (sex, age, occupation, emotional makeup, costumes etc.)--dialog reveals the most about the characters
dialog: words characters speak (assigned to each character by SMALL CAPS), either to each other or ostensibly to themselves (soliloquies) which are heard completely by the audience
more . . .
ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002

6. ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002
ENG 260 Guide to Reading and Writing about Literature Presentation 4, Slide 6
stage directions: usually written in italics or in some way to be separate from dialog; can be extensive ones at the beginning of the whole play, an act or a scene, or short or long notes before individual parts of dialog (lines) of characters
stage directions can specify props, sets, scenery, physical or emotional attributes of characters, or directions for how actors are supposed to portray characters at certain points in the play
ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002

7. ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002
ENG 260 Guide to Reading and Writing about Literature Presentation 4, Slide 7
How to read a play
try to read the whole play at one sitting, or at least read whole acts; reread the play at least a few more times, especially if you plan to write about it (you can also focus on individual acts or scenes)
more . . .
ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002

8. ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002
ENG 260 Guide to Reading and Writing about Literature Presentation 4, Slide 8
try to visualize the action of the play; pay as much attention to stage directions as dialog
in written forms of plays, much is left to the interpretation of the reader—no “one” way the play should be interpreted or performed
ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002

9. Questions to ask about the play:
ENG 260 Guide to Reading and Writing about Literature Presentation 4, Slide 9
Questions to ask about the play:
general point: point of view is never first person, but always third person or “dramatic”; characters’ thoughts and feelings never revealed directly but only through dialog and action
more . . .
ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002

10. ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002
ENG 260 Guide to Reading and Writing about Literature Presentation 4, Slide 10
What is the setting of the play? How is it significant to what happens in the play?
Who is the main character (protagonist) or main characters? (Note: usually plays don't focus as much on just one character as short stories and novels do.)
What is the main plot? Are there any subplots?
more . . .
ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002

11. ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002
ENG 260 Guide to Reading and Writing about Literature Presentation 4, Slide 11
What is the main conflict in the play? What other conflicts are there?
What are the motivations of the characters?
Are any of the characters foils for other characters, i.e. do the contrasts between them help to define each character?
Do some actions or themes seem to keep recurring?
more . . .
ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002

12. ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002
ENG 260 Guide to Reading and Writing about Literature Presentation 4, Slide 12
Is there any symbolism in the props, costumes, sets or scenery used in the play?
Is there any imagery or symbolism in the dialog?
Do any of the characters change in the course of the play?
ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002

13. ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002
ENG 260 Guide to Reading and Writing about Literature Presentation 4, Slide 13
Writing about plays
conventions:
if writing by hand, underline play titles
if writing with a word processor, underline play titles or put them in italics
more . . .
ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002

14. ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002
ENG 260 Guide to Reading and Writing about Literature Presentation 4, Slide 14
give parenthetical references for quoted play dialog
traditional style (for classic plays available in many editions with numbered lines):
act number in capital Roman numerals
period
scene number in lower case Roman numerals
line number(s)
example: line 20 of the third scene of the second act:
(II.iii.20)
for plays without line numbers (like ours): just give page number
ENG 260--Literature of Sports, Spring 2002