#Parts of a western drama series#

A Summary of the Evidence and a Comparison with Early English Drama.” Greece & Rome, vol. 1, Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK, 2012, pp. Tanya Long Bennett of the University of North Georgia.įinnegan, Ruth. Parts of this chapter adapted from Writing and Literature: Composition as Inquiry, Learning, Thinking, and Communication by Dr. Many critics argue Greek drama was one of the heaviest influences on William Shakespeare's works, and most poets of the Western world. Eventually, Athenian citizens would gather every year to watch playwrights akin to celebrities compete against one another (Scodel 40). By seeing actors acting out intense emotions and brutal acts, it meant Athenian citizens could vicariously experience those emotions, emptying themselves of such emotions so they could focus on their civic duties like voting. By 4th century BCE, drama had become a valued cultural practice in Greece and was in fact considered a civic duty that would help Greek society remain rational through the purgation of negative emotion, which Aristotle called catharsis (Scodel 40). Eventually, this developed into increasingly elaborate productions, growing from one actor to several, incorporating props and costumes.

While more controversial, many scholars believe the first plays probably began when singers in a festival celebrating the Greek God Dionysus/Bacchus began acting out characters in worship songs (Miller 127). Most historians agree Western drama originated in Greece as an evolution of religious ritual, probably around the 5th century BCE as an evolution of poetry and song (qtd. These elements will be covered in greater detail in the Elements of Drama section. In addition to this definition, plot, setting, dialogue, and action are probably the most clearly defining characteristics of drama as genre. What strategies are available to the playwright to ensure that the play successfully conveys its intended effects and themes? And how can we most clearly settle upon one definition of drama, considering it manifests in different permutations across cultures?Īfrican drama scholar Ruth Finnegan stressed that, when defining drama across cultures, 'ost important is the idea of enactment, of representation through actors who imitate persons and events' (486). This adds unique considerations for a playwright - or author who writes plays - to consider. Yet, whereas the narrator of a novel can spend pages painting a picture of the story’s circumstances for the reader, a play is restricted to the space of the stage and the time frame of a couple of hours. In fact, some plays have been based on novels, and novels on plays. Plays and novels are actually very similar in this way. Just like in fiction, the plot is the trajectory of the story.

#Parts of a western drama series#

Like fiction, drama - sometimes referred to as a play - features characters caught up in a plot, or series of events in a storyline.