Overview

Drama is literature written to be performed. English drama spans from morality plays and Elizabethan tragedy to modernist experiments and contemporary political theatre. It explores character, conflict, and society through dialogue and action, using structure and staging to evoke emotion and meaning.

Major Dramatic Forms

• Tragedy: Focuses on a hero’s fall from greatness, often through personal flaw or fate (e.g., Hamlet, Othello).
• Comedy: Ends happily, often with marriage or resolution of confusion; includes wit, irony, and satire (e.g., Twelfth Night).
• History Play: Dramatizes real historical events and monarchs (e.g., Richard III).
• Morality and Mystery Plays: Medieval drama with allegorical characters that represent virtues and vices.
• Problem Play: Explores complex moral and social issues without easy resolution (e.g., Measure for Measure).
• Modern Drama: Emphasizes realism, psychology, and social critique (e.g., Pinter, Churchill, Beckett).

Key Elements of Drama

• Dialogue: Carries plot, reveals character, and conveys conflict.
• Monologue and Soliloquy: Reveal internal thoughts or dramatic irony.
• Stage Directions: Provide context for performance, movement, and tone.
• Acts and Scenes: Structure the play’s pacing and progression.
• Conflict: Drives action—can be internal, social, or cosmic.
• Theme: Often explores justice, identity, power, or morality.

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