The Elements of Drama

Essential Questions How does drama provide the reader a different experience than prose (short stories, novels) or poetry? How is drama different from television?

Drama It is an ancient art form. The earliest known plays were written around the fifth century B.C. produced for festivals to honor Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility.

Drama… a play; prose or verse composition telling a story that is intended to be performed by actors

Structure of Drama The special form that a play is written in is called a script. The script includes… Character List Setting Stage Directions tell the actors where to stand, what to do. They usually appear in brackets or parenthesis. Dialogue

The Characters’ Speech The characters’ speech may take any of the following forms: Dialogue-conversation between or among characters Monologue-long speech by one single character; a monologue may be delivered alone or in the presence of others. Soliloquy: a speech by a single actor who is ALONE on stage.

The Characters’ Speech Let’s look more closely at these words: Log = word Mono = one Dia = across or through Soli = alone Dialogue Monologue Soliloquy

Structure of Drama Acts are the units of action. Plays can be One Act plays, or they can have several acts. Shakespeare wrote his plays in five acts. Acts are divided into scenes. Scenes are parts of the acts. A change of scene might represent a change of location or characters. Narrator - Usually not a character in the play. Narrator gives background information.

Overall Structure of Drama