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8 Theatrical Genres © T Charles Erickson
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
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Genre Wherever theatre has appeared, there has been a tendency to divide it into categories or types, often referred to by the French term genre (JAHN-ruh). The English author Horace Walpole wrote: “This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.” Additional genres have developed: farce, melodrama, tragicomedy, and a number of others.
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Serious Drama What characterizes serious drama?
Thoughtful, sober attitude toward its subject Audience intended to consider the material carefully Emotional involvement in the passion and suffering of the characters Serious dramatic forms include: Tragedy Heroic drama Domestic drama Melodrama
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Tragedy Asks what are the basic questions of human existence?
Assumes the universe is indifferent—even cruel and malevolent—to human concerns. Two types of tragedy: Traditional tragedy Periods of the past such as ancient Greece and Renaissance England Modern tragedy Late nineteenth century to present day
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Traditional Tragedy Three major periods of tragedy:
Greece, fifth century B.C. Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides England, late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries Shakespeare, Marlowe, Kyd, Webster France, seventeenth century Racine, Corneille
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Characteristics of Traditional Tragedy
Tragic heroes and heroines Extraordinary people—kings, queens, nobles Tragic circumstances Universe determined to trap hero or heroine in a fateful web Tragic irretrievability The point at which there is no turning back—the character must face his/her fate Acceptance of responsibility The capacity and willingness to suffer for actions Tragic verse High language to address lofty concerns Considered the only means by which such heights and depths of emotion can adequately be expressed
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The Effect of Tragedy The contradictory responses to tragedy:
The cruelty and corruption of the world versus The dignity of life and the beauty of art Pessimism versus optimism
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Modern Tragedy Characteristics: Major Playwrights:
Written in prose Dealing with the common man The new tragic view based on modern society Major Playwrights: Ibsen, Strindberg, Lorca, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Eugene O’Neill But is this new approach still tragedy in the purest sense? Zane Williams/Madison Repertory Theatre
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Heroic Drama Serious drama with the characteristics of traditional tragedy, with two exceptions: A happy ending An optimistic world view Eastern traditions employ this style often Sometimes known as romantic drama Western examples include: The Cid (Pierre Corneille) Saint Joan (George Bernard Shaw)
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Domestic Drama The replacement of heroic drama, domestic (bourgeois) drama reflects modern society. Domestic—indicates plays dealing with the family or the home Bourgeois—indicates plays dealing with characters of the middle or lower classes The power of domestic drama lies in its ability to present the audience with characters that are easily recognizable and identifiable.
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Melodrama Eighteenth and nineteenth century popular theatre
“Music drama” or “song drama” Characteristics: Audience is drawn into the action Issues are clear-cut; there is a strong delineation of right and wrong Characters are clearly good or bad Exaggerated action—living in danger on the edge of calamity Strong emphasis on suspense
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Melodrama Today Connections to film and television genres:
Westerns Soap operas Science fiction Horror Detective or spy stories Melodrama can also reflect the moral or political base of society.
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Comedy Approaches to dramatic material: Comedy Tragicomedy
Humorous look at the world Tragicomedy Blends comic and tragic together
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Comedy Why do we laugh? How many types of laughter exist?
Comedy uses laughter to illuminate the problems of men, women, and the world.
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Characteristics of Comedy
Suspension of natural laws The evolution of the “slapstick” Silent movies / cartoons / commedia dell’arte The comic premise Turning accepted notions “upside down” Lysistrata
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Techniques of Comedy Verbal humor Comedy of character
Pun—humorous use of words with the same sounds but different meanings Malaprop—word that sounds like the correct word but actually means something quite different Examples: the plays of Richard Sheridan and Oscar Wilde Comedy of character Discrepancy or incongruity in the way characters see themselves or pretend to be, as opposed to the way they actually are Examples: the plays of Molière Plot complications Coincidences / mistaken identities Examples: the plays of William Shakespeare
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Forms of Comedy Farce Burlesque Satire Domestic comedy
Uses exaggeration on multiple levels Qualities of mock violence, rapid movement, accelerating pace Burlesque Focuses on physical humor, exaggeration, and vulgarity Connections to variety theatre Satire Focuses on intellect and moral issues Use of wit, irony, and exaggeration to expose evil and foolishness Domestic comedy Addresses family situations—similar to the “sitcom” form Comedy of manners Focus on the foibles and peculiarities of the upper classes Comedy of ideas Uses comedy to debate intellectual propositions
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The relationship of tragicomedy to comedy and tragedy:
The view of the audience is a synthesis of tragic and comic—intermingled views of joy and sorrow… Example: Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure
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Modern Tragicomedy Major playwright of the tragicomic genre:
Anton Chekhov Uncle Vanya / The Seagull / The Cherry Orchard If we agree that the twentieth-century viewpoint is shaped by a tragicomedy sensibility, then: What does this indicate about the world and our society? What viewpoints will shape the twenty-first century?
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The Theatre of the Absurd
Movement developed after WWII Critic Martin Esslin coined the phrase: theatre of the absurd Plays focused on the alienation of man and his plight within an illogical, unjust, ridiculous world Samuel Beckett: Waiting for Godot Absurdity located in both structure and ideas © Joan Marcus
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Characteristics of Absurdism
Absurdist plots: illogicality Cyclical structures Lack of concrete beginning, middle, and end Absurdist language: nonsense and non sequitur Irrational or debased language Absurdist characters: existential beings Element of the ridiculous Lack of history and specificity in the development of characters Major Playwrights: Samuel Beckett / Eugène Ionesco Edward Albee / Friedrich Dürrenmatt
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