1. Introduction to Drama

2. All plays are dramas, but not all dramas are plays. Consider the cast (dramatis personae); in many cases diagramming cast relationships will be beneficial. Stage directions are important – don’t skip them. Use your imagination. Read more than once – perhaps silently, then aloud. Use your imagination to imagine (visualize) the action.

3. Read for details – long speeches have meaning, foreshadowing (the smallest detail may reveal a greater subtlety later). Think about the title – it has meaning, too! Notice opening and closing lines – why does the playwright start here; why does the play end at that moment? What motivates character?

4. Character What he/she says What he/she does What others say and do about the character What others say and do to the character Does the character’s name have a specific meaning or implication?

5. Character literary terms Protagonist Antagonist Major Minor Round Flat Static Dynamic Soliloquy

6. Dialogue Read and listen for style and tone Pay attention to word choice and sentence structure Interpret figures of speech and notice imagery

7. Dramatic Conflict Physical Social Internal (psychological)

8. Setting and Structure Not just where but when Cultural context – important The set is influential

9. External form Cast list Stage directions Text divisions with tags identifying speaker Acts and scenes

10. Internal form Centers on plot – In medias res – Exposition – Flashbacks Five Act Play (natural rhythm) – page 949 – Exposition – Complication – Crisis – Climax – Catastrophe – Resolution – Dénouement

11. Freytag’s Pyramid

12. Watch for Compression of time Contrast of events Symbols Foils