VARIETIES OF DRAMA

The Stage and the School Chapter 6Dr. Neighbours

2 Recognized varieties of drama: Tragedy

Generally end in catastrophes

Often have a death at the end

ComedyUsually lightheartedClever dialogue and

amusing characters

Tragicomedies:Have qualities of both comedy and tragedy

“Dramas”:Do not fit the definition of tragedy but are serious in nature

60 Words to Add to Your Cultural Vocabulary……1. Allegory2. Ambiguity3. Anticlimax4. Anticipation5. Aside6. Avant-garde7. Burlesque8. Caricature9. Catharsis10. Children’s theatre11. Comedy12. Comedy of manners13. Constructivism14. Epic Theatre15. Exaggeration

16. Existentialism17. Expressionism18. Fantasy19. Farce20. Foreshadowing21. Hamartia22. High comedy23. Hubris24. Incompletion25. Incongruity26. Low comedy27. Melodrama28. Monodrama29. Naturalism30. Parody

60 Words to Add to Your Cultural Vocabulary……(cont.)31. Pathos32. Performance art33. Plant34. Play of ideas35. Presentational36. Protagonist37. Protection38. Psychological drama39. Puppet theatre40. Realism41. Recognition42. Relief43. Representational44. Romantic comedy45. Romanticism

46. Running gag47. Satire48. Schmaltz49. Screen scene50. Sentimental comedy51. Style52. Stylization53. Symbolism54. The “whodunit”55. Theatre of Involvement56. Theatre of the Absurd57. Theatrical conventions58. Theatricalism59. Total Theatre60. Tragedy

PART ONE:COMEDY AND TRAGEDY

Tragedy

About TRAGEDY: Considered to be

humanity’s highest literary achievement

Sober, thoughtful plays based on proud human emotions and conflicts that do not change with time or place Quality is called

transcendence: “transcending time and place”

Focus is on a protagonist Character is a significant

person engaged in a struggle but ultimately fails Overcome by opposing

forces Struggle may be internal or

external May be characteristics of the

person (internal) or divine or human forces (external)

Tragic character has no control

Philosophical guide to Tragedy

Philosophy: “The love of Wisdom;” how and why one thinks as he/she does; understanding beyond the tangible

Pathos: meaning pity, sorrow, suffering

The quality of the drama that arouses feelings in the audience that include pity and compassion for the tragic protagonist.

The inevitable outcome creates this feeling Audiences’ emotions intensify the impact of the events

because they can relate to the human quality Catharsis:

A sense of release the audience feels when the tragedy ends because the pathos has been purged

Audiences obtain a sense of relief

Five Characteristics often Found in Tragic Characters

Tragic characters can be significant rulers, such as Macbeth or King Lear, or common citizens like Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman or Blanche DuBois in Streetcar Named Desire

1. They have a flaw or make an error that has serious consequences

2. They make no apology for their actions3. They set goals based on unyielding beliefs4. They know that almost everything worth

having demands some sacrifice5. They are willing to make the sacrifice

themselves, never asking another to make sacrifices for them

Aristotle's Definition of Tragic Character

Found in his work Poetics

An average or better person who, during the course of the play, is brought from happiness to misery

Through suffering he/she acquires a sense of awareness of truth, of self, or of others

Also becomes alienated and isolated from society His actions that cause the difficulties are brought

about by Hamartia: A character weakness or error in judgment Also called tragic flaw Most common form of Hamartia is hubris:

○ Hubris:excessive pride

Tragic comparisons

What are the forces that the tragic characters are against?What is the protagonist's weakness?Does the play communicate a sense of inevitability?

•Hamlet:•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YHMYkUrV7A

•Macbeth:•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaLBfH3o1TU&feature=related

Comedy

About COMEDY: Derived from Greek words

komos and ode, meaning “revel song”

Usually societal and conciliatory – all the characters come together at the end of the play Even villains There’s a “happy ending”

Often depends on circumstance unique to a particular time and place, most enduring have transcendence

Built around character, situations, and dialogue

Some bring great laughs Some only cause inner smiles Comedy is not always funny,

but is always amusing, delighting, or at least please an audience

Protagonist overcomes opposing forces or achieves desired goals or both

Protagonist is often less-than-average person

Protagonist may be an idealist, a romantic, an extreme pragmatist, a blunderer, a dreamer, or even a rogue

Tragedy versus Comedy

Tragedy Comedy

Inevitable – there is no way to change or to stop the outcome

Universal theme and appeal Emotional Protagonist fails to achieve

goals Protagonist alienate from

society Protagonist average or better Protagonist falls from

leadership, losing respect dreams, position

Predictably unpredictable – you can expect the unlikely

Often time and place oriented Intellectual, mental Protagonist achieves goals

Protagonist often becomes leader of new society, even villain is usually accepted

Protagonist less than average Protagonist achieves success,

often as a result of own mistakes or shortcomings

What makes people laugh?•What is funny today may not be tomorrow•Sometimes we laugh out of embarrassment•Sometimes we laugh for no reason at all•What is humorous in one city may not be in another

7 common causes of laughter:1. Exaggeration

Overstatements Overstated physicality's Personality types

2. Incongruity Anything that seems out of place, out of time, or out of character Comes in many forms – unnatural action, a test or turn of events, or the irrelevant

3. Anticipation The looking forward to a potential laugh Sight gags Plays roll in “mistaken identity” humor Techniques: Plants or foreshadowing, running gag, incompletion

○ Plants: an idea, line, or action emphasized early in play, also called foreshadowing

○ Running gag: a minimum of three exposures to the plant○ Incompletion: a line or bit of action is started but never finish; audience completes

with laughter

7 common causes of laughter:4. Ambiguity

Double meaning, puns, word play5. Recognition

Discovering hidden or obscure meanings Audience is amused to recognize the meanings

6. Protection Cruel, violent, grotesque, and abusive actions and events cause

laughter because the audience is protected by knowing these things are not real and are not damaging as they seem

Examples are found in most cartoons7. Relief

A build in pressure and then releases it This would be like catharsis in tragedy Relief of pressure is humorous when the pent-up emotions are

allowed to explode in laughter