Types of Play

[HUMANITIES 2: CREATIVE WRITING] 2019-2020
THE ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
The elements of drama, by which dramatic works can be analyzed, can be

categorized into three major areas: Literary Elements, Technical Elements, and
Performance Elements.
A. Literary Elements
There are six stages in a plot structure:
1. Initial incident—the event that “gets the story going”.
2. Preliminary event—whatever takes place BEFORE the action of the play that is directly related to the
play.
3. Rising Action—A series of events following the initial incident and leading up to the dramatic climax.
4. Climax-- the turning point or high point of a story, when events can go either way.
5. Falling Action—the series of events following the climax.
6. Denouement—another term for conclusion, from the French word for “unraveling”.
Other Literary Elements
 Exposition—the “who, when, where, and what” part of the play.
 Story Organization—beginning, middle, end
 Conflict—the external or internal struggle between opposing forces, ideas, or interests that creates
dramatic tension.
 Suspense—A feeling of uncertainty as to the outcome, used to build interest and excitement on the
part of the audience.
 Language—In drama, it is the particular manner of expression, the diction or style or style of writing, or
the speech or phrasing that suggests a class or profession or type of character.
 Style—the shaping of dramatic material, settings or costumes in a deliberately non-realistic manner
 Soliloquy—A speech by a single actor/actress who is ALONE on stage
 Monologue—a long speech made by one actor (it can be delivered alone or in the presence of others)
B. TECHNICAL ELEMENTS
 Scenery (set)—The theatrical equipment, such as curtains, flats, backdrops, or platforms used in a
dramatic production to communicate environment
 Costumes—clothing and accessories worn by actors to portray character.
 Props—short for properties; any article, except costume or scenery, used as dramatic production; any
movable object that appears on stage during a performance.
Other Technical Elements
Prepared by: Ms. Sherly May M. Polido

 Lights—the placement, intensity, and color of lights to help communicate, mood or feeling
 Sound—the effects an audience hear during performance to communicate character, context or
environment
 Make-up—costumes, wigs, and body paint to transform an actor into a character.
C. PERFORMANCE ELEMENTS
 Acting—use of face, body, and voice to portray character

 Character Motivation—the reason of character’s behavior; an incentive or inducement for further
action for a character
 Character Analysis—in responding to dramatic art, the process of examining how the elements of
drama –literary, technical, and performance- are used.
 Empathy—the capacity to relate to the feelings of another.
Other Performance Elements
 Speaking—the mode of expression or delivery of lines
 Breath Control—Proper use of the lungs and diaphragm muscle for maximum capacity and efficiency
of breath for speaking.
 Vocal Expression – how an actor uses his voice to convey character
 Inflection—change in pitch or loudness of the voice
 Projection—how well the voice carriers to the audience
 Speaking style—the mode of expression or delivery of lines
 Diction—selection and pronunciation of words; clarity of speech.
Other Performance Elements
Nonverbal Expression
 Gestures—Any movements of the actor’s head, shoulder, arm, hand, leg, or foot to convey meaning
 Facial Expression—physical and vocal aspects used by an actor to convey mood, feeling or personality.

4 TYPES OF DRAMA
There are four types of drama: comedy, tragedy, tragicomedy and melodrama. These genres originated
in different times, but each of them has its own characteristics. However, all of them have their place in
modern culture and should be appreciated. Read the article and freshen up your knowledge of drama!
1. COMEDY
 Comedy is a type of drama that aims to make the audience laugh. Its tone is light and it mostly has a
happy ending. Such tradition came from the Ancient Greek theatre, where comedy first emerged as a
form of drama.
FORMS OF COMEDY:
a. Screwball Comedy—derives its humor largely from bizarre, surprising situations or characters.
b. Black Comedy—characterized by form of humor that includes darker aspects of human nature or human
behavior.
c. Comedy of manners—typically takes as its subject a particular part of society (usually upper class society)
and uses humor to parody or satirize the behavior and mannerisms of its members.
d. Romantic Comedy—is a popular genre that depicts burgeoning romance in humorous terms and focuses on
the foibles of those who are falling in love.
Subgenres of Comedy
 Farce
 Burlesque
 Satire

2. Tragedy
 It is a form of drama that based on human suffering that invokes an accompanying catharsis or
pleasure in audience.
 Murders, deaths, insanity, and pain are among the most common ideas in tragedies. Main characters
usually have some kind of weakness or defect that causes their downfall.
 Tragedy first appeared in the theatre of Ancient Greece. Like comedy, it lived through Roman Empire,
Medieval times, Renaissance and other eras.

 Aristotle believed that the main characteristic of tragedy was the change of fortunes of the main
character because of his flaws. The philosopher also believed that such drama has to implant a feeling
of fear and pity in the audience.
TYPES OF TRAGEDY
a. Greek Tragedy—consisted of a protagonist of high rank who makes an error of judgment and accepts his fall
from grace.
b. Roman Tragedy—nine plays written by Roman philosopher, Seneca. Some of which are considered revenge
tragedies.
c. Elizabethan and Jacobean Tragedy—Include protagonists of high status (nobility, military, rank, etc.) who
are flawed, encounter a reversal of fortune and (usually) die at the end of the play.
d. Domestic Tragedy—portraying the common man in a domestic setting as the tragic hero.
3. TRAGICOMEDY
 It is a combination of tragic and comic elements existing in a single dramatic work.
 Tragicomedy is a special kind of drama that combines the features of tragedy and comedy. It means
that such play may be sad but will have a happy ending, or it may be serious with some elements of
humor emerging throughout the whole play.
 Unlike comedy and tragedy, tragicomedy emerged a bit later, in the times of Roman Empire. Roman
dramatist Plautus was the first to write a tragicomedy and to use the term. But before Plautus, there
were strict rules about writing drama; it was either comedy or tragedy. These genres were never mixed
together. Plautus was the first to note that in our daily lives we have features of both tragedy and
comedy. Therefore, drama also can combine them both.
4. MELODRAMA
 Melodrama is the last one of the four types of drama. It is a kind of drama in which everything is
hyperbolized. Usually, themes depicted in melodramas are simple and without any unpredictable plot
twists. There are quite a lot of stereotypes in such dramas. However, the main point of a melodrama is
not to tell a story but to awaken feelings in the audience. They are mostly love stories with beautiful
heroines, charming heroes and scary villains.

Aristotle
 Aristotle (384-322) was a Greek philosopher whose writings still influence us today. He was the first to
write about the essential elements of drama more than 2,000 years ago. While ideas changed slightly
over the years, we still discuss Aristotle’s list when talking about what makes the best drama.
Aristotle’s Six Elements of Drama

Aristotle considered these six things to be essential to a good drama.
a. Plot—this is what happens in the play. It refers to the action; the basic story line of the play.
b. Theme—while plot refers to the action of the play, theme refers to the meaning of the play. The is the
main idea or lesson to be learned from the play. In some cases, the theme of a play is obvious; other
times it is quite subtle.
c. Characters-- these are the people (sometimes animals or ideas) portrayed by the actors in the play. It
is the characters who move the action or plot of the play forward.
d. Dialogue—this refers to the words written by the playwright and spoken by the characters in the play.
The dialogue helps move the action of the play along.
e. Music/Rhythm—while music is often featured in drama, in this case Aristotle was referring to the
rhythm of the actors’ voices as they speak.
f. Spectacle—this refers to the visual elements of a play: sets, costumes, special effects, etc. Spectacle is
everything that the audience sees as they watch the play.
THE MODERN THEATER

In the modern theater, this list has changed slightly, although you will notice that many of the
elements remain the same.
The list of essential elements in modern theater is as follows:
 characters
 plot
 theme
 dialogue
 convention
 genre
 audience
The first four remain the same, but the following additions are now also considered essential elements
of drama.
 Convention—these are techniques and methods used by the playwright and director to create the
desired stylistic effect.
 Genre—refers to the type of play. Some examples of different genres include comedy, tragedy,
mystery and historical play.
 Audience—this is the group of people who watch the play. Many playwrights and actors consider the
audience to be the most important element of drama, as all of the effort put in to writing and
producing a play is for the enjoyment of the audience.

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What are the six elements of drama according to Aristotle?

What are some examples of different genres of drama?

[HUMANITIES 2: CREATIVE WRITING] 2019-2020

THE ELEMENTS OF DRAMA

The elements of drama, by which dramatic works can be analyzed, can be

Prepared by: Ms. Sherly May M. Polido

 Acting—use of face, body, and voice to portray character

Prepared by: Ms. Sherly May M. Polido

Prepared by: Ms. Sherly May M. Polido

Medieval times, Renaissance and other eras.

Prepared by: Ms. Sherly May M. Polido

Aristotle’s Six Elements of Drama

THE MODERN THEATER

Prepared by: Ms. Sherly May M. Polido

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