WEEK 11-12

Drama as a Genre its Elements, Techniques, and Literary Devices

Drama in literature refers to the performance of written dialogue and stage action. It's a literary
genre that allows actors to act out a writer's words directly to an audience. Drama film is a genre
that relies on the emotional and relational development of realistic characters.

A. Elements of Drama
1. Act - One of the major divisions of a play or opera.
2. Scene - The place where some act or event occurs.
3. Exposition - Background information regarding the setting, characters, plot. 4. Conflict –
Struggle between opposing forces.
5. Complication - A series of difficulties forming the central action in a narrative
6. Climax - That point of greatest emotional intensity, interest, or suspense in a narrative.
7. Denouement - refers to the outcome or result of a complex situation or sequence of events.
8. Peripeteia - a sudden reversal of fortune from good to bad.
9. Characterization - The choices an author makes to reveal a character’s personality, such as
appearance, actions, dialogue, and motivations.
10. Protagonist - The character the story revolves around.
11. Antagonist - A character or force that opposes the protagonist.
12. Main plot – The main action in a play or story.
13. Subplot - Secondary action that is interwoven with the main action in a play or story.

B. Literary Devices in Drama

1. Imagery - The author’s attempt to create a mental picture in the mind
of the reader
2. Motif - Recurring theme in a literary work
3. Symbolism - when an object is meant to be representative of
something or an idea greater than the object itself.
4. Dramatic Irony – involves the reader (or audience) knowing something
about what's happening in the plot, about which the character(s) have
no knowledge
5. Tragic Irony - A character's actions lead to consequences that
are both tragic, and contrary to the character's desire and
intentions.
6. Juxtaposition - The arrangement of two or more ideas, characters,
actions, settings, phrases, or words side-by-side or in similar
narrative moments for the purpose of comparison, contrast, rhetorical
effect, suspense, or character development.

C. Forms of Drama
1. Comedy - A literary work that is amusing and ends happily.
2. History - The past events relating to a particular thing.
3. Tragedy - A dramatic presentation of serious actions in which the chief
character has a disastrous fate.
4. Tragic-comedy - A drama in which aspects of both tragedy and comedy are
found.
5. Theatre of the Absurd - A form of drama that emphasizes the absurdity of
human existence by employing disjointed, repetitious, and meaningless
dialogue, purposeless and confusing situations, and plots that lack realistic
or logical development. This theatrical style originated in France in the late
1940's.
6. Satire - A kind of writing that holds up to ridicule or contempt the
weaknesses and wrongdoing of individuals, groups, institution, or
humanity in general
7. Farce - A type of comedy based on a farfetched humorous situation, often
with ridiculous or stereotyped characters
8. Modern Drama - Modern drama is the Western development of drama in
the late 19th century
9. Melodrama - A dramatic work which exaggerates plot and characters in
order to appeal to the emotions.

D. Features in Drama
1. Monologue- A form of dramatic entertainment, comedic solo, or the like by a
single speaker
2. Dialogue - Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative.
3. Soliloquy - A dramatic or literary form of discourse in which a character
talks to himself or herself or reveals his or her thoughts without
addressing a listener
4. Aside - An actor’s speech, directed to the audience, that is not supposed to
be heard by other actors on stage
5. Set - The time, place, physical details, and circumstances in which a
situation occurs.
6. Stage direction - A playwright's descriptive or interpretive comments that
provide readers (and actors) with information about the dialogue,
setting, and action of a play.
7. Stage Conventions - Certain devices used within a performance that are
accepted as portraying an event or style without necessarily being
realistic. (eg costumes)
8. Chorus - A group of characters who comment on the action of a play without
participation in it.
9. Dramatic Unites - the three unities of time, place and action observed in a
classical drama.
10. Disguise - To modify the manner or appearance of in order to prevent
Recognition

E. Techniques in drama

1. Vocal dynamics
Your lines are just words until you deliver them. In order to
accurately portray different characters and emotions, you need to
expand your vocal toolbox and learn about the ways that range, pitch,
and pronunciation affect your performance. Sometimes you need to
adopt an unfamiliar accent. Other times, you might change your
pitch to communicate building anger, excitement, or sadness.

2. Body language and mechanics

Actors bring their characters to life by moving, reacting, and even
standing in nuanced ways that are natural for their character. Very
subtle differences in posture, walking speed, or even the force with
which you pick up a prop can speak volumes about your character’s
intentions.
3. Use and awareness of space
It is important to be aware of not just your “marks” on stage, but also
of the actors who must interact with or move past you. Your position
on the stage or set affects everything from the lighting and sound to
camera angles and audience perspective.

4. Improvisational Techniques
You might associate improvisation with comedy clubs, and sketch
shows, but on-the-spot creativity is a skill that comes in handy for
actors of every discipline
Mastering these drama techniques will make it easier to shed
your own identity and become your character.

TASK 1

Write your own drama following the guides below. Take into consideration the elements,
techniques, and literary devices previously presented.

The Drama
________________________________________
(write the title of your drama)

By: ________________________________________
(write your name as writer)
_____________________________________________________________________
(A plot or event which you think is very interesting either comedy, romance or a romantic
comedy)
__________________________________________________________________________
(create characters who will give life to your drama)
__________________________________________________________________________
(Write the sub plots or events: at least3 scenes)
__________________________________________________________________________
(Write the dialogue for each character in each scene)
 WEEK 13
INTERTEXTUALITY
What is Intertextuality?

Sometimes, a work of literature refers to another important work in subtle or direct ways this is
called intertextuality. It may be as simple as references to another text or the literary themes in
that text, or it may build on what the reader already knows from the original text. Either way, this
is an important concept in literature.

Importance of Intertextuality
Even though it’s a solitary activity, reading can actually be a shared experience. You and your
favorite writers have read many of the same books. When an author and the reader have a
common understanding of a text, this allows the author to communicate to the reader in terms of
that original text. Intertextuality is important because it is another form of communication between
the reader and the author.

What Are the Types of Intertextuality?

• Allusion - This literary device involves directly referring to something else, often another
literary text. Examples of allusion may be as simple as referring to a character or quoting
a line.
• Parody - When one piece of writing uses many of the same elements of another but does
it in a new and funny way, this is an example of parody. The parody may copy the setting,
plot, characters, or other parts of the original work.
• Pastiche - A pastiche borrows elements from one or more works and reconfigures them
to create something new. It is generally a respectful type of borrowing that gives credit to
the original and is not plagiarism.

Examples of Intertextuality

1. James Joyce’s Ulysses was a deliberate retelling of Homer’s Odyssey but transplanted
out of ancient Greece into modern-day Dublin. The various chapters in Joyce’s novel
correspond to the adventures of Odysseus in Homer’s epic poem. For Joyce, the point of
this deliberate intertextuality was to show that ordinary people can experience something
heroic in their everyday lives.

2. Steven Pressfield’s novel The Legend of Bagger Vance, which was adapted into a movie
starring Will Smith, was originally written as a re-telling of the Hindu epic Bhagavad Gita
– the name “Bagger Vance” is supposed to sound like “Bhagavad.” In the original Hindu
epic, the god Krishna discusses the importance of enlightenment and warrior virtues with
Prince Arjuna – the novel/movie transplants this ancient story onto the links of a golf
course.

STAGING MODALITIES

Staging is the process of selecting, designing, adapting to, or modifying the performance space
for a play or film.

TYPES OF THEATER STAGES

1. PROSCENIUM
Possesses an architectural frame, known as the proscenium arch, although not always
arch in shape. The stage is gently sloped rising away from the audience.

2. THRUST
As the name suggests, these projects or ‘thrust’ into the auditorium with the audience
sitting on three sides. The thrust stage area itself is not always square but may be semi-
circular or half a polygon with any number of sides. Such stages are often used to
increase intimacy between actors and the audience.

3. THEATRES IN-THE-ROUND
These have a central performance area enclosed by the audience on all sides. The
arrangement is rarely ‘round’: more usually the seating is in a square or polygonal
formation. The actors enter through aisles or vomitories between the seating. Scenery is
minimal and carefully positioned to ensure it does not obstruct the audience’s view.
4. BLACK-BOX OR STUDIO THEATRES
 These are flexible performance spaces which when stripped to their basics are a single
room painted black, the floor of the stage at the same level as the first audience row.

5. PLATFORM
These usually consist of a raised rectangular platform at one end of a room. They can
either have a level or raked sloping floor. The audience sit in rows facing the stage. The
stage is open and without curtains, they are sometimes known as end stages or open
stages.

6. HIPPODROMES
Similar to circuses and have a central arena surrounded by concentric tiered seating.
Deep pits or low screens often separate the audience from the arena.

7. OPEN AIR THEATRES

These outdoor theatres that do not have a roof although sometimes parts of the stage or
audience seating will be covered. These stages may make use of the neutral light as it
changes during the day, particularly sunset.
 8. PROMENADE
A promenade theatre is when people move around from stage to stage. It makes people
feel like they are more of a part of the performance and is more of an experience than a
play. It is used most of the time for plays that are set in the medieval era.

THE SCRIPT

A drama is written in a format called a script. It is the text version of the dialogues in the drama.
When you look at a script, it is not written in the manner like novels and short stories do. Though
it is not written in paragraph from, the content of the script still follows the standards of
storytelling, that is, the parts of the plot are still observed.

The script is consisting of two main parts: the dialogues or the lines that characters say and the
stage directions or the instructions given to the actors and actresses (as well as prompts on
lights and sounds and special effects).

Aside from the two main parts, there are also other elements of significant importance like title
of the drama, the cast of characters and the scenery which gives a description of the setting in
every act. In the case of a one-act play, the scenery will be written only once.

TASK 2
Your Line Sounds Familiar!
Directions: Below is a copy of a comedy script for play production written by Grade 11 learners
like you. Read the script carefully. Your work is to look for eight intertextualities used by the two
writers in crafting the comedy. For every intertextuality you find, write a short paragraph regarding
it placing emphasis on the reference from where it was taken. Write your answers on a separate
sheet of paper. For every intertextuality, you shall be given scores based on the rubrics provided
below.
Assessment:

Multiple Choice.
Choose the correct answer of what is best described below.

1. The stage is gently sloped rising away from the audience

a. Site- specific
b. Thrusts
c. Open-air theatres
d. Proscenium
2. These have a central performance are enclosed by the audience on all
sides. The arrangement is rarely ‘round’ more usually the seating is in
a square or polygonal formation. The actors enter through the aisles
or vomitories between the seating. Scenery is minimal and carefully
positioned to ensure it does not obstruct the audience’s view.
a.
Theatres-in the round
b. Platform
c. Hippodromes
d. Proscenium
3. The thrust stage area itself is not always square but may be semi
circular or half a polygon with any number of sides. Such stages are
often used to increase intimacy between actors and the audience.
a. Theatres-in the round
c. Thrusts
b. Promenade
d. Proscenium
4. Large scale auditoria and have a central stage area with audiences
on all sides, similar to the theatres in-the-round. The stage area is
usually rectangular, more like a sports area, with tiered seating.
a. Theatres-in the round
c. Thrusts
b. Arena
d. Proscenium
5. The stage is open and without curtains, they are sometimes known
as end stages or open stages.
a. Theatres-in the round
b. Platform
c. Hippodromes
d. Proscenium

Direction: Fill in the blanks with the correct answer.

6. ______________ is a work of literature that refers to another important work

in subtle or direct ways.
7. ______________ a literary device that borrows elements from one or more
works and reconfigures them to create something new. It is generally a
respectful type of borrowing that gives credit to the original and is not
plagiarism.
8. _____________ a literary device that involves directly referring to something
else, often another literary text. Examples of allusion may be as simple as
referring to a character or quoting a line.
9. _____________ a piece of writing that uses many of the same elements of
another but does it in a new and funny way, this is an example of parody.
The parody may copy the setting, plot, characters, or other parts of the
original work.
10. _____________ it is the process of selecting, designing, adapting to, or modifying the
performance space for a play or film.