DRAMA AS A LITERARY GENRE
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action", which is derived from the verb meaning "to do" or "to act". The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective form of reception. The structure of dramatic texts, unlike other forms of literature, is directly influenced by this collaborative production and collective reception. The early modern tragedy Hamlet (1601) by Shakespeare and the classical Athenian tragedy Oedipus the King (c. 429 BCE) by Sophocles are among the masterpieces of the art of drama. A modern example is Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O’Neill (1956).
The two masks associated with drama represent the traditional generic division between comedy and tragedy. They are symbols of the ancient Greek Muses, Thalia and Melpomene.
Thalia was the Muse of comedy (the laughing face), while Melpomene was
the Muse of tragedy (the weeping face). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been contrasted with the epic and the lyrical modes ever since Aristotle's Poetics (c. 335 BCE)—the earliest work of dramatic theory.
The use of "drama" in the narrow sense to designate a specific type of play dates from the 19th century. Drama in this sense refers to a play that is neither a comedy nor a tragedy—for example, Zola's Thérèse Raquin (1873) or Chekhov's Ivanov (1887). It is this narrow sense that the film and television industry and film studies adopted to describe "drama" as a genre within their respective media. "Radio drama"
has been used in both senses—originally transmitted in a live
performance, it has also been used to describe the more high-brow and
serious end of the dramatic output of radio.
Info taken from the website Wikipedia
I didn't know about the laughing and weeping face! Interesting article! The play that my partners and I reenacted was The Taming Of The Shrew. The Taming Of The Shrew(TTOTS) is one of William Shakespeare plays that has specific elements. The Taming Of The Shrew doesn't have elements of tragedy. The genre tragedy is about the death of some of the main characters but in TTOTS nobody dies. so it isn't a tragedy play. In the other hand, TTOTS has some elements of comedy because of the part when Lucentio, Tranio and Gremio disguise. so for me, TTOTS is a drama-comedy play.
ReplyDeleteAmazing article, as an activity, my group and I had to represent a literary work. We represent Othello, which personally is an excellent work. The work has no comedy, is rather tragic, and points climax of the drama are the death of some of the characters including the main Othello. The work reflects a strong situation for the time, it was discrimination towards other people.
ReplyDeleteWell, My group represented to Othello and I noticed that each character has a sad story talking about feelings, my character for example is a woman very much dominated by her husband. The play it's a tragedy I think, It has a sad ending because everybody die to terrible way.
ReplyDeletefor me the play i reanacted is about drama and tragedy because in all the story you can read how they discuse and the fights it has, only because the main character "othello" was a black man and in these times the black men were considered slaves and they could not have all the power that othello had. At the end everyone dies, thanks to the lies, jealousy and betrayal of some of the others characters.
ReplyDeleteNice article. I think that it was like tragedy. Because the main character was a black man who was like a general. In that age people don't see a black man with high command or rank. there were peopla who did not pay attention for that. But there was a man "yago" who was angry and jealous because othello was in a rank bigger than him. Othello was in love for a women. Yago made a plan to angry othello and maked him kill his love. That is why I think this is a tragedy.
ReplyDeleteThe play we did about Othello, has the literary genre "Drama", because in the play various conflicts arise through dialogue and characters. The "Comedy" seek to entertain audiences and generate laughs with final usually happy that Othello does not show, but the comedy genre may be related to the drama and as for the "tragedy" is about the death of some of the main characters and Othello shows tragedy because ends in a series of deaths with a sad ending.
ReplyDeleteWell I think that is a very interesting article. For example in the work we did. Was on othello "Drama and Tragedy" because they happen to conflict, misunderstandings. Othello was a general very powerful and Yago created a plan to make believe that desdemona his love, had deceived, and thus create conflicts that would lead to a tragedy and a series of deaths
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, every day we learn something new. The play that the 2nd group reenacted was The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. It is absolutely a comedy. It's pretty much a story about a man breaking a violent and strong-willed woman, like he is taming a wild horse. It is a comedy because when Petruchio meets Kate, the two engage in a verbal battle of wits. Petruchio contradicts everything Kate says, turns her words into dirty jokes, and then announces that he plans to marry Kate with or without her consent. He will also tame her. The last scene of Taming of the Shrew is a banquet to celebrate three marriages. That's a pretty conclusive comedy. Not only is it humorous, but traditionally the comedies are any plays where the protagonist do not die.
ReplyDeleteThe work we did on The Taming of the Shrew belongs to drama genre and is a comedy. Baptista Minola is the father of Bianca (younger daughter) and Katherina. Bianca had a few suitors, but until you marry Bianca Katherina might not marry. Then came Petruchio willing to marry the first as I knew it came from a noble family. Hortensio and Lucentio (White suitors) posing as teachers of it to enter your home while Tranio pretends to be Lucentio.
ReplyDeletePetruchio appears ready to marry for the money, so Baptista agrees, but Petruchio actually mistreated, it tried to tame the "beast". At the end of the day, Petruchio and Katherina married .
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ReplyDeletefirst it's an Interesting article!! and about the work we did on othello this is like tragedy because this talk about a black man that he was a powerful man so in those times the black men were considered slaves therefore, many people would not accept that. in the play you can find intrigue, jealousy ,and all this has as results death of most of the characters. .
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