Dialogue: tells the story• Soliloquy- a long speech expressing private

thoughts, delivered by a character who is ALONE onstage

• Monologue- a long speech delivered by one character to another or to a group of characters

• Aside- a private remark to one character to the audience that breaks convention because it is

understood NOT TO BE HEARD by other characters onstage

• Chorus- single character or group whose words may connect scenes or convey the collective

thoughts of feelings of the community (usually limited to classical drama)

ELEMENTS OF DRAMA

Stage directions: help the cast and production staff to bring the text to life• Usually about the setting costumes, lighting, scenery, and props, or objects

used onstage.• May include how and when the characters

should move and deliver their lines• Usually printed in italics and sometimes

set in brackets or parentheses.

ELEMENTS OF DRAMA

Tragedies end with the downfall or death of the protagonist

Key elements include: • Tragic hero: In ancient Greek and Shakespearean

tragedy, the tragic hero is the main character- a person of high rank whose downfall is caused by his

own flawed behavior.• Tragic flaw: a part of the hero’s character that leads

him to make a fatal mistake• Comic relief: humorous scenes often included to relieve tension; Shakespeare used people from the

lower class to fulfill this role.

KINDS OF DRAMA

Comedy- show ordinary people in conflict with society. Conflicts in this category typically arise out of a

misunderstanding, deception, disapproving authority figures, and mistaken identities. They are ALWAYS

resolved happily. Some comedic protagonists are outlandish, while others are sympathetic and likable

There are two forms of comedy:Romantic comedy: involves problems among

loversComedy of manners: satirizes social customs of

society

KINDS OF DRAMA CONT’D

• Before the playhouses were built, plays took place in the open, often in courtyards or inns. Spectators watched

from the streets or balconies.• The first theater was built by James Burbage, and it was

called The Theater.• Initially, the theater attracted the “common man,” not

the aristocracy.• In 1597, The Theater closed down, but in 1598, Richard

Burbage and his men dismantled it, carried it across the Thames River, and rebuilt it, naming it the Globe.

• It could seat between 2,500 and 3,000 spectators.• The Globe was closed by the Puritans in 1642.

THE ELIZABETHAN

THEATER