Elements of Dramatic Structure, Genre and The Playwright

Elements of Dramatic Structure, Genre and The Playwright

Juan Diego Lopez

The Playwright

Fundamental elements of structure

Genre

Fundamental elements of dramatic structure

Drama's focus revolves around characters taking the center of the stage, driving the actions and story forward, Aristotle stressed the importance of plot in tragedies, which could be considered as accurate since he's used as a main focus point to understanding drama. Freytag's Pyramid lays out some key stages when it comes to storytelling, from the very beginning to the conclusion, seen in examples such as the Lion king. Language shapes characters, while music and spectacle add some emotion. All of these elements work together to build the dramatic structure, with directors enhancing the experience. The length of the performance may vary, typically lasting a few hours, or a single hour.

Genre

Genres in drama categorize it into, tragedy, comedy, melodrama, tragicomedy, and "farce", often blending rather than staying distinct. Tragedy, focuses on morality and inevitable consequences, which is the complete opposite of comedy, which celebrates life's continuation and showcases humorous scenes. Aristotle's Poetics delve mainly into tragedy's noble characters and comedy usually showcases lower classes, suggesting the audience he's reaching for can relate more to the latter, making comedic characters superior in a certain way. Tragedy evokes empathy and some catharsis, while melodrama simplifies conflicts between good and evil. Tragicomedy combines serious and humorous elements, highlighting some sort of human awareness, satire uses some clever comedy to point out foolishness, while farce emphasizes comedy and chaos, often showcasing the actor's abilities to make people laugh over the playwright's script or words

The Playwright

Throughout history, storytellers have captivated the audiences with tales of heroism, adventure, and comedy. In the theatre, the playwright serves as the primary storyteller, shaping every single aspect of the production, from the plot, to the characters. Playwrighting is both a way of artistic expression and a means of communication, with notable playwrights such as Shakespeare, Miller, and many others leaving behind great legacies. The playwright's role includes selecting the subject matter, establishing the purpose, and crafting the structure and the characters. The ability to distinguish between the plot and the story is very crucial, with the plot being the onstage presentation of scenes which are selected from the story. Plays are divided into acts and scenes, with acts containing multiple scenes and serving to divide performances. The playwright creates works that resonate with their audiences, inviting them to enjoy the performance and maybe reflect on it. Theatre serves as a great reflection of the human spirit, which leads it to inspire many others to take part of it, or even direct their own.