Wstęp do literaturoznawstwa 4

DRAMA

DRAMA

ORIGINS OF THEATRE

 religious rituals  storytelling  dancing  works of Thespis/Aeschylus  judicial system  originally the actors used masks, they were all male

 music was integral to plays  adapting Biblical themes (mystery plays in the Middle Ages)  three unities up till 16th c. England  women on stage since 18th c.  for many centuries theatre considered immoral

Tragedy (Greek tragos oide) = goat song

DRAMA:

DRAMA: any work in which actors assume roles before an audience, either in a theater or on radio or television.

TRAGEDY

classical tragedy  revenge tragedy  domestic tragedy

COMEDY

 commedia dell’arte  domestic comedy  comedy of manners  romantic comedy

OTHER FORMS

melodrama  tragicomedy  theatre of absurd  epic theatre  historical plays

TRAGEDY:  structure: Aristotelian dramatic curve

 peripateia: obstacles and reversals of action  deus ex machina: an unbelievable solution  pathos: suffering

TRAGEDY; characters

 in the 16th c. Shakespeare breaks away from the doctrine of three unities; in the 18th c. the protagonists from lower classes appear

TYPES OF PLOT

CLIMACTIC: EPISODIC; UNCONVENTIONAL

CLIMACTIC

late point of attack  2 to 5 acts  one place of action  6-8 characters  few subplots  clear cause-and-effect sequence  compressed  Greek, Roman and Neoclassical theatre

EPISODIC

 early point of attack  many short scenes  many places of action  many characters  many subplots  complicated web of causes  expansion  Elizabethean theatre

UNCONVENTIONAL

 little background, exposition  emphasising chaos: non-traditional structure, confusing plot (little causality), undefined places  existential characters  theatre of Absurd

classical tragedy: follows Aristotelian model, e.g., Oedipus Rex, Sophocles

domestic tragedy: drama in which the tragic protagonists are ordinary middle-class or lower-class individuals, e.g., The Wild Duck, Henrik Ibsen

COMEDY

 originally featuring coarse humour, verbal and situational, evolved into high and low comedy  comic techniques verbal humour: hyperbole, puns, malapropisms, e.g., He is the very pineapple of politeness. (The Rivals, R. Sheridan)

 comedy of situation  complications, coincidences, surprises  mistaken identities, e.g., The Comedy of Errors, William Shakespeare

comedy of character  incongruity between the self and how they want to come across to others, e.g., Tartüffe, Molière  stock characters, e.g., the braggart warrior, a fool, pantaloon  asides: comments by a character directed to the audience, not intend

farce: broad humour, glaring visual effects, fast-moving action, stock characters  burlesque: parodies a particular work or genre  grotesque: abnormal or macabre characters or incidents are presented in a mix of comedy and pathos or horror

 satire: ridicules vice and stupidity

satirical comedy: ridicules social structures, institutions and authorities, often in a caustic manner, e.g. The Clouds, Aristophanes

commedia dell’arte: “comedy of the profession”; originated in Italy (16th c.); makes extensive use of stock plots and characters, usually masked, e.g., Punchinello (Punch), Harlequin; features women on stage

romantic comedy: features adventures in exotic places, love stories, and/or the celebration of simple rustic life; relies on coincidences and surprises, e.g., Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare

comedy of manners: satirizes the manners and affectations of a contemporary society, e.g., Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde

 black comedy:

 black comedy: juxtaposes morbid or ghastly elements with comical ones that underscore the senselessness or futility of life; e.g., Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Edward Albee

OTHER FORMS

History/chronicle plays: drama with a theme from history, e.g., Henry IV, William Shakespeare

melodrama: highlights suspense and romantic sentiment, with characters who are usually either clearly good or bad; accompanied by music

epic theatre: emphasises the role of the audience, dispels the illusion of the play (alienation effect); Bertold Brecht

theatre of the absurd:

theatre of the absurd: illogical structure and the irrational behavior of characters.,e.g., Samuel Beckett, Éugene Ionesco, Harold Pinter