HISTORY and ORIGIN OF DRAMA.

HISTORY and ORIGIN OF DRAMA.
Shakespearean tragedy.

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Assignment of Drama – II.
Name: Aleena Farooq.
Roll No. 07.
B.S. English – 6
th
Semester.
TOPIC: HISTORY OF DRAMA.
The term Drama comes from a Greek word meaning "action" (Classical Greek: δρᾶμα, drama),
which is derived from the verb meaning "to do" or "to act" (Classical Greek: δράω, draō).
 Definition of Drama:-
A composition in verse or prose intended to portray life or character to tell a story, usually
involving conflicts and emotions, through action and dialogue and typically designed for
theatrical performance is called drama.
For example:-
 Sophocles’ ‘Oedipus Rex.’
 Shakespeare’s ‘A midsummer night’s dream.’
 Origin of Drama:-
 Classical Greek drama:-
Western drama originates in classical Greece. The theatrical culture of the city-state of
Athens produced three genres of drama: tragedy, comedy, and the satyr play. Their origins
remain obscure, though by the 5th century BC they were institutionalized in competitions held as
part of festivities celebrating the god. Only a small fraction of the work of five dramatists,
however, has survived to this day: we have a small number of complete texts by the tragedians
Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, and the comic writers Aristophanes and, from the late 4th
century, Menander.
 Classical Roman drama:
Following the expansion of the Roman Republic (509–27 BC) into several Greek
territories between 270–240 BC, Rome encountered Greek drama. From the later years of the
republic and by means of the Roman Empire (27 BC-476 AD), theatre spread west across
Europe, around the Mediterranean and reached England; Roman theatre was more varied,
extensive and sophisticated than that of any culture before it. While Greek drama continued to be
performed throughout the Roman period, the year 240 BC marks the beginning of regular Roman

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drama. The first important works of Roman literature were the tragedies and comedies that
Livius Andronicus wrote from 240 BC.
 Medieval:
In the middle Ages, drama in the vernacular languages of Europe may have emerged
from religious enactments of the ritual. Mystery plays were presented on the porch of the
cathedrals or by strolling players on feast days. Miracle and mystery plays, along with moralities
and interludes, later evolved into more elaborate forms of drama, such as was seen on the
Elizabethan stages.
 Elizabethan and Jacobean:
One of the great flowerings of drama in England occurred in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Many of these plays were written in verse, particularly iambic pentameter. In addition to
Shakespeare, such authors as Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Middleton, and Ben Jonson were
prominent playwrights during this period. As in the medieval period, historical plays celebrated
the lives of past kings, enhancing the image of the Tudor monarchy. Authors of this period drew
some of their storylines from Greek mythology and Roman mythology or from the plays of
eminent Roman playwrights such as Plautus and Terence.
 Modern and postmodern:
The pivotal and innovative contributions of the 19th-century Norwegian dramatist Henrik
Ibsen and the 20th-century German theatre practitioner Bertolt Brecht dominate modern drama;
each inspired a tradition of imitators, which include many of the greatest playwrights of the
modern era. The works of both playwrights are, in their different ways, both modernist and
realist, incorporating formal experimentation, meta-theatricality, and social critique.
 Types of Drama:
 Comedy – Comedies are lighter in tone than ordinary writers, and provide a happy
conclusion. The intention of dramatists in comedies is to make their audience laugh.
Hence, they use quaint circumstances, unusual characters and witty remarks.
 Tragedy – Tragic dramas use darker themes such as disaster, pain and death.
Protagonists often have a tragic flaw—a characteristic that leads them to their downfall.
 Farce – Generally, a farce is a nonsensical genre of drama, which often overacts or
engages slapstick humor.
 Melodrama – Melodrama is an exaggerated drama, which is sensational and appeals
directly to the senses of audience. Just like the farce, the characters are of single
dimension and simple, or may be stereotyped.

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 Musical Drama – In musical drama, the dramatists not only tell their story through
acting and dialogue, nevertheless through dance as well as music. Often the story may be
comedic, though it may also involve serious subjects.

 Renaissance Drama:-
Whereas Medieval dramas were essentially amateurish endeavors in which clergy or various
trade guilds participated, the Renaissance theatre was composed of professional actors, among
whom were those who specialized in tragic roles and others in comic roles. These actors were
not members of a guild, a requirement for workers, so they placed themselves under the
patronage of royalty; in this way, they would then be considered servants and, therefore, be
allowed to perform.
Here are other characteristics of the Renaissance theatre:
 It was a "presentational" theatre.
 Theatres became established and profitable.
 The Renaissance theatre was a unified theatre, allowing all social classes to attend.
 The Renaissance theatre was an intimate theatre as the actor was no more than forty feet from
his audience.
 Performances of the same play were repeated while this play was new, then fewer times,
until after about a year and a half, the play would cease to be performed.
 The roles were performed by professional actors. In fact, certain actors specialized in tragic
roles, while others performed only comic roles.
 There were certain dramatic gestures used consistently to signify to the audience specific
emotions
 Plays were often written by dramatists for a particular company of actors. Thus, plays were
often joint ventures between writer and actor.
 Masques and such that were performed by courtiers were replaced by these plays.
 Characteristics of Shakespearean Drama:-
Of the three types of plays recognized in the Shakespeare First Folio, his tragedies have
been the most discussed and are clearest in outline. The characteristics of his tragedies are as
follows:-
1. Tragedy must end in some tremendous catastrophe involving in Elizabethan practice the
death of the principal character.
2. The catastrophe must not be the result of mere accident, but must be brought about by some
essential trait in the character of the hero acting either directly or through its effect on other
persons.
3. The hero must nevertheless have in him something which outweighs his defects and interests
us in him so that we care for his fate more than for anything else in the play.`