Dramatic Genres. GENRE Another word for kind Genre is also the root for our word “gender”...

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Types of Plays Dramatic Genres

Transcript of Dramatic Genres. GENRE Another word for kind Genre is also the root for our word “gender”...

Page 1: Dramatic Genres.  GENRE Another word for kind Genre is also the root for our word “gender” Another word meaning genre is type Characteristics of GENRE.

Types of Plays

Dramatic Genres

Page 2: Dramatic Genres.  GENRE Another word for kind Genre is also the root for our word “gender” Another word meaning genre is type Characteristics of GENRE.

GENRE

Another word for kindGenre is also the root for our word “gender” Another word meaning genre is type

Characteristics of GENRE are not absolute, but it is a useful means of classifying plays

Page 3: Dramatic Genres.  GENRE Another word for kind Genre is also the root for our word “gender” Another word meaning genre is type Characteristics of GENRE.

This concept of genre originated from the classification systems created by Aristotle and Plato. Plato divided literature into the three classic genres accepted in Ancient Greece: poetry, drama, and prose. Poetry is further subdivided into epic, lyric, and drama. The divisions are recognized as being set by Aristotle and Plato; however, they were not alone. Many genre theorists contributed to these universally accepted forms of poetry. Similarly many theorists continued to philosophize about genre and its uses, which caused genre as Plato and Aristotle knew it to evolve and further expand.

Page 4: Dramatic Genres.  GENRE Another word for kind Genre is also the root for our word “gender” Another word meaning genre is type Characteristics of GENRE.

“Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its katharsis of such emotions. . . .

TRAGEDY

Page 5: Dramatic Genres.  GENRE Another word for kind Genre is also the root for our word “gender” Another word meaning genre is type Characteristics of GENRE.

Some famous tragedies

OEDIPUS REX HAMLET DEATH OF A SALEMAN

Page 6: Dramatic Genres.  GENRE Another word for kind Genre is also the root for our word “gender” Another word meaning genre is type Characteristics of GENRE.

According to Aristotle, ancient comedy originated with the komos, a curious and improbable spectacle in which a company of festive males apparently sang, danced, and cavorted rollickingly around the image of a large phallus (…giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "stand-up routine.")

Accurate or not, the linking of the origins of comedy to some sort of phallic ritual or festival of mirth seems both plausible and appropriate, since for most of its history--from Aristophanes to Seinfeld--comedy has involved a high-spirited celebration of human sexuality and the triumph of eros. As a rule, tragedies occur on the battlefield or in a palace's great hall; a more likely setting for comedy is the bedroom or bathroom.

On the other hand, it's not true that a film or literary work must involve sexual humor or even be funny in order to qualify as a comedy. A happy ending is all that's required. In fact, since at least as far back as Aristotle, the basic formula for comedy has had more to do with conventions and expectations of plot and character than with a requirement for lewd jokes or cartoonish pratfalls. In essence: A comedy is a story of the rise in fortune of a sympathetic central character.

COMEDY

Page 7: Dramatic Genres.  GENRE Another word for kind Genre is also the root for our word “gender” Another word meaning genre is type Characteristics of GENRE.

Some examples of COMEDY

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TRAGICOMEDY

…a play or other literary work combining tragic and comic elements

…since the early 17th century, serious plays have been called tragicomedy when they do not adhere strictly to the structure of tragedy…and is sometimes referred to as a tragedy with a happy ending.

…modern plays often rely on the mix of comic and tragic elements

In the 17th century, the neoclassicists called for a return to the twobasic forms of tragedy and comedy, other “mixed” forms liketragicomedy were considered mixed and inferior…

Page 9: Dramatic Genres.  GENRE Another word for kind Genre is also the root for our word “gender” Another word meaning genre is type Characteristics of GENRE.

Sometimes described as a “problem play,” this play has elements of comedy and tragedy and romance. The story shows how Helena, a doctor’s daughter, comes to the French court with a prescription to heal the King. He promises that he will enable her to marry the man of her choosing. She chooses Bertram who does not want to marry a commoner. In a “bed trick,” she takes him as a lover and takes his ring, conditions he has made to avoid her hand. When he returns from the war, she reveals her deceit and they are reconciled.

All’s Well That Ends Well

Page 10: Dramatic Genres.  GENRE Another word for kind Genre is also the root for our word “gender” Another word meaning genre is type Characteristics of GENRE.

In Chekhov’s tragicomedy – perhaps his most popular play – an aristocratic family cling to their sheltered lives in a picturesque estate while the forces of social change beat on the walls outside. Completely bankrupt, Lyubov Ranyevskaya returns with her daughter Anya from Paris to her childhood home, to the beautiful cherry orchard outside the house and to her grief. The estate is paralyzed by debt, but she and her brother refuse to save their finances by having the vast orchard cut down to build holiday cottages. Incapable of decisive action, they put the estate up for auction. Chekhov maintained that the play was a cheerful and frivolous comedy, but audiences have found its tragedy irresistible. The comedy is poignant; the tone is ambiguous, both farcical and piercing.

The Cherry Orchard

Page 11: Dramatic Genres.  GENRE Another word for kind Genre is also the root for our word “gender” Another word meaning genre is type Characteristics of GENRE.

MELODRAMA

Page 12: Dramatic Genres.  GENRE Another word for kind Genre is also the root for our word “gender” Another word meaning genre is type Characteristics of GENRE.

FARCE

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Other Genres

Although most editors and theorists agree that there are numerous types of genres of drama, they do not agree on a set list of common types. Is comedy distinct from farce

or satire, for example…

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History Play

Some examples…

Shakespeare’s HENRY VMoises Kauffman’s LARAMIE PROJECT

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Some examples…

DARK COMEDY

Peter Barnes’ RED NOSES

Jules Feiffer’s LITTLE MURDERS

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Some examples…

THE MUSICAL

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s OKLAHOMAFrank Loesser’s GUYS AND DOLLSSondheim’s COMPANYONCE (pictured)

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From THEATRE by Robert Cohen

Genre (from the French meaning “kind”) and is a highly subjective form of classification

Tragedy Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, Death of a Salesman

Comedy Lysistrata, The Cherry OrchardHistory Play Henry VTragicomedy Amphytrion (Plautus)Dark comedy The Tempest, EndgameMelodrama The Octoroon, Dracula, TriflesFarce The Importance of Being EarnestMusical Oklahoma, The Rocky Horror ShowDocumentary The Laramie Project

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Tragedy

Satyr play

Folk dramaLiturgical dramaMystery playsPassion playsMiracle plays

Gwynn, DRAMA: A POCKET ANTHOLOGY

ComedyComedy of mannersComedy of humoursDrawing room

comedyComedy of ideasBlack comedy

MelodramaTragicomedyProblem plays

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Comedy Tartuffe, The Importance of Being

Earnest (high, domestic, low, manners)

Farce A Flea in Her Ear, Servant of Two Masters, Road runner cartoons

Drama Ghosts, The Glass MenagerieTragedy Oedipus the King, Antigone, ElectraMelodrama Inherit the WindTragicomedy The Bald Soprano, Waiting for Godot

ANOTHER OPENING, ANOTHER SHOW by Markus and Sarver

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Does such classification help us to better

understand them?

Do definitions contribute to or detract from our understanding of things?

Why does our culture have so much invested in labels, tags and titles?

Why do we classify dramas?