Group 1: Drama and Fiction

By: Alec Hudd, Malak Kallel, Narankhuu Ganbaatar

• Drama• Comedy• Tragedy• Tragicomedy• Theater of

the Absurd

Terms of Focus

• Fiction• Novel• Short story• Novella

• Greek Verb “to do” or “to act”• Drama is the major literary form that

presents characters directly to the audienceo Mostly seen in plays

• Drama is used to move the audience and their emotions

Drama

• type of drama characterized by a light tone and a happy resolution

• purpose is to amuse and engage the audience

• high comedy = based on verbal wit (repartee)

• low comedy = characterized by physical humor

• romantic comedy = love story w/a happy ending

• comedy of manners = love story w/ a more sophisticated tone and worldly views

Comedy

• type of drama where the tone is serious and somber• effect is to involve and strongly move the audience• outcome of this type of drama is often disastrous for the

protagonist and those associated with him or her• 3 type of tragedies:

o Classical - from ancient greece, center on a tragic hero who commits an irreversible error of judgement due to pride, or hubris

o Senecan - plays with ghosts, grisly murders, revengeo Domestic - center around mundane issues, such as financial

debt and marriage issues

Tragedy

• Plays that include elements of both tragedies and comedies • Typically begin with a tragic plot and

finish with a happy endingo Some of these plays are called dark

comedies

Tragicomedy

• A type of drama that is used to question the meaning of lifeo A universe seen as godless and has

overthrown the ideas of a well-established setting, logical dialogue, and a fully resolved conflict

• used to challenge the audience on philosophical and stylistic beliefs

• does not follow the typical structure of a play

Theater of the Absurd

• Romeo and Juliet (Tragedy)• Hamlet (Tragedy)• Monty Python and the Holy Grail

(Comedy)• Antigone (Tragedy)• Measure for Measure (Tragicomedy)• Endgame (Theater of the Absurd)

Examples of Drama

• any narrative, written in either verse or prose, about invented characters and events

• focuses on a character or characters that interact in a given setting

• narrated from a particular POV and are based on some sort of plot

Fiction

• extended narrative of varying lengths, but long enough to be published separately• more complex• plot is typically more involved and multifaceted• has more complete description of social mileu• depiction of character’s feelings, motives, and

experiences is more complete

Novel

• Novel of incident - main focus is on course and outcome of events in the plot• Novel of character - main focus is on

protagonist’s thoughts, feelings, and motives• Realistic novel - depicts a fictional world that

closely resembles the events, social interactions, settings, motivations, and feelings in everyday life• Romance - focuses on characters that are more

likely to be depicted as heroic or villainous

Forms of Novels

• usually written in narrative prose• plot is less complex

and less developed than that of a novel• emerged from

early oral storytelling

Short Story/Novella

➢ falls between the novel and the short story in length and complexity

➢ flexibility in categorization

• Robinson Crusoe (novel of incident)• Crime and Punishment (novel of character)• Pride and Prejudice (realistic novel)• Their Eyes Were Watching God (romantic

novel)• The Color Purple (epistolary novel)• The Arabian Nights (short story)• The Metamorphosis (novella)

Examples of Fiction