DRAMA / TYPES OF DRAMA ~ Literary Hunt

What do you mean by Drama?

Though Drama and Novel both are long literary compositions, there are some basic differences between them. Drama is the literary composition that develops through dialogues and action amongst the characters on the stage and requires a large set of external paraphernalia for its presentation on the stage before an audience. On the other hand, the novel is a long narrative tale complete in itself. It can be studied and fully enjoyed by the reader in his study in private. Drama needs a number of external aids, such as a theatre, a stage fully equipped with curtains and light and sound equipment, and above all a disciplined audience with a certain degree of refinement. There is also another type of drama which is meant to be studied in private, and to be acted. This is known as Closet or Poetic drama. Romantic poets like Shelley, Wordsworth, Byron, etc., have written poetic dramas.

The plot-structure of Drama is broadly divisible into some well-defined divisions. It begins with a background called exposition. The development of the drama is called its growth. When the growth reaches its highest point, it is called the climax. After it, the plot declines which is called its resolution. The final stage of the Resolution in a tragedy is called Catastrophe and in a comedy, it is called Denouement. The dramatist also employs certain Dramatic devices which are Directions, Dramatic Irony, Soliloquy, Aside, Surprise, Suspense, etc.

The Major Forms of Drama

(A) The Pre-Elizabethan Drama
(B) The Tragedy
(C) The Melodrama
(D) The Tragi-comedy
(E) The Comedy :
(i) The Romantic Comedy
(ii) The Comedy of Humour
(iii) The Comedy of Manners and
Sentimental Comedy
(F) The Farce
(G) The Masque
(H) The Poetic Play
(I) The Dramatic Monologue
(J) The Problem Play
(K) The One-Act Play

OBJECTIVE TYPE OF QUESTIONS

1. An Epilogue appears in :
(a) As You Like It
(b) King Lear
(c) Macbeth
(d) Dr. Faustus

2. A Soliloquy' is defined as 'loud thinking' of a character, Who can hear the soliloquy?
(a) All the characters present on the stage
(b) The character himself
(c) The Director of the stage
(d) The audience

3. An 'Epilogue' appears in?
(a) In the middle of the play
(b) At any stage where the dramatist may like
(c) At the end of the play
(d) At the beginning of the lay

4. Which type of play is not meant for acting?
(a) A Tragi-comedy
(b) Closet Play
(c) A Chronicle play
(d) A Masque

5. In which of the following plays the Chorus appears?
(a) As You Like It
(b) Othello
(c) Dr. Faustus
(d) Hamlet

6. Into how many Acts was an Elizabethan play divided?
(a) One-Act
(b) Three Acts
(c) Number of Acts depended upon the type of the Play
(d) Five Acts

7. What is 'Catastrophe'?
(a) The ending of a comedy
(b) The ending of a Masque
(c) The ending of a tragedy
(d) The ending of a chronicle play

8. Aside' is a :
(a) Making a conspiracy in a play
(b) Loud thinking in a play
(c) Talking to the hero of the play
(d) Short soliloquy in a play

9.The function of the 'Chorus' in a Play:
(a) It explains the past and future events in the play
(b) It is a band of singers who sing
(c) It represents the dramatist
(d) It comes to declare the ending of an Act

10. Denouement' is:
(a) The ending of a Three-Act play
(b) The ending of a tragedy
(C The ending of a comedy
(d) The ending of a historical play

DRAMA / TYPES OF DRAMA

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