KAMPALA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

PAPER: DRAMA

CODE: LIT 1201

BY: BZ

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COURSE TITLE: DRAMA
COURSE CODE: LIT 1201
HOURS TAUGHT: 3 hrs per week
PREREQUISITES: None
PURPOSE OF COURSE
This course introduces scholars to the aspects of what drama is and what it should be. The study
explores traditional and conventional aspects which art considers dramatic. By studying some
dramatic pieces, the students are encouraged to contribute towards the development of the genre
through writing their own plays and performing them on stage.

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of the course unit, students should be able to:
 Identify and analyze the characteristics, advantages and elements of drama.
 Compose and perform their plays.
 Heighten students’ appreciation and enjoyment of drama.
 Model and expound students’ literary criticism.

COURSE CONTENT
Introduction to drama
 Definition
 Characteristics
 Advantages of drama over prose fiction and poetry.
Elements of drama
 Character and characterization
 Qualities of good characterization
 Types of character

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Setting
 Artificial setting
 Physical
 Historical
 Time/ social setting

Plotting
 Divisions of plot i.e. introduction, Climax, Denouement
 Types of plot i.e. Linear, Circular, Oval
Pre dominants thematic concerns of playwrights

Dramatic devices
 Symbolism,
 Soliloquy, Imagery,
 Irony, Sarcasm
 Asides etc
Special effects
 light and sound
Theatre personae
 Actor/ actress, Prompter
 Set designer
 Producer/director
 Stage manager
Types of drama
 tragedy,
 comedy
 farce,
 melodrama,
 absurdism,
African drama
 African comedy
 tragedy, tragic- comedy
 popular drama
MODE OF DELIVERY
 Lectures
 Reading assignments
 Practical assignments
 Field trips
 Documentaries
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND / OR EQUIPMENT
 Whiteboard and Markers
 Flip Charts

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  LCD Projectors
 CDs, DVDs and Tapes

COURSE ASSESSMENT
 Continuous assessments tests 10%
 Group and individual project (course work) 20%
 End of Semester Examination 70%

READING MATERIALS
William Shakespeare: Twelfth Night Emma Smith (2007). Eighth Impression, Twelfth Night,
York notes advanced Longman- York press
Aristophanes: Lysistrata
Austin Bukenya: The Bride or David Mulwa: Redemption
John Ruganda: The burdens
Robert Anderson. D (1999). Elements of Literature fourth course Holt Rinehart, and
Winston
Kirszner and Mandal (2004). Literature, Reading, writing-compact fifth Edition

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 What is Drama

Drama as a literary genre is realized in performance, which is why Robert Di Yanni (quoted in
Dukore) describes it as “staged art” (867). As a literary form, it is designed for the theatre
because characters are assigned roles and they act out their roles as the action is enacted on
stage. These characters can be human beings, dead or spiritual beings, animals, or abstract
qualities. Drama is an adaptation, recreation and reflection of reality on stage. Generally, the
word, dramatist is used for any artist who is involved in any dramatic composition either in
writing or in performance.

Drama is different from other genres of literature. It has unique characteristics that have come
about in response to its peculiar nature. Really, it is difficult to separate drama from
performance because during the stage performance of a play, drama brings life experiences
realistically to the audience. It is the most concrete of all genres of literature. When you are
reading a novel, you read a story as told by the novelist. The poem’s message in most cases is
not direct because it is presented in a compact form or in a condensed language. The
playwright does not tell the story instead you get the story as the characters interact and live
out their experiences on stage. In drama, the characters/actors talk to themselves and react to
issues according to the impulse of the moment. Drama is therefore presented in dialogue.

You can see that as a genre of literature, drama occupies a unique position. It is also the most
active of other genres of literature because of the immediate impact it has on the audience. It is
used to inform, to educate to entertain and in some cases to mobilize the audience.
Most people associate funny action or other forms of entertainment as drama. An action could be dramatic yet it will
not be classified as drama.

The dramatic is used for any situation or action which creates a sense of an abnormality or the unexpected.
Sometimes we use it to describe an action that is demonstrated or exaggerated. For instance, if you are at a bus stop,
a well-dressed young girl passes and cat-walks across the road, her high-healed shoes breaks and she slips, the
immediate reaction will be laughter from almost everybody there. For some people, this is drama. Although she was
walking in an abnormal way and unexpectedly her shoe breaks, her action could be called dramatic but it is not
dramatic action. Again, the action of a teacher who demonstrates, by injecting life into his teaching as he acts out
certain situations, is dramatic but it is not drama.

What then is drama? Drama is an imitation of life. Drama is different from other forms of literature because of its
unique characteristics. It is read, but basically, it is composed to be performed, so the ultimate aim of dramatic
composition is for it to be presented on stage before an audience. This implies that it a medium of communication. It
has a message to communicate to the audience. It uses actors to convey this message. This brings us to the issue of
mimesis or imitation. We say that drama is mimetic which means that it imitates life. You may have heard people
say that drama mirrors life. Yes, it is the only branch of literature which tries to imitate life and presents it
realistically to the people. It is this mimetic impulse of drama that makes it appeal to people. Drama thrives on
action.

The term drama is used at the following three (3) different levels:

1. Performance
2. Composition
3. Branch of Literature.

(1) Performance

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 Drama is used for plays that are acted on stage or screen. These plays are different from
musical performances because they must tell stories which are acted out by actors and
actresses. You remember what we said earlier about imitation or re-enactment and
impersonation. These actors and actresses must be playing roles by imitating other characters.
It means, therefore, that they must assume other people’s personalities by bearing different
names, ages, occupation, nationalities, etc. Finally, they must be conscious of themselves as
actors by trying hard to pretend that they are the characters they are representing.
(2) Composition

Drama is used to describe a dramatic composition which employs language and pantomime to
present a story or series of events intended to be performed. Sometimes, especially with
written compositions, they may not be presented on stage but this does not stop it from being
drama. In as much as a play is enjoyed more when it is performed, you can still read a play and
be entertained by it.

(3) Branch of Literature

Drama is a term used for that branch of literature that covers dramatic composition. You know
already that drama is a literary art. The basic difference between drama and other forms of
literature (prose and poetry) is that drama is presented in dialogue from the beginning to the
end. Any information by the playwright is given in stage- direction. We have dialogue in prose
and poetry but they are interjected in the course of the story.

Definition of Drama

There are many definitions of drama.

Martin Esslin in Anatomy of Drama has the following definitions of drama:

1. Drama can be seen as a manifestation of the play instinct as in children who are playing mother
and father.
2. Drama is something one goes to see, which is organized as something to be seen.
3. It is an enacted fiction an art form based on mimetic action.
4. In arts, drama is the most elegant expression of thought nearest to the truth (reality).
5. It is the most concrete form in which art can recreate human situation, human relationship (57).

Aristotle’s definitions sum up these and other numerous definitions of drama by different
scholars. He defines drama simply as an imitation of an action. He links it to the mimetic
impulse in human beings like children playing father and mother in a childhood play. This
means that imitation is part of life. Human beings have the desire to imitate others, situations
or events.

However, Betolt Brecht insists that drama is not just an imitation of action, but a tool for the
demonstration of social conditions. It is not just an entertainment but an instrument of political and
social change. From these definitions, we can conclude that drama is a way of creating or recreating a
situation, an articulation of reality through impersonation or re-enactment. An action becomes drama if
it is an imitation of an earlier action real or imagined. For instance, the story of a hunter who goes to
the forest, kills an antelope and takes it home even if he is dancing as he goes home, is not drama. It
becomes drama if the same story is reenacted maybe as part of a festival. In the latter case, some
people (actors) will represent the hunter and the antelope to the audience for entertainment or education.
A young man who aspires to be a hunter could learn, from the presentation, how to stalk an animal or
how to aim the gun or bow while being entertained. This story could be represented through mime,
dance or in dialogue.

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 Imitation

Imitation to some extent is a reflection of an action in real life. It is close to reality but not reality. In imitation you
assume a role and not pretend. You take on or claim the personality of the person you are imitating. An imitation
therefore involves an illusion of the reality and a willing suspension of disbelief. The actor creates an illusion of
reality to make his action credible. The audience in order to believe him suspends its doubt (disbelief) and believes
that what it is watching is real. This explains why sometimes you are moved to tears as you watch the suffering of a
particular character when you are watching a home video or any other dramatic presentation. This is called empathy,
according to Aristotle, mimesis (imitation) entails some copying but not verbatim copying. The artist adjusts or adds
to it. He therefore contributes to the original as he creates another world through imitation. Consequently, the
product becomes not an appearance but a reality or at worst, a reflection of the reality. It is important to note here
that the action might not have existed before in reality. The playwright could imagine or conceptualize an action,
then write it down or present it.

Impersonation

Imitation is a broader term for copying somebody or something. In impersonation we narrow it down to copying
people. Generally, we impersonate or pretend to be somebody in order to deceive people or to entertain them.
Usually, in an impersonation, the actor tries to be as convincing as possible. In acting this is called getting into the
role. Impersonation could be interchanged with role-playing.

You have seen that impersonation is an important ingredient in drama because for the action to be real or life-like, the
actors must convince the audience that they are the person or characters they are impersonating.
Re-Presentation

Re-presentation is to give or show something again. In drama, the artist may have been
inspired by a particular action and decides to re-produce it or re-represent it on stage. Here, it
is not possible to re-present the action exactly as it appeared in its original form. Sometimes
the dramatic composition is based on that action. We also use representation when a particular
performance is being presented again after its premiere or the original and first performance.

From our discussion so far, you have seen that the universal elements of drama are imitation,
re-representation of action, impersonation or reenactment. In any dramatic presentation, the
actors must be conscious of themselves as actors, and also conscious of the audience. On the
part of the audience, there must be an element of make believe or willing suspension of
disbelief. This simply means that, they will pretend that what the actors are doing is real. On
the part of the actors, they try as much as possible to convince the audience that they are
presenting real life experience. This explains why you see actors who display realistic
emotions on stage. For instance, an actor can cry realistically if the need arises. In order to
achieve this feat, they try to get into the role they are playing so that the action will be as
realistic as possible.

Re-enactment

Re-enactment is similar to re-representation. However, in re-enactment, there is a clear

indication that a particular action is being re-enacted. Persons or actions will impersonate
specific characters in the original action. In traditional societies or oral literature, re-enactment
is common and popular. During festivals, depending on the cultural background of the people
and the environment, some events like hunting expedition, fishing, physical prowess and
special feats at wars are re-enacted. In the enactment of a hunting expedition, some people are
chosen to impersonate the animals while some impersonate the hunter who stalks and kills the
animal. The jubilation and the dance of triumph end the performance.

Some dances like the “Egwu amala” from Delta State and some masquerades are used to re-
enact past events or actions. Historical plays are mainly re-enactments of past events.

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 SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

i. In your own words, define drama.

ii. What is the basic difference between drama and other genres of literature?
1. Give two definitions of drama by two different scholars and discuss them in the light of your
understanding of the genre.

ORIGIN AND FUNCTIONS OF DRAMA

Origin of Drama

The word drama comes from the Greek verb “dran” which means ‘to act’ or to perform. Many
scholars trace the origin of drama to wordless actions like ritual dances and mimes performed
by dancers, masked players or priests during traditional festivals or ceremonies. One account
traces the origin to ritual. In the traditional society or in the primordial times, sometimes, the
seasons did not come as expected. When this happened, men felt that they had offended the
gods, so they devised means of appeasing these gods. That act of appeasing the gods is what
we refer to as ritual. This ritual, as expected, involved a ceremony in which the priest played
an important role at a designated location, mostly shrines. The priest would normally wear a
special dress for the occasion. That role, the dress (costume), and the utterance or incantations
are regarded as dramatic elements. Drama could therefore emerge from this. So, if it is
presented for entertainment and there is an element of impersonation, imitation of an action,
and re-enactment of an action, it is drama. Another account traces the origin to man’s desire
for entertainment. Here, during festivals or other ceremonies, they recreate the feats of some
legendary or mythical heroes to entertain the people.

Scholars are divided on the origin of drama. Some trace the origin to Greece but others insist that drama in its
definitive form or pattern evolved from Egypt which is regarded as one of the cradles of civilization in the world.
The latter group argues that it was borrowed by western merchants who developed and documented it, and who now
trace the origin to Greece. However, the account of tracing the origin of drama to Greece is more plausible. The
evolution is clearer and well-documented.

Apparently, Greek drama evolved from religious festivals (ritual) that were celebrated to ensure the fertility of the
land and the well-being of its people. These festivals were connected with the worship of the god Dionysius, a
native god who like the vegetation dies and was reborn each year. The festival involved singing and dancing by a
chorus of fifty men. The choral song, known as Dithyramb, was sang in honor of the god. The men danced around
the altar of Dionysius in a circular dancing place called orchestra. Sometimes a story about the god was improvised
by the leader of the chorus, though remaining part of the chorus. Sometimes he dresses like a character from
mythology. At this stage, individual actors were not involved in the performances. The dramatist, Thesis, is
believed to have been the first person to introduce the individual actor and the element of impersonation in the 6 th
century B.C. During a particular performance, he stood out from the chorus and instead of singing in the honour of
the god, he sang as the god. He performed between the dances of the chorus and he conversed at times with the
leader of the chorus. Thus drama was literally born. Thesis, therefore appeared as the first actor, and when he broke
away from the chorus, he added the dramatic potential of impersonation.

It is impersonation, because, instead of describing the god, Dionysius, or his actions, he pretended to be the god.
Thus the performance changed from poetry performance to drama. Aeschylus added the second actor and this gave
drama a new thrust forward because the additional actor enabled the dramatist to show in action a dramatic conflict
rather than talk about it. Sophocles’ addition of the third actor further enlarged the scope of the dramatist and
provided him with the means of complicating his plot and devising more complex structural arrangement of his
action. It is important to note here that speech is not of essence in drama because it could be presented without
words or without the accompaniment of music/dance.

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The important feature of drama is communication. It induces a personal communication and
an immediate experience between the actor and the audience. This makes drama a concrete art
and the message is immediate and direct. It is concrete because you can see the actors
performing and presenting a life-like story which affects you positively or negatively and you
re-act immediately. Accordingly, drama exists in both oral and literary traditions.

In this course, we will concentrate more on the literary tradition, i.e. the written drama. The
text is called a play and the writer is called a playwright. However, we will make reference to
drama as performance on stage from time to time because it is difficult to separate the two in
the study of dramatic literature.

The Nature of Drama

You learnt in unit one that drama has a unique nature. It has developed and been improved
upon by various dramatists over the ages. It has also been influenced by the developments and
changes in the world. The unique nature of drama makes it possible for it to be read and as
also to be performed. Unlike the prose and poetry which depend on narration, drama is
presented only through dialogue. The novel is divided in chapters and the poem is written
mostly in stanzas, drama is presented in acts and scenes, movements or parts. William
Shakespeare made the five-act structure the standard for his plays. Each dramatist is free to
adopt his/her own style.

In addition to the fact that plays can be read and enjoyed by people in the privacy of their
homes, people also watch and enjoy the plays as an audience in a theatre when the plays are
presented on stage. The audience gives an immediate reaction to the performance on stage.

Drama is temporary in nature. Every performance has a definite duration (i.e. it lasts for a
certain length of time). Each performance of a play is therefore a distinct work of art. Even if
the actors, the composition and the decors remain unchanged throughout the production, each
performance varies in nature and quality as one may be better than other. A good example is
in a case where an actor may have performed badly in one production and better in another
one. It means therefore that “every performance of a play, even by the same actors, represents
a different realization of its possibilities and no single performance can fully realize all its
possibilities”(Scholes 17). Once a performance is conducted, it ceases to exist except in one’s
memory. Ritualistic presentations could also be viewed from the same perspective.

Functions of Drama

Drama is said to have originated from ritual. It is an important branch of literature and the
most concrete of all art forms. It is devoid of the distant intimacy of the novel, the abstract
message of fine arts, the incomplete message of music or the cryptic and esoteric language of
poetry. It presents a story realistically through the actors to the audience. Drama is therefore
used to entertain, inform and educate people. You can see that it is the most effective tool for
mass mobilization by the government and private agencies. For instance, most campaigns
against AIDS, DRUG ABUSE, CHILD ABUSE and so on, are presented in form of drama to
educate, enlighten while at the same time entertain the people.

Of all the creative artists, the dramatist is in the best position to mirror his society and to effect
social reforms. This is because his work has a unique characteristic of presenting events in a
vivid, picturesque and realistic manner. This helps to imprint social conditions realistically in
the minds of the audience. Its message is therefore immediate. The rich and the poor, the
young and the old, the literate and the illiterate enjoy and assimilate the message of drama
once it is presented in the appropriate language as the actors live out the story (message) on
stage.

In most traditional societies, drama forms part of the communal rites. In Africa, reenactment of
some feats like hunting, warfare, and other events, are usually part of bigger festivals. Some of

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 these events are presented in form of drama to entertain the audience. In Greece also, drama
formed part of a bigger festival. Greek drama is acclaimed to be the earliest recorded form of
drama (5th century B.C). It is said to have originated from the Dionysian religious rites, and
also remained a communal rite during the classical period. The dramatists of this age gave
insight into the philosophy and religious beliefs of the ancient Greece. These early Greek
plays treated life’s basic problems with utmost honesty and attacked socials ills using
legendary and mythological themes. This helped to ensure sanity and equilibrium in the
society.

In the Medieval period, drama was used to elucidate the message of the gospel through the re-
enactment of the biblical stories during mass. It was later expanded to include the
dramatization of the lives of the saints and other notable stories of the bible that did not form
part of the Sunday’s lessons. It was therefore used for the spiritual and moral growth of the
people. Drama and theatre also played important roles in the social lives of the people in the
ancient Roman Empire. In England, Germany and France, playwrights like Shakespeare,
Brecht, Goethe, Moliere, and others, in varying degrees, used their works to enable their
respective countries “… to carve out and affirm a unique identity” for themselves (Hagher
145). The American industrial sector was radically but positively affected through the
intervention of one play, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. This play is regarded as being
responsible for the spirit of industrial revolution in America. In Africa, Kenya to be precise, a
playwright, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o was arrested and detained because of the political and social
consciousness which his play, I Will Marry When I Want, aroused in the audience after the
production. The play was written and presented in his Gikuyi language; this enabled the
audience, to assimilate its message immediately and to react accordingly. Ngugi was forced
into exile. The drama of any society, therefore, reflects the problems, aspirations, philosophy
and cultural background of the people.

You see that dramatists can use their works to help to shape the future of the societies. They
can do this not only by reflecting the ugly sides of the societies but also by promoting the
positive aspects of the people’s way of life that are worth emulating or cultivating. They also
help to ensure the continuity of their tradition and culture by reflecting them in their plays.
Each dramatist, therefore, tries from his perspective to use his art to enlighten his audience on
the goodness, imbalances and shortcomings of his society. Apart from their thematic concerns,
each dramatist, in his own style of relaying his message, tries to highlight his cultural
background through the use of myths, legends, music, songs, dances, proverbs, riddles, and
other local expressions. In this way, dramatists all over the world are regarded as the
conscience of their societies, and custodians of their moral and cultural values.

Theatre

It is important to explain to you what theatre is. This is to avoid the erroneous impression
which some people have as they interchange drama and theatre at will. Theatre comes from
the Greek word “Theatron” which means “a place for viewing”. Theatre, therefore, refers to
the space used for dramatic presentations or for other performances. Hence you have the
National Theatre in Lagos, Oduduwa Hall in Obafemi Awolowo University, The Crab at
UNIPORT, the Open Air Theatre at UNIJOS and other theatres. One play could be performed
or presented in many theatres. There are different types of theatre. It could be a house or an
open space, depending on the performance. If you have visited the Obafemi Awolowo
University, for instance, they have three theatres, the Oduduwa Hall which is big and modern
theatre in all its ramifications, the open air theatre behind it and the pit, a smaller theatre where
the actors hold most of their rehearsals. You see, the shape does not matter, what is important
is the acting space.

Theatre is also used for other performances that are not necessarily drama. These performances include
masquerade displays, dances, puppet shows, music jamborees and other forms of festival. The basic elements of
theatre are actor, space and audience. The following elements help to enhance the aesthetic aspect of the
performance: scenery, costume and make-up, light and sound effects.

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 ELEMENTS OF DRAMA: IMITATION

Imitation

In simple terms, imitation means the act of copying somebody or something. It is an act of
copying the ways somebody talks and behaves, especially to entertain. In literature, imitation
is used to describe a realistic portrayal of life, a reproduction of natural objects and actions.
This type of imitation includes writing in the spirit of the masters using merely their general
principles; borrowing special “beauties” in thought and expression from the works of the best
poets; or adapting their materials to the writer’s own age.

In drama, imitation is more pronounced in performance. This is understandable because a play

is written primarily to be performed. What is being imitated in drama is basically life. Drama
tries to present life as realistically as possible on stage. This is why we say that drama mirrors
life. Aristotle insists that imitation is part of life. He likens the imitation in drama to the
children’s play instinct. If you cast your minds back to your childhood experiences, you will
recall that sometimes when you were playing, one child will say let me be the mother while
another person becomes the “father”. In most cases, the “mother” collects discarded empty
cans and uses them as pots, collects sand and some leaves to cook food. She uses sticks as
spoons. When the food is ready, they eat by taking the ‘food’ close to their mouths and
throwing them away. In some cases, they try to dress like their parents and some of them try to
talk like their parents while those who are the children try to behave the way children are
expected to behave. This is imitation. The children are imitating their parents or imitating life
as it is lived in the family.

Imitation in drama involves a story. For it to be drama a story must be told through dialogue as
the characters interact among themselves and that story must have a beginning, middle and an
end. It is different from musical presentations. Musicians in these presentations do not imitate
anybody. They may wear costumes and act in weird manners but they are being themselves.
Some of them take on other names like Lagbaja, African China, Weird M.C, 2 FACE, P
SQUARE, Baba Frayo, Daddy Showkey and many others. In show business, each artist tries to
create an image for him or herself, so instead of imitating anybody, they would want to be
imitated. However, in the video productions, some musicians try to dramatize the message or
the stories of the songs. The people dramatizing these stories are imitating life in the dramatic
sense.

Over the ages, the attitude of dramatists on imitation differs from one dramatist to another and
from one age to another. Some dramatists advocate the imitation of life exactly as it is lived,
others insist on the imitation that is as close as possible to life. In the imitation that is as close
as possible to life, the dramatist tries to create his characters to dress and act as close as
possible to real life. That explains why we have different styles of imitation both in play-
writing and acting skills. They include Emile Zola’s naturalism, Bernard Shaw’s realism,
Betolt Bretcht’s epic theatre, Constantine Stanislavsky’s realistic acting, Gordon Craig’s
theatre of cruelty, Gerzy Grotowsky’s poor theatre and many others.

Generally, the most popular form of imitation is the realistic one where the story is a representation of life and the
characters are those we could identify in real life. This is why we say that drama mirrors life. This is why in Hamlet,
Hamlet advises the Players to

Suit the action to the word, the word to the action; with special observance, that you o’erstep not the
modesty of nature; for anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both
at first and now, was and is to hold, as ‘twere, the mirror up to nature…(Act III Sc ii)

Holding up to nature here means that they should reflect nature in their words and actions. Drama is like a mirror
because its mode of imitation is selective and intensive. Most plays do not last more than three hours so the time is
very short. Another issue to be considered is the space. The stage is so small that it will be difficult to reproduce all
the life experiences of a particular character. Despite the fact that the celluloid can, with the aid of a camera, present

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three-dimensional pictures, it can never present every thing within the period for the play. This explains why you
have expressions like ‘two months later’ to make up for the limitations in terms of time and space.

In his own mode of imitation, Sophocles, in Oedipus Rex, one of the plays you will study for this course, does not
present all the incidents on stage. Those actions which he felt could not be imitated to look as realistic as possible are
reported and not presented on stage. Some critics argue that some of the reported events are too gruesome to be
presented. They are right because one of the Aristotelian postulations on tragedy is that violence should not be
presented on stage. That not withstanding, one could also argue that in realistic acting it is almost impossible for
Jocasta to hang herself or for Oedipus to gorge out his eyes.

In discussing reported action, we have seen how the second messenger moved from story-telling to commentary, and
this brings us to what is referred to as choric commentary in drama. Remember that in drama the story is told
through the characters. The playwright does not narrate the story the way the novelist does. In order to make his play
realistic it is difficult for him to present some of his views on particular issues which the characters could not imitate
realistically. This is because he cannot suspend the action in order to comment or generalize on characters and events
or appear suddenly in the play or on stage to provide a point of view on the action. The dramatist’s alternative is the
chorus or choric characters that are persons in the play but are relatively detached from the action. They can therefore
stand off from it, somewhat like a narrator, to reflect on the significance of events. In Greek drama, the chorus
performed this function, and the detachment of the chorus was theatrically manifested by its continuous presence in
the orchestra. Thus the chorus literally stood between the audience and the action. In some plays, dramatic
functionaries like messengers, servants, clowns and others not directly involved in the action, can carry out the
functions of the chorus, and the attitudes they express should be examined for the point of view they provide for the
action.

We are not saying here that all the choric commentaries are representative of issues which the
playwright could not express through the characters in the play. However, the presence of the
chorus in a play does not mean that its opinions are always to be trusted. Sometimes it can be
as wrongheaded as any of the involved characters. Certainly this is the case in Oedipus Rex
when the chorus repudiates Teiresias’ prophecies, insisting that his “evil words are lies.” At
other times, the chorus is completely reliable, as in its concluding remarks about the frailty of
the human condition. Choric commentary then provides a point of view, but not necessarily an
authoritative one nor one to be associated with the dramatist. In each case, the commentary has
to be examined as closely as any other material in the play. In the first instance we have cited,
Sophocles is using the chorus to project what we might call public opinion which would
naturally be sympathetic to Oedipus because most people would be legitimately shocked by the
accusations and prophecies of Teiresias. In the second case, the chorus is being used to express
the wisdom drawn from the experience of Oedipus.

You will understand the concept of imitation in drama more if you have gone to watch a stage
play, especially when the actors and actresses are the people you know very well. Imagine a
situation where a play is to be presented in theatre you are familiar with and you are going to
the theatre with one of the actors or actresses. As you get to the gate, you pay, obtain your
ticket, enter the auditorium and sit down, ready to watch the play while your friend goes
backstage to get ready for the performance. Assuming your friend is John or Jane, when he/she
appears on stage, he/she assumes another identity apart from his/her own. Let us use one of the
plays we are going to study in this course; Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel. The play
opens and you see John or Jane as he/she appears on stage as Lakunle or Sidi. He/She ceases,
momentarily to be that your friend because you have willingly suspended your disbelief. You
remember what willing suspension of disbelief or make believe means. John or Jane makes
you believe that he/she is Lakunle/Sidi. They try their best to convince the audience that they
are really the characters they represent. They achieve this by speaking and acting like the
characters they represent. This is called role-playing or acting.

In films and home videos you watch occasionally, you see actors and actress like Liz Benson, Pete Edochie, Shan
George, Sam Loco Efe and many others play different roles in different movies. Liz Benson could play the role of a
wicked young step-mother in one film and in another one she plays the role of a loving wife and mother. Generally,
we call it acting. In acting she pretends to be what she is not. She tries as much as possible to convince the audience
that she is that character she is imitating

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Imitation in drama does not claim to present a literal copy of reality. This is because the truth of drama does not
depend on reproducing the world exactly as it is. When we say that drama is true to life we mean that it is being
false to our conventional notions of reality. This means that some plays present stories that we find difficult to
believe or a particular actor acts in a manner that is unbelievable. Sometimes we ask ourselves if it is possible for a
man to be so wicked, insensitive and selfish that he would kill his own mother for ritual for the acquisition of
material wealth. In most cases we still feel that maybe a person in a particular circumstance could be forced or
persuaded to behave like that. If you look at the story of Oedipus for instance, you will believe that the story is
highly improbable yet it creates a world that we recognize as being in some sense like our own. This depends on the
perspective of the dramatist; the aspect of life he wants to focus his mirror. He may choose to focus on the beautiful,
or on the ugly, the ideal/ harmonious or the chaotic. He may for instance focus on bad leadership. He therefore
presents an insensitive despot as a leader who uses his position to emasculate all oppositions and oppress the masses.
He may or may not succeed depending on the message of the play. In most cases, nemesis catches up with such
characters.

In mirroring the society, each dramatist decides on a particular perspective. When a play presents an idealized vision
of the world as a place where everything is beautiful and orderly, we call it romance. On the other hand, when a play
focuses on the ugly and chaotic as it presents a debased view of life we refer to it as satire. Satire and romance
present extreme and sometimes, unrealistic conditions of life. Imitation in tragedy and comedy is very close to life
as we live it as they emphasize the dominant patterns of experience that characters go through in life. In most
comedies, the major characters begin in a state of opposition against one another or what they stand for. As the play
progresses they get to understand one another better so that by the end of the play they get into harmonious
relationships and the play ends on a happy note. The opposite is found in tragedy where the play presents a
harmonious life for the hero at the beginning. As the play progresses, his world disintegrates and ends in
catastrophe.

“Imitation in drama is limited by time and space”. Discuss.

ELEMENTS OF DRAMA: PLOT

3.1 Definition of Plot

A lot of volumes have been written on drama and aspects of drama of which plot is one of
them. The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines plot as a “plan or line of events of a
story especially of a novel or a story”. In dramatic plot, unlike in the novel where the author
describes the characters and incidents they are involved in, the playwright presents the
characters in action. This means that plot in drama develops through what the characters do or
say, what is done to them, and or what is said about them or to them. This is why in his
opinion, Grebanier describes plot as “a matter of action of deeds that are done during the
course of the story”.

In One World of Literature, Shirley Geak-Lin Lim, compiles the following definitions of plot
from different scholars which I believe will give you a broader view of plot;

• The plot as the organization of action was traditionally conceived as a sequence of

important moments arranged chronologically, with an introduction, series of complications
intensifying the conflict, a climax clinching the fate of the central characters, a resolution
and a denouement that concludes and summarizes the issues (p. 1107).

• Plot is the organization of a series of action or events usually moving through conflicts to a
climax and resolution. The arrangement often implies causality and achieves certain
effects (p.1135).

13
 • Plot does not concentrate on an individual hero or his fate or her fate. Instead, its open
structure permits the inclusion of other important but minor characters. (p. 1108).

In his own contribution, Oscar Brockett maintains that plot is not just a summary of the
incidents of a play but that it also refers to the organization of all elements into a meaningful
pattern, the overall structure of the play(6). In Play Production, Nelms sees plot as the
anecdote told to illustrate the theme, and the bare bones of the action and therefore the key to
the structure of the play. According to Scholes and Klaus, plot is a highly specialized form of
experience. In drama, every event is part of a carefully designed pattern and process. And that
is what we call plot. He explains that plot is “…a wholly interconnected system of events,
deliberately selected and arranged, in order to fulfill a complex set of dramatic purposes and
theatrical conditions… it comprises everything which takes place in the imaginative world of
the play. And the totality of the events must create a coherent imitation of the world” (65).

You have seen that there are many opinions on plot but I cannot conclude without looking at the insistence of the
foremost critic Aristotle that tragedy is an imitation not of men but of an action and of life. He further explains that
since life consists of action plot is the most important aspect and the soul of tragedy. He mentioned tragedy
specifically because then, the comic writers were allowed to invent their own plots. The Greek tragic plots were
based on the destiny of man and the gods were involved in the action. The tragic poet (playwright) was expected to
base the plot on true events, myths and legends and so his choice was limited because not many families were
“doomed” and not many individuals were driven to murder or incest that aroused pity and fear. He maintains that
incidents presented, must be according to the law of probability and necessity.

Plot is the structure of the actions which is ordered and presented in order to achieve particular emotional and artistic
effects in a play. It helps to give the play an organic unity and a coherence that makes the play easy to understand. A
good play should therefore possess a unified plot. Plot in simple terms is the arrangement of a story in such a way
that there will be a sequential, logical and chronological order. The plot should be arranged in such a way that the
action starts from the beginning rises to a climax and falls to a resolution. It is arranged in this form – exposition,
discovery, point of attack, complication, crisis, climax, denouement or resolution.

Some people confuse plot with story. To them, plot means a story which the play tells. It is therefore necessary at
this point to make the distinction between plot and story so that you will not fall into the same error. A story is a
series of incidents whose development does not necessarily depend on each other which means that the incidents may
or may not be related or connected. Plot on the other hand, is the way the story is arranged and it thrives on causality
and logical unity. In it, one incident happens and as a result the next one happens and the situation must be related to
each other. It has a beginning, middle and an end. A beginning gives rise to the middle, which in turn raises the
dramatic question that is answered in the end, thus completing what was started in the beginning.

Dramatic plot is also expected to produce a result or an effect on the audience. The playwright, therefore, tries to
fashion his play in a particular way to produce a particular impression on his audience. This explains why a theme
like corruption, could be treated by different playwrights. Each playwright by the use of plot and other devices gives
his own perspective, understanding of what corruption is, its effects on the society and why it should be eradicated.
He could, also, in the course of the plot, suggest means or ways through which corruption can be reduced to a barest
minimum or its complete eradication. The success of a play depends mainly on the plot. It helps the audience or
reader to understand the theme and the motivations of the characters in the play.

Playwrights design their plots in most cases, to achieve different purposes like to create tragic
comic or ironic effects. As the plot progresses, it arouses the reader’s curiosity and expectations
concerning future events in the play especially the fate of some characters. This is called suspense.
A good playwright makes an effective use of suspense to sustain his audience. Plot is a highly
specialized form of experience. Let us use our daily experiences to illustrate and see just how
specialized it is by considering what happens to us daily: we probably converse with a number of
people and perform a variety of action. But most of these events have very little to do with one
another, and they usually serve no purpose other than to satisfy our pleasure, our work, or our
bodily necessities. Thus the events that take place in our daily existence do not and cannot embody
a significant pattern or process even in a boarding school.

14
 There is an extent to which a person’s life can be patterned. But in drama, every event is part
of a carefully designed pattern and process. And this is what we call plot. In a good plot, the
interest of spectators has to be deeply engaged and continuously sustained. This means that the
plot must be arranged in such a way that the interest must be aroused and engaged by events
that make up a process capable of being represented on stage. This means that plot is not
confined merely to what takes place on stage. Plot includes reported, as well as represented,
action. In Oedipus Rex, for example, we witness what we might call a process of criminal
investigation, in which the investigator discovers himself to be the criminal and inflicts the
appropriate punishment for his crime. You will also notice that in the play, we do not witness
all of the events that make up that process and contribute to its development.

The three types of action in drama are reported, physical and mental. In reported action, an
action that is not part of the present action on stage is reported by a character or a group of
characters. The action could be about an incident in the past like the death of Polybus or an
incident that happened in the course of the action of the play. In the play, the wisdom of the
oracle is reported by Creon, the death of Polybus is reported by the First Messenger, the
suicide of Jocasta and the self blinding of Oedipus are reported by the Second Messenger.
Obviously, all of these events take place in the imaginative world of the play but are not
presented directly to the audience. (Can you recall other reasons why some of these events are
not presented on stage?) They are part of the plot. But they are not part of what we call the
scenario----the action that takes place on stage. Thus if we wish to identify the plot of a play,
we will have to distinguish it from the scenario because it is not the same thing as the plot. We
can recognize this distinction in another way if we consider the order in which events may be
presented to us in a play. In Oedipus Rex, for example, the death of Polybus takes place before
the time of the action on stage however it is reported to us only after the stage action is well
under way.

The physical action is based on the current incidents in the play, the concrete action on stage. It includes the
movements, gestures, facial expressions and other forms of physical action made by the characters and seen by the
audience. The mental action includes the action in which the audience is left to imagine what happened. In most
cases, it comes at the end of the play as the audience is left to imagine what happened to a character or a group of
characters. This is one of the main reasons why movie producers produce the part two of some of their films. In the
plot, of course, these events are linked to one another by an unalterable chronology. But in the scenario, these same
events have been presented to us in an entirely different order. Thus in studying the plot of a play, we must examine
not only the events of which it consists, but also the complex ways in which those events are presented by the
scenario.

3.2 Structure of the Plot

As stated earlier, a good plot should have a beginning, middle, and an end. Oscar Broccket explains further that the
beginning contains the exposition or the setting forth of information about earlier events, the identity of characters
and the present situation. Another aspect of the beginning is the point of attack which is the moment at which the
main story starts as a potential conflict is identified. This is more obvious in classical plays usually, is focused early
on the potential conflict or a question and its resolution leads to the end of the play. Such plays start with the inciting
incident. This incident is usually an occurrence that sets the main action in motion. A good example is in found in
Oedipus Rex. In the play, there is a plague in Thebes, the people are suffering and lamenting. Oedipus seeks solution
from the oracle of Delphi and this leads to the major dramatic question (in this case, the identity of Oedipus) around
which the play revolves.

The middle is made up of series of complications. A complication is a new element which changes the direction of
the action. It leads to the discovery of new information. The series of complications culminate in crises and climax.
In the play, the complication starts with the arrival of Creon with the information that the killer they seek is in their
midst. Consequently, the blind seer is invited and there are more complications as he accuses Oedipus of being the
murderer. There is a crisis with the shepherd’s revelation of the true parentage of Oedipus and this leads to the
climax. The end is the last part of the play. Here issues are unraveled, untied and resolved. In the play, the killer of
Laius is discovered towards the denouement. Oedipus realizes that he has fulfilled the Delphic oracle’s prophecy; he
actually killed his father and married his mother.

15
It is important to note here that you may not find all these elements in one play. Each playwright
adopts his own style. Remember that Aristotle based his theory and postulations on already –written
Greek plays. Apparently, he read and studied the plays critically to arrive at his conclusions.

3.3 Types of Plot

We have tried so far to explain to you that plot is just the summary of the play’s incidents.
Although it includes the story-line, it refers basically to the organization of all the incidents
into a meaningful pattern that has a beginning, middle and end. There are different types of
plots and each is designed for a particular purpose. Some plots, for instance, are designed to
achieve tragic effect and others the effects of comedy, satire, or romance. However all plays do
not have what we might call good plots, that is, with the beginning, middle and end. So, we
have different types of plots.

In a play, as said earlier, we have the main plot and subject (sub) plot. The main plot deals
with the major events and the sub plot deals with other incidents which can be complete and
interesting stories on their own. However, a skillful playwright uses the sub plot to advance our
appreciation and understanding of the main plot. According to Abrams, “the sub plot serves to
broaden our perspective on the main plot and to enhance rather than diffuse the overall
effects”( 129) of the play.

Aristotle divides plot into two – complex and simple plots. A simple plot is that in which the
action is simple and continuous and in which a change of fortune takes place without reversal
of the situation and without recognition. In a complex plot, on the other hand, the change is
accompanied by a reversal of the situation or by recognition or by both. He also identified two
types of plots (a) the unified plot and (b) the episodic plot. He refers to the unified plot as the
well-made plot. In the unified plot, the incidents are presented in a logical order and there is a
causal arrangement. What do we mean by causal arrangement? The play starts from the
beginning followed by the middle and the incidents in the middle are consequences of what
happened in the beginning and these are resolved in the end. It is a kind of cause and effect
presentation. The incidents will be so related that when anything is removed, it will create
illogicality.

In episodic plot, there is no causal relationship between the incidents. The only unifying factor is that the incidents
are related or happening to one man. In unified plot, the removal of any incident affects the organic structure of the
play, but in episodic plot, you can remove an aspect of the plot without changing or destroying the plot. It means,
therefore, that the part that was removed is not necessary. Death of a Salesman (one of the plays set for this course)
has an episodic plot. It is made manifest more by the presentations of the incidents in Willy Loman’s head, especially
the appearances of his brother Ben.

He recommends that a play should contain a single and not a double plot and condemned the episodic plot which is a
plot in which the episodes have no probable or inevitable connection. He suggests that although plot is an imitation of
an action, this must not be any action but an action in which the various incidents are constructed in such a way that if
any part is displaced or deleted, the whole plot is disturbed and dislocated. This is the unity of plot. A good plot must
therefore not end haphazardly but must have a beginning, middle and an end, and should be well co-coordinated to
give a coherent whole. The action which makes up the plot should be distinguished from a series of unrelated
incidents because a plot must contain a logical unity within the play. It begins at a point and the middle raises the
question which is answered in the end and that completes the action started in the beginning. All the incidents in the
play are expected to contribute to the plot.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

1. What is plot?

2. Explain what you understand by unified plot and episodic plot.

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 ELEMENTS OF DRAMA: ACTION

3.1 Dramatic Action

In simple terms, action is the process of doing something or the performance itself. If somebody slaps you and you
retaliate, there is an action. The series of events that constitute the plot in any literary work is referred to as action It
includes what the characters say, do, think and in some cases, fail to do. Action involves activity. This activity
becomes more pronounced in drama where the action is presented in concrete form as the actors present the story to
the audience for entertainment and education. In drama, especially during performance, you see the characters
moving around to perform certain tasks, talk to one another, laugh, cry, fight, shoot or do anything according to the
needs of the moment. All these are dramatic actions. In the novel, you read the story as is told by the novelist and see
the action in your imagination but in drama the dramatist presents the action through what the characters do or say. In
fact it involves all the activities of all the characters in the play.

Drama is the only genre of literature in which the story is presented in dialogue from the
beginning to the end. However, dialogue alone does not constitute dramatic action. What
makes it drama is the action that is involved. Dramatic action includes facial expression,
gestures and movements. So, what makes dialogue dramatic is the presence of action. It is only
through action that the playwright can portray the human situations he chooses to dramatize. It
is the action that propels the plot and helps to advance the theme. In simple terms drama is a
story told in action by actors who impersonate the characters in the story on a stage.

Dramatic action is a “…series of incidents that are logically arranged by the playwright to
achieve specific response like joy, pity, fear, indignation, ridicule, laughter, thoughtful
contemplation, from the audience”. (Brocket 68) Each character is specially created to fulfill
the specific design of the dramatist. In The Marriage of Anansewa, for instance, Efua
Sutherland deliberately created Ananse to be an intelligent, witty, crafty and easy-going man.
His nature helps him to get not only a rich husband for his daughter but also ensures that the
man who marries his daughter actually loves her. The playwright also advances her theme of
excessive materialism and ostentation in Ghana through the easy-going nature and action of
Ananse. If you have read the play, you will recall that Ananse, decides to go to church only
when he became rich. It shows that people go to church to show off and display their wealth;
according him:

Yes, tomorrow, I go church,

To deposit with the best of spenders.

He also decides to attend the memorial services ‘which promises to draw the biggest crowds’.
This helps to highlight the playwright’s view on the ostentatious nature of the society.
You remember that in our discussion of plot in Unit 4, we talked about causality and logical arrangement of incidents.
What is causality? Is there any relationship between causality and dramatic action? Yes. According to Oscar Brocket,
“the cause to effect arrangement of incidents sets up the situation; the desires and motivations of the characters out of
which the later events develop” (32). This logical arrangement of incidents presupposes that the action must be
presented in such a way that it should make sense to the audience. Any action performed by any character must be as
a result of an earlier action. Thus in the play The Marriage of Anansewa, Ananse is poor so decides to take an action
that will help him to get rich. What does he do? He decides to give his daughter out in marriage and in the process
make money for himself. He writes to four wealthy chiefs. The effect of this action is that they send money and gifts
to him. The effect of this is that he becomes rich. The effect of the wealth is that he pays her daughter’s school fees
and renovates his house.

The action in drama is usually organized in a climatic order with the scenes increasing in interest by increasing
suspense and emotional intensity. In the play, from Ananse’s action in the opening scene, when it appears that
Ananse wants to sell his daughter Anansewa like ‘some parcel to a customer’, your interest is aroused. The next thing
is to find out how he is going to do it. As the play progresses, and Ananse entangles himself in the mess, the suspense

17
and emotional intensity is heightened. You can see now that dramatic action is constructed in such a way that it
answers the suspenseful question, ‘what happened’. Action in drama involves gestures, facial expressions, inflexion
of voice and movement. Some gestures and expressions actually present more actions than words.

Dramatic action also includes what the character fails to do. In Hamlet, the popular quote ‘to be or not to be’ refers to
the action. Hamlet is contemplating on the proper action to take against his uncle who he suspects killed his father.
He does not want to act until he is sure of it. He therefore organizes a play and presents a similar experience in the
play. Luckily, he gets the desired effect as Claudius’ reaction points to his guilt. It would have been possible for
Hamlet to kill Claudius’ immediately but that would have been the end of the play. So, Hamlet’s inaction helps to
increase the suspense and emotional intensity of the play.

You can see that all the actions mentioned here are logical. For the action to be logical, the characters must be well-
motivated.
3.2 Motivation

Motivation is the drive behind every action a character takes in a play. In The Marriage of
Anansewa, poverty drives Ananse to ‘sell’ his daughter. In The Lion and the Jewel, the girls
are excited as they discuss the magazine that contains Sidi’s pictures. Their excitement is
motivated by the fact they have never seen the picture of anybody from their community in a
magazine. Also in the play, Baroka’s motivation for marrying Sidi is to subdue her and prevent
her from being more popular than him. What this means is that there must be a reason for any
action taken by every character in the play. In drama, because the action is presented in
dialogue and the playwright does not have the space to explain the action like the novelist,
some of the actions that cannot be incorporated in dialogue are presented in the stage direction.
The explanation of the action in the stage direction helps the reader to enjoy the action and also
helps the director in the blocking of the play during rehearsals before the performance.

3.3 Types of Dramatic Action

In the drama could be presented in the following three forms:

(a) Physical Action;

(b) Reported Action; and (c)
Mental Action.

3.3.1 Physical Action

The physical action in drama refers to the movements made by a character in the play. It is
visible and may or may not involve dialogue. Physical action could in form of
movements/gestures, mime or pantomime. These are explained in details below.

3.3.2 Movement/Gesture

This includes the steps taken by the character while he is speaking or in the process of
undertaking other tasks. Movement is used to describe mainly the actual movements like
walking, running, pacing, kneeling, lying down, standing or sitting. Movement is simply the
process of moving, change of place, position, or passing from one place to another. It involves
the activities or whereabouts of a character or a group of characters. These movements are
usually accompanied by dialogue. This differentiates it from mime and pantomime which are
actions without words. Closely related to movement is gesture. Generally, gesture refers to
body movements like position, posture, and expressions. Gestures are used by characters to
express their thoughts, feelings, or as a rhetorical device. It could be used as a symbol to
indicate intentions or evoke a response. Characters also use gesture a signal, motion, or an
indication for his feelings or an action to taken by another character.

18
 In plays, you identify the movements and gestures through the dialogue and the stage direction.
Can you identify the movement/gesture in this excerpt from The Marriage of Anansewa:

AYA: [Entering to find him in this state] My son, is this weeping you’re weeping?
What is the matter?

ANANSE: [Wringing out the handkerchief,] Mother!

AYA: My stalwart son.
ANANSE: Mother. [He returns the handkerchief and acting like a man in conflict.
Yells out:] Destroyers! Evil-doers! They won’t rest until they have ruined
me.
Enemies whose outward appearance makes you think they are not enemies.

AYA: [Wide-eyed with confusion] Enemies? It’s that woman Christy, isn’t it? The
minute I met that woman here I felt instinctively that trouble marches
alongside people of her kind.

ANANSE: [Bursting into fears afresh] Handkerchief! (Act 3, p52)

3.3.3 Mime

Another form of physical action is mime. Sometimes, certain actions are presented without
words to show meaning for the purpose of entertainment by dramatists. This is mime. The
Oxford Dictionary describes mime as a dumb show, mummery, pantomime, the use of gesture
to indicate certain action or indication by sign language. It is regarded as a simple facial drama
that is characterized by mimicry and the ludicrous representation of familiar types of
characters. Mime is therefore the art or technique of expressing or conveying action, character,
or emotion without words but using only gestures and movements. In other words, it is an
expression of action or performance using such means. In a play, the actions in mime are
usually enclosed in the stage direction and mostly in italics. Some of these mimes are
flashbacks, that is those events from the past that are recalled to help explain certain things in
the play but some of them are presented as part of the present action in the play. In The Lion
and the Jewel, for instance, the mime on the arrival of the journalist in the village and the one
on the road construction are used to recall past actions.
LAKUNLE: [A terrific shout and a clap of drums. Lakunle enters into the spirit of the dance
with enthusiasm. He takes over from Sidi, stations his cast all over the stage
as the jungle, leaves the right to-stage clear from the four girls who are to
dance the motor-car. A mime follows of the visitor’s entry into Ilujinle, and
his short stay among the villagers. The four girls couch on the floor, as four
wheels of a car. Lakunle directs their spacing then takes his place his place
in the middle, and sits on air. He alone does not dance. He does realistic
miming. Soft throbbing drums, gradually swelling in volume, and the four ‘
wheels’ begin to rotate the upper halves of their bodies in a perpendicular
circles. Lakunle, clownin the driving motions, obviously enjoying this fully.
The drums gain tempo faster, faster, faster. A sudden crash of drums and the
girls quiver and dance the stall. Another effort at rhythm fails, and the
‘stalling wheels’ give a corresponding shudder, finally, and let their faces
fall on their laps. Lakunle tampers with a number of controls, climbs out of
the car, and looks underneath it. His lips indicate that he is swearing
violently. Examines the wheels, pressing them to test the pressure, betrays
the devil in him by seizing his chance to pinch the girl’s bottom. One yells
and bites him on the ankle. He climbs hurriedly back into the car, makes a
final attempt to restart it, gives it up and decides to abandon it. Picks up his
camera and helmet, pockets a flask a flask of whisky from which he takes a

19
 swig, before beginning the trek. The drums resume beating, a different
darker tone and rhythm, varying the journey. Full use of ‘gangan’ and ‘iya
ilu’ The ‘trees’ perform a subdued and unobtrusive dance on the same spot.
Details as a snake slithering out of the branches and poising over Lakunle’s
head when he leans against a tree for a rest. He flees, restoring his nerves
shortly after by a swig. A monkey drops suddenly on his path and gibbers at
him before scampering off. A roar comes from somewhere, etc. His nerves go
rapidly and he recuperates himself by copious draughts. He is soon tipsy,
battles violently with the undergrowth and curses silently as he swats the
flies off his tortured body.

Suddenly from somewhere in the bush comes the sound of a girl singing. The
Traveler shakes his head but the sound persists. Convicted he is suffering
from sun-stroke, he drinks again. His last drop, so he tosses the bottle in the
direction of the sound, only to be rewarded by a splash, a scream and a
torrent of abuse, and finally, silence again. He tip-toes, clears away the
obstructing growth, blinks hard and rubs his eyes. Whatever he has seen still
remains. He whistles softly, unhitches his camera and begins to jockey
himself into a good position for a take. Backwards and forwards, and his
eyes are so closely glued to the lens that he puts forward a careless foot and
disappears completely. There is a loud splash and the invisible singer alters
her next tone to a sustained scream. Quickened rhythm and shortly
afterwards, amidst sounds of splashes, Sidi appears on stage, with a piece of
cloth only partially covering her. Lakunle follows a little later, more slowly,
trying to wring out the water from his clothes. He has lost all his appendages
except the camera. Sidi has run right across the stage, and returns a short
while later, accompanied by the Villagers. The same cast has disappeared
and re- forms behind Sidi as the villagers. They are in an ugly mood, and in
spite of his protests, haul him off to the town centre, in front of the ‘Odin’
tree.

Everything comes to a sudden stop as Baroda the Bale, wiry, goateed, tougher than his sixty-
two years, himself emerges at this point from behind the tree. All go down, prostrate or
kneeling with greetings of ‘Cabbies’ ‘Baba’ etc. All except Lakunle, who begins to sneak off.]
(14-15)

This is also a good example of the play-within-the-play. You know that the playwright has no
time and space to explain or describe every situation and event as much as the novelist. That is
why he uses the stage direction to present the action that could not be incorporated in dialogue.

3.3.4 Pantomime

Pantomime is synonymous with mime. It is a term for silent acting; the form of dramatic activity in silent motion,
gesture, facial expression, in which costume are relied upon to express emotional state or action. It was popular in
ancient Rome where it was a dramatic entertainment in which performers expressed meaning through gestures
accompanied by music. It also refers to some traditional theatrical performances originally significant gesture without
speech, in mime, but now consisting of a dramatized fairy tale or stories with music, dancing, topical jokes and
conventional characters frequently played by actors of the opposite sex. It is chiefly performed in Britain around
Christmas.
The actual pantomime opens on Boxing Day. Pantomime is also used to dramatise absurd or outrageous
behaviour.

3.4 Reported Action

In dramatic action, sometimes, it is not possible to present every action on stage. This could be
as a result of the prevalent convention or because the action cannot be realized on stage. In the
Classical Period, for instance, violence was not presented on stage. The playwrights were

20
expected to maintain single settings indoor actions and violence were reported on stage. In
King Oedipus, the death of Jocasta is reported on stage. In The Marriage of Anansewa, the taxi
that takes Aya and Kweku to Nanka is not brought on stage because the stage cannot contain it.
Also in Arms and the Man, the cavalry charge by Sergius is reported and not presented because
it will be very difficult to bring a cavalry on stage.

3.5 Mental Action

Mental action is an action that takes place in the character’s mind. In most cases, mental action is
manifested in facial expressions.

Explain logical and illogical action in drama

21
 ELEMENTS OF DRAMA: DIALOGUE

What is dialogue?

Dialogue is a discussion between two or more people. In literary works, it refers to a

composition in a conversational form. In the novel it is incorporated in the story, that is, as the
story progresses, the novelist gives two or more characters the opportunity to discuss or
comment on certain issues and the story continues in prose form. However, in drama, the entire
story is presented in dialogue. This explains why some people find it difficult to read plays
because you see the name of a character, then, what the character says, the name of another
character and the response as seen below: In addition to that, you must read the stage direction
for you to understand the story, the motivation of the characters, the place where the action is
taking place and other information provided about the environment and the personality of the
characters. Many people therefore find the reading of a play cumbersome and prefer to read a
novel where they read and enjoy the story without interruption. Can you identify the names of
the characters, the stage direction?

ANANSE: [When the song is over] While life is whipping you, rain also pours down to whip
you some more. Whatever it was that man did wrong at the beginning of things must have
been really awful for all of us to have to suffer so. [He calls:] Anansewa ! Where is that
typewriter of yours? Bring it here. [Pause] I’ve been thinking, thinking, and thinking, until my
head is earth quaking. Won’t somebody who thinks he has discovered the simple solution for
living this life kindly step forward and help out the rest of us? [To the audience:]

Oh the world is hard,

Is hard,
The world is really hard.

[Taking off his raincoat and calling again] Anansewa ! Where is that typewriter I bought for
you at a price that nearly drove me to sell myself? Bring it here. [He closes up the umbrella.]

[Enter ANANSEWA dressed for going out, and receives the typewriter from PROPERTY
MAN.]

ANANSEWA: Oh father, is it raining?

ANANSE: Yes, it’s raining. It’s rain combining with life to

beat your father down. [He leans the umbrella against the wall.]

ANANSEWA: Oh. I didn’t even know you were not in the house.

The short dialogue above is taken from The Marriage of Anansewa and it is an exchange
between Ananse and his daughter. Their names are written in bold letters to indicate that what
follows is what the person says. This is unlike what we have in the novel where what is said by
a character is marked off with inverted commas and the novelist will indicate who said it.

Dialogue could be described as a verbal interchange of thoughts or ideas. The Oxford

Dictionary explains that dialogue involves two or more people and could be in form of
expression, conversation, talk, chat, tête-à-tête, chit chat, debate, argument, exchange of views,
discussion, conference, converse, interlocution, confabulation, gossip, parley, palaver, spoken
part, script, and lines.

The forms of dialogue listed above can be found in drama depending on the perspective of the
play; the particular section of the play; the dramatic mode or the message the playwright wants
to convey. You may ask how debate or conference could form part of dialogue in a play. It is
possible for the playwright to create a scene on a conference and as the conference is going on,

22
there could be question and answer session which involves dialogue. This applies to other
forms of dialogue listed above.

According to Adewoye(1993), quoted in Iwuchukwu(2001),dialogue in drama is expected to embody

these literary and stylistic values:

• It advances the action in a definite way because it is not used for mere ornamentation or
decoration.
• It is consistent with the character of the speakers, their social positions and special
interests. It varies in tone and expression according to nationalities.
• It gives the impression of naturalness without being actual, verbatim record of what may
have been said, since fiction is concerned with “the semblance of reality,” not reality itself.
• It presents interplay of ideas and personalities among the people conversing; it sets forth a
conversational give and take and not simply a series of remarks of alternating speakers.

Dialogue is a highly specialized form of conversation that is designed to suit various contexts
and modes of drama. It is not exactly like everyday conversation where we adjust style to suit
the occasion and the personalities we are discussing with. In doing this, unconsciously, we use
particular facial expressions, bodily gestures, vocal inflections. Sometimes, we pause or
rephrase our feelings and ideas, as we adjust to circumstances to suit our thoughts and the
thoughts of those we are talking to. It is not possible to reproduce it like that in drama. The
playwright imagines these feelings and ideas, put them together in a more condensed form.
This is because of the limitations of dramatic performance. The dialogue is designed in a way
that it must be heard and understood by the audience. As a result, the continuity of the dialogue
should be marked out clearly at every point.

Drama is presented only in dialogue so that it should be designed in such a way that through it,
the reader or audience must be able to infer the nature of each character, the public and private
relationship among the several characters, the past as well as the present circumstances of the
various characters. From the discussion so far, you will agree with Scholes and Klaus (1971)
that dialogue is an extraordinary significant form of conversation because it is through it that
every play implies the total make-up of its imaginative world. It is also important that dialogue
imply the whole range of expressions, gestures, inflections, movements and sometimes
information on the environment and the total atmosphere of the play. Read the example below,
an excerpt from The Lion and the Jewel and see what you can infer from it.

LAKUNLE: Sidi, my love will open your mind

Like the chaste leaf in the morning, when The sun touches it.
SIDI: If you stat that I will run away
I had enough of that nonsense yesterday.

LAKUNLE: Nonsense? Nonesense? Do you hear that? Does anybody listen?

Can the stones
Bear to listen to this? Do you call it
Nonesense that I poured the waters of a=my soul To wash your
feet?

SIDI: You did what?

LAKUNLE: Wasted! Wasted! Sidi, my heart Bursts into flowers

with may love.
But you and the dead of this village
Trample it with the feet of ignorance.

23
 SIDI: [shakes her head in bafflement] If the snail finds
splinters in his shell He changes house. Why do
you stay?

LAKUNLE: Faith. Because I have faith.

Oh Sidi, vow to me your own undying love
And I will scorn the jibes of these bush minds
Who know no better. Swear, Sidi,
Swear you will be my wife and
I will stand against earth, heaven, and nine Hells…

SIDI: Now there you go again.

One little thing
And you must chirrup like a cockatoo.
You talk and talk and deafen me
With wit words which always sound the same And make no
meaning.
I’ve told you and I say it again
I shall marry you today, next week
Or any day you name
But my bride-price must first be paid.
Aha, now you turn away.
But I tell you, Lakunle I must have The full bride-
price. Will you make me A laughing-stock? Well, do
as you please. But Sidi will not make herself
A cheap bowl for the village spit.

LAKUNLE: O n my head fall their scorn.

SIDI: They will say I was no virgin

That I was forced to sell my shame And marry you
without a price.

LAKUNLE: A savage custom, barbaric, outdated, Rejected, denounced,

accursed, Excommunicated, archaic, degrading,
Humiliating, unspeakable, redundant.

SIDI: Is the bag empty? Why did you stop?

LAKUNLE: I own a Shorter Companion

Dictionary, but I have ordered The Longer
One-you wait!

SIDI: Just pay the price.

From this dialogue between Lakunle and Sidi, you can see that Lakunle is an educated buffoon
who wants to marry a lady in the village without fulfilling the requirements of the people’s
customs. He apes the white man and despises the African cultural heritage. Sidi is a decent but
uneducated village girl who wants to maintain her dignity.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

i. Open any page of one of the plays recommended for this course, read that page very well
and write the things you learn about the characters and or the central idea of the play.

24
 In this unit you have learnt the importance dialogue in any dramatic presentation. You learn
everything you should know in any dramatic piece through the dialogue. Every dramatist must
construct the dialogue in a logical and coherent manner. However it is not compulsory for the
dialogue in absurdist plays to be coherent or logical.

1. Explain what you understand by dialogue and state its importance in drama.

DRAMATIC TECHNIQUE: CHARACTERISATION

Characterization

Characterization is the playwright’s imaginative creation of characters that can effectively

dramatize his story. The action of the play is presented through such characters. He does so
by imbuing the characters with certain recognizable human traits and qualities. These qualities
include physical attributes, moral, psychological and emotional dispositions, their attitude
towards other characters and situations, and so on. At the point of conceptualization of the idea
he wants to present in his play, he thinks of the best way to present it to make it interesting and
at the same time informative. He builds this idea into a story form and thinks of the type of
characters that can tell this story effectively.

So he uses the characters to explicate his theme and propel the plot, His ability to craft the play in such a way that
each character blends well in the plot is called characterization. These characters are presented and they develop in
the course of the action. In most cases, the characters grow from innocence to maturity or from ignorance to
knowledge. They also change according to situations and events. When this is done, the characters are referred to
as round characters.

In Arms and the Man for instance, Raina grows from innocence to maturity in the course of the play. You will recall
that at the beginning of the play, Raina is very romantic and full of fantasy first about Sergius and later about her
Chocolate Cream Soldier. Her understanding of love is very shallow. By the end of the play, she realizes the
difference between reality and fantasy as she marries Captain Bluntschli. On his own part, Sergius realizes his
ignorance of the military and also the need to marry for love and not for position.

The important elements in characterization are consistency and motivation. A good playwright must craft his play
in such a way that his characters are consistent. You don’t expect a character to behave like an educated young
woman in the opening scene and in the following acts like an illiterate village girl. This could happen if there is a
proper motivation for that. For example, if she is pretending to be what she is not in order to obtain some
information, get something or to escape from danger. Motivation in characterization means that there must be a good
reason for any action that is taken by every character in the play. What is the reason for Captain Bluntschli’s flight
from the battlefield? A soldier who is paid to fight cannot just run away like that. He runs away because they do not
have ammunition, he cannot fight with his bare hand so he runs away to save his life.

The characters are the persons, in the play. They are endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are
expressed in their dialogues and in their action. The reason or grounds for action, temperament and moral
dispositions constitute his motivations. They act out the story of the play from the beginning to the end. They act
within the limits of possibility and plausibility. This means that they and their actions should be as close as possible
to reality. The playwright therefore creates a story that is credible for them to act. However, in an allegorical play,
each character acts within the limits of what it represents.

Each playwright, depending on his style, chooses how to develop his characters. This brings us to a
discussion on characters.

3.2 Character Analysis

The ability to create characters and to ensure that they blend/suit the action of the play is what
we refer to as characterization. What is created is called character.

25
 Characters refer to the people who act the play. Drama is the most active form of literary art
and is presented in dialogue. It is not like the novel or poetry where the novelist tells a story.
The story in a play is told as people talk to one another and interact in inter-personal
relationships. These people are referred to as characters. Characters in a play must not
necessarily be human beings. Animals or things can be used as characters. This depends on the
intention of the playwright and the style he wants to adopt. In allegorical plays like Tess
Onwueme’s The Desert Encroaches or Everyman, a medieval play, animals and abstract
qualities are used as characters.

In the play, you can identify each character through his name, through what he says, what he
does, what other characters say about him and what the playwright says about him. The
playwright’s comment is contained in the stage direction. The stage direction is usually
enclosed in a bracket and in most cases written in italics. You can find it at the beginning of the
scene or at any point in the play whenever the playwright want to give information about the
character, his action, the environment, the mood or any other information that is relevant to the
action and which is not embedded in the dialogue.

3.3 Types of Characters

There are different types of characters in drama. They include the protagonist, the dynamic
character, the static character, the flat character, the round character, and stereotypes.

Protagonist/Hero

He is the main character and at the centre of the story. He is called the protagonist or the hero.
If he is pitted against an important character, like in Hamlet, the opponent is called an
antagonist. In the play, Hamlet is the protagonist while King Claudius is the antagonist and the
relationship between them is what we refer to as conflict. Usually the story revolves around
him and in fact the story is about him. He is easily identifiable because he stands out over and
above most other characters. Everything revolves around him as he influences the action that
he is going through. He creates a world for himself which could be big or small, palatable or
detestable. He lives to sustain or oppose what happens to him. His role is usually central to the
development of the theme, and whatever happens to him or whatever he does has much
significance to the outcome of the story. He is often referred to as the hero of the story or the
protagonist and he is one of the major characters. His central position in the story places him in
a very important position. The playwright therefore portrays him carefully. His many - sided
and complex nature is presented in details. He helps to inject life in the story when he is
properly presented. In Oedipus Rex, for instance, King Oedipus is the protagonist. He is not
just one of the major characters but he is the major character. The story that is told in the play
is about the birth, the rise and the fall of King Oedipus. Sophocles uses him to show his
audience that man is helpless before the gods. This means that a man cannot change his destiny
no matter how hard he or the people around him. In the case of King Oedipus, his parents try to
change his destiny by ordering, when he was born and they discovered that he has been
doomed to kill his father and marry his mother, that he be thrown into the forest where he was
expected to die but the servant spared his life and offered him to the shepherd. As he grows, he
tries to change that fate but does not succeed. Instead he moves closer to it and eventually
fulfils it.

Dynamic/ Round Character

This is a character that changes according to the course of events in the story. He may or may not be the protagonist
or the hero. In most cases, he grows from innocence to maturity or from ignorance to knowledge, so he is
consistently alert to his environment with its attendant problem and reacts accordingly. He is found almost
everywhere in the story. In his own unique way, he participates actively as much as possible in the course of the
action. He seems to have no special alignment to any group but tries not to lose his credibility or acceptability.

Static/Flat/Stock Character

26
Here the character is complex and does not change in any basic way in the course of the story. He is presented in
outline and without much individualization. He is usually stable and is said to be static because he retains essentially
the same outlook, attitudes, values and dispositions from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. He is the
opposite of the round character but lakes complexity in term of presentation. He is presented with a few and broad
strokes. In most cases his activities are easily recognizable, so, his actions can be predicted. Such values and attitudes
may be positive or negative depending on the playwright’s intention. He can be a minor or major character as long as
he is hardly transformed as the events of the story unfold. Stock characters are character types “that recur
repeatedly…”(Abram 163) in dramatic composition “and so are recognizable as part of the conventions of the form.”

Character types are created by playwrights to represent particular individuals in the society.
They could be professionals, ethnic groups, tribes or nationalities. They therefore act and
behave in accordance with the dictates of the person(s) they represent.

3.4 Discovering a Character

You identify a character in a play through what he does, what he says, what other people say
about him and what the playwright says about him as contained in the stage–direction. In
describing a character, you are expected to give in details, his physical attributes and his moral,
psychological and social disposition. A character’s action helps to define his personality and
his behavior in any given circumstance or situation. It also provides clues to the kind of person
he is. Whatever a character says also helps to reveal his inner disposition.

However, before you can draw a valid conclusion about a character’s personality from his
words, you must consider in addition to the words themselves, the character’s mood, the
situation/circumstance, his relationship to the person about or to whom he is speaking and the
consistency between his words and his action.
.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

i. What are the differences between character analysis and characterization? ii. Characterization
is an important aspect of dramatic technique. Discuss.
iii. List and discuss four types of characters.

OTHER DRAMATIC TECHNIQUES

Foreshadowing

In drama, refers to actions, words, events, incidents or other things in a play that predict a
future occurrence in the play. Sometimes it contributes to the mood and general atmosphere of
the play. Hamlet provides a very good example for us. We encounter a ghost at the beginning
of the play. Its appearance creates an atmosphere of fear. It is an ominous sign of an impending
evil or devilish act. It shows that everything is not normal in the society. This evil act is
revealed later in the dialogue between the Ghost and Hamlet in Act I Scene v:
GHOST: I am your father’s spirit…
If you did ever your dear father love-
HAMLET: O God!
GHOST: Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.
HAMLET: Murder!

This encounter foreshadows other unnatural deaths in the play.

3.2 Planting

In drama, one of the techniques that is used to present the action of the play is planting. It is the use of certain props
to give more information about some characters, the environment or situations. If for instance you are watching a

27
home video, and a particular scene opens in the room where a character is lying on a bed with a wheelchair beside the
bed, you will conclude immediately that the person on the bed cannot walk. It might not be that person on the bed
that is paralyzed but the presence of the wheel chair indicates that there is a paraplegic character in the play. Thus that
wheelchair is planted and without any explanation you are able to get more information about the play. planting
device. In planting, representatives of certain issues/places/things are used to create an impression or point to an idea
that will be exposed as the events of the play unfolds.

Also in Arms and the Man, the ‘revolver on the ottoman’ gives a clue to Louka that the fugitive might be in Raina’s
room.

3.3 Deus ex Machina

Deus ex machina in Latin means “a god from the machine”. In Greek theatre, it “describes the technique used by
some playwrights to end their plays with a god who was lowered to the stage by a mechanical apparatus and, by his
judgment and commands, solved the problems of the human characters. The phrase is “now used for any forced and
improbable device - a telltale birthmark, an unexpected inheritance, the discovery of a lost will or letter - by which a
hard-pressed author makes shift to resolve his plot” (Abrams 39). It therefore originated from Greek drama and, in
effect, when it is used in a play it means that the gods have come on stage to save a situation. It refers to an
unexpected power, event or someone that saves a situation that seemed hopeless. This technique enables the
playwright to unravel some secrets, or resolve certain issues that seem to be beyond human capabilities. This ‘god’
from the machine, in most cases, rescues the protagonist from an impossible situation or enlightens him on how to
resolve an issue at the last minute. This causes a resolution of the plot by the use of an improbable coincidence.
In Oedipus Rex, the arrival of the shepherd is seen as deux ex machina. Before his arrival, the
Blind Seer has accused King Oedipus of being the murderer of King Lauis. If the Shepherd
does not come, the issue will have remained unresolved because King Oedipus has accused
Creon of conniving with the Seer to accuse him of being a murderer. The Shepherd arrives at
this point and unravels the mystery of the King’s parenthood. The servant corroborates the
story and it becomes clear that King Oedipus actually killed his father and married his mother.

3.4 Play-within-the Play

As the name suggests, a play-within-the –play is a play that is created in another play. Usually
it is a complete play with a beginning, middle and an end. It has its own theme which in many
cases is related to the theme of the main play. It is created for a particular purpose. A very
good example of the play-within the-play is The Mousetrap in Hamlet. Shakespeare uses the
technique to confirm the claim made by the ghost. The play is summarized in the “dumb show”
presented before the Mousetrap in Act III Scene ii.

The trumpets sound. A dumb show follows. Enter a King and a

Queen very lovingly, the Queen embracing him and he her. She
kneels and makes a show of protestation unto him. He takes her up,
and reclines his head upon her neck. He lies down upon a bank of
flowers . She, seeing him asleep, leaves him. Anon comes another
man, takes off his crown, Kisses it, pours poison in the sleeper’
ears, and leaves him. The Queen returns, finds the king dead, and
makes passionate action. The Poisoner with some … comes in
again and seems to condole with her. The dead body is carried
away. The Poisoner woos the Queen with gifts. She seems harsh
awhile, but in the end accepts his love. Exeunt.

As the play progresses, the king becomes uncomfortable and leaves before it ends. It becomes
evident from his reaction to the subject of the play that he is guilty.

Hamlet therefore becomes convinced that his uncle killed his father. On his own part his uncle
realizes that Hamlet is aware of his crime so becomes desperate in trying to eliminate him.
Each of them plans how to deal with the other person and their plans culminate in their deaths
at the end of the play.

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3.5 Setting

Setting is the location of a play. It is the time and place when and where the action of the play takes place. Setting is
very important in a play because it helps us to appreciate the background of the play. Also in productions it helps the
designers to design appropriate locale, atmosphere, and costume for the play. You can identify the setting through the
names of characters. When you read The Marriage of Anansewa or The Lion and the Jewel, you would know
immediately through the names of the characters that the former is set in Ghana and the latter in Nigeria. Some
playwrights use known landmarks through dialogue or in stage direction. Ola Rotimi uses landmarks a lot. Try to
read his Our Husbsnd has Gone Mad Again and through these landmarks you will know that the play is set in Lagos.
Shakespeare uses known landmarks. Have you read Hamlet? In Arms and the Man it is more obvious as the
playwright uses real life experiences to show that the play is set in Bulgaria. Can you identify its setting through the
known landmarks? There are different types of setting.

Types of Setting

(a) Geographical/Physical/Occupational: This is the actual geographical location of the story and whatever
surrounds the place where the story is located. It also includes the manner of daily living of the people. This helps in
locating the story; for example, it helps you to know if the action of the play takes place in an urban centre or a
village, or a bush, or a market place and so on. You can identify the physical setting easily in some plays because the
playwright mentions some known landmarks like the names of towns or other important places in the town.

In the play, Hamlet, the physical setting is easy to identify because of the fact that two of the
major characters in the play are addressed as the “Prince of Denmark” and the “King of
Denmark”.

Physical setting also includes the manner of daily living of the people. This helps in locating
the story; for example, it tells if the play has an urban or rural setting? The stage direction in
the opening scene of the play, The Lion and the Jewel shows that the play is set in a village and
that the play start in the morning as can be seen in the following excerpt. Can you identify
some other landmarks that will help you to locate the play appropriately?
MORNING

A clearing on the edge of the market, dominated by an immense ‘odan’ tree. It is the village
centre. The wall of the bush school flanks the stage on the right, and a rude window opens on
to the stage from the wall. There is a chant of the ‘Arithmetic Times’ issuing from this
window. It begins a short while before the action begins. Sidi enters from the left carrying a
pail of water on her head. She is a slim girl with plaited hair. A true village belle. She
balances the pail on her head with an accustomed ease. Around her is wrapped the familiar
broad cloth which is folded just above her breasts, leaving her shoulders bare.

Almost as soon as she appears on the stage, the schoolmaster’s face also appears at the
window.(The chanting continues- ‘Three times two are six’, Three times three times three are
nine’ etc.) The teacher, Lakunle now disappears. He is replaced by two of his pupils aged
roughly eleven, who make a buzzing sound at Sidi, repeatedly capping their hands across their
mouths. Lakunle now re-appears below the window and makes for Sidi, only stopping only to
give the boys admonitory whacks on the head before they can duck. They vanish with a howl
and he shuts the window on them. The chanting dies away. The schoolmaster is nearly twenty-
three. He is dressed in an old-style English suit, threadbare but not ragged, clean but not
ironed, obviously a size or two too small. His tie is done in a very small knot, disappearing
beneath a shiny black waist-coat. He wears twenty-threeinch-bottom trousers, and blanco-
white tennis shoes.

LAKUNLE: Let me take it.

SIDI: No.
LAKUNLE: Let me: [Seizes the pail. Some water spill on him.]

29
 SIDI: [delighted.] There. Wet for your pains. Have you no shame?

LAKUNLE: That is what the stewpot said to the fire. Licking my

bottom? But she was tickled Just the same.

SIDI: The school teacher is full of stories

This morning. And now, if the lesson Is over, may
I have the pail?(1-2).

Apart from the information you get from the stage direction on the setting, you can deduce
from the short dialogue above that the play is set in a village. In most cases, it is in the village
that young girls go to the stream to fetch water especially in the morning.

(b) Temporal/Historical Setting: This is the period in which a story takes place. This includes the
date, the season, the general atmosphere in the locale like war, fuel scarcity, democratic or military rule.
This, like the physical setting, could be deduced from the dialogue or from the stage direction. It could be
stated in some commentaries, especially the ones on the background of the play. Sometimes, some
publishers include the commentaries in the play. In Arms and the Man for instance, the opening part of
Act 1, a date is given in the stage direction. This gives the reader a clue to the historical setting of the play.
It says:

ACT 1

Night: A lady’ bedchamber in Bulgaria, in a small town near the Dragoman Pass, late November in the year
1885.Through an open window with a little balcony a peak of the Balkans, wonderfully white and beautiful in the
starlit snow, seems quit close at hand, though it is really miles away. The interior of the room is not like anything to
be seen in the west Europe. …(15)

(c) General Environmental Setting: The social, moral, emotional, mental and religious
backgrounds of the story. This is highlighted through dialogue, stage direction and the characters
interpersonal relationships. In Arms and the Man for instance, George Bernard Shaw presents a graphic
picture of the Bulgarian way of life. (The playwright “was able to pin the action down to actual
geographical locations and to a real life war. He took care to incorporate descriptions of Bulgarian life”
The playwright admits that many aspects of the play were based on actual facts.
(Introduction to Arms and the Man)

How would you identify the setting of a play?

SUMMARY

From the discussion in this unit, you will be able to identify the different types of dramatic technique. I hope that you
would be able to relate them to texts. You are not expected to see all the techniques in one play. In literary
appreciation, your ability to identify them, relate them to the texts and decide how effective their uses have been
makes you a good critic.

List and explain different types of setting.

DRAMATIC CONVENTIONS

3.1 Dramatic Conventions

In drama, the playwright tries to present life as it is lived in the real world. However it is not
possible to present real life on stage so he presents an illusion of reality. He needs certain

30
devices to make this illusion as realistic as possible and the audience accepts the devices. In
Shakespearean plays, sometimes a character talks to himself and this is called soliloquy. In real
life people do not talk to themselves like that but since the public especially in that age
accepted it, it becomes a convention. Also in the Classical Age the convention was that the
dialogue is presented in verse but in the modern convention in most plays the dialogue is
presented in prose. Another good example of dramatic convention is in play production where
the convention is that a room has three walls instead of the four walls and the action of a play
in which the events take place in various places is presented on a single stage. In the words of
Abrams, “conventions are necessary or convenient devices, widely accepted by the public, for
solving problems imposed by a particular artistic medium in representing reality” (33). There
are also conventions in terms of style. Abrams explains further: “conventions are identifiable
elements of subject matter, form, or technique which recur repeatedly in works of literature.

Conventions in this sense may be recurrent types of character, turns of plot, forms of
versification, kinds of diction and style.” It is not compulsory for every work to conform to
preexisting conventions but what matters is how effectively an individual writer makes use of
them.

3.2 Prologue

This is the introductory part of the play. It could be an opening scene, a speech or an address.
In most cases, it introduces the action and makes a statement on what the audience should
expect in the play. In many plays the prologue foreshadows the events in the play and
sometimes gives a background to the play as can be seen in the example below taken from
Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus.

[Prologue] Enter Chorus.

Not marching in the fields of Trasimene
Where Mars did mate the warlike Carthagens
Nor sporting in the dalliance of love In courts of kings
where state is overturned,… The form of Dr Faustus’
fortune, good or bad:
And now to patient judgments we appeal And speak for
Faustus in his infancy.
Now is he born of parents base of stock
In Germany within a town called Rhode;
At riper years to Wittenberg he went
Whereas his kinsmen chiefly brought him up.
So much he profits in divinity
That shortly he was graced with doctor’s name
Excelling all, and sweetly can dispute
In th’ heavenly matters of theology;
Till swoll’n with cunning, of a self-conceit,
His waxen wings did mount above his reach And melting, heavens
conspired his overthrow!
For falling into a devilish exercise And glutted now with
learning’s golden gifts He surfeits upon cursed
necromancy:
Nothing so sweet as magic is to him
Which he prefers before his chiefest bliss— And this the man
that in his study sits.
[Exit.]

3.3 Epilogue

This is the direct opposite of the prologue. It is presented at the end of the play. It sums up the
action of the play and in some cases, makes a statement (an advice or a lesson to be learnt) on
the action or events presented in the play. In Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, the chorus

31
 comments on the fall of Dr. Faustus and cautions those who “practice more than heavenly
power permits.”

Enter Chorus
Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight And burned is
Apollo’s laurel bough
That sometime grew within this learned man.
Faustus is gone: regard his hellish fall,
Whose fiendful fortune may extort the wise
Only to wonder at unlawful things, Whose deepness doth
entice such forward wits
To practice more than heavenly power permits.
[Exit]

3.4 Interlude
An interlude in a play is a short piece of entertainment that is presented between the acts or
major scenes in a play. It is believed that the term came into drama during the Renaissance
Period to describe the dramatic form of early Tudor Period. It was then referred to as Tudor
Interlude. Queen Elizabeth loved entertainment, funfair and ceremonies so much that she was
accompanied by extravagant display of affluence each time she made public appearance.
These displays included some dramatic shows among which the interlude was most popular. It
was a short dramatic presentation or a play performed indoors before a small audience. Most of
the Mboguo in one of our texts for this course –The Marriage of Anansewa, is an example of
interlude.

3.5 Soliloquy

Soliloquy is a speech made by a character when he is alone. The audience hears it but the other
characters are not expected to hear it. It is very common in Renaissance plays. Shakespeare in
particular made use of soliloquies in his play a lot. Playwrights use this device to reveal the
thoughts or the feelings of specific characters in reaction to certain events or situations.
“Customarily, the soliloquy is a means of giving expression to a complex state of mind and
feeling, and in most cases the speaker is seen struggling with problems of utmost consequence.
This accounts for the intensity we find in soliloquys” (Scholes and Klaus 29). Here, the
character thinks aloud as he talks to himself. He pretends that the audience is not there.
Soliloquy also offers the dramatist a means of providing a point of view on the action of the
play. Apart from serving as a means for revealing characters, it is used to make significant
commentaries on events of the play. In the first soliloquy in Hamlet, Hamlet presents the state
of his mind and his view on the world:

O that this too solid flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve
itself into a dew,
Or that the Everlasting had not fixed
His canon against self-slaughter. O God! God! How
weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of
this world!

From it we learn of his father’s death, the incestuous affair between his mother and his uncle
and it foreshadows the catastrophe at the end of the play when he predicts that the affair will
come to no good. He continues:

But two months dead- nay, not so much, not two-

So excellent a king, that was to this
Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother
That he might not permit the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth,
Must I remember? Why, she would hang him

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 As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on. And yet within a monthLet me not think on it-
Frailty, your name is woman-
A little month, before those shoes were old
With which he followed my poor fathers’s body,
Like Niobe, all tears- why, she-
O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason
Would have mourned longer- married with my uncle,… She married- O
most wicked speed! To post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! It
is not, and it cannot come to good
Break my heart, for I must hold my tongue.
( Act i scene ii )

3.6 Aside

Aside is a dramatic convention in which a character speaks to himself or makes a comment in

the presence of another character. However, that other character is not expected to hear the
comment but the audience hears it. There is an actual stepping aside of the character who utters
an aside from the other characters on the stage. This makes it more unrealistic because it is not
possible for him to make the remark in their presence and they will not hear it. An aside is a
very brief remark and in most cases it is indicated in the stage direction. Here is an example
taken from Hamlet when Hamlet feigns madness and is discussing with Polonius:

POL. [Aside] Though this is madness, yet there is method in it. Will
you walk out of the air my lord?

3.7 Dramatic Illusion

Drama thrives on illusion because what is presented is not reality but an illusion of reality.
Whenever you are watching any dramatic presentation, you know very well that they are
‘pretending’ to be what they are not yet you empathize with the characters. Dramatic illusion
involves a willing suspension of disbelief. If the play Hamlet is presented on stage or if you
buy the film, as you watch the graveyard scene, Ophelia’s burial, for instance, you would see
the actress being ‘buried’. In reality, the actress’ name may not be Ophelia; she has not died;
the grave is not a real grave; and the grave diggers may be wealthy professionals but you enjoy
the play without bothering about whether they are real or not. In other words, you pretend that
what you are watching is real.
3.8 The Fourth Wall

The fourth wall refers to the fourth wall of the room that is pulled down for the audience to
watch the play. In reality, a room has four walls so if a play, especially events of the play stage
performances, is to be presented with the four walls intact nobody can see the action. That is
why a good playwright should always have the stage in mind when he is writing his play. The
removal of the fourth wall helps to enhance the illusion of reality in drama.

3.9 Chorus /Narrator

The use of chorus is a dramatic convention that was adopted by playwrights, especially in the
Classical Age, to comment on the events of the play. In any play that has a chorus/narrator, the
playwright uses it to supply the information that could not be woven into the dialogue. In many
cases it serves as the authorial voice.

The chorus is not usually part of the main cast so does not participate actively in the action of
the play. In most cases they stand or sit by the side of the stage and make their comments at the
appropriate time. Some playwrights use the chorus to comment on the events of the play. In
Oedipus Rex, the chorus is made up of the elders of Thebes.

33
 The narrator performs the same function as the chorus. The difference is that usually the
chorus is made up of two or more characters while the narrator is only one character. Each
playwright uses the chorus or the narrator to suit his purpose.

3.10 Structure

The dramatic structure, especially in written a play, is a dramatic convention on the

organization of the play. Most classical plays are presented in acts and scenes. The plays are
divided in this way for easy presentation and understanding. In a stage performance, a curtain
is drawn to signify the end of each scene or act. In the modern stage, and in night productions,
light is used to demarcate them. Each scene represents a particular setting. This is to give the
actors time to change their costumes. It also gives the stage directors time to change the setting
or scene for the next part of the action. During this interval, music or interludes could be used
to fill the gap.

3.11 The Three Unities

Classical plays are expected to treat one serious action but later in the sixteenth centuries, dramatic critics in Italy and
France added to Aristotle’s recommendation of unity of action, two other unites to constitute the rules of drama
known as “the three unites.” It became a dramatic convention then. They contended that for the dramatist to achieve
an illusion of reality, the action presented in a play should “approximate” the actual conditions of life being
represented in the play. They imposed the “unity of place” (that the action be limited to a single location) and the
“unity of time” (that the time represented should be limited to the two or three hours it takes to act the play, or at most
to a single day of either twelve or twenty-four hours). Their decision may have been influenced by Shakespearean
platys that involved frequent changes of setting and the passage of many years. In the modern period it is no longer a
convention but a playwright might still wish to adhere to it.

The three unities are the unities of time place and action. It means the principles of dramatic structure that involves
action, time and place. The principle of the unity of action entails that the action of the play should contain one
subject. There is no room for sub - themes or sub- plots. The unity of place requires that the action of the play must
take place in one location. The unity of time insists that the play should not last for more than one day.

We have to emphasize here that you are not expected to find all the devices in one play. A playwright decides what to
use and how to use them.

Soliloquy and aside are dramatic speeches; discuss them by highlighting their similarities and differences

1. What is the difference between soliloquy and aside?

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 FORMS/TYPES OF DRAMA: TRAGEDY, COMEDY, TRAGI-COMEDY, MELODRAMA

Meaning of Dramatic Genre

Etymologically, the term genre is taken from the French language and it means type, kind, or
form. In simple terms dramatic genre means type or kind of dramatic composition. Drama is
grouped into distinct types, kinds or categories because there are qualities that are common to
all dramatic compositions. There are also qualities that make each composition unique. It is
these similarities and differences that determine each genre.

The dramatic genres include tragedy, comedy, tragi-comedy, melodrama, drame, mime, etc.

3.2 Tragedy

We are familiar with the words 'tragedy' and tragic as they are associated with misfortune.
Usually, they are used to describe personal misfortunes that do not concern the rest of the
society. For example, the breakdown of a marriage or death of a dear one in an accident or
even natural causes could be described as tragic. Also, some public events that are unpleasant
like the assassination of a head of state or a political leader, natural or human disasters like
earthquakes, flood disasters, plane crashes and other such disasters are referred to as tragedies.
In this unit we are not concerned with these tragedies or tragic' events in our daily lives but as
they relate to dramatic compositions.

Tragedy according to the Oxford English Dictionary is “a play of a serious or solemn kind ... a
very sad event, action or experience.” The last part of the definition explains why the word is
used to describe misfortunes, natural and human disasters in everyday life. However, we will
be concerned with the aspect of the definition that sees tragedy as a play of a serious or a
solemn kind.

Tragedy in drama is believed to have originated from the Greek worship of Dionysius, the god
of wine and fertility. During the festival, the dithyramb, a choral lyric in honour of the god is
sang and danced around the altar by fifty men dressed in goat-skin (goat was the sacred animal
of the god). This is perhaps from where tragedy got its name because in Greek, “tragoedia”
meant goat song. During this song, a story about the god was improvised by the choral leader
but later Thepsis stood out and instead of singing in honour of Dionysius, sang as Dionysius.
However, the song continued but a minimal part of it was acted by one actor. As time went on,
the spoken part was increased and Aeschylus added a second actor while Sophocles added a
third actor. As time went on, the number of chorus decreased gradually as more actors
increased. Thus tragedy was born. The scope of the plays increased as they started including
myths concerning other gods. The plays became so popular that by 534 BC, the state gave
official recognition to tragedy and instituted a prize for the best tragedy presented at the annual
Donysian festival.

Tragedy is the most esteemed of all the dramatic genres. It has attracted many definitions and rules, from the days of
Aristotle, who is the first person to write on the circumstances of and what tragedy should be, to the present day.
According to him in his “Poetics”:

Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished
with each kind of artistic ornaments, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the from of action
not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting a proper purgation of these emotions.

35
 Aristotle explains all the aspects of this definition and moves further to give the elements of tragedy as plot,
character, thought, diction, music and spectacle. Try to read Aristotle’s “Poetics”. These principles have continued to
influence the definition till date. However, some dramatic scholars agree with him while some others disagree with
him.

In drama, tragedy is a serious play that deals with the misfortunes of man. It presents a man (tragic hero) who is not
too virtuous or too vicious but one who aspires for higher ideals. He tries to improve himself and the world around
him. In the course of this, he makes a mistake, or commits an error of judgment. This leads to his fall. Traditionally,
in classical tragedies, the hero must be of noble birth, suffer and is overwhelmed in the end. Tragedy presents
injustice, evil, pain, misfortunes, paradoxes and mysterious aspects of human existence.

Greek tragedy has a set pattern or structure. It starts with the prologue which introduces the play with the episodes of
the play and the choral songs in between and finally the exodus. The play contains a “single integral plot” which is
presented in a very short period with one setting. The action could be simple or complex and contains a reversal of
fortune or discovery or both. They are very short plays and many of them were presented in trilogies. The tragic hero
is drawn from princes and kings. He is a man who is not pre-eminently good, virtuous or vicious but who commits an
error of judgment. Oedipus Rex is a good example of classical tragedy. It has a single plot, the story of how Oedipus
killed his father and married his mother. The setting is just in front of the palace. Oedipus, the tragic hero is a king
who by the end of the play, discovers the truth about himself, his fortune reverses from good to bad. His catastrophe
is caused by his tragic flaw which is arrogance.

The plays were based on myth and legends drawn mainly from the legends of the house of
Atreus and the events of the Trojan wars. They were presented as a part of a great festival and
the state was involved. Music, songs and dances were important elements of the plays. To
maintain a single setting, indoor actions and violence were reported on stage. As part of a
religious festival, the plays were used to show how vices like arrogance and pride lead men to
destruction. The gods also play important roles in Greek tragedy. However, the dramatists
differ in their attitudes to the gods as characters in their plays.

Many critics argue that there are no tragedies in the modern period. The argument is based on
the fact that many playwrights do not adhere to the Aristotelian principles of tragedy especially
as regards the treatment of the subject matter, tragic hero and the language.

Modern playwrights feel that they should not be restricted by any rules. According to them,
drama reflects the society, so they should reflect their society in the works. In the modern
society, little or no attention is paid to kings, princes and their exploits so a poor man who is
hard working can rise to esteem. The society also encourages him to rise. He also has the
capacity to fall into misfortune through an error of judgment and according to Arthur Miller,
since kings and monarchs are no longer available, tragedy should be based “... on the heart and
spirit of the average man” (Dukore: 897). Contemporary issues and human beings should,
therefore, be treated in tragedy.

The important factor is that the tragic hero pursues a particular goal he believes in relentlessly
to its logical conclusion even if he loses his life in the pursuit. Tragedy attempts, therefore, to
ask some basic questions about human existence like, is there justice in the world?

Comedy

We use the words 'comedy' and comic to describe something that is funny in our everyday
lives. These include a joke, or a fantastic story that is full of nonsense, or an absurd appearance
that makes us giggle, smile or laugh. Comedy is not inherent in things or people but the way
things/people are perceived. Comedy is a deliberate presentation of events/experiences drawn
from real life but not the same with real life. We should therefore not expect dramatic comedy
to be the same as real life.
Generally, the plays have good endings or resolutions, so when a play ends happily, we refer to it as comedy. In most
comedies, the principal characters begin in a state of opposition either to one another or to their world or both. By the
end of the play, their opposition is replaced by harmony. Aristotle in his “Poetics” insisted that in tragedy men are

36
shown “better than they are”, while in comedy “worse than they are”. For him it is an artistic imitation of men of
inferior moral bent, not in every way but only in so far as their shortcomings are ludicrous. These short comings
cause no pain.

In the classical period there was no mixture of genres Horace maintains that tragic characters must be noble while
comic characters are ignoble and of lower birth and foolish. Moliere believed that his audience could learn from the
dramatization of ridiculous and universal types. Comedy therefore teaches through laughter. Philip Sidney, in “Arts
Poetica”, sees it as an imitation of common errors of life which is presented in the most ridiculous and scornful
manner so that the spectator is anxious to avoid such errors himself. It should aim at being delightful though not
necessarily by provoking laughter. Ben Jonson also believes that laughter does not really help to achieve the aims of
comedy but may subvert those aims. He draws his theme from human errors and follies. He insists that the
playwright should attempt to improve moral life and arouse gentle affections. John Dryden insists that comedy
should portray the eccentricity of character while Northrop Frye says that lightness of touch is the hallmark of
comedy.

We recognize comedy through its style, characterization, diction and other elements of style. The purpose of comedy
is to delight, to teach and to entertain the audience through the presentation of characters, situations and ideas in a
ridiculous manner. This helps to keep man close to sanity, balance and to remind him of human frailties. It helps to
keep him humble and mindful of what he is rather than what he might wish himself to be.

Modern scholars believe that the purpose of comedy is to correct vices therefore should not exclude any class. Satire
is an important instrument in comedy because nothing reforms majority of men like the portrayal of their faults. It is
easy for people to endure being made fun of. Many people may have no objection to being considered wicked but are
not willing to be considered ridiculous. The audience is thus expected to learn from the stupidity of the characters and
try to avoid such pitfalls because nobody likes to be made an object of ridicule.

Generally speaking, comedy adopts a different approach from that of serious drama. It presents the incongruity in
people and situations. In doing this, the playwright suspends the natural laws; for instance, a man falls flat on the
floor but does not really hurt himself. Comedy is usually presented as a moral satire used to attack vices like greed,
hypocrisy, lust, laziness, or ignorance. The aim is to correct social ills, social injustice or to ridicule a particular
human fault or social imbalance. It thrives on exaggeration of situation and character to show mankind worse than it
really is.

Since drama is a conscious and deliberate presentation of events/experience based mostly on real life
but not the same with real life, one should, therefore, not expect comedy to be the same with real
life. We recognize comedy, through its style, characterization and dialogue. In both real life and
drama, comedy should indicate a kind of pleasure which finds physical expression in laughter or
smile.

3.4 Melodrama

3.4.1 Definition

The word melodrama is coined from melo (music) and dran (drama). It is, therefore, a play that
utilizes music extensively. But the utilization of music is not the only factor in melodrama,
what really makes it melodrama is its portrayal of the protagonist and the antagonist. The
protagonist suffers a lot but triumphs in the end while the antagonist suffers. So, melodrama
can be defined as a play that has serious action caused by a villain and a destruction of the
villain which brings about a happy resolution in the play. The hero is usually involved in very
dangerous circumstances but is rescued or he disentangles himself at the last possible moment.
The rescuer is usually a benevolent character who identifies himself with the good role of the
protagonist. An ideal melodrama, therefore, must have a protagonist and an antagonist. The
protagonist always fights the antagonist who is usually poised to destroy goodness. In the end,
the characters are easily identified by the audience. The protagonist is admired and the
antagonist is hated.

37
 It is this identification by the audience that provides the grounds for poetic justice because the
antagonist loses in the end. This explains why some critics insist that melodrama is an honest
dramatic form. According to them, it is the only form of drama that expresses the truth of
human condition as they are perceived most of the time. This is a condition where vice is
condemned and virtue applauded or where the bad man is punished and the good man
rewarded.

Like tragedy, melodrama deals with characters in critical situations. The main difference is in
the point of view. Outwardly, it tries to create the illusion of real people at genuine risk or in
jeopardy but the playwright manipulates the play in such a way that it ends with a reprieve or a
rescue, a reform or a triumph for the protagonist. There is always an escape from danger in the
plot line. In melodrama, there is always serious excitement, suspense and thrills for the
audience. The plot is built on tension and great excitement but this is transitory and lends no
substantial significance to the action of the play.

The plot therefore contains stories with colourful but brave characters. It creates opportunities for strong sensational
scenes, powerful emotions, and strong characters that struggle against deadly odds. Sometimes they are trapped in
precarious situations but they must hold on until there is help ultimately.

The melodramatic hero is usually a one-dimensional figure who pursues a goal in a straightforward manner. The
opposition comes from the world around him. He does not always think well before taking an action. Consequently,
he gets involved in entanglements or dangerous situations which a more rational person might avoid. The characters
are usually simple in mind and heart and are conditioned or influenced by their backgrounds and environment.
Melodrama contains most of the serious conflicts and crises of daily life. In melodrama, we are resigned as we realize
that our failures are not our fault but caused by others and our victories are as a result of help from other people. It is
a serious play because most of the time, they rely on strong story lines but lacks the essential magnitude in character
and the action is usually over exaggerated.

3.4.2 Characteristics of Melodrama

1. It looks at human beings as a whole. People are expected to interact and help one another in the society. This
explains why the protagonist is usually assisted or aided by someone for him to triumph or succeed.

2 It sees human beings as encountering and enduring outer conflicts and not inner ones in a generally hostile
and wicked world.

3 These human conflicts end in victory. Melodramatic characters either win or lose. However, in the spirit of
poetic justice, the protagonist usually wins despite the difficulties he encounters in the course of the action to show
that good triumphs over evil.

4 There is an over simplification of human experiences which are usually exaggerated in such a way that the
main thesis of the play is made transparent.
5 It treats a serious subject matter in a serious manner, though exaggerated.

3.4.3 Comparison between Melodrama and Tragedy

1. In tragedy, the tragic hero commits an error of judgment which leads to his downfall.
In melodrama, the hero faces overwhelming problems but despite his sufferings, he
triumphs in the end.

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 2. Melodrama is usually episodic and contains elements of charm or magic. It, therefore,
lacks the honesty of tragedy.

3. While tragedy evokes fear and pity, melodrama arouses suspense, pathos, terror and
sometimes hatred. In tragedy, there is genuine pity and fear as the audience empathies
with the hero. Pity in melodrama borders on sentimentality and emotion and when
fear is portrayed, it is usually superficial. Pity and fear in tragedy are honest and lead
to catharsis (purgation of emotions).

4 There is recognition for the hero in tragedy but in melodrama, the protagonist wins or
triumphs always.

5 Tragedy confronts good and evil with unblinking honesty, while melodrama escapes
from life. Tragedy considers eternal spiritual problems and ideals but melodrama deals
with the transitory material/physical issues or problems.

6 Tragedy is known as a serious dramatic genre but the seriousness in melodrama is only a
pretense to create theatrical effects for the audience.

3.5 Tragi-comedy

You have seen that tragedy is a serious play that ends on a sad note, while comedy ends
happily. In traditional tragedy, playwrights are not allowed to bring in any comic action. If you
read Oedipus Rex, for instance, you will observe that the atmosphere is tense from the
beginning to the end. As time went on, even from the Elizabethan period, comic characters
were included in tragic plays. This is called comic relief. Tragi-comedy is a play that mixes
both comic and tragic elements in equal proportion o

f each. It therefore elicits both tragic and comic emotions.

3.6 Drame

Dame is a term of the modern period given to a category of dramatic literature which deals
with man in common place and contemporary circumstance. The genre is presumed to have
evolved from the French drama. The French regarded it as a play of serious intent dealing with
contemporary issues and lives. Playwright like Ibsen, Chekhov, Osborne and many other
modern writers are considered as the people that made extensive use of this dramatic genre.

In their plays, they contemplate man with his dealings with contemporary issues and relationships in his society.
Drame is noted for its great diversity, technical experimentation and a mixture of general forms of writing.
Sometimes, it is difficult to classify it as either tragedy or comedy. The playwright here is not concerned with the
genre but concerned with the treatment of social issues to uplift his society. It is a product of modem drama that
thrives on innovations and experimentations.

Drame has a relationship with other dramatic genres. It relates to melodrama in the sense that it involves the spectator
in action through the identification of characters. It also makes extensive use of suspense and tension. However, it
differs from melodrama because its interest is on political ideas and other serious issues and this brings it close to
tragedy. It has the capacity for provoking thought and discussion on the issues raised after the presentation (reading)
of the play.

Melodrama has characters that are easily identifiable. Drame also has the same. But the difference is that characters
in melodrama are divided into protagonist and antagonist for easy audience identification. Drame is close to tragedy

39
with its concern with human conduct and the place of drama in the modern world. It is also close to tragedy with
regards to its honest treatment of issues, especially with its portrayal of characters with adequate human (realistic)
motivation. It is different from tragedy mainly because of its lack of elevation, narrowness of vision, and, sometimes
its lack of universality in its emphasis on contemporary life.

3.7 Farce

Farce which is referred to as comedy of situation, is a humorous play on a trivial theme usually one that is familiar to
the audience. The themes that are treated in farce include mistaken identity, elaborate misunderstanding, switched
costume (men in women’s clothes) heroes forced under tables, misheard instructions, discoveries, disappearances and
many such situations.

Farce is not considered an intellectual drama because it does not appeal to the mind. It deals with physical situations
and does not explore any serious idea. It presents physical activities that grow out of situations like the presence of
something when something is not expected or the absence of something when something is expected.
Farce does not treat serious social issues. Sometimes it does not tell a full story or present a
logical plot. A good example is somebody walking and slipping on a banana peel and falling in
an exaggerated manner. The main objective is to entertain by evoking laughter.

It presents mainly mechanical actions to show that human life is mechanical, aggressive, and coincidental. .

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

(1) Discuss the characteristics of melodrama.

What differentiates tragedy from melodrama?

.
TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

3.1 Textual Analysis

Textual analysis in drama is the evaluation of a written play. In the evaluation, you are
expected to read the play very well and highlight how effectively or otherwise the playwright
has utilized the elements and devices of drama in the composition of his play. The dramatic
techniques used are also discussed. As you analyse a play, you are expected to identify the
theme, how appropriate the characters are, if they are consistent and their actions are properly
motivated. The language is another area that needs attention as you determine if there is
consistency. The relationship between the message of the play and the method used to relay
the message is also examined. You can take the following steps for an effective textual
analysis:

a) Read the play for the first time and enjoy the story.

b) Read the play again with your notebook and dictionary by your side. Use the
dictionary to find out the meaning of the words you are not familiar with and form
notes on the plot, theme, characterization and other relevant information.

d) Read it again and again to fill in the gaps and ensure that you have obtained the required
information.

e) Rewrite your note properly, and revise it as many times as possible.

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 3.2 Content/Theme

In the analysis of a play, the first issue that comes to mind is the theme. Theme is the main idea
in a play that permeates the entire play. How do you identify the theme of a play? Themes are
identified through the dialogue, actions and manifestations in the actions of the major
characters as they interact with other characters in the play. The interpersonal relationships of
the characters help to highlight and advance that particular idea. Themes in drama include
corruption, love, revenge, and many others. The theme is the message which the playwright
wants to send across to his audience and a play could have more than one theme. The
playwright could draw his germinal idea from an incident or event in his contemporary society.
It could also be drawn from history, legend, myth or folklore but the important factor is that
there is a message he sends to the audience.
Most playwrights try to make their societies better through the exploration of the negative impacts of these ideas in
the societies. A playwright is normally influenced by his background and this is reflected in his plays. In Nigeria
many contemporary playwrights explore the themes like military dictatorship, insecurity unemployment, bad
leadership, bribery and corruption. You will agree with me that these and more are the vices that plague the
contemporary Nigerian society

The playwright is said to be the conscience of his society, a teacher and an entertainer. He therefore strives to
educate, inform and entertain his audience. This explains why he presents his theme through an interesting story and
chooses the most appropriate dramatic form. For example, Bernard Shaw decides to dramatise the themes of love and
war through comedy, while Shakespeare presents his theme of revenge through tragedy.

The theme of the story is what gives it significance because without a recognizable and definable theme, a story will
be trite and pointless. A clearly focused theme is the story’s “motivating force”. In Oedipus Rex for instance, the
theme is man’s quest for his identity. The sub-theme is man’s helplessness in the hands of fate or the gods. If we
take the main theme, we will see that Oedipus’ search for his true parents leads him to kill his father and marry his
mother, while his search for the cause of the plague in his kingdom and the murderer of King Laius leads to his
search for his own identity. The search for his own identity leads to his doom. Everyman explores the summons of
death for mankind and man’s readiness to meet his creator. In explicating this theme, the play dramatizes the struggle
between virtue and vice for supremacy in a man’s life. The question of man’s ultimate fate is also explored. It
concludes with the fact that only man’s good deed is important for his salvation.

Consciously or unconsciously, every playwright has his theme in mind in choosing the style to adopt. The characters,
the setting, the language, the plot, are chosen in such a way that should advance the major theme of the story.
However, you must bear in mind the fact that a story may have one or more themes. It is also possible that each
reader may discover a different theme or a multiplicity of themes in the same play. You should not worry about this.
Literature is open to different interpretations and as literary students, you should be able to identify your position and
substantiate it with facts from the play. You can see that in the example of Oedipus above, I used the first theme of
man’s search for his identify. If I decide to use the theme of man’s helplessness as the major theme, I will state how
Oedipus was born and there was a prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother.
His parents believe that they can avert the curse by killing him. Unfortunately the servant who
was asked to kill him gives him to a shepherd who in turn hands him over to his childless
master. Oedipus is brought up in Corinth but unfortunately, he tries to run away from the same
curse (fate) when he realizes that he is doomed to kill his father and marry his mother. In
running away from fate, he fulfills that prophecy.

The theme of a play could be given in one word but ideally it is presented in sentence or
statement. A play could be complex and it might be difficult to give the theme or the central
idea in one word. However, you should realize that whether it is in one word or in one
sentence, you must explain it further based on the play. You should also be in a position to
identify other themes, if the play has other themes. Usually the theme is identified after you
must have read the entire play.

Finally, theme is the controlling idea in a play which the reader extracts consciously as he
reads the text. It could be literal or symbolic. It is that idea or message which the playwright
wants to share with or convey to his audience. In most cases, the theme emerges after the

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 exploration of the entire play. Some plays have more than one theme. The major one which
stands out is the main theme while the others are called the sub-themes.

3.3 Subject Matter

The subject matter is the topic of discussion in the play. It is easier to get the subject matter
from the title of the play. Theme is the central idea of the play while the subject matter is the
object of discussion from which the theme is extracted. It is means therefore that the theme is
subsumed in the subject matter. In The Lion and the Jewel, for instance, the subject matter is
the fame of Sidi (the Jewel) a young and beautiful girl and her seduction by the Bale (the Lion)
who is sixty two years old. In The Marriage of Anansewa, the theme is love but the subject
matter is the marriage of Anansewa. From the two examples, we conclude that the subject
matter is indeed the object of discussion which other events and incidents in a text or work
help to highlight.
This is the statement the play makes about the social world. In most cases, plays treat common
human problems and make statements that have universal validity or relevance for all ages.
Each playwright treats any of these human problems from his own perspective to give it a
touch of originality and uniqueness. This is the style.

3.4 Characterization

Characters are the persons in a dramatic work. The playwright endows them with moral and dispositional qualities
which are expressed (as discussed earlier in Module 2 Unit 1) in their words and actions. The reasons for the
character’s action, his speech, his temperament constitute his motivation. In textual analysis, one could evaluate the
character though the stage direction where some playwrights have some comments on the character’s disposition, his
age, his physical attributes, his mode of dressing and other information that could be found there. The next thing is to
evaluate his interactions with other characters through which you discover whether he is a flat or round character. A
flat character remains unchanged in his outlook and dispositions from the beginning to the end but a round character
could undergo a gradual or radical change which is brought about by events in the play. It is difficult to predict the
actions of a round character because he is usually very close to real human beings.

Anything you write about a character must be contained in the text. You should therefore not infer, guess or suggest a
characteristic moral disposition or physical attribute that cannot be identified in the text. For instance, you can rightly
say that Baroka in The Lion and the Jewel is a crafty rogue who excels in self-indulgence. One of the characters said
that about him and his action too in the scene where his current wife is pulling the hairs in his armpit and also in his
seduction of Sidi. We have analysed the plays that are recommended for this course in subsequent units and we
discussed some of the characters.

3.5 Setting

Setting is the place or the time where or when the action of the play takes place. In textual analysis, setting is also
discussed. Setting could be a tribe, a village a town or a country depending on the disposition of the playwright. In
some plays like Oedipus Rex, Arms and the Man, Hamlet and many others, the playwrights mention specific
towns/countries like Thebes, Bulgaria, and Denmark. However, in some other plays like The Marriage of Anansewa,
The Lion and the Jewel, and The Song of a Goat, the setting of each play is identified through the names of characters
or other landmarks. In The Lion and the Jewel for instance, the reference to ‘sango’ by some of the characters
highlights the Yoruba background of the play. Setting in terms of time, period, or locale can be mentioned, implied or
alluded to in the text.
3.6 Language

Language seems to be the most essential technique in the analysis of any dramatic text. It is
through language that the playwright communicates his ideas; so he manipulates it to suit his
intention. Language could be in form of speech, gestures or other bodily signs/symbols.
Dramatic language is not just an ordinary language because the playwright is compelled to
incorporate descriptions about setting, character and the overall presentation of the story
through the characters. The language must therefore be very economical, vivid and expressive.

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 In Oedipus Rex, for example, the language is concise but loaded with meaning. Let us look at
the following exchange in which Teiresias sums up the misfortunes of King Oedipus.

Oedipus: Man, must you wrap up your words in riddles?

Teiresias: Where you not framed for skill for solving riddles?
Oedipus: You taunt me with the gift that is my greatest. Teiresias: Your great
misfortune and your ruin.

In the last line of this exchange, the Blind Seer states that by solving the riddles and becoming
the king of Thebes, Oedipus paved the way for his misfortune, which is marrying his mother
after having killed his father. Consequently, there is a plague in Thebes and this leads to the
search for a solution. In the course of this search, Oedipus discovers his true identity and this
leads to his ruin. Another good example of condensed language in Hamlet is Polonius’ advice
to his son, Laertes: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be / for loan often loses itself and
friend/and borrowing dull that edge of husbandry”.

So, in dramatic language, the dramatist must think in terms of the characteristics of the
characters, their speeches, their actions and the environment in which they operate and
incorporate them in language. This is important because unlike in prose, where the novelist has
enough time and space to describe everything and this include probing into the inner beings of
the character, the dramatist relies only on dialogue to explore characters, describe incident,
create environment, atmosphere and mood. This is the reason why he pays attention to the
diction.

Diction is the choice or selection of the words which forms the dialogue through which the
playwright communicates his ideas to his audience. The diction could be simple or difficult. A
play that has very simple diction invariably will have a simple and direct language so is said to
be accessible to a wider audience. This is because more people will read and understand it.
Also, when it is presented on stage, people will understand the story and absorb the message
with ease. In a play with simple diction, the playwright uses familiar and simple words.

On the other hand, some plays are difficult to understand. They are usually filled with
unfamiliar words, terms, and symbols. Such plays are said to be obscure and the playwright is
said to be writing for a select audience. This is because many people will find it difficult to
understand and appreciate the play. The problem here is that if you do not understand a play,
you would not enjoy it or be entertained by it. You can read a simple play just once and enjoy
the story but it will take at least a second reading for the story of an obscure play to be
understood. For instance, you can read two plays by Wole Soyinka, The Trials of Brother Jero
and Madmen and Specialists. The former is very simple, direct and entertaining. It tells a
story of a fake pastor who swindles people to make money. The latter is on the Nigerian civil
war but you will have to read it several times to be able to decode the symbols used in it for
you to understand the play.

3.7 Other Devices

Imagery

A playwright could employ literal or connotative language in his work. A literal language gives a direct meaning of
the words while a connotative language gives more than one meaning to the word. The language here determines how
we mentally visualize the object or situation. This is called imagery. It also shows the playwright’s attitude towards a
particular character or situation. In The Lion and the Jewel, for example, Baroka is referred to as a ‘fox’, a ‘crafty
rogue’, ‘wiry’, ‘goated’, ‘tougher than his sixty-two’, these references helps the reader to have a mental picture of
Baroka. The image of a character and his mode of dressing as described in a stage-direction helps us, to a large
extent, to evaluate the character’s disposition, personality, and the attitude of the playwright towards that character.

Symbolism

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In everyday life, you come across symbols and even use them at times. Symbols are objects or things that
communicate meaning or messages without using words for example, a cross or a bible symbolizes Christianity. It
could be a character, an object, or an incident which represents an idea, a person, a quality, a profession or situation.

Symbolism is an artistic device through which the playwright uses factual language in a way that it deviates from its
simple function of describing or recording but used to stand for or represent something else not directly named. This
means, therefore, that in a play, you could have symbolic action, symbolic object and symbolic character.
Irony

A playwright uses irony to add flavour to his story. Here, a playwright uses words or action to
create certain kinds of discrepancy between appearance and reality; between what is said or
done and what is meant or intended. The types are verbal irony, dramatic irony and situational
irony.

Verbal Irony

This is the simplest and commonest type of irony. It is a figure of speech where the word is the
opposite of what is meant; for example, when he is a giant or the tallest man refers to a very
short man.

Dramatic Irony

Here, there is a contrast between what the character says or does and what the reader knows as
the truth. If a speech is meant to be understood in one way by a certain character in a play but
the audience understands it in a different way, the scenario becomes a dramatic irony.

In other words, a character is under a delusion of a certain fact which has been overtaken by an
intervening circumstance.

Situational Irony

In irony of situation, the expectation does not come out in the way it is anticipated. It is a
situation of appearance versus reality. The action of a character here is at variance with the
consequences or result of the action.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE.

i. Read and analyze one of the plays recommended for this course.
ii. ii. Discuss setting in any one of the plays set for this course.

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