The intention of the assignment is for you to explore the limitations of drama. Consider how the following topics are related through the medium of genre.
Topic suggestions:
Topic suggestions:
- The presentation of interiority i.e. thru soliloquies and asides.
- The nature of the nature of interiority: How does the drama define or portray the nature of thought?
- Active vs. Passive: Male/female ratio of dialogue to stage directions.
- Use of setting
- Use of props
- Elements of characterization in relation to gender, class, race.
- Plot elements: exposition, narrative hook or exciting action, rising action, climax, turning point, falling action, resolution.
- Archetypical plots: romance, tragedy.
- Comic relief
- Archetypical characters: clown
- Use of dialect
- Use of song, music, poetic verse
- Use of sound effects
- Use of fourth wall -- breaking the fourth wall
- Suspension of disbelief
- Aristotle's theory of tragedy
- Use of irony: dramatic and verbal
- Use of chorus or prologue
- Deus ex machina
- Use of frames: play within a play e.g. Hamlet's "The Mouse Trap" or "The Murder of Gonzago"
- Manipulation of time: foreshadowing, flashback, chronology
- Use of satire, parody, burlesque
- Use of metrics
- Dramatic prop