❖ GENRES ❖

 Tragedy: - imitation of an action that is serious, of a certain magnitude and complete

. - character’s fortune turns from good to bad (e.g. by his misbehaviour)

. - our identification with the tragic hero/heroine + our experiences of fear and pity has effect of

- catharsis

 Comedy: - superior, wit, laugh and pleasure

- - often stages people of the middle or lower classes as flat types -> stereotyped forms of behaviour,

- may hold mirror up to society

- - poetic justice prevails in the end -> quarrels settled without any serious harm

 History: - dramatic genre based on a historical narrative set in earlier times

flat or round

simple types vs. complex individuals

static or dynamic

unchanging vs. developing

transparent or opaque

fully explained vs. closed/enigmatic

psychological or transpsychological

ordinarily vs. extraordinarily perceptive/self-aware

ANALYZING a DRAMA

a) Communication

- Who says what to whom? In which way? For what reason?

(title, speakers, dramatic speech: content (what), styles/form (how), functions (why) of prologue/monologue/dialogue (line-by-line exchange?)

b) Character and Action

- What kind of characters do we find in the drama and how do they influence the action?

(characters (flat or round etc., static/dynamic), plot structure and its function (genre, conflicts, play within a play, main plot vs. sub-plots), themes (love, hate, friendship))

flat or round

simple types vs. complex individuals

static or dynamic

unchanging vs. developing

transparent or opaque

fully explained vs. closed/enigmatic

psychological or transpsychological

ordinarily vs. extraordinarily perceptive/self-aware

c) Space and Time

- Where and when does the story take place? (setting(s), realisation on stage, functions/conception of time (timeframe /period), place and atmosphere)

d) Relation to Reality

- How does the drama relate to the sociocultural context?

(topics, conflicts, relevance for today, previous and contemporary performances, reception/critique, cultural context)

Dramatic texts

 Aristotle's Classical Unities: rules for the drama 

I) unity of action = play should have one action (+ minimal sub-plots)

II) unity of time = action should not exceed the time of 24 hours

III) unity of place = play should happen at one place

➢ Dramatic texts are: - works of art meant to be performed on stage

- - defined by classical unities

- - written in present form of tense

- - no narrator -> mediated by acting personae in dialogic/monologic form

- - may involve stage directions

Dramatic texts - Zusammenfassung Dramaatische Texte

Literatur-Introduction to Literary Analysis (04-ANG-1101)

Universität Leipzig

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