Understanding Drama
K S Sivakumaran
Let us talk about drama from the viewpoint of a teacher to students
who study plays besides poetry and fiction. First we must go to the
basics: the literary terms to have a clear understanding of what it is
about and more particularly enjoying the plays to the utmost.
At least five aspects of a play as a text could be identified: Theme,
Plot, Setting Characters and Dialogue.
The essence of Drama, as we know is Conflict. This is brought about
through suspense, tension and the conflicting forces (ideas, actions and
the like)
Almost in all plays there is some kind of conflict. It could be
either literal or physical.
Fights, family feuds as in Romeo and Juliet, battles in the field and
the like. The key aspect is differences among characters. Because of
such conflicts there is strain all around. It may not be seen openly
sometimes, but in silence. Conflict within oneself could also be the
theme in a play like Hamlet (To Be or Not To Be). This is so in
Tragedies (Macbeth, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Othello ect all). But in
Comedies conflicts are resolved with a happy ending (A Midsummer Nights
Dream, Taming of the Shrew ect all). There again what could be call a
Tragi-Comedy (Romeo and Juliet where there is a tragic end that ends
with feuding families reuniting). In tragedies conflicts are serious and
more difficult and in most cases ends in death.
We must also note that both suspense and conflict create tension. The
speed at which things take place might bring about changes during the
play. This pace depends on the importance of the events and the kind of
atmosphere or the revelation of characters involved in the play.
It is interesting to note that the pace of a comedy is faster than
that of a tragedy. A death or marriage can happen quickly or slowly.
We might note that sorrowful events of the tragedy do not happen
quickly. It takes a longer space and a series of events to show the
importance of the gravity in the play. At the same time, quite
conversely, if there are too many dreadful events dreadful events follow
the sense of horror (Macbeth) can turn into a laughing matter if it
really happens. Fortunately such a thing does not happen in the tragedy
Macbeth.
 Invariably in a good play or cinema there is more action than mere
words. But this columnist enjoyed what was called an ‘An Absurd Play’.
(The word ‘Absurd’ here means not nonsensical, but a kind of play made
popular a few decades ago in the west) The play concerned was the
American playwright Edward Albee’s Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf,
where there was less action and more words, words and words. If you have
seen the film version starring two great husband and wife actors-
Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor- you would get my point. They were
brilliant. Constructing the action depends on the playwright’s
individual imaginative capability. If the play is to be staged every
action is a sign of something. There should be logical presentation of
scenes. Suspense helps us to guess the right and wrong. If we guess
wrongly, we are surprised and were want to know why we were wrong.
Although contemporary plays and films avoid sub-plots some earlier
plays had this element, although these plots had thematic relevance.
All actions in the play move towards the end- the climax. Although
there could be several climaxes in the course of the play, the finale is
the most crucial one. When the climax comes out at the end it would be a
fine finish.
The main idea of the play-the theme - can be brought out very
strongly by the ending. The theme is revealed through the way the plot
is shaped and the way the characters are drawn. Every thing throughout
the play can express the playwright’s ideas. Sometimes those views are
strong that the play gives a definite message.
Apart from the theme, the plot in a play is also important because it
in that the action remains. However, George Bernard Shaw earned the name
of a dramatist even though from my understanding there was less action
in his plays. But I liked very much is play the Arms and the Man. Plot
means the part of a story or play - sequence of events - of what happens
in it. In other words plot is the action or the events of the story. The
playwright clearly works out the plot. Nothing happens by accident.
There is a deliberate choice by the playwright. Every action has its
function in the whole.
To understand a play better, e must study the text thoroughly. But
the script is only an outline.
We must fill in all the details when reading. But if we witness a
stage production of the play or watch a film version of it, it helps. If
we see a performance of a play on the stage, the stage directions of
that particular play give us several information about that play.
We could also imagine the stage performance (stage, costume, sets,
lighting) gives atmosphere and brings to life the situation and the
characters. We could imagine the actions, appearances, voices and
movements. These help us to understand the characters’ feelings and
relationships.
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