Dramatic Structure from Aristotle to Modern Times

Drama Dr. Abdel-Fattah Adel Upon the completion of this section, you will be able to: 1. To define "plot" as an element of drama 2. To summarize the development of the understanding of the dramatic structure from Aristotle to modern times. 3. To recognize the parts Freytag's pyramid of the development of dramatic plot. 4. To state the main criticism to Freytag's pyramid. 5. To apply Freytag's pyramid on a story line. Plot Dramatic structure Plot is a literary term for the events a story comprises, particularly as they relate to one another in a pattern, a sequence, through cause and effect, or by coincidence. It is the artistic arrangement of a sequence of events. Dramatic structure is the structure of a dramatic work such as a play or film. There is no difference between plot and dramatic structure. •Agree •Don’t agree There is no difference between plot and dramatic structure. Plot is related to the arrangement of the events. Dramatic structure is the overall layout of the story. There can be more than one plot in a play. •Agree •Don’t agree There can be more than one plot in a play. The play may contain a main plot a several sub-plots. Aristotle Horace Freytag In his Poetics, Aristotle considered plot ("mythos") the most important element of drama—more important than character, for example. He put forth the idea that ("A whole is what has a beginning and middle and end. This three-part view of a plot structure (with a beginning, middle, and end – technically, the protasis, epitasis, and catastrophe) must causally relate to one another as being either necessary, or probable. The Roman drama critic Horace advocated a 5-act structure: ("A play should not be shorter or longer than five acts"). Gustav Freytag (1816 –1895) was a Nineteenth Century German novelist and dramatist who saw common patterns in the plots of stories and novels and developed a diagram to analyze them. He diagrammed a story's plot using a pyramid. -------- advocated a 5-act structure. A. Aristotle B. Horace C. Freytag ------ diagrammed a story's plot using a pyramid. A. Aristotle B. Horace C. Freytag ------ considered plot the most important element of drama —more important than character. A. Aristotle B. Horace C. Freytag A diagram of dramatic structure that is a visual representation of the structure of a story’s events. It shows complication and emotional tension Emotional tension rising like one side of a pyramid toward its apex, which represents the climax of action. Once the climax is over, the descending side of the pyramid depicts the decrease in tension and complication as the drama reaches its conclusion and denouement. Freytag designed the chart for discussing tragedy, but it can be applied to many kinds of fiction. It is also called Freytag's Triangle, Freytag's Arc. 1. Exposition 2. Rising Action 3. Climax 4. Falling Action 5. Dénouement 1. Exposition: setting the scene. 2. Rising Action: the story builds and gets more exciting. 3. Climax: the moment of greatest tension in a story. 4. Falling Action: events happen as a result of the climax 5. Dénouement: the ending 1. Which part of the plot sets the scene? A. Rising Action B. Exposition C. Climax 1. Which part of the plot is the moment of greatest tension in a story? A. Rising Action B. Exposition C. Climax Freytag's analysis was intended to apply not to modern drama, but rather to ancient Greek and Shakespearean drama. A specific exposition stage is criticized by Lajos Egri in The Art of Dramatic Writing. He states, “exposition itself is part of the whole play, and not simply a fixture to be used at the beginning and then discarded.” According to Egri, the actions of a character reveal who they are, and exposition should come about naturally. The beginning of the play should therefore begin with the initial conflict. Contemporary dramas increasingly use the fall to increase the relative height of the climax and dramatic impact (melodrama). The protagonist reaches up but falls and succumbs to their doubts, fears, and limitations. Arguably, the negative climax occurs when they have an epiphany and encounter their greatest fear or lose something important. This loss gives them the courage to take on another obstacle. This confrontation becomes the classic climax. Exposition: the main characters are introduced (Gregers, Hialmar, Ekdal, werle), the setting is set. Rising action: Hialmar and Gina's confrontation of her past, the progressive revelation of Hedvig's uncertain parentage, and the arrival of Hedvig's birthday gift that ultimately precipitates this revelation in its explicit form. Climax: The Wild Duck features two immediately discernable climaxes: Hialmar's exit from his home and Hedvig's suicide Falling action: the discovery and the display of Hedvig's body as well as the final dialogue between Relling and Gregers. This dialogue leaves Gregers utterly disillusioned and precipitates his exit from the world. Dénouement : Gregers utterly disillusioned and his exit from this world. .

Load more