How to Analyze Drama

Drama
Drama is a work of literature or a composition which delineates life and human activity by
means or presenting various actions of - and dialogues between a group of character. Closet
Drama is drama that basically designed for reading rather than theatrical performance.
The Origin
At first, drama begun with religious celebration, then it started entertaining, especially Greek
Tragedy and Greek omedy that was the most earliest in that kind. Greek Tragedy addressed itself
to serious dimension of life and human character. The basic idea is that man learns through
suffering. !eanwhile, Greek omedy dealt with fertility and also with phallic ceremonies. Greek
omedy generally divided into three category, there are "ld, !iddle, and #ew omedy. Tragedy
involves event which clima$ on unhappy disaster, while comedy deals with events which certainly
find some sort of happy resolution. Then, %oman omedy that has a great influence on %enaissance
and &li'abethan drama arose, followed by the rise of drama in the middle age. At around the
beginning of the fifteenth century, !orality (lay emerged, then followed by another period of
drama development such as &li'abethan Drama, which is the best in the history of world literature,
%estoration (eriod, #ineteenth-entury Drama and Twentieth-entury of drama.
Defining The Play
)n defining the play, the first thing to do is describing the world of drama. *hat is meant by
this is we have to suggest the entire world of the play, whether it is light or dark which is creepy.
After describing the world of drama, then proceed with considering the kind of play. +omeone has
to recogni'e the importance of ,placing- a play in generic sense. There are many kinds of play
ranging from the late fifteenth century until %estoration omedy. Thus, it is very important to
e$plain in the beginning of any analysis that the play does belong to the type known as, for instance,
heroic drama. After we know about the type of drama, then we have suggest the physical world of
the play since our understanding of the play can never be complete without at least this sort of
minimal reference of location. .y placing the play in time and space we are clarifying the larger
world with which the playwright is concerned.
+uggesting the central theme is another important step in defining the play. &very play has
one dominating idea which we call the theme. *e have to address ourselves immediately to what
the play is about, since it will be useless if we already describing the world of drama, considering
the kind of play, suggesting physical world without suggestion of meaning. The meaning is our
ultimate ma/or concern. After we suggest the theme, then have to define the characters. *e have to
briefly note that the play consist of how many characters, whether it is ma/or or minor character,
then we have to present brief description of each character. +uggesting some of characters
relationship will also helps.
Plot is another important element in literature, that is why we have to present a brief
synopsis of the ma/or action of drama. A less significant but nevertheless essential part of any
opening definition of a drama is some sort of reference to the source of drama. +o we should at least
insert parenthetically or apposition the place where the play story was probably discovered. A
definition that mentions brief basic style of the play must be included too. *e also have to notice
separately and emphasi'e accordingly about someone0s aspects of the entire play in either
construction, meaning or style, if there e$ist.