Elements of Drama

The Essential elements of drama are present in any play that you see, but the ideas have changed slightly over the years. Aristotle was the first to write about these essential elements, more than two thousand years ago, yet we still discuss his list when talking about what makes the best drama. Aristotle considered six things to be essential to good drama. Plot, Character, Theme, dialogue, music/rhythm and spectacle. In modern theater, this list has changed slightly, although many of the elements remain the same.

The list of essential elements in modern theater are:

• Character
• Plot
• Theme
• Dialogue
• Convention
• Genre
• Audience

Plot: It is the sequence of events or incidents of which the story is composed. It refers to the action; the basic storyline of the play. Characters: They are the figures that acts in a play. a Flat character is known by one or two traits; a Round character is complex and many-sided; a Stock character is a stereotyped character; a Static character remains the same from the beginning of the plot to the end; and a Dynamic (developing) character undergoes permanent change.

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This change must be:

1. within the possibilities of the character;
2. sufficiently motivated; and
3. allowed sufficient time for change.

Theme: While plot refers to the action of the play, theme refers to the meaning of the play. Theme is the main idea or lesson to be learned from the play. In some cases, the theme of a play is obvious; other times it is quite subtle. Conflict:

It is a clash of actions, ideas, desires or wills.

A conflict is a person against person, a person against environment or a person against herself/himself. Spectacle: It refers to the visual elements of a play: sets, costumes and special effects. Spectacle is everything that the audience sees as they watch the play. Genre: Genre refers to the type of play. Some examples of different genres include, comedy, tragedy, mystery and historical play.

Dialogue: This refers to the words written by the playwright and spoken by the characters in the play. The dialogue helps move the action of the play along. Music/Rhythm: While music is often featured in drama, in this case Aristotle was referring to the rhythm of the actors' voices as they speak.

Convention: These are the techniques and methods used by the playwright and director to create the desired stylistic effect.

Audience: This is the group of people who watch the play. Many playwrights and actors consider the audience to be the most important element of drama, as all of the effort put in to writing and producing a play is for the enjoyment of the audience.