Drama  

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 +[[Image:Adrienne Lecouvreur as Cornelia.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''[[Adrienne Lecouvreur as Cornelia]]'' by [[Charles-Antoine Coypel]]]]
 +[[Image:Great Train Robbery still, public domain film.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Great Train Robbery]]'']]
[[Image:Melodrama by Daumier.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''[[At the Theater (The Melodrama)]]'' (c. [[1860]]-[[1864|64]]) - [[Honoré Daumier]]]] [[Image:Melodrama by Daumier.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''[[At the Theater (The Melodrama)]]'' (c. [[1860]]-[[1864|64]]) - [[Honoré Daumier]]]]
{{Template}} {{Template}}
-'''Drama''' is a [[literary form]] involving parts written for [[actor]]s to perform. It is a [[Greek language|Greek]] word meaning "action", drawn from the "to do". 
-Dramas can be performed in various [[media]]: [[theatre]], [[radio]], [[film]], and-or [[television]]. "[[Closet drama]]s" are works written in the same form as plays (with dialogue, scenes, and "stage directions"), but meant to be read rather than staged; examples include the plays of [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], ''[[Manfred]]'' by [[George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron|Byron]], and ''[[Prometheus Unbound (Shelley)|Prometheus Unbound]]'' by [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]]. Drama is also often combined with [[music]] and [[dance]], such as in [[opera]] which is sung throughout, musicals which include spoken dialog and songs, or plays that have musical accompaniment. +'''Drama''' is the specific [[Mode (literature)|mode]] of [[fiction]] [[Mimesis|represented]] in [[performance]]. The term comes from a [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] word meaning "[[Action (philosophy)|action]]" ([[Classical Greek]]: δρᾶμα, ''drama''), which is derived from the verb meaning "to do" or "to act" ([[Classical Greek]]: δράω, ''draō''). The enactment of drama in [[theatre]], performed by [[actor]]s on a [[Stage (theatre)|stage]] before an [[audience]], presupposes [[Collaboration|collaborative]] modes of production and a [[collective]] form of reception. The [[Dramatic structure|structure of dramatic texts]], unlike other forms of [[literature]], is directly influenced by this collaborative production and collective reception. The [[English Renaissance theatre|early modern]] [[tragedy]] ''[[Hamlet]]'' ([[1601 in literature|1601]]) by [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] and the [[Theatre of ancient Greece|classical Athenian]] tragedy ''[[Oedipus the King]]'' (c. 429 BCE) by [[Sophocles]] are among the masterpieces of the art of drama.
 + 
 +The two masks associated with drama represent the traditional [[Genre|generic]] division between [[Comedy (drama)|comedy]] and [[tragedy]]. They are symbols of the [[ancient Greek]] [[Muses]], [[Thalia (muse)|Thalia]] and [[Melpomene]]. Thalia was the Muse of comedy (the laughing face), while Melpomene was the Muse of tragedy (the weeping face). Considered as a genre of [[poetry]] in general, the dramatic mode has been contrasted with the [[Epic poetry|epic]] and the [[Lyric poetry|lyrical]] modes ever since [[Aristotle]]'s ''[[Poetics (Aristotle)|Poetics]]'' (c. 335 BCE)—the earliest work of [[dramatic theory]].
 + 
 +The use of "drama" in the narrow sense to designate a specific ''type'' of [[Play (theatre)|play]] dates from the [[Nineteenth-century theatre|19th century]]. Drama in this sense refers to a play that is ''neither'' a comedy nor a tragedy—for example, [[Émile Zola|Zola's]] ''[[Thérèse Raquin]]'' ([[1873 in literature|1873]]) or [[Anton Chekhov|Chekhov's]] ''[[Ivanov (play)|Ivanov]]'' ([[1887 in literature|1887]]). It is this narrow sense that the [[film]] and [[television]] industry and [[film studies]] adopted to describe "[[Drama film|drama]]" as a [[Film genre|genre]] within their respective media. "[[Radio drama]]" has been used in both senses—originally transmitted in a live performance, it has also been used to describe the more high-brow and serious end of the dramatic output of [[radio]].
 + 
 +Drama is often combined with [[music]] and [[dance]]: the drama in [[opera]] is generally sung throughout; [[Musical theatre|musicals]] generally include both spoken [[dialogue]] and [[song]]s; and some forms of drama have [[incidental music]] or musical accompaniment underscoring the dialogue ([[melodrama]] and Japanese [[Noh|Nō]], for example). In certain periods of history (the ancient [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] and modern [[Romanticism|Romantic]]) some dramas have been written to be [[Closet drama|read]] rather than performed. In [[Improvisational theatre|improvisation]], the drama does not pre-exist the moment of performance; performers devise a dramatic script spontaneously before an audience.
== See also == == See also ==
*[[The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations]] *[[The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations]]

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Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" (Classical Greek: δρᾶμα, drama), which is derived from the verb meaning "to do" or "to act" (Classical Greek: δράω, draō). The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective form of reception. The structure of dramatic texts, unlike other forms of literature, is directly influenced by this collaborative production and collective reception. The early modern tragedy Hamlet (1601) by Shakespeare and the classical Athenian tragedy Oedipus the King (c. 429 BCE) by Sophocles are among the masterpieces of the art of drama.

The two masks associated with drama represent the traditional generic division between comedy and tragedy. They are symbols of the ancient Greek Muses, Thalia and Melpomene. Thalia was the Muse of comedy (the laughing face), while Melpomene was the Muse of tragedy (the weeping face). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been contrasted with the epic and the lyrical modes ever since Aristotle's Poetics (c. 335 BCE)—the earliest work of dramatic theory.

The use of "drama" in the narrow sense to designate a specific type of play dates from the 19th century. Drama in this sense refers to a play that is neither a comedy nor a tragedy—for example, Zola's Thérèse Raquin (1873) or Chekhov's Ivanov (1887). It is this narrow sense that the film and television industry and film studies adopted to describe "drama" as a genre within their respective media. "Radio drama" has been used in both senses—originally transmitted in a live performance, it has also been used to describe the more high-brow and serious end of the dramatic output of radio.

Drama is often combined with music and dance: the drama in opera is generally sung throughout; musicals generally include both spoken dialogue and songs; and some forms of drama have incidental music or musical accompaniment underscoring the dialogue (melodrama and Japanese , for example). In certain periods of history (the ancient Roman and modern Romantic) some dramas have been written to be read rather than performed. In improvisation, the drama does not pre-exist the moment of performance; performers devise a dramatic script spontaneously before an audience.

See also

See also




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