EDUPEDIA247

Imagery: A playwright could employ literal or connotative language in his work. A literal language gives a direct meaning of the words while a connotative language gives more than one meaning to the word. The language here determines how we mentally visualize the object or situation. This is called imagery. Tt also shows the playwright’s attitude towards a particular character or situation. In The Lion and the Jewel, for example, Baroka is referred to as a ‘fox’, a ‘crafty rogue’, ‘wiry’, ‘goated’, ‘tougher than his sixty-two’, these references helps the reader to have a mental picture of Baroka. The image of a character and his mode of dressing as described in a stage-direction helps us, to a large extent, to evaluate the character’s disposition, personality, and the attitude of the playwright towards that character. Symbolism: In everyday life, we come across symbols and even use them at times. Symbols are objects or things that communicate meaning or messages without usin...

Language: Language seems to be the most essential technique in the analysis of any dramatic text. It is through language that the playwright communicates his ideas; so he manipulates it to suit his intention. Language could be in form of speech, gestures or other bodily signs/symbols. Dramatic language is not just an ordinary language because the playwright is compelled to incorporate descriptions about setting, character and the overall presentation of the story through the characters. The language must therefore be very economical, vivid and expressive. In Oedipus Rex, for example, the language is concise but loaded with meaning. Let us look at the following exchange in which Teiresias sums up the misfortunes of King Oedipus. Oedipus: Man, must We wrap up Wer words in riddles?       . Teiresias: Where We not framed for skill for solving riddles? Oedipus: We taunt m§ with the gift that is my greater Teiresias: Wer great misfortune and Wer ruin. I...

Setting; Setting is the place or the time where or when the action of the play takes place. In textual analysis, setting is also discussed. Setting could be a tribe, a village, a town or a country depending on the disposition of the playwright. In some plays like Oedipus Rex, Arms and the Man, Hamlet and many others, the playwrights mention specific towns/countries like Thebes, Bulgaria, and Denmark. However, in some other plays like The Marriage of Anansewa, the Lion and the Jewel, and The Song of a Goat, the setting of each play is identified through the names of characters or other landmarks. In The Lion and the Jewel for instance, the reference to ‘sango’ by some of the characters highlights the Yoruba background of the play. Setting in terms of time, period, or locale can be mentioned; implied or alluded to in the text.      

Characterization: Characters are the persons in a dramatic work. The playwright endows them with moral and dispositional qualities which are expressed in their words and actions. The reasons for the character’s action, his speech, his temperament constitute his motivation. In textual analysis, one could evaluate the character though the stage direction where some playwrights have some comments on the character’s disposition, his age, his physical attributes, his mode of dressing and other information that could be found there. The next thing is to evaluate his interactions with other characters through which we discover whether he is a flat or round character. A flat character remains unchanged in his outlook and dispositions from the beginning to the end but a round character could undergo a gradual or radical change which is brought about by events in the play. It is difficult to predict the actions of a round character because he is usually very close to real human beings. An...

Subject Matter: The subject matter is the topic of discussion in the play. It is easier to get the subject matter from the title of the play. Theme is the central idea of the play while the subject matter is the object of discussion from which the theme is extracted. It is means therefore that the theme is subsumed in the subject matter. In The Lion and the Jewel, for instance, the subject matter is the fame of Sidi (the Jewel) a Weng and beautiful girl and her seduction by the Bale (the Lion) who is sixty-two years old. From this example, we conclude that the subject matter is indeed the object of discussion which other events and incidents in a text or work help to highlight. This is the statement the play makes about the social world. In most cases, plays treat common human problems and make statements to have universal validity or relevance for all ages. Each playwright treats any of these human problems from his own perspective to give it a touch of originality and uniqueness...

Content/Theme: In the analysis of a play, the first issue that comes to mind is the theme. Theme is the main idea in a play that permeates its entire. How do we identify the theme of a play? Themes are identified through the dialogue, actions and manifestations in the actions of the major characters as they interact with other characters in the play. The interpersonal relationships of the characters help to highlight and advance that particular idea. Themes in drama include corruption, love, revenge, and many others. The theme is the message which the playwright wants to send across to his audience and a play could have more than one theme. The playwright could draw his germinal idea from an incident or event in his contemporary society. It could also be drawn from history, legend, myth or folklore but the important factor is that there is a message he sends to the audience. Most playwrights try to make their societies better through the exploration of the negative impacts of the...

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS Textual analysis in drama is the evaluation of a written play. In the evaluation, we are expected to read the play very well and highlight how effectively or otherwise the playwright has utilized the elements and devices of drama in the composition of his play. The dramatic techniques used are also discussed. As we analyze a play, we are expected to identify the theme, how appropriate the characters are, if they are consistent and their actions are properly motivated. The language is another area that needs attention as to determine if there is any -consistency. The relationship between, .the .message .of the .play .and .the .method, .used .to relay .the message is also examined. The following steps are considered effective tor better textual analysis: a) Read the play for the first time and enjoy the story, b) Read the play again with your notebook and dictionary by your side. Use the dictionary to find out the meaning of the words We are not familiar with and fo...

Farce: Farce which is referred to as comedy of situation, is a humorous play on a trivial theme usually one that is familiar to the audience. The themes that are treated in farce include mistaken identity; elaborate misunderstanding, switched costume (men in women’s clothes) heroes forced under tables, misheard instructions, discoveries, disappearances and many such situations. Farce is not considered an intellectual drama because it does not appeal to the mind. It deals with physical situations and does not explore any serious idea. It presents physical activities that grow .out of situations like the presence of something when something is not expected or the absence of something when something is expected. Farce does not treat serious social issues. Sometimes it does not tell a full story or present a logical plot. A good example is somebody walking md slipping on a banana peel .and falling in an exaggerated manner. The main objective is to entertain by evoking laughter. It p...

Tragic-comedy: We have seen that tragedy is a serious play that ends on a sad note, while comedy ends happily. In traditional tragedy, playwrights are not allowed to bring in any comic action. In Oedipus Rex, for instance, we will observe that the atmosphere is tense from the beginning to the end. As time went on- even from the Elizabethan period, comic characters were included in tragic plays. This is called comic relief. Tragic-comedy is a play that mixes both comic and tragic elements in equal proportion of each. It therefore elicits both tragic and comic emotions.

Melodrama: The word melodrama is coined from melo (music) and dran (drama). It is, therefore, a play that utilizes music extensively. But the utilization of music is not the only factor in melodrama, what really makes it melodrama is its portrayal of the protagonist and the antagonist. The protagonist suffers a lot but triumphs in the end while the .antagonist .suffers.. So, melodrama can be defined as a play that has serious action caused by a villain and a destruction of the villain which brings about a happy resolution in the play. The hero is usually involved in very dangerous circumstances, but is rescued or he disentangles himself at the last possible moment. The rescuer is usually a benevolent character who identifies himself with the good role of the protagonist. An ideal melodrama, therefore, must have a protagonist and an antagonist. The protagonist always fights the antagonist who is usually poised to destroy goodness. In the end, the characters are easily identified ...

Comedy: We use the words 'comedy' and comic to describe something that is funny in our everyday lives. These include a joke or a fantastic story that is full of nonsense, or an absurd appearance that makes us giggle, smile or laugh. Comedy is not inherent in things or people but the way things/people are perceived. Comedy is a deliberate presentation of events/experiences drawn from real life but not the same with real life. We should therefore not expect dramatic comedy to be the same as real life. Generally, the plays have good endings or resolutions, so when a play ends happily, we refer to it as comedy. In most comedies, the principal characters begin in a state of opposition either to one another or to their world or both. By the end of the play their opposition .is replaced by harmony. Aristotle in-.his “Poetics” insisted that in tragedy men are shown “better than they are”, while in comedy “worse than they are”. For him it is an artistic imitation of men of inferi...

TYPES OF DRAMA Tragedy: We are familiar with the words 'tragedy' and tragic as they are associated with misfortune. Usually, they are used to describe personal misfortunes that do not concern the rest of the society. For example, the breakdown of a marriage or death of a dear one in an accident or even natural causes could be described as tragic. Also, some public events that are unpleasant like the assassination of a head of state or a political leader, natural or human disasters like earthquakes, flood disasters, plane crashes and other such disasters are referred to as tragedies. Tragedy according to the Oxford English Dictionary is “a play of a serious or solemn kind ... a very sad event, action or experience.” The last part of the definition explains why the word is used .to describe misfortunes, natural and human disasters in everyday life. Tragedy in drama is believed to have originated from the Greek worship of Dionysius, the god of wine and fertility. During the...

Dramatic Illusion: Drama thrives on illusion because what is presented is not reality but an illusion of reality. Whenever we are watching any dramatic presentation, we very well that they are ‘pretending’ to be what they are not yet we empathize with the characters. Dramatic illusion involves a willing suspension of disbelief. If the play Hamlet is presented on stage and as we watch the graveyard scene, Ophelia’s burial, for instance, we would see the actress being ‘buried’. In reality, the actress’ name may not be Ophelia; she has not died; the grave is not a real grave; .and the grave diggers may be wealthy professionals hut we enjoy the play without bothering about whether they are real or not. In other words, we pretend that what we are watching is real. The Fourth Wall: The fourth wall refers to the fourth wall of the room that is pulled down for the audience to watch the play. In reality, a room has four walls so if a play? especially events of the play stage performanc...

DRAMATIC CONVENTIONS In drama,   playwright tries to present life as it is lived in the real world. However, it is not possible to present real life on stage so he presents an illusion of reality. He needs certain devices to make this illusion as realistic as possible and the audience accepts the devices. In Shakespearean plays, sometimes a character talks to himself and this is called soliloquy. In real life people do not talk to themselves like that but since the public especially in that age accepted it, it becomes a convention. Also in the Classical Age the convention was that the dialogue is presented in verse but in the modem convention in most plays the dialogue is presented in prose. Another good example of dramatic convention is in play production where the convention is that a room has three walls instead of the four walls and the action of a play in which the events take place in various places is presented on a single stage. In the words of Abrams, “conventions a...

Setting: Setting is the location of a play. It is the time and place when and where the action of the play takes place. It is the background against which the work of art is projected. Setting is very important in a play because it helps us to appreciate the background of the play. Also in productions it helps the designers to design appropriate locale, atmosphere, and costume for the play. We can identify the setting through the names of characters. Types of Setting: (a) Geographical/Physical/Occupational : This is the actual geographical location of the story and whatever surrounds the place where the story is located. It also includes the manner of daily living of the people. This helps in locating the story; for example, it helps We to know if the action of the play takes place in an urban centre or a village, or a bush, or a market place and so on. We can identify the physical setting easily in some plays because the playwright mentions some known landmarks like the names...

Play-within-the Play: As the name suggests, a play-within-the -play is a play that is created in another play. Usually it is a complete play with a beginning, middle and an end. It has its own theme which in many cases is related to the theme of the main play. It is created for a particular purpose. A very good example of the play-within the-play is The Mousetrap in Hamlet. Shakespeare uses the technique to confirm the claim made by the ghost.

Planting: In drama, one of the techniques that is used to present the action of the play is planting. It is the use of certain props to give more information about some characters, the environment or situations. If for instance We are watching a home video, and a particular scene opens in the room where a character is lying on a bed with a wheelchair beside the bed. We will conclude immediately that the person on the bed cannot walk. It might not be that person on the bed that is paralyzed but the presence of the wheel chair indicates that there is a paraplegic character in the play. Thus, that wheelchair is planted and without any explanation We are able to get more information about the play. In planting, representatives of certain issues/places/things are used to create an impression or point to an idea that will be exposed as the events of the play unfolds.

Types of Characters: There are different types of characters in drama. They include the protagonist, the dynamic character,, the static character, the flat character, the round character, and stereotypes. Protagonist/Hero: He is the main character and at the centre of the story. He is called the protagonist or the hero. If he is pitted against an important character, like in Hamlet, the opponent is called an antagonist. In the play, Hamlet is the protagonist while King Claudius is the antagonist and the relationship between them is what we refer to as conflict. Usually the story revolves around him and in fact the story is about him. He is easily identifiable because he stands out over and above most other characters. Everything revolves around him as he influences (he action that he is going through. He creates a world for himself which could be big or small, palatable or detestable. He lives to sustain or oppose what happens to him. His role is usually central to the develop...

Character Analysis: The ability to create characters and to ensure that they blend/suit the action of the play is what we refer to as characterization. What is created is called character. Characters refer to the people who act the play. Drama is the most active form of literary art and is presented in dialogue. It is not like the novel or poetry where the novelist tells a story. The story in a play is told as people talk to one another and interact in inter-personal relationships. These people are referred to as characters. Characters in a play must not necessarily be human beings. Animals or things can be used as characters. This depends on the intention of the playwright and the style he wants to adopt.

Characterization Characterization is the playwright’s imaginative creation of characters that can effectively dramatize his story. The action of the play is presented through such characters. He does so by imbuing the characters with certain recognizable human traits and qualities. These qualities include physical attributes, moral, psychological and emotional dispositions, their attitude towards other characters and situations, and so on. At the point of conceptualization of the idea he wants to present in his play, he thinks of the best way to present it to make it interesting and at the same time informative. He builds this idea into a story form and thinks of the type of characters that can tell this story effectively. So he uses the characters to explicate his theme and propel the plot, His ability to craft the play in such a way that each character blends well in the plot is called characterization. These characters are presented and they develop in the course of the action....