The Six Elements of Drama

1. The Six Elements of Drama Reuben, Paul P. "PAL: Appendix H: Elements of Drama." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. URL:http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/append/axh.html (22 September 2008).

2. The Six Elements of Drama • Plot • Character • Theme • Point of View • Symbol • Irony

3. 1. PLOT • “The sequence of events or incidents of which the story is composed.” • Plot includes: • Conflict • Protagonist (The Hero) • Antagonist (The Bad Guy) • Artistic Unity • Plot Manipulation

4. 1. PLOT • Conflict is “A clash of actions, ideas, desires, or wills.” • External Conflict. • A struggle between a character and an outside force (another character, the community, forces of nature). • For example, a story might be the main character struggling against the arctic cold.

5. 1. PLOT • Conflict is “A clash of actions, ideas, desires, or wills.” • Internal Conflict • A struggle that takes place in a character's mind For example, a character may have to decide between right and wrong or between two solutions to a problem. (Man against himself)

6. 1. PLOT • Conflict is “A clash of actions, ideas, desires, or wills.” • Person vs. Person (External) • Person vs. Environment (External) • Person vs. Self (Internal)

7. 1. PLOT • “The sequence of events or incidents of which the story is composed.” • Plot includes: • Conflict • Protagonist (The Hero) • Antagonist (The Bad Guy) • Artistic Unity • Plot Manipulation

8. 1. PLOT • Protagonist • The central character; can be sympathetic or unsympathetic. • Antagonist • The forces working against the protagonist (The Protagonist’s Enemy) • People, things, society, traits of own character, etc.

9. 1. PLOT • “The sequence of events or incidents of which the story is composed.” • Plot includes: • Conflict • Protagonist (The Hero) • Antagonist (The Bad Guy) • Artistic Unity • Plot Manipulation

10. 1. PLOT • Artistic Unity • This means that all parts of the novel are relevant and necessary • Every part of the novel is essential in some way to every other part.

11. 1. PLOT • “The sequence of events or incidents of which the story is composed.” • Plot includes: • Conflict • Protagonist (The Hero) • Antagonist (The Bad Guy) • Artistic Unity • Plot Manipulation

12. 1. PLOT • Plot Manipulation • A good plot should not have any unjustified or unexpected turns or twists. • No false leads, no deliberate and misleading information.

13. The Six Elements of Drama • Plot • Character • Theme • Point of View • Symbol • Irony

14. 2. CHARACTER • Direct Presentation vs. Indirect Presentation • Character Types: • Flat Characters • Round Characters • Stock Characters • Static (Still) Characters • Dynamic (Changing) Characters

15. 2. CHARACTER • Direct Presentation vs. Indirect Presentation • Direct: • Author tells us straight out by exposition, analysis, or through another character. • Indirect: • Author shows us the character in action. • The reader infers what a character is like from that she/he thinks. • These are more lifelike.

16. 2. CHARACTER • Direct Presentation vs. Indirect Presentation • Character Types: • Flat Characters • Round Characters • Stock Characters • Static (Still) Characters • Dynamic (Changing) Characters

17. 2. CHARACTER • Flat Characters • Are known by 1-2 traits • Round Characters • Are complex and many-sided • Stock Characters • Stereotyped characters, i.e. the mad scientist, the absent-minded professor, the cruel step-mother.

18. 2. CHARACTER • Static (Still) Characters • Remain the same from the beginning of the plot to the end. • Dynamic (Changing) Characters • Undergo permanent changes in the plot.

19. The Six Elements of Drama • Plot • Character • Theme • Point of View • Symbol • Irony

20. 3. THEME • “The controlling idea or central insight of the drama.” • It can be a general revelation of human character • It may be stated briefly or at great length; once or repeatedly. • Not the “moral” of the story”

21. 3. THEME • A Theme must be expressible in the form of a statement: • Wrong: “Motherhood” • Right: “Motherhood sometimes has more frustration than reward.

22. 3. THEME • A Theme must be stated as a generalization about life. • Specific names and places from the plot must not be used when describing the theme.

23. 3. THEME • A Theme is the central and unifying concept of the story. • All aspects of the story must be consistent with the theme. • None of the facts of the story may contradict the theme

24. 3. THEME • Any cliché or familiar saying should be avoided when describing the theme. • “You can’t judge a book by its cover” - Yuck! • “A stitch in time saves nine” - Who SAYS that?! • “All is fair in love and war” - Cheesy! • “The emotional and physical tolls of war are permanent and far-reaching” - This is good!

25. The Six Elements of Drama • Plot • Character • Theme • Points of View • Symbol • Irony

26. 4. POINTS OF VIEW • Omniscient • Limited Omniscient • First Person • Objective or Dramatic

27. 4. POINTS OF VIEW • Omniscient • A story told by the author using the third person (He/She/They) • Limited Omniscient • First Person • Objective or Dramatic

28. 4. POINTS OF VIEW • Omniscient • Limited Omniscient • First Person • Objective or Dramatic

29. 4. POINTS OF VIEW • Omniscient • Limited Omniscient • The author associates with a major or minor character- as if the author knows this character. • First Person • Objective or Dramatic

30. 4. POINTS OF VIEW • Omniscient • Limited Omniscient • First Person • Objective or Dramatic

31. 4. POINTS OF VIEW • Omniscient • Limited Omniscient • First Person • The story is told by a major character in the story using first person (“I”) • Objective or Dramatic

32. 4. POINTS OF VIEW • Omniscient • Limited Omniscient • First Person • Objective or Dramatic

33. 4. POINTS OF VIEW • Omniscient • Limited Omniscient • First Person • Objective or Dramatic • The opposite of omniscient • Like a roving camera that catches all of the action but there is no mention of the past or the future.

34. The Six Elements of Drama • Plot • Character • Theme • Point of View • Symbol • Irony

35. 5. SYMBOL • A symbol is an object, animate or inanimate, that stands for or points to a meaning well beyond itself.

36. 5. SYMBOL • A symbol is an object, animate or inanimate, that stands for or points to a meaning well beyond itself. • What is the difference between a symbol and an image? • A literary symbol has many meanings, whereas an image has only one meaning.

37. 5. SYMBOL • A literary symbol has many meanings, whereas an image has only one meaning. • Things that can be used as symbols: • Names • Objects • Actions

38. 5. SYMBOL • Examples of symbols: • A Cross can represent: • Suffering • Piety • Purification • A Sunrise can represent: • New beginnings • The dawn of a new day

39. 5. SYMBOL • Examples of symbols: • The seasons: • Winter- Aging, decay, and death. • Spring- Rebirth, energy, hope. • Summer- Childhood, fun, laughter. • Autumn- Maturity, fulfillment, wisdom.

40. 5. SYMBOL • Assignment: Read the selection on p. 163-164 (the opening paragraphs of Book III). Make a list of the objects (concrete nouns) and images in this paragraph. Choose one of these items that carries some sort of symbolic significance. Brainstorm all of the possible meanings that your symbol might represent.

41. The Six Elements of Drama • Plot • Character • Theme • Point of View • Symbol • Irony

42. 6. IRONY_ • Irony is a term that suggests a discrepancy in what is expected and what actually is. • Used to suggest the difference between appearance and reality, expectation and fulfillment.

43. 6. IRONY_ • Three different types of Irony: • 1. Verbal Irony • 2. Dramatic Irony • 3. Situational Irony

44. 6. IRONY_ • Three different types of Irony: • 1. Verbal Irony • The opposite is said from what is intended. • 2. Dramatic Irony • 3. Situational Irony

45. 6. IRONY_ • Three different types of Irony: • 1. Verbal Irony • 2. Dramatic Irony • 3. Situational Irony

46. 6. IRONY_ • Three different types of Irony: • 1. Verbal Irony • 2. Dramatic Irony • The audience knows something that the character does not. • 3. Situational Irony

47. 6. IRONY_ • Three different types of Irony: • 1. Verbal Irony • 2. Dramatic Irony • 3. Situational Irony

48. 6. IRONY_ • Three different types of Irony: • 1. Verbal Irony • 2. Dramatic Irony • 3. Situational Irony • Discrepancy between appearance and reality, or between expectation and fulfillment.

49. Irony in A Farewell To Arms: *Answer the following on a separate piece of paper: • Find an example of verbal irony that takes place in the early interactions between Catherine and Henry. Copy a short quotation that illustrates this irony. Explain your answer. • Explain how the following is an example of situational irony: Henry shoots the Italian soldier who refuses to help him dig the ambulance out of the mud. • Is Dramatic Irony impossible in A Farewell To Arms, given the first person point of view? Why or why not?