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TEAM UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF LITERATURE

LIT 2103 Drama

COMPILED BY MFITUNDINDA FRANK

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction to the Course ………………………………………………………..………………1

Lesson 1 Introduction to Drama ……………………..………………….……………..………2

Lesson 2 Origin and Development of Drama ………………….……………………………..14

Lesson 3 Genres of Drama …………………………………………………………………….30

Lesson 4 Dramatic Action……………………………………………………………………..43

Lesson 5 Plot in Drama ……………….……………………………………………………….53

Lesson 6 Setting in Drama …………………………………..…………………………………65

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Lesson 7 Characterisation in Drama …………………………………………………………...72

Lesson 8 Dramatic Conventions and Techniques ……………………………………………...81

Lesson 9 Oedipus King by Sophocles …………………………………………………………93

Lesson 10 Hamlet by William Shakespeare ………………………………………………….100

Lesson 11 The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht …………………………………….112

INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE

This course offers an in-depth examination and analysis of drama. Drama as a genre of literature
has unique characteristics that have come about in response to its peculiar nature. Since drama
thrives in action and is presented in dialogue, it is really difficult to separate it from performance
because during the stage performance of a play, drama brings life experiences realistically to the
audience. It is the most concrete of all genres of literature. In this module, we start by
introducing to you the understanding of drama. In this, we explore the various definitions of
drama, the nature and functions of drama, and the origin and development of drama. We then
proceed to examine the elements of drama in detail, dramatic conventions and techniques, and
end by conducting a textual analysis of Oedipus King, Hamlet and The Caucasian Chalk Circle.
For every student therefore, the knowledge of drama gained by engaging with this module will
enable them tackle texts and questions in drama with ease and greater understanding.

UNIT OBJECTIVES
The module is specifically designed to enable students to:
i. Have an in-depth understanding of drama as a genre of literature.
ii. Equip students with fundamental knowledge on the origin, development, nature and
functions of drama.
iii. Understand the different genres of drama. iv. Lay-bare the conventions and techniques of
drama.
v. Appreciate a textual analysis of drama.

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LESSON 1 INTRODUCTION TO DRAMA

1.1 INTRODUCTION
This is our first lecturer in this course. In this lesson, we shall introduce you to drama. You shall
learn that all actions are not drama. You will also learn the nature and functions of drama. Most
of you relax with dramatic presentations either in the theatre or in your houses as you watch
home videos, soap operas or films. As you watch these presentations, you are able to learn one
thing or the other while being entertained. This explains why drama is regarded as the mother of
all arts, as it is used to inform, educate and entertain people.

1.2 LESSON OBJECTIVES

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

i. Define drama
ii. Explain features of drama
iii. Identify and analyse functions of drama

DEFINITIONS OF DRAMA

There are many definitions of drama as exemplified below:

Eric Maritim (2012) in African Drama and Theatre: A Criticism observes that “Drama is action.
Actions which are coherent” (16). In this general sense, it is ‘an exciting or emotional series of
events’ (Oxford English Dictionary, 2008). If only to illustrate, an unfortunate street scuffle
involving a traffic policeman and a truck driver is aptly dramatic incident, in which the public
might get captivated in. Another, involving a husband and wife whose domestic wrangles spill
over onto the village by-ways is dramatic but does not constitute drama.

According to the Greeks, the word drama comes from the verb “dran” which means “to act.”
Drama is spoken language acted, to be produced for public exhibition, usually upon a stage.
Drama as a complete work of art exists in the presentation. Martin Esslin in Anatomy of Drama
has the following definitions of drama:

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1. Drama can be seen as a manifestation of the play instinct as in children who are playing mother and
father.
2. Drama is something one goes to see, which is organized as something to be seen.
3. It is an enacted fiction an art form based on mimetic action.
4. In arts, drama is the most elegant expression of thought nearest to the truth (reality).
5. It is the most concrete form in which art can recreate human situation, human relationship

Aristotle’s definitions in The Poetics sums up all the aforementioned and other definitions of
drama by different scholars when points out that drama simply as an imitation of an action. He
links it to the mimetic impulse in human beings like children playing father and mother in a
childhood play. This means that imitation is part of life. Human beings have the desire to imitate
others, situations or events.

However, Betolt Brecht in Theatre of the Absurd insists that drama is not just an imitation of
action, but a tool for the demonstration of social conditions. It is not just an entertainment but an
instrument of political and social change.

From these definitions, we can conclude that drama is a way of creating or recreating a situation,
an articulation of reality through impersonation or re-enactment. An action becomes drama if it
is an imitation of an earlier action real or imagined. For instance, an unfortunate street scuffle
involving a traffic policeman and a truck driver in which the public might get captivated in is not
drama. It aptly becomes drama if the same incident is reenacted later maybe as part of a festival.
In the later case, some people (actors) will represent the policeman and the truck driver to the
audience for entertainment or education.

Drama as a literary genre is realized in performance, the more reason as to why drama is
described as “staged art”. As a literary form, it is designed for the theatre because characters are
assigned roles and they act out their roles as the action is enacted on stage. These characters can
be human beings, dead or spiritual beings, animals, or abstractions. Drama is an adaptation,
recreation and reflection of reality on stage. Generally, the word, dramatist is used for any artist
who is involved in any dramatic composition either in writing or in performance.

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Drama is different from other genres of literature. It has unique characteristics that have come
about in response to its peculiar nature. Really, it is difficult to separate drama from performance
because during the stage performance of a play, drama brings life experiences realistically to the
audience. When you are reading a novel, you read a story as told by the novelist. The poem’s
message in most cases is not direct because it is presented in a compact form or in a condensed
language. The playwright does not tell the story instead you get the story as the characters
interact and live out their experiences on stage. In drama, the characters/actors talk to themselves
and react to issues according to the impulse of the moment.

You can see that as a genre of literature, drama occupies a unique position. It is also the most
active of other genres of literature because of the immediate impact it has on the audience. It is
used to inform, to educate to entertain and in some cases to mobilize the audience.

Most people associate funny action or other forms of entertainment as drama. An action could be
dramatic yet it will not be classified as drama. The term dramatic is used for any situation or
action which creates a sense of abnormality or the unexpected. Sometimes we use it to describe
an action that is demonstrated or exaggerated. For instance, if you are at a bus stop, a well
dressed young girl passes and cat-walks across the road, her high-heeled shoes breaks and she
slips. The immediate reaction will be laughter from almost everybody there. For some people,
this is drama. Although she was walking in an abnormal way and unexpectedly her shoe breaks,
her action could be called dramatic but it is not drama. Again, the action of a teacher who
demonstrates, by injecting life into his teaching as he acts out certain situations, is dramatic but it
is not drama.

Drama is different from other forms of literature because of its unique characteristics. It is
composed to be performed. The ultimate aim of dramatic composition is for it to be presented on
stage before an audience. This implies that it is a medium of communication. It has a message to
communicate to the audience. It uses actors to convey this message. This brings us to the issue of
mimesis or imitation. We say that drama is mimetic which means that it imitates life. Yes, it is
the only genre of literature which tries to imitate life and presents it to people. It is this mimetic
impulse of drama that makes it appeal to people.

From the foregoing, we can deduce that drama is a way of creating or recreating a situation, an
articulation of reality through impersonation or re-enactment. An action becomes drama if it is
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an imitation of an earlier action, real or imagined. For instance, the story of a hunter who goes
to the forest kills an antelope and takes it home even if he is dancing as he goes home, is not
drama. It becomes drama if the same story is reenacted maybe as part of a festival. In the later
case, some people (actors) will represent the hunter and the antelope to the audience for
entertainment or education. A young man who aspires to be a hunter could learn, from the
presentation, how to stalk an animal or how to aim the gun or bow while being entertained. This
story could be represented through mime, dance or in dialogue.

The Nature of Drama

i. Uniqueness

You have so far learnt that drama has a unique nature or a rarity. The unique nature of drama
makes it possible for it to be read and to be performed. Unlike prose and poetry which depend on
narration, drama is presented not only through dialogue. The novel is divided in chapters and the
poem is written mostly in stanzas. Drama is presented in acts and scenes, movements or parts.

In addition to the fact that plays can be read and enjoyed by people in the privacy of their homes,
people also watch and enjoy the plays as an audience in a theatre when the plays are presented on
stage. The audience gives an immediate reaction to the performance on stage.
ii. Temporality

Drama is temporal in nature. Every dramatic performance has a definite duration of time (i.e. it
lasts for a certain length of time). Each performance of a play is therefore a distinct work of art.
Even if the actors, composition and decors remain unchanged throughout the production, each
performance varies in nature and quality as one may be better than the other.

A good example is in a case where an actor may have performed badly in one production and
better in another one. It means therefore that “every performance of a play, even by the same
actors, represents a different realization of its possibilities and no single performance can fully
realize all its possibilities”(Scholes 17). Once a performance is conducted, it ceases to exist
except in one’s memory. Ritualistic presentations could also be viewed from the same
perspective.

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iii. Imitation

Imitation involves an illusion of reality and a willing suspension of disbelief. Imitation to some
extent is a reflection of an action in real life. It is close to reality but not reality. In imitation, you
assume a role and not pretend. You take on or claim the personality of the person you are
imitating. The actor creates an illusion of reality to make his action credible. The audience in
order to believe him suspends its doubt (disbelief) and believes that what it is watching is real.

This explains why sometimes you are moved to tears as you watch the suffering of a particular
character when you are watching a home video or any other dramatic presentation. This is called
empathy. According to Aristotle, mimesis (imitation) entails some copying but not verbatim
copying. The artist adjusts or adds to it. He therefore contributes to the original as he creates
another world through imitation. Consequently, the product becomes a reflection of reality.

Generally, the most popular form of imitation is the realistic one where the story is a
representation of life and the characters are those we could identify with in real life. This is the
reason why in Hamlet, Hamlet advises the Players to:

Suit the action to the word, the word to the action; with special observance, that
you o’erstep not the modesty of nature; for anything so overdone is from the
purpose of playing, whose end, both at first and now, was and is to hold, as
‘twere, the mirror up to nature…(Act III Sc ii)

Holding up to nature here means that they should reflect nature in their words and actions.
Drama is like a mirror because its mode of imitation is selective and intensive. Most plays do not
last more than three hours so the time is very short.

Another issue to be considered is the space. The stage is so small that it will be difficult to
reproduce all the life experiences of a particular character. Despite the fact that the celluloid can,
with the aid of a camera, present three-dimensional pictures, it can never present everything
within the period for the play. This explains why you have expressions like ‘two months later’ to
make up for the limitations in terms of time and space.

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In his own mode of imitation, Sophocles, in Oedipus King, does not present all the incidents on
stage. Those actions are merely reported on stage. Some critics argue that some of the reported
events are too gruesome to be presented. They are right because one of the Aristotelian
postulations on tragedy is that violence should not be presented on stage. That notwithstanding,
one could also argue that in realistic acting it is almost impossible for Jocasta to hang herself or
for Oedipus to gorge out his eyes.

iv. Re-Presentation

Re-presentation is to give or show something again. In drama, the artist may have been inspired
by a particular action and decides to re-produce it or re-represent it on stage. Here, it is not
possible to re-present the action exactly as it appeared in its original form. Sometimes the

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dramatic composition is based on that action. We also use representation when a particular
performance is being presented again after its premiere or the original and first performance.

In any dramatic re-presentation, the actors must be conscious of themselves as actors, and also
conscious of the audience. On the part of the audience, there must be an element of make believe
or willing suspension of disbelief. This simply means that, they will pretend that what the actors
are doing is real. On the part of the actors, they try as much as possible to convince the audience
that they are presenting real life experience. This explains why you see actors display realistic
emotions on stage. For instance, an actor can cry realistically if the need arises. In order to
achieve this feat, they try to get into the role they are playing so that the action will be as realistic
as possible.

v. Re-enactment

Re-enactment is similar to re-presentation. However, in re-enactment, there is a clear indication

that a particular action is being re-enacted. Persons or actions will impersonate specific
characters in the original action.

In traditional societies or oral literature, re-enactment was common and popular. During
festivals, depending on the cultural background of the people and the environment, some events
like hunting expeditions, fishing, physical prowess and special feats at wars were re-enacted. In
the enactment of a hunting expedition, some people were chosen to impersonate the animals
while some impersonate the hunter who stalks and kills the animal. Some dances like the
“Egwuni gwuni” from Nigeria used to re-enact past events or actions. Historical plays are mainly
re-enactments of past events.

vi. Role Play/ Impersonation

Imitation is a broader term for copying somebody or something. In impersonation we narrow

down to copying people. Generally, we impersonate or pretend to be somebody in order to

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deceive people or to entertain them. Usually, in impersonation, the actor tries to be as convincing
as possible. In acting this is called getting into the role. Impersonation could be interchanged
with role-play. Impersonation is an important ingredient in drama because for the action to be
real or life-like, the actors must convince the audience that they are the person or characters they
are impersonating.

vii. Performance

Drama is different from other genres of literature. It has unique characteristics that have come
about in response to its peculiar nature. Really, it is difficult to separate drama from performance
because during the stage performance of a play, drama brings life experiences realistically to the
audience. When you are reading a novel, you read a story as told by the novelist. The poem’s
message in most cases is not direct because it is presented in a compact form or in a condensed
language. The playwright does not tell the story instead you get the story as the characters
interact and live out their experiences on stage. In drama, the characters/actors talk to themselves
and react to issues according to the impulse of the moment.

1.5 Functions of Drama

Drama performs various functions in society. It is devoid of the distant intimacy of the novel, the
abstract message of fine arts, the incomplete message of music or the cryptic and esoteric
language of poetry. It presents a story through the actors to the audience. Drama is therefore used
to entertain, inform and educate people. For this reason, drama is viewed as the most effective
tool for mass mobilization by the government and private agencies. For instance, most
campaigns against HIV/AIDS, Drug Abuse, Child Abuse and so on, are presented in form of
drama.

Of all the creative artists, the dramatist is in the best position to mirror his society and to effect
social reforms. This is because his work has a unique characteristic of presenting events in a
vivid, picturesque and realistic manner. This helps to imprint social conditions realistically in the
minds of the audience. Its message is therefore immediate. The rich and the poor, the young and

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the old, the elite and non-elite enjoy and assimilate the message of drama once it is presented in
an appropriate language as the actors live out the story (message) on stage.

In most traditional societies, drama formed part of the communal rites. In Africa, re-enactment of
some feats like hunting, warfare, and other events, were usually part of bigger festivals. Some of
these events were presented in form of drama to entertain the audience. In Greece, drama formed
part of a bigger festival. Greek drama is acclaimed to be the earliest recorded form of drama (5th
century B.C). It is said to have originated from the Dionysian religious rites, and remained a
communal rite during the classical period. The dramatists of this age gave insight into the
philosophy and religious beliefs of ancient Greece. These early Greek plays treated life’s basic
problems with utmost honesty and attacked social ills using legendary and mythological themes.
This helped to ensure sanity and equilibrium in society.

In the Medieval period, drama was used to elucidate the message of the gospel through the
reenactment of Biblical stories during mass. It was later expanded to include the dramatization of
lives of the saints and other notable stories of the Bible that formed part of the Sunday’s lessons.
It was therefore used for the spiritual and moral growth of the people.

Drama played important roles in the social lives of people in the ancient Roman Empire. In
England, Germany and France, playwrights like Shakespeare, Brecht, Goethe, Moliere, and
others, in varying degrees, used their works to enable their respective countries “… to carve out
and affirm a unique identity” for themselves (Hagher 145). The drama of any society, therefore,
reflects the problems, aspirations, philosophy and cultural background of its people.

Dramatists use their works to help shape the future of their societies. They can do this not only
by reflecting the ugly sides of their societies but also by promoting the positive aspects of the
people’s way of life that are worth emulating or cultivating. They also help to ensure continuity
of their tradition and culture by reflecting them in their plays.

Each dramatist, therefore, tries to use art to enlighten the audience on the goodness, imbalances
and shortcomings in society. Apart from their thematic concerns, each dramatist, in his own style

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of relaying his message, tries to highlight his cultural background through the use of myths,
legends, music, songs, dances, proverbs, and riddles among others.

1.7 Summary

In this lesson, we have defined drama and also explained its nature and functions in society.
Through make believe and a willing suspension of disbelief, drama brings life realistically to the
audience and the message is absorbed immediately. This immediate appeal of drama makes it
different from other forms of art.

Drama is an imitation of an action. An action becomes drama if and when there is an element of
impersonation, re-enactment or re-representation of an action. Drama mirrors the society as
playwrights are influenced by their socio-cultural backgrounds. Drama draws from myths,
legends, history or contemporary issues. Drama is used to teach, inform and also entertain and its
message is immediate. This explains why it is used in campaigns and social mobilization.

i. What is the difference between drama and theatre?

ii. Discuss briefly the nature and functions of drama.

REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Brocket, Oscar G. (1980). The Essential Theatre. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Crown, Brian (1983). Studying Drama. Ikeja: Longman.
Dukore, B. F. (1974). Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greek to Grotowsky. New York: Holt
Reinhart and Winston.
Hagher, I. H. (1994). “African Literature in Search of Policy: The Case of West African Drama”.
In Emenyonu, Ed. Current Trends in Literature and Languages Studies In West Africa. Ibadan:
Kraft Books, 1994.

Mugubi, J. and Kebaya C. African Drama and Theatre: A Criticism. Nairobi: Focus Publishers,
2012.
Scholes R. and C.H. Klaus. (1971). Elements of Drama. New York: Oxford University Press.

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Esslin Martin (1977). Anatomy of Drama. London: Hill and Wang

Aristotle’s definitions in The Poetics

Miller Arthur 1976 Death of a Salesman. Verlag: Penguin Books

LESSON 2 ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF DRAMA

2.1 INTRODUCTION

In lesson 1, we learnt the definitions of drama as well as the nature and functions of drama. In
this lesson, we turn our attention to the origin of drama. In this, you shall learn the various
developmental stages that drama has undergone since its inception to the present.

2.2 LESSON OBJECTIVES

By the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

i. Give an account of the origin of drama ii. Identify the various
stages of development in drama

iii. Explain the defining features of each stage of development

2.3 THE ORIGIN OF DRAMA

Many scholars trace the origin of drama to ritual. Ritual dances and mimes performed by
dancers, masked players or priests during traditional festivals or ceremonies constitute drama. In

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traditional societies or in primordial times, sometimes, the seasons did not come as expected.
When this happened, men felt that they had offended the gods, so they devised means of
appeasing these gods through ritual.

The ritual, as expected, involved a ceremony in which the priest played an important role at a
designated location, mostly shrines. The priest would normally wear a special dress for the
occasion. That role, the dress (costume), and the utterance or incantations are regarded as
dramatic elements.
Drama therefore emerged from ritual performances in traditional societies. So, if it is presented
for entertainment and there is an element of impersonation, imitation of an action, and
reenactment of an action, it is drama. Another account traces the origin of drama to man’s desire
for entertainment. Here, during festivals or other ceremonies, they recreate the feats of some
legendary or mythical heroes to entertain the people.

The origin of drama is traced to Greece. Apparently, Greek drama evolved from religious
festivals (ritual) that were celebrated to ensure the fertility of the land and the well being of its
people. These festivals were connected with the worship of the god Dionysiusz. The festival
involved singing and dancing by a chorus of fifty men. The choral song, known as Dithyramb,
was sang in honour of the god. The men danced around the altar of Dionysius in a circular
dancing place called orchestra. Sometimes a story about the god was improvised by the leader of
the chorus, though remaining part of the chorus. Sometimes he dressed like a character from
mythology. At this stage, individual actors were not involved in the performances.

The dramatist, Thespis, is believed to have been the first person to introduce the individual actor
and the element of impersonation in the 6 th century B.C. During a particular performance, he
stood out from the chorus and instead of singing in the honour of the god, he sang as the god. He
performed between the dances of the chorus and conversed at times with the leader of the chorus.
Thus drama was literally born. Thespis, therefore appeared as the first actor, and when he broke
away from the chorus, he added the dramatic potential of impersonation.

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It is impersonation, because, instead of describing the god, Dionysius, or his actions, he

pretended to be the god. Thus the performance changed from poetry performance to drama.
Aeschylus added the second actor and this gave drama a new thrust forward because the
additional actor enabled the dramatist to show in action a dramatic conflict rather than talk about
it. Sophocles’ addition of the third actor further enlarged the scope of the dramatist and provided
him with the means of complicating his plot and devising more complex structural arrangement
of his action. It is important to note here that speech is not of essence in drama because it could
be presented without words or without the accompaniment of music/dance.

The important feature of drama is communication. It induces a personal communication and an

immediate experience between the actor and the audience. This makes drama a concrete art and
the message is immediate and direct. It is concrete because you can see the actors performing
and presenting a life-like story which affects you positively or negatively and you re-act
immediately. Accordingly, drama exists in both oral and literary traditions.

In this unit, we will concentrate more on written drama. The text is called a play and the writer is
called a playwright. However, we will make reference to drama as performance on stage from
time to time because it is difficult to separate the two in the study of dramatic literature.

2.4 Evolution of Drama

Drama, just like other genres of literature, has undergone significant changes in its historical
development. This is partly attributed to the fact that stage types have also changed and have
thus required different forms of acting. This section discusses the various stages of evolution of
drama and examines specific features of drama that characterize each period.

2.4.1. Greek Classicism / Greek Theatre

Plays in ancient Greece were staged in amphitheatres, which were marked by a round stage
about three quarters surrounded by the audience. Since amphitheatres were very large and could
hold great masses of people (up to 25,000), the actors could hardly be seen from far back.

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Consequently, acting included speaking in a loud, declamatory voice, wearing masks and
symbolical costumes and acting with large gestures. The chorus was a vital part of ancient
Greek drama. It had the function of commenting on the play as well as giving warning and
advice to characters.

Plays were performed in broad daylight, which also made it impossible to create an illusion of
‘real life’ on stage, at least for night scenes. That was not intended anyway. Ancient Greek
drama was originally performed on special occasions like religious ceremonies, and it thus had a
more ritual, symbolic and also didactic purpose. Another interesting fact to know is that the
audience in ancient Greece consisted only of free men, hence slaves and women were excluded.

2.4.2 Roman Period / The Roman Theatre

The decline of the Greek society coincided with the rise of the Roman Empire led to the
emergency of the Roman theatre. The Romans borrowed extensively from Greek theatre.
Although Roman theatre may not be held in the same high esteem as that of the Greeks, it is
worth noting that contemporary drama has been heavily influenced by the Roman Theatre. This
observation shows that various aspects of modern drama can be traced back to the Roman period.
For example, the word “play” itself derives from a literal translation of the Latin word “ludus”
which means recreation or play.

Roman theatre took two forms: Fabula Palliata and Fabula Togata. Fabula Palliata were
primarily translations of Greek plays into Latin, although the term is also applied to the original
works of Roman playwrights based upon Greek plays. We are familiar with the latter from the
works of Terence (190-159 B.C.), who introduced the concept of a subplot, enabling us to
contrast the reactions of different sets of characters to the same events or circumstances. The
Fabula Togata were of native origin, and were based on more broadly farcical situations and
humor of a physical nature. An author of some of the better examples of this type of drama is
Plautus (c.250-184 B.C.).

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Perhaps as a reflection of society, performed drama in Rome consisted primarily of Fabula

Togata, as well as the spectacles of the gladiators and chariot races made familiar by modern
Hollywood treatment of the Roman Empire. Plays of a more serious literary nature continued to
be written, but these were not intended to be performed so much as read or recited.

Although we have few works by Roman playwrights surviving to us in forms that would lend
themselves to revival, the influence of the Roman world on the form of a stage is one which has
had a more lasting effect. The semi-circular orchestra of the Greek theatre came to be eclipsed by
the raised stage and the more vigorous style of acting employed by the performers.

However, the greatest impact Rome may have had on theatre was to lower it in the esteem of the
Church - an impact that was to retard the growth of dramatic arts for several centuries.
The bent toward low comedy and its mass appeal - coupled with its association with the
entertainment of the arena (which involved the martyrdom of early Christians) - almost certainly
contributed to its disfavor by officials of the early Christian Church. Plays or ludii were
associated with either comedy of a coarse and scurrilous nature, or with pagan rituals and
holidays. It was the latter, however, which may account for the survival of theatre through the
middle Ages.

2.4.3. The Medieval Period / The Middle Ages

Drama scholars have pointed out that drama died following the fall of the Roman Empire and its
memory was kept alive only in the performances of roving bands of jongleurs: itinerant street
players, jugglers, acrobats and animal trainers. However, while such troupes did help to maintain
certain aspects of theatrical art, particularly that involving stock characters, the Church itself
contributed to the preservation of drama during the medieval period.

During the Roman period, the Church agitated for the prohibition of all drama activities. It is
ironic that the Church, which caused theatres to be outlawed as the Roman Empire declined and
then fell, was one of the primary means of keeping theatre alive through the Middle Ages. This
resulted from the Church's need to establish itself in the community - a community still steeped
in pagan ritual and superstition which manifested itself in seasonal festivals. The Church

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ultimately linked its own religious holidays with these seasonal festivals and began to use
dramatic forms to illustrate the stories underlying these holidays so as to reinforce their religious
connotation and to communicate the stories better to an illiterate congregation.

At first the parts played in these simple religious re-enactments of the nativity and adoration of
the Magi were played by priests in the sanctuary of the church. However, as the repertoire of the
Church grew to include the passion and crucifixion of Christ, the Church was confronted with
the dilemma of how a priest should portray Herod. While division of opinion in the Church
continued as to the worth of dramatic interpretations, the members of the congregation clearly
enjoyed and were moved by drama.

The church dramas continued to grow, moving out of the sanctuary into the open air in front of
the Church. Ultimately, the members of town guilds began to contribute to these dramas, which
continued to grow more elaborately with time. Known as passion plays, miracle plays and
morality plays, the dramas continued their close connection with the Church and church
holidays, but began to introduce elements of stock/standard characters that were more
contemporary in nature.

Medieval plays were primarily performed during religious festivities (mystery plays, morality
plays). They were staged on wagons, which stopped somewhere in the market place and were
entirely surrounded by the audience. The close vicinity between actors and audience accounted
for a way of acting which combined serious renditions of the topic in question with stand-up
comedy and funny or bawdy scenes, depending on the taste of the audience. Actors took into
account the everyday experiences of their viewers and there was much more interaction between
audience and actors than nowadays. The lack of clear boundaries between stage and audience
again impeded the creation of a realistic illusion, which was not intended.

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2.4.4. Renaissance and Reformation period

In this section we examine the rebirth of the theatre and its domination by a genius playwright. It
is during this period that theatre re-emerged from the Church and became secular theatre
although it remained largely under the control of the state, be that sovereign King or Republic.

During the 15th and 16th Centuries, European Society was influenced by the Renaissance - a
“rebirth” or rediscovery of the classical worlds of Rome and Greece - and by a movement toward
nationalism - the building of coherent nation-states such as England, France and Spain (with
Germany and Italy following later). The impact of these changes on the theatre went beyond
mere secularization of an artform that had been dominated for centuries by the Church.

The Renaissance, while having a major impact on the other arts, had less influence on theatre in
England than in Italy, where classic Roman plays were revived for performance. Of greater
impact was the Protestant Reformation and the movement toward nationalism which
accompanied the Reformation. The rediscovery of the classics did influence the development of
the stage - first in Italy, then in France and England and the rest of Europe. It was in Italy that the
first steps were taken toward the development of the proscenium, or “picture frame”, stage with
which we are so familiar today.

In the England of the 15th and 16th Centuries, however, the proscenium stage was still in the
future. The stages on which the works of a growing body of “play-makers” were performed
evolved from the use of the enclosed courtyards of inns to stage performances. These “apron
stages” were surrounded by galleries and were therefore “open” stages.

Indeed, they were so “open” that members of the audience not only sat in the galleries
surrounding the stage on three sides, and in the ground space around the elevated stage, but on
the stage itself. The emphasis was on dialogue as opposed to blocking or action, and the plays
still had a moralistic tone. The themes of religious virtue were replaced by those of loyalty to
government or to a stable society.

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The term “play-maker” refers to the fact that the emphasis was on the performers. Troupes or
companies of actors developed a repertory of plays for performance. These companies were still
guild-like in their organization, with a group of owner-actors, journeymen and hirelings. The
plays that were performed were based on simple plots or previous works, and a writer “made” a
play more as a technical than a truly creative process.

The Protestant Reformation and the break of England from the Catholic Church during the reign
of Henry VIII influenced a change in this pattern. England in the 16th Century moved back and
forth from Catholicism to Protestantism, back to Catholicism during the reign of Mary, and back
again to Protestantism with the accession of Elizabeth I.

For intellectuals, including those who “made” plays based on the works of the classic world, the
choice between revival of Latin works (associated with the Church in Rome) or Greek works
(associated more with Protestantism in the England of the time), was literally a choice between
life and death as a heretic. It's no wonder that playwrights began to avoid a revival of the classics
in favor of original, secular works of a general, non-political and non-religious nature.

2.4.5. Elizabethan Period

Elizabethan Drama is a general term for plays written during reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603),
and by extension including also those written up to closing of theatres in 1642. It was in this
world that William Shakespeare (1564-1616) wrote and acted in his plays in the late 16th and
early 17th Centuries. Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre produced a number of notable
playwrights, including Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson; but Shakespeare towers above
them.

Shakespeare had the good fortune to be a share-holder in the companies he was associated with,
earning him income as a maker of plays, an actor and an investor. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon,
he wrote plays that are timeless for their understanding of human nature and character. He was a
member of several companies including the Lord Chamberlain's and King James I's own

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company, and was also a part owner of the Globe and Black friar’s playhouses. At this time, the
plays written and performed in England were still presented in open-air theatres.

Shakespeare and his contemporaries did encourage a more natural style of speaking, as opposed
to the declamatory demagogueing then practiced by some, but was not likely an advocate of the
type of realism and natural character portrayal that we see in today's theatres.

Characteristics of Elizabethan Theatre

a. The stage

A typical Elizabethan unroofed public playhouse, firstly had a raised platform as a stage, and on
three sides of this was a yard, an open area for standing audience members. Surrounding the
stage and the yard were two or three gallery levels fully furnished with seats. Behind the stage
was a back wall with 2 or 3 doors (or curtained doorways). These doorways provided the actors
exits and entrances from backstage.

A gallery, where musicians often sat, supported the back wall. Above this gallery was a tower,
which acted as a storage area for machinery. From the top of this tower, a trumpet would signal a
play's commencement and a flag would indicate that a performance was taking place.

The Elizabethan stage was an adaptation of medieval conventions. For example, the Elizabethan
stage platform originated in the medieval’s unlocalized plateau, while the facade of the
Elizabethan stage had evolved from the mansions of medieval religious drama.

The Elizabethan stage also made use of trapdoors in the stage platform, and machinery in the
towers, which were used to lift and move performers. Props, like beds, thrones, and altars were
not used to show a scene's locale but to simply aid the action.

The stage was surrounded by the audience on three sides and there was still close vicinity
between audience and actors. The most common stage form in Renaissance England was the
apron stage which was surrounded by the audience on three sides. This meant that actors could

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not possibly ignore their viewers, and theatrical devices such as asides and monologues but were
an integral part of the communication system. Since performances took place in broad daylight,
the audience had to imagine scenes set at night and respective information had to be conveyed
rhetorically in the characters’ speeches (word scenery). As there was barely any scenery, scenes
could change very quickly with people entering and exiting. The three unities were thus
frequently not strictly adhered to in Elizabethan drama.

b. Audience

The Elizabethan theatre could hold up to 2,000 people, and the audience was rather
heterogeneous, consisting of people from different social backgrounds. Plays of that period thus
typically combined various subject matters and modes (e.g., tragic and comical) because they
attempted to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.

As performances were often three hours long, their behavior became very rowdy. Talking during
dull moments, joviality and the selling of food added up to great commotion actors had to deal
with!

c. Costume

Elizabethan costume fundamentally consisted of Elizabethan dress. No matter the period of the
play, actors always wore contemporary costume. However, according to a character's racial or
national stereotype, characteristic accessories would be added to the outfit. This included a
breastplate and helmet for Roman soldier, a turban for a Turk, long robes for Eastern characters,
gabardines for Jews and a dress for a black.

Costumes accounted for a majority of companies' expenses especially their maintenance. In

Elizabethan theatre, processions, battles and celebrations were the order of the day and vibrant
color and pageantry was exhibited.

NOTE:

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Costumes were fashionable and contemporary (at the time)

They were used to indicate the character’s status or profession.
d. Pace of the Action

Plays were performed quickly - not garbling and rushing off the stage but without the long
breaks to change scenes. Actors would have had to use their voices and bodies expressively to
convey mood and meaning.

e. Good Acting
Good acting was natural but ‘big’, with a lot of energy and sexuality. The acoustics/audibility in
theatres meant that actors did not necessarily have to shout to be heard, but they would need to
speak clearly. Dialogue was a measure of good acting.

f. Acting Style

Actors had to capture and hold the attention of the audience, therefore their actions and gestures
needed to be a lot larger than what we see today. The audience was also very close to the actors
on the stage - this was particularly the case at The Globe theatre, where ‘the groundlings’ were
directly in front of the stage.

g. Times of Performances

Plays were performed in the afternoon as there was no lighting for night performances. Female
actors were not allowed to perform and hence their roles were played by young boys whose
voices had not yet broken.

2.4.6 The Eighteenth Century

Theatre in England during the 18th Century was dominated by an actor of genius, David Garrick
(1717-1779), who was also a manager and playwright. Garrick emphasized a more natural form
of speaking and acting that mimicked life. His performances had a tremendous impact on the art

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of acting, from which ultimately grew movements such as realism and naturalism. Garrick
finally banished the audience from the stage, which shrunk to behind the proscenium where the
actors now performed among the furnishings, scenery and stage settings.

Theatres of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were considerably smaller than the
Elizabethan theatre (they held around 500 people), and performances took place in closed rooms
with artificial lighting. In contrast to modern theatres where the audience sits in the dark, the
audience in the Restoration period was seated in a fully illuminated room. One must bear in mind
that people of the higher social class were also interested in presenting themselves in public, and
attending a play offered just such an opportunity.

Because of the lighting arrangement, the division between audience and actors was thus not as
clear-cut as today. Plays had the status of a cultural event, and the audience was more
homogeneous than in earlier periods, belonging primarily to higher social classes. While the
stage was closed in by a decorative frame and the distance between audience and actors was thus
enlarged, there was still room for interaction by means of a minor stage jutting out into the
auditorium. Furthermore, there was no curtain so that changes of scene had to take place on stage
in front of the audience. Plays in this period did not aim at creating a sense of realism but they
presented an idealised, highly stylised image of scenery, characters, language and subject matter.

Plays now dealt with ordinary people as characters, such as in She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver
Goldsmith (1730-1734), and The School for Scandal by Richard Sheridan. This was the result of
the influence of such philosophers as Voltaire and the growing desire for freedom among a
populace, both in Europe and North America, which was, with advances in technology,
beginning to find the time and means for leisurely occupations such as patronizing commercial
theatre. It was also in the 18th Century that commercial theatre began to make its appearance in
the colonies of North America.

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2.4.7 The Nineteenth Century

During the 19th Century, the Industrial Revolution changed the way people lived and worked
-and it changed the face of theatre as well. Gas lighting was first introduced in 1817, in London's
Drury Lane Theatre. Arc-lighting followed and, by the end of the century, electrical lighting
made its appearance on stage. The necessity of controlling lighting effects made it imperative,
once and for all, that the actors retreat behind the proscenium.

The poor quality of lighting probably contributed to the growth of melodrama in the mid-19th
Century, where the emphasis was less on content and acting, and more on action and spectacle.
Elaborate mechanisms for the changing and flying of scenery were developed, including flylofts,
elevators, and revolving stages.

Playwrights, due to the tastes of the public and copyright laws of the times, were poorly paid,
and the result was the ascendancy of the actor and the action over the author until later in the
century with the appearance of great playwrights such as Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), George
Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), and Anton Chekov (1860-1904). That serious drama continued to
develop during this time is witnessed not only by these and similar authors, but by the work of
the actor and director, Konstantin Stanislavsky (1865-1938), who wrote several works on the art
of acting, including An Actor Prepares, which laid the foundations for the "method" of the
Actor's Studio in the 20th Century.

2.4.8. Modern Drama

The stage of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is called proscenium stage or picture frame
stage because it is shaped in such a way that the audience watches the play as it would regard a
picture: The ramp clearly separated actors and the audience, with the curtain underlines this
division. Furthermore, while the stage is illuminated during the performance, the
auditorium/theatre remained dark, which also turns the audience into an anonymous mass. Since
the audience is thus not disturbed from watching the play and can fully concentrate on the action

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on stage, it becomes easier to create an illusion of real life in plays. Furthermore, the scenery is
now often elaborate and as true-to-life as possible.

While many modern plays aim at creating the illusion of a story-world ‘as it could be in real life’
and acting conventions follow this dictum/saying accordingly, there have also been a great
number of theatrical movements which counter exactly this realism. However, the modern stage
form has not been able to fully accommodate the needs of more experimental plays (e.g., the
epic theatre), nor older plays such as those of ancient Greece or the Elizabethan Age simply
because the overall stage conventions diverge too much. For this reason, we find nowadays a
wide range of different types of stage alongside the proscenium stage of conventional theatres.

Summary

In this lesson, we have shown that drama has undergone significant changes in its historical
development since its inception to the present. We showed that drama emerged from ritual
performances in traditional societies. For instance, we showed that Greek drama evolved from
religious festivals (ritual) that were celebrated to ensure the fertility of the land and the well
being of its people. Important to note is the fact that modern African drama has evolved over
time and has been informed largely by past historical periods.

With appropriate examples, discuss the defining characteristics of the

following dramatic periods:

a. Greek period
b. Elizatheban Period
c. Jacobean Period
REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Brocket, Oscar G. (1980). The Essential Theatre. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Crown, Brian (1983). Studying Drama. Ikeja: Longman.
Dukore, B. F. (1974). Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greek to Grotowsky. New York: Holt
Reinhart and Winston.
Hagher, I. H. (1994). “African Literature in Search of Policy: The Case of West African Drama”.
In Emenyonu, Ed. Current Trends in Literature and Languages Studies In West Africa. Ibadan:
Kraft Books, 1994.

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Mugubi, J. and Kebaya C. African Drama and Theatre: A Criticism. Nairobi: Focus Publishers,
2012.

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LESSON 3 GENRES OF DRAMA

INTRODUCTION

In our two previous lessons we defined drama, and examined the nature and functions of drama.
We also traced the origin and development of drama. In this third lesson, we shall introduce you
to the genres of drama. The lesson is tailored to enable you appreciate the different forms of
drama in the course of your study. Examining the genres of drama is also necessary for both the
playwright and the critics in their appreciation of dramatic composition.

LESSON OBJECTIVES

By the end of this lesson, you should able to:

i. Identify and explain the genres of drama.
ii. Explain the defining characteristics of the different genres of drama.

iii. Identify the genre of a play through reading.

MEANING OF DRAMATIC GENRE

The term genre originates from the French language and it means type, kind, or form. In simple
terms, dramatic genre means type or kind of dramatic composition. Drama is grouped into
distinct types, kinds or categories because there are qualities that are common to all dramatic
compositions. There are also qualities that make each composition unique. It is these similarities
and differences that determine each genre. Thus, this section analyses the different genres of
drama as follows:
Comedy

The words ‘comedy’ and ‘comic’ are used to describe something that is funny in our everyday
lives. These include a joke, a fantastic story 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.

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Comedy is a deliberate presentation of events/experiences drawn from real life but not the same
with real life.

Generally speaking plays that have good endings, resolutions or ends happily are referred to as
comedies or comic plays. 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 inferior moral bent,
not in every way but only in so far as their shortcomings are ludicrous. These short comings
cause no pain.

Comedy therefore teaches through laughter. Philip Sidney, in “Arts Poetica”, sees it as an
imitation of common errors of life which is presented in the most ridiculous and scornful manner
so that the spectator is anxious to avoid such errors himself. A comic play should aim at being
delightful though not necessarily by provoking laughter.

Philip Sidney also believes that laughter does not really help to achieve the aims of comedy but
may subvert those aims. He draws his theme from human errors and follies. He insists that the
playwright should attempt to improve moral life and arouse gentle affections. John Dryden
insists that comedy should portray the eccentricity of character while Northrop Frye says that
lightness of touch is the hallmark of comedy.

The purpose of comedy is to delight, to teach and to entertain the audience through the
presentation of characters, situations and ideas in a ridiculous manner. This helps to keep man
close to sanity, balance and to remind him of human frailties. It helps to keep him humble and
mindful of what he is rather than what he might wish himself to be.

We recognize comedy through its style, characterization, diction and other elements of style. For
example, satire is an important instrument in comedy because nothing reforms majority of men

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like the portrayal of their faults. Many people may have no objection to being considered wicked
but are not willing to be considered ridiculous. The audience is thus expected to learn from the
stupidity of the characters and try to avoid such pitfalls because nobody likes to be made an
object of ridicule.

Comedy adopts a different approach from that of serious drama. It presents the incongruity in
people and situations. In doing this, the playwright suspends the natural laws. Comedy is usually
presented as a moral satire used to attack vices like greed, hypocrisy, lust, laziness, or ignorance.
The aim is to correct social ills, social injustice or to ridicule a particular human fault or social
imbalance. It thrives on exaggeration of situation and character to show mankind worse than it
really is.

Since drama is a conscious and deliberate presentation of events/experience based mostly on real
life but not the same with real life, one should, therefore, not expect comedy to be the same with
real life. In both real life and drama, comedy should indicate a kind of pleasure which finds
physical expression in laughter or smile.

Types of Comedy

There are various types of comedies. Generally, drama scholars distinguish between high
comedy, which appeals to the intellect (comedy of ideas) and has a serious purpose (for
example, to criticize), and low comedy, where greater emphasis is placed on situation comedy,
slapstick and farce. However, this section purposes to examine the sub-genres of comedy as:

Romantic Comedy
In a romantic comedy, a pair of lovers and their struggle to come together is usually at the centre
of romantic comedy. Romantic comedies also involve some extraordinary circumstances, e.g.,
magic, dreams, the fairy-world, etc.

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Satiric Comedy

Satiric comedy has a critical purpose. It usually attacks philosophical notions or political
practices as well as general deviations from social norms by ridiculing characters. In other words
the aim is not to make people ‘laugh with’ the characters but ‘laugh at’ them. An early writer of
satirical comedies was Aristophanes (450-385 BC).

Comedy of Manners

The comedy of manners is satirical in outlook and takes the artificial and sophisticated behaviour
of the higher social classes under closer scrutiny. The plot usually revolves around love or some
sort of amorous intrigue and the language is marked by witty repartees and cynicism.

3.4 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. In this section,
however, we are not concerned with these tragedies or tragic events in our daily lives but as they
relate to dramatic compositions.

Tragedy in drama is believed to have originated from the Greek worship of Dionysius, the god of
wine and fertility. During the festival, the dithyramb, a choral lyric in honour of the god is sang
and danced around the altar by fifty men dressed in goat-skin (goat was the sacred animal of the
god). This is perhaps from where tragedy got its name because in Greek, “tragoedia” meant goat
song. Thus tragedy was born.
Tragedy is the most esteemed of all the dramatic genres. It has attracted many definitions and
rules, from the days of Aristotle, who is the first person to write on the circumstances of and
what tragedy should be, to the present day. According to Aristotle in The Poetics:

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Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete and of a certain

magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornaments, the
several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the from of action not
of narrative; through pity and fear effecting a proper purgation of these
emotions.

Aristotle explains all the aspects of this definition and moves further to give the elements of
tragedy as plot, character, thought, diction, music and spectacle.

In drama, tragedy is a serious play that deals with the misfortunes of man. It presents a man
(tragic hero) who is not too virtuous or too vicious but one who aspires for higher ideals. He tries
to improve himself and the world around him. In the course of this, he makes a mistake, or
commits an error of judgment. This leads to his fall. Traditionally, in classical tragedies, the hero
must be of noble birth, suffer and is overwhelmed in the end. Tragedy presents injustice, evil,
pain, misfortunes, paradoxes and mysterious aspects of human existence.

Greek tragedy has a set pattern or structure. It starts with the prologue which introduces the play
with the episodes of the play and the choral songs in between and finally the exodus. The play
contains a “single integral plot” which is presented in a very short period with one setting. The
action could be simple or complex and contains a reversal of fortune or discovery or both. They
are very short plays and many of them were presented in trilogies. The tragic hero is drawn from
princes and kings. He is a man who is not pre-eminently good, virtuous or vicious but who
commits an error of judgment.

Oedipus Rex is a good example of classical tragedy. It has a single plot, the story of how Oedipus
killed his father and married his mother. The setting is just in front of the palace. Oedipus, the
tragic hero is a king who by the end of the play, discovers the truth about himself, his fortune
reverses from good to bad. His catastrophe is caused by his tragic flaw; which is arrogance.

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The following are the defining characteristics of tragedy:

 Displays human greatness
 Emphasizes human freedom
 Exposes the nobility of man
 Presents challenges to the vision of human possibility

Characteristics of the Tragic Hero:

 Overpowering individual
 Usually named in the play’s title
 Judged by moral standards
 Isolated
 Lofty and noble
 Has a tragic flaw or Hubris

3.4.1 Types of Tragedies

There are various sub-genres of tragedy and these are analysed as follows:

3.4.1.1 Senecan Tragedy

Senecan tragedy was considered a precursor of tragic drama and was dominated by the tragedies
of the Roman poet Seneca (4 BC – 65 AD) from where it drew its name. Senecan tragedies were
recited rather than staged but they became a model for English playwrights entailing the five-act
structure, a complex plot and an elevated style of dialogue. Violent subject matter dominated this
type of tragedy which included murder, revenge, mutilations and ghosts.

3.4.1.2 Revenge Tragedy / Tragedy of Blood

This type of tragedy represented a popular genre in the Elizabethan Age and made extensive use
of certain elements of the Senecan tragedy such as murder, revenge, mutilations and ghosts.

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These plays were written in verse and, following Aristotelian poetics, the main characters were
of a high social rank (the higher they are, the lower they fall).

Apart from dealing with violent subject matters, these plays conventionally made use of dumb
shows or play-within-the-play, that is a play performed as part of the plot of the play as for
example ‘The Mousetrap’ which is performed in Hamlet, and feigned or real madness in some of
the characters.

3.4.1.3 Domestic / Bourgeois Tragedy

In line with a changing social system where the middle class gained increasing importance and
power, tragedies from the 18th century onward shifted their focus to protagonists from the
middle or lower classes and were written in prose. The protagonist typically suffers a domestic
disaster which is intended to arouse empathy rather than pity and fear in the audience. This is
what is referred to as domestic or bourgeois drama. These type of tragedies are centred around
conflicts that are drawn from common issues in society and involve the use of common
characters.

Modern tragedies such as Arthur Miller’s The Death of a Salesman (1949) follow largely the
new conventions set forth by the domestic tragedy (common conflict, common characters) and a
number of contemporary plays have exchanged the tragic hero for an anti-hero, who does not
display the dignity and courage of a traditional hero but is passive, petty and ineffectual. Other
dramas resuscitate elements of ancient tragedies such as the chorus and verse, such as T.S.
Eliot’s The Murder in the Cathedral (1964).

3.5 Melodrama

The word melodrama is coined from melo (music) and dran (drama). Melodrama 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.

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The hero in a melodrama 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 by the audience. The protagonist is admired and the antagonist is hated.

It is this identification by the audience that provides ground for poetic justice because the
antagonist loses in the end. This explains why some critics insist that melodrama is an honest
dramatic form. It is the only form of drama that expresses the truth of human condition as they
are perceived most of the time. This is a condition where vice is condemned and virtue
applauded or where the bad man is punished and the good man rewarded.

Like tragedy, melodrama deals with characters in critical situations. The main difference is in the
point of view. Outwardly, melodramas tries to create the illusion of real people at genuine risk or
in jeopardy but the playwright manipulates the play in such a way that it ends with a reprieve or
a rescue, a reform or a triumph for the protagonist. There is always an escape from danger in the
plot line. In melodrama, there is always serious excitement, suspense and thrills for the audience.

The plot in melodrama is built on tension and great excitement but this is transitory and lends no
substantial significance to the action of the play. It contains stories with colourful but brave
characters. It creates opportunities for strong sensational scenes, powerful emotions, and strong
characters that struggle against deadly odds. Sometimes they are trapped in precarious situations
but they must hold on until there is help ultimately.

In melodramas, the hero is usually a one-dimensional figure who pursues a goal in a

straightforward manner. The opposition comes from the world around him. He does not always
think well before taking an action. Consequently, he gets involved in entanglements or
dangerous situations which a more rational person might avoid. The characters are usually
simple in mind and heart and are conditioned or influenced by their backgrounds and
environment.

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Melodrama contains most of the serious conflicts and crises of daily life. In melodrama, we
realize that our failures are not our fault but caused by others and our victories are as a result of
help from other people. It is a serious play because most of the time, they rely on strong story
lines but lacks the essential magnitude in character and the action is usually over exaggerated.

3.5.1 Characteristics of Melodrama

The defining features of melodramas are:

a) It looks at human beings as a whole. People are expected to interact and help one another
in society. This explains why the protagonist is usually assisted or aided by someone for
him to triumph or succeed.
b) It sees human beings as encountering and enduring outer conflicts and not inner ones in
agenerally hostile and wicked world.
c) These human conflicts end in victory. Melodramatic characters either win or
lose.However, in the spirit of poetic justice, the protagonist usually wins despite the
difficulties he encounters in the course of the action to show that good triumphs over evil.
d) There is an over simplification of human experiences which are usually exaggerated
insuch a way that the main thesis of the play is made transparent.
e) It treats a serious subject matter in a serious manner, though exaggerated.

3.5.2 Comparison between Melodrama and Tragedy

The table below presents the ways in which Melodrama and tragedy compare:

Melodrama Tragedy
The hero faces overwhelming problems but The tragic hero commits an error of judgment
despite his sufferings, he triumphs in the end. which leads to his downfall.
Episodic in nature and contains elements of Contains a single episode and lacks magic or
charm or magic. It, therefore, lacks the honesty elements of charm.

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of tragedy.
Arouses suspense, pathos, terror and Evokes fear and pity as the audience empathies
sometimes hatred. Pity in melodrama borders with the hero. Pity and fear in tragedy are
on sentimentality and emotion and when fear is honest and lead to catharsis (purgation of
portrayed, it is usually superficial. emotions).

The protagonist wins or triumphs always. There is recognition for the hero in tragedy.

Escapes from life as it deals with the transitory Confronts good and evil with unblinking
material/physical issues or problems. honesty as eternal spiritual problems and ideals
are considered

Based on pretense to create theatrical effects Serious drama

for the audience.
3.6 Tragi-comedy
You have seen that tragedy is a serious play that ends on a sad note, while comedy ends happily.
If you read Oedipus Rex, for instance, you 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. Tragi-comedy is a play that mixes both
comic and tragic elements in equal proportion of each. It therefore elicits both tragic and comic
emotions.

The boundaries of genres are often blurred in drama and occasionally they lead to the emergence
of new sub-genres, e.g., the tragicomedy. Tragicomedies, as the name suggests, intermingle
conventions concerning plot, character and subject matter derived from both tragedy and
comedy. Thus, characters of both high and low social rank can be mixed as in Shakespeare’s The
Merchant of Venice (1600).

3.7 Farce

Farce, commonly 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

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identity, elaborate misunderstanding, switched costume (men in women’s clothes) heroes forced
under tables, misheard instructions, discoveries, disappearances and many such situations.

The farce typically provokes viewers to hearty laughter. It presents highly exaggerated and
caricatured types of characters and often has an unlikely plot. Farces employ sexual mix-ups,
verbal humour and physical comedy, and they formed a central part of the Italian commedia
dell’arte.

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 and slipping on a banana peel and falling in
an exaggerated manner. The main objective is to entertain by evoking laughter. It presents
mainly mechanical actions to show that human life is mechanical, aggressive, and coincidental.

3.8 Summary

This lesson focused on the genres of drama. We have explored the major genres of drama such as
tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy and melodramas. We showed that each of these genres of drama
have distinct characteristics that make them stand out from each other. These features include the
nature of characterization, how they project the subject matter and the nature of their endings
among others. For example, we showed that tragedies are composed of characters from noble
backgrounds, are endowed with extra-ordinary powers and intellectual abilities but are always
dogged by certain tragic flaws.

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i. What are the major differences between:

a. Tragedies and Melodramas.

b. Comedies and Farces

ii. Using examples, discuss the characteristics of the

tragic hero.iii. Analyse the play Oedipus King in the
light of the characteristics of Tragedy.
REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Crow, Brian (1983). Studying Drama. Ikeja: Longman.
Hagler, A. M. (1959). A Source Book in Theatrical History. New York: Dover.
Molinari, Casare (1975). Theatre through the Ages. London: Cassell.
Brocket, Oscar G. (1980). The Essential Theatre. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Crown, Brian (1983). Studying Drama. Ikeja: Longman.
Dukore, B. F. (1974). Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greek to Grotowsky. New York: Holt
Reinhart and Winston.
Hagher, I. H. (1994). “African Literature in Search of Policy: The Case of West African Drama”.
In Emenyonu, Ed. Current Trends in Literature and Languages Studies In West Africa. Ibadan:
Kraft Books, 1994.
Mugubi, J. and Kebaya C. African Drama and Theatre: A Criticism. Nairobi: Focus Publishers,
2012.

LESSON 4 DRAMATIC ACTION

4.1 Introduction

This lesson introduces you to dramatic action as an element of drama. In this, you will learn the
importance of action in drama and the difference between dramatic action and ordinary action.
The story in drama is presented through the interaction of characters as they talk to one
anotherdialogue. However, you know that dialogue alone (two people just talking to each other)
does not constitute drama.

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4.2 Lesson OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

i. Explain your understanding of dramatic action
ii. State what constitutes dramatic action
iii. Identify and explain various types of dramatic actions.
iv. Appreciate the motivation behind certain dramatic actions of characters in a play.

DEFINITION OF DRAMATIC ACTION

Action is the process of doing something or the performance itself. If somebody slaps you and
you retaliate, there is an action. A series of events that constitute the plot in any literary work is
referred to as action. It includes what the characters say, do, think and in some cases, fail to do.
Action involves activity. This activity becomes more pronounced in drama where the action is
presented in concrete form as the actors present the story to the audience for entertainment and
education.

In drama, especially during performance, you see the characters moving around to perform
certain tasks, talk to one another, laugh, cry, fight, shoot or do anything according to the needs of
the moment. All these are dramatic actions. In the novel, you read the story as is told by the
novelist and see the action in your imagination but in drama the dramatist presents the action
through what the characters do or say.

Drama is the only genre of literature in which the story is presented in dialogue from the
beginning to the end. However, dialogue alone does not constitute dramatic action. What makes
it drama is the action that is involved. Dramatic action includes facial expressions, gestures and
movements. So, what makes dialogue dramatic is the presence of action. It is only through action
that the playwright can portray the human situations he chooses to dramatize. It is the action that
propels the plot and helps to advance the theme. In simple terms, drama is a story told in action
by actors who impersonate the characters in the story on a stage.

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Dramatic action is therefore a “…series of incidents that are logically arranged by the playwright
to achieve specific response like joy, pity, fear, indignation, ridicule, laughter, thoughtful
contemplation, from the audience” (Brocket 68). Each character is specially created to fulfill the
specific design of the dramatist. In The Marriage of Anansewa, for instance, Efua Sutherland
deliberately created Ananse to be an intelligent, witty, crafty and easy-going man. His nature
helps him to get not only a rich husband for his daughter but also ensures that the man who
marries his daughter actually loves her. The playwright also advances the theme of excessive
materialism and ostentation in Ghana through the easy-going nature and action of Ananse.

Oscar Brocket in The Essential Theatre points out that dramatic action refers to, “the cause to
effect arrangement of incidents sets up the situation; the desires and motivations of the characters
out of which the later events develop” (32). This logical arrangement of incidents presupposes
that the action must be presented in such a way that it should make sense to the audience. Any
action performed by any character must be as a result of an earlier action. Thus in the play The
Marriage of Anansewa, Ananse is poor so decides to take an action that will help him to get rich.
What does he do? He decides to give his daughter out in marriage and in the process make
money for himself. He writes to four wealthy chiefs. The ultimate effect of this action is that they
send money and gifts to him. Eventually, the effect of this is that he becomes rich. The effect of
the wealth is that he pays her daughter’s school fees and renovates his house.

The action in drama is usually organized in a climatic order with the scenes increasing in interest
by increasing suspense and emotional intensity. In the play, from Ananse’s action in the opening
scene, when it appears that Ananse wants to sell his daughter Anansewa like ‘some parcel to a
customer’, your interest is aroused. The next thing is to find out how he is going to do it. As the
play progresses, and Ananse entangles himself in the mess, the suspense and emotional intensity
is heightened. You can see now that dramatic action is constructed in such a way that it answers
the suspenseful question, ‘what happened’.

Action in drama involves gestures, facial expressions, inflexion of voice and movement. Some
gestures and expressions actually present more actions than words. Dramatic action also includes
what the character fails to do. In Hamlet, the popular quote ‘to be or not to be’ refers to the

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action. Hamlet is contemplating on the proper action to take against his uncle who he suspects
killed his father. He does not want to act until he is sure of it. He therefore organizes a play and
presents a similar experience in the play. Luckily, he gets the desired effect as Claudius’ reaction
points to his guilt. It would have been possible for Hamlet to kill Claudius’ immediately but that
would have been the end of the play. So, Hamlet’s inaction helps to increase the suspense and
emotional intensity of the play. You can see that all the actions mentioned here are logical. For
the action to be logical, the characters must be well- motivated.

Motivation

Motivation is the drive behind every action a character takes in a play. In The Marriage of
Anansewa, poverty drives Ananse to ‘sell’ his daughter while in The Lion and the Jewel, the girls
are excited as they discuss the magazine that contains Sidi’s pictures. Their excitement is
motivated by the fact they have never seen the picture of anybody from their community in a
magazine. Also in the play, Baroka’s motivation for marrying Sidi is to subdue her and prevent
her from being more popular than him. What this means is that there must be a reason for any
action taken by every character in the play.

In drama, because the action is presented in dialogue and the playwright does not have the space
to explain the action like the novelist, some of the actions that cannot be incorporated in dialogue
are presented in the stage direction. The explanation of the action in the stage direction helps the
reader to enjoy the action and also helps the director in the blocking of the play during rehearsals
before the performance.

Types of Dramatic Action

Dramatic Action takes the following three forms:

(a) Physical Action;

(b) Reported Action; and(c) Mental Action.

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Physical Action

Physical action in drama refers to the movements made by a character in a play. It is visible and
may or may not involve dialogue. Physical action is based on the current incidents in the play,
the concrete action on stage. It includes the movements, gestures, facial expressions and forms of
material action made by the characters and seen by the audience. Physical action can be in form
of movements/gestures, mime or pantomime. These are explained in detail below:

a. Movement/Gesture
Movement is simply the process of moving, change of place, position, or passing from one place
to another and is used to describe mainly the actual movements like walking, running, pacing,
kneeling, lying down, standing or sitting. It involves the activities or whereabouts of a character
or a group of characters. These movements are usually accompanied by dialogue. This
differentiates it from mime and pantomime which are actions without words. This includes the
steps taken by the character while he is speaking or in the process of undertaking other tasks.

Closely related to movement is gesture. Generally, gesture refers to body movements like
position, posture, and expressions. Gestures are used by characters to express their thoughts,
feelings, or as a rhetorical device. It could be used as a symbol to indicate intentions or evoke a
response. Characters also use gesture a signal, motion, or an indication for his feelings or an
action to taken by another character.

In plays, you identify the movements and gestures through the dialogue and the stage direction.
Can you identify the movement/gesture in this excerpt from The Marriage of Anansewa:

AYA: [Entering to find him in this state] My son, is this weeping you’re
weeping? What is the matter?
ANANSE: [Wringing out the handkerchief,] Mother!
AYA: My stalwart son.
ANANSE: Mother. [He returns the handkerchief and acting like a man in
conflict. Yells out:] Destroyers! Evil-doers! They won’t rest until they have ruined

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me. Enemies whose outward appearance makes you think they are not enemies.
AYA: [Wide-eyed with confusion] Enemies? It’s that woman Christy, isn’t it?
The minute I met that woman here I felt instinctively that trouble marches
alongside people of her kind.
ANANSE: [Bursting into fears afresh] Handkerchief! (Act 3, p52)

b. Mime

Mime is another form of physical action. Sometimes, certain actions are presented without words
to show meaning for the purpose of entertainment by dramatists. This is mime. The Oxford
Dictionary describes mime as a dumb show, mummery, the use of gesture to indicate certain
action or indication by sign language. It is regarded as a simple facial drama that is characterized
by mimicry and the ludicrous representation of familiar types of characters.

Mime is therefore the art or technique of expressing or conveying action, character, or emotion
with only the use of gestures and movements. In a play, the actions in mime are usually enclosed
in the stage direction and mostly in italics. Some of these mimes are flashbacks, that is, those
events from the past that are recalled to help explain certain things in the play but some of them
are presented as part of the present action in the play. In The Lion and the Jewel, for instance, the
use of mime on the arrival of the journalist in the village and the one on the road construction
recalls past actions:

LAKUNLE:
[A terrific shout and a clap of drums. Lakunle enters into the spirit of the dance
with enthusiasm. He takes over from Sidi, stations his cast all over the stage as
the jungle, leaves the right to-stage clear from the four girls who are to dance the
motor-car. A mime follows of the visitor’s entry into Ilujinle, and his short stay
among the villagers. The four girls couch on the floor, as four wheels of a car.
Lakunle directs their spacing then takes his place his place in the middle, and sits
on air. He alone does not dance. He does realistic miming. Soft throbbing drums,
gradually swelling in volume, and the four ‘ wheels’ begin to rotate the upper

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halves of their bodies in a perpendicular circles. Lakunle, clown in the driving

motions, obviously enjoying this fully. The drums gain tempo faster, faster, faster.
A sudden crash of drums and the girls quiver and dance the stall. Another effort
at rhythm fails, and the ‘stalling wheels’ give a corresponding shudder, finally,
and let their faces fall on their laps. Lakunle tampers with a number of controls,
climbs out of the car, and looks underneath it. His lips indicate that he is
swearing violently. Examines the wheels, pressing them to test the pressure,
betrays the devil in him by seizing his chance to pinch the girl’s bottom. One yells
and bites him on the ankle. He climbs hurriedly back into the car, makes a final
attempt to restart it, gives it up and decides to abandon it. Picks up his camera
and helmet, pockets a flask a flask of whisky from which he takes a swig, before
beginning the trek. The drums resume beating, a different darker tone and
rhythm, varying the journey. Full use of ‘gangan’ and ‘iya ilu’ The ‘trees’
perform a subdued and unobtrusive dance on the same spot. Details as a snake
slithering out of the branches and poising over Lakunle’s head when he leans
against a tree for a rest. He flees, restoring his nerves shortly after by a swig. A
monkey drops suddenly on his path and gibbers at him before scampering off. A
roar comes from somewhere, etc. His nerves go rapidly and he recuperates
himself by copious draughts. He is soon tipsy, battles violently with the
undergrowth and curses silently as he swats the flies off his tortured body.
Suddenly from somewhere in the bush comes the sound of a girl singing. The
Traveler shakes his head but the sound persists. Convicted he is suffering from
sun-stroke, he drinks again. His last drop, so he tosses the bottle in the direction
of the sound, only to be rewarded by a splash, a scream and a torrent of abuse,
and finally, silence again. He tip-toes, clears away the obstructing growth, blinks
hard and rubs his eyes. Whatever he has seen still remains. He whistles softly,
unhitches his camera and begins to jockey himself into a good position for a take.
Backwards and forwards, and his eyes are so closely glued to the lens that he
puts forward a careless foot and disappears completely. There is a loud splash
and the invisible singer alters her next tone to a sustained scream. Quickened
rhythm and shortly afterwards, amidst sounds of splashes, Sidi appears on stage,

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with a piece of cloth only partially covering her. Lakunle follows a little later,
more slowly, trying to wring out the water from his clothes. He has lost all his
appendages except the camera. Sidi has run right across the stage, and returns a
short while later, accompanied by the Villagers. The same cast has disappeared
and re- forms behind Sidi as the villagers. They are in an ugly mood, and in spite
of his protests, haul him off to the town centre, in front of the ‘Odin’ tree.

Everything comes to a sudden stop as Baroka the Bale, wiry, goateed, tougher
than his sixty-two years, himself emerges at this point from behind the tree. All go
down, prostrate or kneeling with greetings of ‘Cabbies’ ‘Baba’ etc. All except
Lakunle, who begins to sneak off.] (14-15)

This is also a good example of the play-within-the-play. You know that the playwright has no

time and space to explain or describe every situation and event as much as the novelist. That is

why he uses the stage direction to present the action that could not be incorporated in dialogue.

c. Pantomime

Pantomime is synonymous with mime. It is a term used to refer to silent acting; the form of
dramatic activity in silent motion, gesture, facial expression, in which costume are relied upon to
express emotional state or action.

Pantomine also refers to some traditional theatrical performances heavily laden with gestures
without speech, in mime, but consisting of a dramatized fairy tale or stories with music, dancing,
topical jokes and conventional characters. It was popular in ancient Rome where it was a
dramatic entertainment in which performers expressed meaning through gestures accompanied
by music. Pantomime is used to dramatise absurd or outrageous behaviour.

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Reported Action

In dramatic action, sometimes, it is not possible to present every action on stage. This could be as
a result of the prevalent convention or because the action cannot be realized on stage. This
constitutes reported action. In the Classical Period, for instance, violence was not presented on
stage. The playwrights were expected to maintain single settings indoor actions and violence
were reported on stage.

In Oedipus Rex, for example, we witness what we might call a process of criminal investigation,
in which the investigator discovers himself to be the criminal and inflicts the appropriate
punishment for his crime. You will also notice that in the play, we do not witness all of the
events that make up that process and contribute to its development but some of the actions are
reported.

In reported action, an action that is not part of the present action on stage is reported by a
character or a group of characters. The action could be about an incident in the past like the death
of Polybus, Jocasta or an incident that happened in the course of the action of the play. In the
play, the wisdom of the oracle is reported by Creon, the death of Polybus takes place before the
time of the action on stage however it is reported to us only after the stage action is well under
way by the First Messenger, the suicide of Jocasta and the self blinding of Oedipus are reported
by the Second Messenger. Obviously, all of these events take place in the imaginative world of
the play but are not presented directly to the audience. All these actions though reported are part
of the plot.

Mental Action

Mental action is an action that takes place in the character’s mind. In most cases, mental action is
manifested in facial expressions. The mental action includes the action in which the audience is
left to imagine what happened. In most cases, it comes at the end of the play as the audience is
left to imagine what happened to a character or a group of characters. For instance, in The
Burdens, the audience is left to imagine what happens to Tinka and how Kaija and Nyakake will

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survive without their father and mother. The audience is left wondering how the children,
especially Kaija, will react to the news that it is actually Tinka, their mother, who killed their
father, Wamala.

SUMMARY

In this lesson, we have tried to explain dramatic action. We have pointed out that dramatic action
is simply the activities which the characters are involved in any dramatic piece. This includes
movements, gestures, and other expressions used to communicate the message of the play to the
audience. Ideally, dramatic action should be properly motivated and presented in a logical order.
However, there are some cases where illogical action is used in some aspects of the play or for
the entire play. This is usually for a purpose. Action in drama could be with or without words
hence we have mime and pantomime.

REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Brocket, Oscar G. (1980). The Essential Theatre. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Brocket, Oscar G. (1974). Theatre: An Introduction. New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston.
Scholes R. and C. H. Klaus. (1971) Elements of Drama. New York: Oxford University Press.
The Marriage of Anansewa,

Dukore, B. F. (1974). Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greek to Grotowsky. New York: Holt
Reinhart and Winston.
Hagher, I. H. (1994). “African Literature in Search of Policy: The Case of West African Drama”.
In Emenyonu, Ed. Current Trends in Literature and Languages Studies In West Africa. Ibadan:
Kraft Books, 1994.

Mugubi, J. and Kebaya C. African Drama and Theatre: A Criticism. Nairobi: Focus Publishers,
2012.

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LESSON 5 PLOT IN DRAMA

Introduction

This fifth lesson introduces you to plot, another important element of drama. In this, you shall
learn the difference between plot and story, types of plot and the plot structure. You shall also
learn the three units of plot and their importance in dramatic analysis and intepretation.

LESSON OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

i. Explain your understanding of the term plot
ii. Describe the plot structure. iii. Identify and explain various types of plot.

DEFINITION OF PLOT

The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines plot as a “plan or line of events of a story
especially of a novel or a story”. In dramatic plot, unlike in the novel where the author describes
the characters and incidents they are involved in, the playwright presents the characters in action.
This means that plot in drama develops through what the characters do or say, what is done to
them, and/or what is said about them or to them.

In One World of Literature, Shirley Geak-Lin Lim, compiles the following definitions of plot
from different scholars which shall give you a broader view of plot:

I. The plot as the organization of action that was traditionally conceived as a

sequence of important moments arranged chronologically, with an introduction,
series of complications intensifying the conflict, a climax clinching the fate of
the central characters, a resolution and a denouement that concludes and
summarizes the issues (p. 1107).

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II. Plot does not concentrate on an individual hero or his fate or her fate. Instead, its
open structure permits the inclusion of other important but minor characters. (p.
1108).

III. Plot is the organization of a series of action or events usually moving through
conflicts to a climax and resolution. The arrangement often implies causality and
achieves certain effects (p.1135).

In his own contribution, Oscar Brockett maintains that plot is not just a summary of the incidents
of a play but that it also refers to the organization of all elements into a meaningful pattern, the
overall structure of the play(6). In Play Production, Hennning Nelms sees plot as the anecdote
told to illustrate the theme, and the bare bones of the action and therefore the key to the structure
of the play.

In drama, every event is part of a carefully designed pattern and process. And that is what we
call plot. This explains why, Hennning Nelms points out that plot is “…a wholly interconnected
system of events, deliberately selected and arranged, in order to fulfill a complex set of dramatic
purposes and theatrical conditions… it comprises everything which takes place in the
imaginative world of the play. And the totality of the events must create a coherent imitation of
the world” (65).

From the above definitions, it is clear that plot is the structure of the actions which is ordered and
presented in order to achieve particular emotional and artistic effects in a play. It helps to give
the play an organic unity and a coherence that makes the play easy to understand. A good play
should therefore possess a unified plot. Plot in simple terms is the arrangement of a story in such
a way that there will be a sequential, logical and chronological order. The plot should be
arranged in such a way that the action starts from the beginning, rises to a climax and falls to a
resolution.

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Some people confuse plot with story. To them, plot means a story which the play tells. It is
therefore necessary at this point to make the distinction between plot and story so that you will
not fall into the same error. A story is a series of incidents whose development does not
necessarily depend on each other which means that the incidents may or may not be related or
connected. Plot on the other hand, is the way the story is arranged and it thrives on causality and
logical unity. In it, one incident happens and as a result the next one happens and the situation
must be related to each other. It has a beginning, middle and an end. A beginning gives rise to
the middle, which in turn raises the dramatic question that is answered in the end, thus
completing what was started in the beginning.

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, for example, is about a feud between two families, the love
between the two families’ children and their tragic death. This is roughly the story of the play,
which is related in the prologue. The plot, by contrast, encompasses the causally linked sequence
of scenes presented on stage to tell the story. Thus we are presented with a fighting scene
between members of the two families whereby the underlying conflict is shown. This is followed
by Romeo’s expression of his love-sickness and Benvolio’s idea to distract his friend by taking
him to a party in the house of the Capulets. Subsequently, the audience is introduced to the
Capulets, more specifically to Juliet and her mother, who wants to marry her daughter off to
some nobleman, etc. All these scenes, although they seem to be unrelated at a first glance, can be
identified in retrospect as the foundation for the emerging conflict. The story is developed in a
minutely choreographed plot, where the individual scenes combine and are logically built up
towards the crisis. Thus, plot refers to the actual logical arrangement of events and actions used
to explain ‘why’ something happened, while ‘story’ simply designates the gist of ‘what’
happened in a chronological order.

Dramatic plot produces a result or an effect on the audience. The playwright, therefore, tries to
fashion his play in a particular way to produce a particular impression on his audience. This
explains why a theme like corruption, could be treated by different playwrights. Each playwright
by the use of plot and other devices gives his own perspective, understanding of what corruption
is, its effects on the society and why it should be eradicated. He could, also, in the course of the
plot, suggest imagined ways through which corruption can be reduced to a barest minimum or its

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complete eradication. The success of a play depends mainly on the plot. It helps the audience or
reader to understand the theme and the motivations of the characters in the play.

Playwrights design their plots, in most cases, to achieve different purposes like to create tragic
comic or ironic effects. As the plot progresses, it arouses the reader’s curiosity and expectations
concerning future events in the play especially the fate of some characters. This is called
suspense. A good playwright makes an effective use of suspense to sustain his audience. Plot is a
highly specialized form of experience.

Let us use our daily experiences to illustrate and see just how specialized plot is by considering
what happens to us daily. We probably converse with a number of people and perform a variety
of actions. But most of these events have very little to do with one another, and they usually
serve no purpose other than to satisfy our pleasure, our work, or our bodily necessities. Thus the
events that take place in our daily interactions do not and cannot embody a significant pattern or
process even in a boarding school.

In other words, there is an extent to which a person’s life can be patterned. But in drama, every
event is part of a carefully designed pattern and process. And this is what we call plot. In a good
plot, the interest of spectators has to be deeply engaged and continuously sustained. This means
that the plot must be arranged in such a way that the interest must be aroused and engaged by
events that make up a process capable of being represented on stage. Thus plot is not confined
merely to what takes place on stage.

Types of Plot

We have so far explained that plot is just the summary of the play’s incidents. Although it
includes the story-line, it refers basically to the organization of all the incidents in drama into a
meaningful pattern and are arranged in a logical and coherent manner. There are different types
of plots and each is designed for a particular purpose. Some plots, for instance, are designed to
achieve tragic effect and others the effects of comedy, satire, or romance. However all plays do

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not have what we might call good plots, that is, with the beginning, middle and end. So, we have
different types of plots as explained below:

a. Main Plot

In a play, as said earlier, we have the main plot and subject (sub) plot. The main plot deals with
the major events and the subplot deals with other incidents which can be complete and
interesting stories on their own. However, a skillful playwright uses the subplot to advance our
appreciation and understanding of the main plot. Arguably, subplots serve to broaden our
perspective on the main plot and to enhance rather than diffuse the overall effects of the play.

b. Complex and Simple Plots

Aristotle divides plot into two – complex and simple plots. A simple plot is that in which the
action is simple and continuous and in which a change of fortune takes place without reversal of
the situation and without recognition. In a complex plot, on the other hand, the change is
accompanied by a reversal of the situation or by recognition or by both.

c. Unified and Episodic Plots

Aristotle also divided plot into unified and episodic plots. He argues that a unified plot is well
made plot. In the unified plot, the incidents are presented in a logical order and there is a causal
arrangement. What do we mean by causal arrangement? The play starts from the beginning
followed by the middle and the incidents in the middle are consequences of what happened in the
beginning and these are resolved in the end. It is a kind of cause and effect presentation. The
incidents will be so related that when anything is removed, it will create illogicality.

In episodic plot, there is no causal relationship between the incidents. The only unifying factor is
that the incidents are related or happening to one man. In unified plot, the removal of any
incident affects the organic structure of the play, but in episodic plot, you can remove an aspect
of the plot without changing or destroying the plot. It means, therefore, that the part that was

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removed is not necessary. Death of a Salesman has an episodic plot. It is made manifest more by
the presentations of the incidents in Willy Loman’s head, especially the appearances of his
brother Ben.

Aristotle recommends that a play should contain a single and not a double plot and condemned
the episodic plot which is a plot in which the episodes have no probable or inevitable connection.
He suggests that although plot is an imitation of an action, this must not be any action but an
action in which the various incidents are constructed in such a way that if any part is displaced or
deleted, the whole plot is disturbed and dislocated.

Structure of the Plot

Dramatic structure refers to the overall framework or method used by the playwright to organize
the dramatic material and/or action into a single unit. A good plot should not be haphazardly
organised but must be well co-coordinated and coherent. The action which makes up the plot
should be distinguished from a series of unrelated incidents because a plot must contain a logical
unity within the play. This constitutes the plot structure as events flow from the beginning,
middle, and an end. Gustav Freytag developed a model frequently used to describe the overall
structure of plays commonly referred to as Freytag’s Pyramid. In his book Die Technik des
Dramas (Technique of the Drama 1863), Freytag described the classical five-act structure of
plays in the shape of a pyramid, and he attributed a particular function to each of the five acts.
Freytag’s Pyramid can be schematised like this:

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Climax Falling
Action

Complicating
Action

Denouement

Introduction
Act 1 Act2 Act3 Act 4 Act 5

Act I contains all introductory information and thus serves as exposition: The main characters
are introduced and, by presenting a conflict, the play prepares the audience for the action in
subsequent acts. For example, in the first act of Hamlet, the protagonist Hamlet is introduced and
he is confronted with the ghost of his dead father, who informs him that King Claudius was
responsible for his death. As a consequence, Hamlet swears vengeance/revenge/retribution and
the scene is thus set for the following action.

The second act usually propels the plot by introducing further circumstances or problems related
to the main issue. The main conflict starts to develop and characters are presented in greater
detail. Thus, Hamlet wavers between taking action and his doubts concerning the
apparition/spirit. The audience gets to know him as an introverted and melancholic character. In
addition, Hamlet puts on “an antic disposition” i.e., he pretends to be mad, in order to hide his
plans from the king.

In act III, the plot reaches its climax. A crisis occurs when an error or a mistake is committed that
will lead to the catastrophe, and this brings about a turn (peripety) in the plot. Hamlet, by
organising a play performed at court, assures himself of the king’s guilt. In a state of frenzy, he

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accidentally kills Polonius. The king realises the danger of the situation and decides to send
Hamlet to England and to have him killed on his way there.

The fourth act creates a new tension in that it delays the final catastrophe by further events. In
Hamlet, the dramatic effect of the plot is reinforced by a number of incidents: Polonius’
daughter, Ophelia, commits suicide and her brother, Laertes, swears vengeance against Hamlet.
He and the king conspire to arrange a duel between Hamlet and Laertes. Having escaped his
murderers, Hamlet returns to court. The fifth act finally offers a solution to the conflict presented
in the play.

While tragedies end in a catastrophe, usually the death of the protagonist, comedies are simply
‘resolved’ (traditionally in a wedding or another type of festivity). A term that is applicable to
both types of ending is the French dénouement, which literally means the ‘unknotting’ of the
plot. In the final duel, Hamlet is killed by Laertes but before that he stabs Laertes and wounds
and poisons the king. The queen is poisoned by mistake when she drinks from a cup intended for
Hamlet.

Another good example is in Oedipus Rex. In the play, there is a plague in Thebes, the people are
suffering and lamenting. Oedipus seeks a solution from the oracle of Delphi and this leads to the
major dramatic question (in this case, the identity of Oedipus) around which the play revolves.
The middle is made up of series of complications. A complication is a new element which
changes the direction of the action. It leads to the discovery of new information. The series of
complications culminate in crises and climax. In the play, the complication starts with the
arrival of Creon with the information that the killer they seek is in their midst.

Consequently, the blind seer is invited and there are more complications as he accuses Oedipus
of being the murderer. There is a crisis with the shepherd’s revelation of the true parentage of
Oedipus and this leads to the climax. The end is the last part of the play. Here issues are
unraveled, untied and resolved. In the play, the killer of Laius is discovered towards the
denouement. Oedipus realizes that he has fulfilled the Delphic oracle’s prophecy: kill his father
and marry his mother.

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Three Unities in Drama

Older plays traditionally aimed at conveying a sense of cohesiveness and unity, and one of the
classical poetic ‘laws’ to achieve this goal was the idea of the three unities: unity of plot, unity
of place, and unity of time. Only the unity of plot is explicitly addressed in Aristotle’s Poetics
as discussed below:

a. The unity of time

The unity of time limits the supposed dramatic action to a specific duration of time. The time
could roughly be that of a single day, hours or a few days or months. For instance, Actions in the
play The Burdens roughly takes a period of 24hours.

b. The unity of place

Unity of place limits dramatic action to one general locality. Perhaps Aristotle tacitly assumed
that the observance of the unity of place would be the practice of good playwrights, since the
chorus was present during the whole performance, and it would indeed be awkward always to
devise an excuse for moving fifteen persons about from place to place. In The Burdens much of
the action is limited to Wamala’s house while mentions of the public bar, the village, the
teacher’s house and Matches Company were being made.

c. The unity of action

Unity of action limits dramatic action to a single set of incidents which are related as cause and
effect, “having a beginning, middle, and an end.” The third unity, that of action, is bound up with
the nature not only of Greek but of all dramas.

The unities mean that a play should have only one single plot line, which ought to take place in a
single locale and within a specific duration of time. The idea behind this is to make a plot more
plausible, more true-to-life, and thus to follow Aristotle’s concept of mimesis, i.e., the attempt to
imitate or reflect life as authentically as possible. If the audience watches a play whose plot

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hardly has a longer time span than the actual viewing of the play, and if the focus is on one
problem only that is presented within one place, then it is presumably easier for the viewers to
succumb to the illusion of the play as ‘reality’ or at least something that could occur ‘like this’ in
real life.

Shakespeare’s The Tempest, for example, ostensibly follows the rule of the unity of time and it
adheres to some extent to the unity of place since everything takes place on Prospero’s island. As
far as the unity of plot is concerned, however, it becomes clear that there are a number of minor
plots which combine to form the story of what happened to the King of Naples and his men after
they were ship-wrecked on the island. While the overarching plot that holds everything together
is Prospero’s ‘revenge’ on his brother, undertaken with the help of the spirit, Ariel, other
subplots emerge. Thus, there is the love story between Ferdinand and Miranda, Antonio’s and
Sebastian’s plan to kill the king, and Caliban’s plan to become master of the island. The
alternation of scenes among the various subplots and places on the island contribute to a sense of
fast movement and speedy action, which, in turn, makes the play more interesting to watch.

Open and Closed Drama

While traditional plays usually, albeit not exclusively, adhere to the five-act structure, modern
plays have deliberately moved away from this rigid format, partly because it is considered too
artificial and restrictive and partly because many contemporary playwrights generally do not
believe in structure and order anymore.

Another way to look at this is that traditional plays typically employ a closed structure while
most contemporary plays are open. The terms ‘open’ and ‘closed’ drama go back to the German
literary critic, Volker Klotz (1978), who distinguished between plays where individual acts are
tightly connected and logically built on one another, finally leading to a clear resolution of the
plot (closed form), and plays where scenes only loosely hang together and are even exchangeable
at times and where the ending does not really bring about any conclusive solution or result.

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Open plays typically neglect the concept of the unities and are thus rather free as far as their
overall arrangement is concerned. An example is Samuel Beckett’s famous play Waiting for
Godot. Belonging to what is classified as the theatre of the absurd, this play is premised on the
assumption that life is ultimately incomprehensible for mankind and that consequently all our
actions are somewhat futile. The two main characters, the tramps Estragon and Vladimir, wait
seemingly endlessly for the appearance of a person named Godot and meanwhile dispute the
place and time of their appointment. While Estragon and Vladimir pass the time talking in an
almost random manner, employing funny repartees and word-play, nothing really happens
throughout the two acts of the play.

Significantly, each of the acts end with the announcement of Godot’s imminent appearance and
the two characters’ decision to leave, and yet even then nothing happens as is indicated in the
stage directions: “They do not move”. The audience is left in a puzzled state because what is
presented on stage does not really seem to make sense. There is no real plot in the sense of a
sequence of causally motivated actions, and there is hardly any coherence. The play does not
provide any information on preceding events that could be relevant, e.g., with regard to that
mysterious Godot (Who is he? Why did Vladimir and Estragon make an appointment to see
him?), and it does not offer a conclusive ending since the audience does not know what is going
to happen (if anything) and what the actual point of this action is. Hence, there is no linear
structure or logical sequence which leads to a closed ending but the play remains open and
opaque on every imaginable level: plot, characters, their language, etc.

SUMMARY

In this lesson, we have focused on plot as one of the key elements of drama. We have defined
plot as incidents in a play that are related to each other in logical sequence and chronological
order. We pointed out that plot helps to give the play an organic unity and a coherence that
makes the play easy to understand. A good play should therefore possess a unified plot with a
beginning, middle and the end. Any competent writer organizes the incidents in such a way that
each will have the maximum impact on the reader’s response and advance the story’s total
objective. If the incidents are arranged sequentially from the beginning to the end and one event

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leads to the other, you will say that the play has a chronological, causal plot. If however they are
presented in a disjointed manner, you say that it has an episodic plot. Simple plot is when the
story is straightforward and easy to understand but when it is difficult, you say that it has a
complicated or complex plot.

REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Brocket, Oscar G. (1980). The Essential Theatre. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Crown, Brian (1983). Studying Drama. Ikeja: Longman.
Dukore, B. F. (1974). Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greek to Grotowsky. New York: Holt
Reinhart and Winston.
Hagher, I. H. (1994). “African Literature in Search of Policy: The Case of West African Drama”.
In Emenyonu, Ed. Current Trends in Literature and Languages Studies In West Africa. Ibadan:
Kraft Books, 1994.
Mugubi, J. and Kebaya C. African Drama and Theatre: A Criticism. Nairobi: Focus Publishers,
2012.

LESSON 6
SETTING IN DRAMA
Introduction

Setting is another important element of drama. In this lesson, you shall learn the meaning of
setting in drama, aspects of setting and the role of setting in shaping dramatic interpretations.
Sometimes playwrights will make little or no reference to the location where a scene is set.
However, they will give certain clues that will show the setting of the play. Playwrights do not
only use setting merely as a vehicle for the scene but also as a means of conveying intended
messages in their dramas. The audience’s interpretation of setting can influence the audience's
perception of the events as they unfold in a play.

LESSON OBJECTIVES

By the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

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i. Define setting in drama

ii. Identify the aspects of setting in drama
iii. Explain the role of setting in the understanding of drama

DEFINITION OF SETTING

Setting refers to the social situation or environment surrounding the action of a play. Simply put,
setting is the place or the time where or when the action of the play takes place. 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, Hamlet and many others, the playwrights mention specific
towns/countries like Thebes, Corinth 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.
Setting in drama can be understood in terms of:
a. Time
b. Space

TIME

Time in drama can be considered from a variety of angles. One can, for example, look at time as
part of the play: How are references to time made in the characters’ speech, the setting, stage
directions, etc.? What is the overall time span of the story? On the other hand, time is also a
crucial factor in the performance of a play: How long does the performance actually take?
Needless to say that the audiences’ perception of time can also vary. Another question one can
ask in this context is: Which general concepts of time are expressed in and by a play?

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Succession and Simultaneity

One of the first distinctions one can make in relation to time is the one between succession and
simultaneity. Events and actions can take place in one of these two ways: either one after
another (successively) or all at the same time (simultaneously). When these events are performed
on stage, their presentation in scenes will inevitably be successive while they may well be
simultaneous according to the internal time frame of the play.

Consider, for example, the plot of Ruganda’s The Burdens. Given the fact that the plot is
supposed to last only three hours, one must presume that the various subplots presenting the
different events and actions in the play must take place roughly at the same time. However, a
sense of simultaneity is created here exactly because different plot-lines alternate in strings of
immediate successive acts. On the other hand, if no other indication of divergent time frames is
given in the text, viewers normally automatically assume that the events and actions presented in
subsequent scenes are also successive in their temporal order.
Presentation of Temporal Frames

There are a number of possibilities to create a temporal frame in drama. Allusions to time can
be made in the characters’ conversations, the exact time of a scene can be provided in the stage
directions as in The Burdens; or certain stage props like clocks and calendars or auditory devices
such as church bells ringing in the background can give the audience a clue about what time it is.
At the beginning of Hamlet, for example, when the guards see the ghost of Hamlet’s father, the
time is given in the guard’s account of the same apparition during the previous night:

Last night of all,

When yond same star that’s westward from the pole,
Had made his course t’illume that part of heaven
Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself,
The bell then beating one –
(Shakespeare, Hamlet, I, 1)

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While in this instance, the exact time is expressed verbally by one of the characters, the crowing
of a cock offstage indicates the approaching daylight later in that scene and causes the apparition
to disappear. In scene 4 of the same act, Hamlet himself is on guard in order to meet the ghost,
and the scene begins with the following short exchange between Hamlet and Horatio:

Hamlet: The air bites shrewdly, it is very cold.

Horatio: It is a nipping and an eager air.
Hamlet: What hour now?
Horatio: I think it lacks of twelve.

This short dialogue not only conveys to the audience the time of night but it also uses word
painting to describe the weather conditions and the overall atmosphere (“air bites”, “very cold”,
“nipping”). Word painting means that actors describe the scenery vividly and thus create or
‘paint’ a picture in the viewers’ minds.

The third possibility of presenting time is through stage directions as is used in John Ruganda’s
The Burdens, for example. The stage directions in each of the Acts provides: “It is late in the
night” (I, 1), “Its afternoon, the next day” (II), “early in the morning” (III). The audience is thus
fully informed about the timing of the acts, and in some cases theatre goers have to infer it from
the context created through the characters’ interactions. The temporal gap between acts two and
three, for example, has to be inferred from the fact that things have changed in Wamala’s house;
most noticeably the removal of Wamala’s traditional rigelia.

Story Time and Discourse Time

Duration
Another important distinction that one needs to make when analysing time in drama is that
between a fictive story time or played time and real playing time. For instance, while the
played time or the time of the story in John Ruganda’s The Burdens encompasses several
months, the play’s actual playing time (time it takes to stage the play) is approximately

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twentyfour hours. The playing time of a piece of drama of course always depends on the speed at
which actors perform individual scenes and can thus vary significantly from one performance to
another.

A gap in the played time of a piece of drama is called ellipsis, i.e., one leaves out bits of the story
and thus speeds up the plot. Considering that scenes usually present actions directly, one can
assume that played time and playing time usually coincide in drama. In other words, if characters
are presented talking to one another for, say, twenty minutes, then it will normally take about
twenty minutes for actors to perform this ‘conversation’. Discrepancies between the duration of
played time and playing time mostly concur with scenic breaks because it is difficult to present
them convincingly in the middle of an interaction. However, an example of a speed-up or
summary, i.e., a situation where the actual playing time is shorter than the time span presented
in the played

Order

Another aspect to look for when analysing time in drama is the concept of order. The focus here
is: How are events temporally ordered? Does the temporal sequence of scenes correspond with
the temporal order of events and actions in the presented story? Like narrative, drama can make
use of flashback (analepsis) and flashforward (prolepsis). In flashbacks, events from the past
are mingled with the presentation of current events, while in flash forwards, future events are
anticipated. While flashforwards are not as common since they potentially threaten the build-up
of the audience’s suspense (if we already know what is going to happen, we can at best wonder
how this ending is brought about), flashbacks are frequently used in order to illustrate a
character’s memories or to explain the outcome of certain actions. An example for a
flashforward is the prologue in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, where the audience is already
told the gist of the subsequent play. Examples of flashbacks can be found in Ruganda’s The
Burdens where Wamala and Tinka nostalgically remember lost glory when Wamala was minister
of Foreign Affairs and in a play-within-a play, Wamala reminisces/recalls how he used to
address public rallies back then.

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Different uses of time are of course also important for the creation of certain effects on the
audience. While non-chronological plots, for example, can be confusing, they may also create
suspense or challenge the viewer’s ability to make connections between events. Furthermore,
plays which present a story in its chronological order draw attention to the final outcome and
thus are based on the question: ‘What happens next?’, whereas plays with a non-chronological
order, which might even anticipate the ending, focus on the question: ‘How does everything
happen?’Detailed time presentations or, by contrast, a lack of detail may point towards the
importance or insignificance of time for a specific storyline.

SYMBOLIC SPACE

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Another important factor to consider in this context is the interrelatedness of setting and plot.
Obviously, the plot of a play is never presented in a vacuum but always against the background
of a specific scenery and often the setting corresponds with what is going on in the story world.
Thus, the hooting of an owl at the beginning of Imbuga’s The Successor not only starts off the
play and functions as an effective background to the action but it also reflects the ‘eminent
doom’ yet to befall Masero. Likewise, in Shakespeare’s King Lear, a storm signifies disorder
when King Lear’s daughters Goneril and Regan turn their father out of doors although they had
vowed their affection for him and had received their share of the kingdom in return. One can say
that rather than only functioning as a background or creating a certain atmosphere, these spaces
become symbolic spaces as they point towards other levels of meaning in the text.

As with the presentation of space, aspects of time are rarely presented for their own sake but
often imply further levels of meaning that might help one interpret a text. Thus, time can also be
symbolic and stand for larger concepts. For example, Waiting for Godot’s modified version of
iterative action creates a sense of stagnation and lack of movement, which corresponds with the
more philosophical notion of people’s helplessness and the purposelessness of life in general. By
contrast, plays where the overall order is chronological and where the plot moves through
singulative representation of actions to a final conclusion suggest progress and development and
thus perhaps also a more positive and optimistic image of mankind and history.

The setting can thus support the expression of the world view current at a certain time or general
philosophical, ethical or moral questions. By contrast, if detail is missing in the presentation of
the setting, whether in the text or in production, that obviously also has a reason. Sometimes,
plays do not employ detailed settings because they do not aim at presenting an individualised,
personal background but a general scenario that could be placed anywhere and affect anyone.
The stage set in Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, for example, is really bare: “A country road. A
tree”. One can argue that this minimal set highlights the characters’ uprootedness and underlines
the play’s focus on human existence in general.

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6.6 Summary

In this lesson, we have looked that the centrality of setting as one of the key elements in drama.
Setting plays a pivotal role in the understanding of drama and helps make out the meaning of
various dramatic actions and events in the plan. We discussed the two ways in which setting can
be understood in drama: Time and spatial. We have argued that time is of essence in drama. All
actions and events in drama are punctuated with time. The logicality, coherence and causality of
the events in the drama are controlled by time. Closely related to time is the space or place of
occurrence of these events. The social backdrop of the events together with time helps in
foregrounding themes in plays, characterization and style in drama.

REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Brocket, Oscar G. (1980). The Essential Theatre. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Crown, Brian (1983). Studying Drama. Ikeja: Longman.
Dukore, B. F. (1974). Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greek to Grotowsky. New York: Holt
Reinhart and Winston.
Hagher, I. H. (1994). “African Literature in Search of Policy: The Case of West African Drama”.
In Emenyonu, Ed. Current Trends in Literature and Languages Studies In West Africa. Ibadan:
Kraft Books, 1994.
Mugubi, J. and Kebaya C. African Drama and Theatre: A Criticism. Nairobi: Focus Publishers,
2012.

LESSON 7
CHARACTERISATION IN DRAMA

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INTRODUCTION

In our previous lessons, we have made a lot of references to characters in drama. We have shown
how characters play a pivotal role in the development of plot, structure of the play and helping to
create an understanding of the setting. We also demonstrated that characters help in taking the
dramatic actions forward through their actions and interactions on stage. However, this lesson is
devoted to characterization as another key element in drama. Therefore, we turn your focus to
characterization and character analysis in drama.

LESSON OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

i. Differentiate between characterization and character analysis
ii. Discuss characterization as a dramatic technique
iii. Identify and explain the major types of characters in drama.

CHARACTER AND CHARACTERIZATION

Characters refer to the people who act the play. 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. The
ability to create characters and to ensure that they blend/suit the action of the play is what we
refer to as characterization.

In a play, you can identify each character through his name, through what he says, what he does,
what other characters say about him and what the playwright says about him. The playwright’s
comment is contained in the stage directions which are usually enclosed in a bracket and in most
cases written in italics. You can find them at the beginning of the scene or at any point in the
play whenever the playwright wants to give information about the character, his action, the

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environment, the mood or any other information that is relevant to the action and which is not
embedded in the dialogue.

Characterization is the playwright’s imaginative creation of characters that can effectively

dramatize his story. Any playwright 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 conceptualizing the idea of his/her play, any playwright 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. The 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. In most cases, the characters grow from
innocence to maturity or from ignorance to knowledge. They also change according to situations
and events. When this is done, the characters are referred to as round characters.

The important elements in characterization are consistency and motivation. A good playwright
must craft his play in such a way that his characters are consistent. You don’t expect a character
to behave like an educated young woman in the opening scene and in the following acts like an
illiterate village girl. This could happen if there is a proper motivation for that. For example, if
she is pretending to be what she is not in order to obtain some information, get something or to
escape from danger. Motivation in characterization means that there must be a good reason for
any action that is taken by every character in the play. For instance, one could deduce that
Oriomra’s behavior and actions throughout the play The Successor is motivated by his greed for
power.

The characters are the persons, in the play. They are endowed with moral and dispositional
qualities that are expressed in their dialogues and in their action. The reason or grounds for
action, temperament and moral dispositions constitute his motivations. They act out the story of
the play from the beginning to the end. They act within the limits of possibility and plausibility.

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This means that they and their actions should be as close as possible to reality. The playwright
therefore creates a story that is credible for them to act. However, in an allegorical play, each
character acts within the limits of what it represents. Each playwright, depending on his style,
chooses how to develop his characters. This brings us to a discussion on characters.

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 as analysed below:

Major and Minor Characters

Since drama presents us directly with scenes which are based on people’s actions and
interactions, characters play a dominant role in this genre and therefore deserve close attention.
The characters in plays can generally be divided into major characters and minor characters
depending on how important they are for the plot. A good indicator as to whether a character is
major or minor is the amount of time and speech as well as presence on stage he or she is
allocated.

As a rule of the thumb, major characters usually have a lot to say and appear frequently
throughout the play, while minor characters have less presence or appear only marginally. Thus,
for example, Hamlet is clearly the main character of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy as we can
infer from the fact that he appears in most scenes and is allocated a great number of speeches
and, what is more, since even his name appears in the title (he is the eponymous hero).
Occasionally even virtually non-existent characters may be important but this scenario is rather
exceptional. An example can be found in Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, where the action centres
around the arrival of the mysterious Godot, whose name even appears in the title of the play
although he never actually materialises on stage.

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7.4.2 Protagonist/Hero

The protagonist/Hero is the main character and at the centre of the story in any play. 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. In The Burdens,
Wamala is portrayed as the Protagonist while Tinka is depicted as the anatagonist.

Usually the conflict in a play revolves around the protagonist and in fact the story is about him.
He is easily identifiable because he stands out over and above most of the other characters.
Everything revolves around him as he influences the 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 development of the theme, and
whatever happens to him or whatever he does has much significance to the outcome of the play.
He is often referred to as the hero of the story or the protagonist and he is one of the major
characters.

The protagonist’s central position in the story places him in a very important position. The
playwright therefore portrays him carefully. His many - sided and complex nature is presented in
details. He helps to inject life in the story when he is properly presented. In Oedipus Rex, for
instance, King Oedipus is the protagonist. He is not just one of the major characters but he is the
major character. The story that is told in the play is about the birth, the rise and the fall of King
Oedipus. Sophocles uses him to show his audience that man is helpless before the gods. This
means that a man cannot change his destiny no matter how hard he or the people around him. In
the case of King Oedipus, his parents try to change his destiny by ordering, when he was born
and they discovered that he has been doomed to kill his father and marry his mother, that he be
thrown into the forest where he was expected to die. The servant spared his life and offered him
to the shepherd. As he grows, he tries to change that fate but does not succeed. Instead he moves
closer to it and eventually fulfils it.

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7.4.3 Dynamic/ Round Character

This is a character that changes according to the course of events in the play. He may or may not
be the protagonist or the hero. In most cases, he grows from innocence to maturity or from
ignorance to knowledge, so he is consistently alert to his environment with its attendant problem
and reacts accordingly. He is found almost everywhere in the story. In his own unique way, he
participates actively as much as possible in the course of the action. He seems to have no special
alignment to any group but tries not to lose his credibility or acceptability. For example in the
play The Burdens Kaija is portrayed as a round character.

Static/Flat/Stock Character

This refers to a type of character that is complex and does not change in any basic way in the
course of the story. He is presented in outline and without much individualization. He is usually
stable and is said to be static because he retains essentially the same outlook, attitudes, values
and dispositions from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. He is the opposite of the
round character but takes complexity in term of presentation. He is presented with a few broad
strokes. In most cases his activities are easily recognizable, so, his actions can be predicted. Such
values and attitudes may be positive or negative depending on the playwright’s intention. He can
be a minor or major character as long as he is hardly transformed as the events of the story
unfold.

It is worth noting that character types are created by playwrights to represent particular
individuals in the society. They could be professionals, ethnic groups, tribes or nationalities.
They therefore act and behave in accordance with the dictates of the person(s) they represent.

CHARACTER COMPLEXITY

Major characters are frequently, albeit not exclusively, multi-dimensional and dynamic (round
character) while minor characters often remain mono-dimensional and static.Multi-dimensional
characters display several (even conflicting) character traits and are thus reasonably complex.
They also tend to develop throughout the plot (hence, dynamic), though this is not necessarily

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the case. Hamlet, for example, is marked by great intellectual and rhetorical power but he is also
flawed to the extent that he is indecisive and passive. The audience learns a lot about his inner
moral conflict, his wavering between whether to take revenge or not, and we see him in different
roles displaying different qualities: as prince and statesman, as son, as Ophelia’s admirer, etc.

Mono-dimensional characters, on the other hand, can usually be summarised by a single phrase
or statement, i.e., they have only few character traits and are generally merely types. Frequently,
mono-dimensional characters are also static, i.e., they do not develop or change during the play.
Laertes, Ophelia’s brother, for example, is not as complex as Hamlet. He can be described as a
passionate, rash youth who does not hesitate to take revenge when he hears about his father’s and
sister’s deaths. As a character, he corresponds to the conventional revenger type, and part of the
reason why he does not come across as a complex figure is that we hardly get to know him. In
the play, Laertes functions as a foil for Hamlet since Hamlet’s indecisiveness and thoughtfulness
appear as more marked through the contrast between the two young men.

Character and Genre Conventions

Sometimes the quality of characters can also depend on the subgenre to which a play belongs
because genres traditionally follow certain conventions even as far as the dramatis personae,
i.e., the dramatic personnel, are concerned.

According to Aristotle’s The Poetics, characters in tragedies have to be of a high social rank so
that their downfall in the end can be more tragic (the higher they are, the lower they fall), while
comedies typically employ ‘lower’ characters who need not be taken so seriously and can thus be
made fun of. Since tragedies deal with difficult conflicts and subject matters, tragic heroes are
usually complex. According to Aristotle, they are supposed to be neither too good nor too bad
but somewhere ‘in the middle’ which allows them to have some tragic ‘flaw’ (hamartia) that
ultimately causes their downfall.

Since tragic heroes have almost ‘average’ characteristics and inner conflicts, the audience can
identify more easily with them, which is an important prerequisite for what Aristotle calls the
effect of catharsis (literally, a ‘cleansing’ of one’s feelings), i.e., the fact that one can suffer with

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the hero, feel pity and fear, and through this strong emotional involvement clarify one’s own
state of mind and potentially become a better human being.

Comedies, by contrast, deal with problems in a lighter manner and therefore do not necessarily
require complex figures. Furthermore, types are more appropriate in comedies as their single
qualities can be easily exaggerated and thus subverted into laughable behaviour and actions.

Techniques of Characterization

Characters in drama are characterised using various techniques of characterisation. Generally

speaking, one can distinguish between characterisations made by the author in the play’s
secondary text (authorial) or by characters in the play (figural), and whether these
characterisations are made directly (explicitly) or indirectly (implicitly). Another distinction can
be made between self-characterisation and characterisation through others. The way these
different forms of characterisation can be accomplished in plays can be schematised as follows:

Authorial Figural

Explicit descriptions of characters characters’ descriptions of and comments on

in author commentary or other characters; also self-characterisation
stage directions; telling
names
Implicit correspondences and contrasts; physical appearance, gesture and facial
indirectly characterising expressions (body language); masks and
names costumes; stage props, setting; behaviour;
voice; language (style, register, dialect, etc.);
topics one discusses

Dramatic language is another important means of indirect characterisation in plays. Characters

are presented to the audience through what they say and how they say it, their verbal interactions
with others and the discrepancies between their talk and their actions.

In an actual performance, an actor’s voice and tone thus also play a major role for how the
audience perceives the played character. This can also be seen in plays where dialect or specific

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sociolects are used. Dialect indicates what region or geographical area one comes from, while
sociolect refers to linguistic features which give away one’s social status and membership in a
social group.

Sometimes, character traits can already be anticipated by a character’s name. So-called telling
names, for example, explicitly state the quality of a character (e.g., figures like Vice,
GoodDeeds, Everyman, Knowledge, Beauty, etc. in the Medieval morality plays), or they refer
to characters’ typical behaviour.

SUMMARY

You have seen in this lesson that as the playwright conceptualizes a play in his imagination,
characterization is a very important aspect of dramatic technique. It is through it that the
dramatist presents his story. A good story can only be really good and interesting if appropriate
characters are created to tell the story through their actions. The playwright tries to create
characters that are as close as possible to reality. He ensures that the characters are consistent and
are properly motivated. Characters represent one of the most important analytical categories in
drama since they carry the plot. In other words, there cannot be a play without characters.

Characters’ interactions trigger and move the plot, and their various relationships to one another
form the basis for conflicts and dynamic processes. A lot of the terms used for techniques of
characterisation in narrative are also applicable in drama but one needs to be aware of
fundamental differences related to the different medium. Our view of characters in staged plays
is thus inevitably influenced by the way an actor looks, how he speaks, how he acts out his role,

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etc. Other influential factors can be costumes and make-up, the overall setting in which a
character is presented, etc.

i. What are the differences between character analysis and characterization?

ii. Characterization is an important aspect of dramatic technique. Discuss.
iii. List and discuss four types of characters.

REFERENCES /FURTHER READINGS

Abrams, M. H. (1971). A Glossary of Literary Terms. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Brocket, Oscar G. (1980). The Essential Theatre. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Scholes R. and C.H. Klaus. (1971). Elements of Drama. New York: Oxford University Press.

LESSON 8 DRAMATIC CONVENTIONS AND TECHNIQUES

INTRODUCTION

This lesson introduces you to conventions and techniques in drama. It is expected that the
knowledge you gain from the lesson will enable you appreciate any play irrespective of the
period in which it was written. It is also necessary for you to be familiar with these conventions
so that you can identify them in your analysis or criticism of dramatic literature.

LESSON OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

i. Explain your understanding of dramatic conventions and techniques
ii. Identify various dramatic conventions and techniques used in plays.
iii. Explain why playwrights choose to or not to use dramatic conventions and
techniques.

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DRAMATIC CONVENTIONS

In drama, the 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. To do this, a playwright
needs certain devices to make this illusion as realistic as possible and the audience accepts the
devices. In Shakespearean plays, for instance, 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. 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 other words, dramatic conventions refer to certain known practices and traditions or
convenient devices, widely accepted by the public, for solving problems imposed by a particular
artistic medium in representing reality. Further conventions can also refer to identifiable
elements of subject matter, form, or technique which recur repeatedly in works of art.
Conventions in this sense may be recurrent types of character, turns of plot, forms of
versification, kinds of diction and style.

However, it is not compulsory for every work to conform to pre existing conventions but what
matters is how effectively an individual writer makes use of them. The fact that some authors
adhere to certain dramatic conventions and others do not, is obviously an interesting factor to
consider in drama analysis since this may give us a clue to certain ideological or philosophical
concepts or beliefs expressed in a play. Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, for example, enacts the
absurdity of human existence. Just as the plot does not seem to move anywhere and the
characters’ actions or rather, inactivity, do not make sense. Life comes across as purposeless and
futile, and the audience’s bewilderment in a way reflects mankind’s bewilderment in view of an
incomprehensible world. Plays with a closed structure, by contrast, present life as
comprehensible and events as causally connected. Moreover, they suggest that problems are
solvable and that there is a certain order in the world which needs to be re-established if lost.

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The fact that in many plays all the ‘baddies’, for example, are punished in the end follows the
principle of poetic justice, i.e., every character who committed a crime or who has become
guilty in some way or another by breaking social or moral rules, has to suffer for this so that
order can be reinstalled. Needless to say that life is not necessarily like this and yet, people often
prefer closed endings since they give a feeling of satisfaction (just consider the way most
mainstream movies are structured even today). This section therefore focuses on the analysis of
the use of dramatic conventions:

Prologue
This is the introductory part of the play. It could be an opening scene, a speech or an address. In
most cases, it introduces the action and makes a statement on what the audience should expect in
the play. In many plays the prologue foreshadows the events in the play and sometimes gives a
background to the play as can be seen in the example is Bertolt Bretch’s use of prologue in The
Caucasian Chalk Circle. The prologue features a dispute between two parties, the goat-herders
and the fruit farmers, in the ruins of a Caucasian village shortly after the Second World War.
Each group lays claim to the valley. The goat-herders on the right originally owned the valley,
and now that war is over they want to return to their valley. The peasant group on the left is a
group of fruit farmers from another valley but hopes to take over this valley in order to plant fruit
trees. The Delegate from the State Reconstruction Commission agrees to listen to both groups’
arguments and solve their problem amicably.

As a dramatic device, the prologue plays a central role to the entire play. Through it, Brecht
presents his social transformation ideas even before the main play begins. By allowing the fruit
farmers to own the valley and continue with their elaborate plans of irrigating the land for
orchards and vineyards, the playwright underscores the need for social justice as opposed to rigid
law. In this, he shows that social change in society is as a result of people embracing
transformative strategies rather than sticking to the law.

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Besides social justice, the prologue introduces readers to other themes such as war, ownership,
morality, and sacrifice. For example, in the prologue, we are introduced to a community that has
just emerged from a war in which they lament the loss of their orchards and dairy farm. They
report of a population that has drastically shrunk due to the war and of shortages that have led to
the rationing of tobacco and wine. The effects of war are evident as the people seek to
reconstruct their lives.

The prologue serves yet a third function of introducing us to the features of style that Brecht
employs to present his ideas. As we read through, we notice the use of flashback, distinctive
dialogue, narrative technique, metonymy and song. These styles feature prominently throughout
the play. For instance, the Wounded Soldier says: “… We haven’t as many hands”. The phrase
is a metonymic reference to having fewer people to work as a result of war.

Epilogue

This is the direct opposite of the prologue. It is presented at the end of the play. It sums up the
action of the play and in some cases, makes a statement (an advice or a lesson to be learnt) on the
action or events presented in the play.

Interlude

An interlude in a play is a short piece of entertainment that is presented between the acts or
major scenes in a play. It is believed that the term came into drama during the Renaissance
Period to describe the dramatic form of early Tudor Period. It was then referred to as Tudor
Interlude. Queen Elizabeth loved entertainment, funfair and ceremonies so much that she was
accompanied by extravagant display of affluence/prosperity each time she made public
appearance. These displays included some dramatic shows among which the interlude was most
popular. It was a short dramatic presentation or a play performed indoors before a small
audience. The Marriage of Anansewa, is an example of where interlude is used.

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Chorus /Narrator

The use of chorus is a dramatic convention that was adopted by playwrights, especially in the
Classical Age, to comment on the events of the play. In any play that has a chorus/narrator, the
playwright uses it to supply the information that could not be woven into the dialogue. In many
cases it serves as the authorial voice.

The chorus is not usually part of the main cast so does not participate actively in the action of the
play. In most cases they stand or sit by the side of the stage and make their comments at the
appropriate time. Some playwrights use the chorus to comment on the events of the play. In
Oedipus Rex, the chorus is made up of the elders of Thebes.
The narrator performs the same function as the chorus. The difference is that usually the chorus
is made up of two or more characters while the narrator is only one character. Each playwright
uses the chorus or the narrator to suit his purpose.

Dramatic Illusion

Drama thrives on illusion because what is presented is not reality but an illusion of reality.
Whenever you are watching any dramatic presentation, you know very well that they are
‘pretending’ to be what they are not yet you empathize with the characters.

Dramatic illusion involves a willing suspension of disbelief. If the play Hamlet is presented on
stage or if you buy the film, as you watch the graveyard scene, Ophelia’s burial, for instance, you
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 but
you enjoy the play without bothering about whether they are real or not. In other words, you
pretend that what you are watching is real.

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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
performances, is to be presented with the four walls intact nobody can see the action. That is why
a good playwright should always have the stage in mind when he is writing his play. The
removal of the fourth wall helps to enhance the illusion of reality in drama.

DRAMATIC TECHNIQUES

Dramatic language is modelled on real-life conversations among people, and yet, when one
watches a play, one also has to consider the differences between real talk and drama talk.
Dramatic language is always constructed or ‘made up’ and often serves several purposes. On the
world of a play, language assumes all the pragmatic functions such as to convey information, to
persuade or influence someone, to relate one’s experiences or signal emotions, etc. The use of
language in a specialized way in drama amounts to the playwright’s technique to convey his
message. Therefore, this section analyses dramatic techniques as:

Monologue, Dialogue, Soliloquy

In drama, characters typically talk to one another and the entire plot is carried by and conveyed
through their verbal interactions. Language in drama can generally be presented either as
monologue or dialogue. Monologue means that only one character speaks while dialogue
always requires two or more participants. A special form of monologue, where no other person is
present on stage beside the speaker, is called soliloquy. Consider the famous soliloquy from
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet:

To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

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Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

And by opposing end them. To die – to sleep,
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to: ‘tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep;
To sleep, perchance to dream – ay, there’s the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,

Must give us pause – there’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
[…]
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action. Soft you now,
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember’d.
(Hamlet, III, 1)

As soon as Ophelia enters the stage (“Soft you now, / The fair Ophelia”), Hamlet’s speech is
technically no longer a soliloquy. Critics often refer to it simply as monologue, as this is the
more general term. Hamlet’s soliloquy reveals his inner conflict to the audience. We learn that he
wavers between taking action and remaining passive. The fact that he contemplates the miseries
of life, death and the possibility of suicide shows him as a melancholic, almost depressed
character. At the same time, his speech is profound and philosophical, and thus Hamlet comes
across as thoughtful and intellectual. This example illustrates one of the main functions of
language in drama, namely the indirect characterisation of figures.

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Asides

Another special form of speech in drama is the so-called aside. Asides are spoken away from
other characters, and a character either speaks aside to himself, secretively to (an)other
character(s) or to the audience. It is conspicuous that plays of the Elizabethan Age make
significantly more use of asides than modern plays, for example. One of the reasons certainly has
to do with the shape of the stage. The apron stage, which was surrounded by the audience on
three sides, makes asides more effective since the actor who speaks, inevitably faces part of the
audience, while our modern proscenium stage does not really lend itself to asides as the vicinity
between actors and audience is missing.

Asides are an important device because they channel extra information past other characters
directly to the audience. Thus, spectators are in a way taken into confidence and they often
become ‘partners-in-crime’, so to speak, because they ultimately know more than some of the
figures on stage.

Turn Allocation, Stichomythia, Repartee

In comparison to monologues and asides, dialogue is by far the most frequently used type of
speech in drama. In analysing dialogue, one can look at turn-taking and the allocation of turns
to different speakers, e.g., how many lines is each character’s turn? Do some characters have
longer turns than others and, if so, why? One can also analyse how often a character gets the
chance to speak through the entire play and whether he or she is interrupted by others or not.

LANGUAGE

Language is 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

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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 you wrap up your words in riddles?

Teiresias: Where you not framed for skill for solving riddles?
Oedipus: You taunt me with the gift that is my greatest.
Teiresias: Your great misfortune and your ruin.

In the last line of this exchange, the Blind Seer states that by solving the riddles and becoming
the king of Thebes, Oedipus paved the way for his misfortune, which is marrying his mother
after having killed his father. Consequently, there is a plague in Thebes and this leads to the
search for a solution. In the course of this search, Oedipus discovers his true identity and this
leads to his ruin.

So, in dramatic language, the dramatist must think in terms of the characteristics of the
characters, their speeches, their actions and the environment in which they operate and
incorporate them in language. This is important because unlike in prose, where the novelist has
enough time and space to describe everything and this includes probing into the inner beings of
the character, the dramatist relies only on dialogue to explore characters, describe incident, create
environment, atmosphere and mood. This is the reason why he pays attention to the diction.

Diction

Diction refers to the choice of the words which forms the dialogue through which the playwright
communicates his ideas to his audience. The diction could be simple or difficult. A play that has
very simple diction invariably will have a simple and direct language so is said to be accessible
to a wider audience. This is because more people will read and understand it. Also, when it is
presented on stage, people will understand the story and absorb the message with ease. In a play
with simple diction, the playwright uses familiar and simple words.

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Some plays are difficult to understand since they are usually filled with unfamiliar words, terms,
and symbols. Such plays are said to be obscure and the playwright is said to be writing for a
select audience. This is because many people will find it difficult to understand and appreciate
the play. The problem here is that if you do not understand a play, you would not enjoy it or be
entertained by it. You can read a simple play just once and enjoy the story but it will take at least
a second reading for the story of an obscure play to be understood. For instance, you can read
Wole Soyinka’s The Trials of Brother Jero you will notice that the play is very simple, direct and
entertaining.
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. Language here determines how we mentally visualize the object or situation. This is called
imagery. It 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, you come across symbols and even use them at times. Symbols are objects or
things that communicate meaning or messages without using words for example, a cross or a
Bible symbolizes Christianity. It could be a character, an object, or an incident which represents
an idea, a person, a quality, a profession or situation.

Symbolism is an artistic device through which the playwright uses factual language in a way that
it deviates from its simple function of describing or recording but used to stand for or represent
something else not directly named. This means, therefore, that in a play, you could have
symbolic action, symbolic object and symbolic character.

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Irony
A playwright uses irony to add flavour to his story. Here, a playwright uses words or action to

create certain kinds of discrepancy between appearance and reality; between what is said or done

and what is meant or intended. The types are verbal irony, dramatic irony and situational irony.

a) Verbal Irony

This is the simplest and commonest type of irony. It is a figure of speech where the word is the
opposite of what is meant; for example, when he is a giant or the tallest man refers to a very
short man.
b) Dramatic Irony
Here, there is a contrast between what the character says or does and what the reader knows as
the truth. If a speech is meant to be understood in one way by a certain character in a play but the
audience understands it in a different way, the scenario becomes a dramatic irony. In other
words, a character is under a delusion of a certain fact which has been overtaken by an
intervening circumstance.

c) Situational Irony
In irony of situation, the expectation does not come out in the way it is anticipated. It is a
situation of appearance versus reality. The action of a character here is at variance with the
consequences or result of the action.

Summary
In this lesson you have learnt the various conventions and techniques in dramatic analysis. As a
student of drama, you need to pay attention to the use of these devices as indicators to the
intended message(s) in the plays. This is very important because they are tools you need to
possess before you can appreciate, understand and criticize any play. We have also tried to show
you how to analyse plays by identifying the dramatic elements and other devices used and how
appropriate they are.

i. Read and analyze one of the plays recommended for this course.
ii. Discuss setting in any one of the plays set for this course

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REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
Abrams, M. H. (1971). A Glossary of Literary Terms. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Crow, Brian (1983). Studying Drama. Ikeja: Longman.
Okodo, Ikechukwu (1992). The Study of Literary Terminologies and Appreciation. Onitsha:
Abrams, M. H. (1971). A Glossary of Literary Terms. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Brocket, Oscar G. (1980). The Essential Theatre. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Scholes R. and C.H. Klaus. (1971). Elements of Drama. New York: Oxford University Press

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LESSON 9
OEDIPUS KING BY SOPHOCLES

INTRODUCTION

In this lesson, we turn your focus to the textual analysis of drama. Our analysis starts with the
examination of Oedipus King by Sophocles. Sophocles is one of the greatest renowned
dramatists of his time. He is widely known for penning the greatest tragedies in the history of
drama upon which we benchmark modern tragedies. In this lesson, we will illustrate the
Aristotelian elements of drama in our analysis of Oedipus King. The text is also called Oedipus
Rex.

9.2 LESSON OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit you will be able to:

i. Analyse the elements of tragedy (drama) in a play
ii. Identify the characteristics of the protagonist in the play iii. Examine the themes
and styles in the play

SYNOPSIS OF THE PLAY OEDIPUS KING

In the city of Delphi, a son is born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta. The oracle of Delphi reveals
that this child is fated to commit an abomination: He is to kill his father and marry his mother.
The King and his wife were saddened with this prophecy. Consequently, they take steps to avert
its fulfillment. They drive a peg through his two ankles, give him to a shepherd to dispose him at
the hillside, apparently for him to die there. The shepherd gives him to the servant of the King of
Corinth and his wife, Polybus and Merope. They name the child Oedipus. This child grows up
with them and takes them as his parents. One day he is told that he is not actually what he claims
to be. He goes to the oracle to find out the truth. He is told he is fated to kill his father and marry

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his mother. He tries to avoid the prophecy of the oracle by running away. He resolves to stay out
of Corinth until his parents are dead.

On his way to Thebes, he meets an entourage and there is a quarrel over the right of way. He kills
everybody except one person who escaped. The city he enters is besieged by a Sphinx who kills
the citizens because they cannot answer a particular riddle. Oedipus solves the riddle and is made
the king. Consequently, he marries the queen who, unknown to both of them, is his mother. He
lives with her and they have children.

The city is again besieged by a plague. The general belief is that the city is not clean, so it is
being punished by the gods. They inquire from the oracle and they are told that the unknown
assassin of the former king, Lauis, is in their midst and unless he is discovered and punished, the
plague would continue.

Oedipus sets out in search of the killer and eventually finds out that he is the killer. The queen

tries in vain to stop the quest. She commits suicide as the reality dawns on her that she had

married her own son. King Oedipus gouges out his two eyes and leaves Thebes with the children.

Themes

The main theme of the play is fate or destiny. The play dramatizes the helplessness of man in the
hands of the gods or in the hands of Fate. It upholds belief in destiny and the fact that what is
destined to happen to anybody must happen to that person irrespective of what the person does.

Another theme of the play is man’s search for identity. It shows that, sometimes, we are not what
we think that we are. If we, therefore, decide to search, we might discover our true identities. In
the play, Oedipus’ search for his true parents leads him to kill his father and marry his mother
while his search for the plague in his kingdom and the murderer of King Laius leads to his search
for his true identity.

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Aristotelian elements of drama portrayed in the Play

a. Plot

The play has a single unified plot. It is presented like a detective play which is an investigation
into the cause of the plague that the people of Thebes are facing. The play therefore commences
as a search for a solution to the problem and proceeds as a search until the messenger from
Corinth arrives. The events of the play run chronologically and causally from the beginning to
the end. The incidents have causes and consequences.

Oedipus assures his subjects that he will solve their problems by ensuring that the killer of Lauis
is found and punished. He therefore sends Creon to the oracle to inquire and also sends for the
blind seer, Teiresias. Creon returns with the news that the killer they seek is in their midst. The
seer confirms this information and goes a step further out of provocation to accuse Oedipus of
being the killer he seeks. The queen tries to refute the seer’s claim and unwittingly tells Oedipus
the story of his birth. However, this fact is further revealed as the messenger from Corinth arrives
to inform Oedipus of the death of his father. He explains the circumstance that took Oedipus to
Corinth. This circumstance is that Oedipus is not the prince of Corinth as he had hitherto
believed. The truth is that Oedipus was given to him by the shepherd who was asked to abandon
the baby in the forest to die. He, the messenger, gave the baby to his master who was childless
then.

Oedipus was then brought up and treated like a prince. Thus the arrival of the messenger
provides a basis for revealing the true story. The shepherd corroborated his story and this leads to
the resolution of the play. This section of the play is replete with dramatic ironies. It is ironical
that the killer which the king seeks is himself. Try to identify other ironies in the play.

The play opens with a search. The first search is for the cause of the plague in Thebes. This leads
to the search for a murderer and the search continues until the messenger from Corinth arrives
with his news. The information from him and the accusation from the seer lead to another kind of

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search – the search for an identity. The revelations about the true identity of King Oedipus lead
to the resolution of the play.

The plot is also ironic because Oedipus sets out to secure peace and tranquility in his kingdom by
tracking the cause of the plague. He realizes that this can only be achieved through the discovery
and punishment of the killer of King Laius. He becomes the killer he is searching for. The major
ironic twist in the play is that, it is believed that the discovery of his true identity will lead to the
solution of his problems. Unfortunately it becomes the beginning of his problems. It is also
expected that the discovery of the murderer he is looking for will end the plague in the land but
he leaves the city as a blind man who does not know if the plague ended or not. The play
conforms to the Aristotelian plot structure of beginning, middle and end. This can be
summarized as:

Exposition - The play opens with a problem. There is a plague in the land and the people are
suffering.
Complication - Creon returns and tells Oedipus that the oracle says that the killer is in their
midst. A conflict ensued between Oedipus with Creon and the blind seer. The search for his
identity introduces more complications.
Climax - The climax begins with the arrival of the messenger from Corinth and culminates in the
revelation of his true identity.
Discovery - Oedipus discovers his true self and real parents.

Reversal - There is a reversal of fortune as a man who was once a famous king is brought down
and expelled from the society he once ruled. The king leaves his city as a wandering blind
beggar.
Catastrophe - The Queen hangs herself while the king blinds himself and goes on self-exile.
The killer of Lauis is found and punished, and the plague is eliminated. Thus the conflicts are
resolved.

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b. Characterization

The characters are consistent and well-motivated. Oedipus remains resolute and exhibits his
bravery and arrogance throughout the play. This aspect of his character is manifested more at the
end of the play when he gouges out his eyes. Only a brave man can inflict such pain on himself.
Each character’s action helps to advance the theme and propel the plot. For instance, the
insistence of the king on the search for the killer of the late king sustains the play from the
beginning to the end.

The chorus is used as a character. However, it speaks in an impersonal way. It therefore does not
participate in the action. It makes statements or comments on man and the forces against him
which he cannot understand. Sometimes it thinks aloud as it expresses its fears on a particular
issue. A good example is when the messenger from Corinth arrives with the news that Polybus is
dead. The chorus is apprehensive and wonders aloud. It feels that if the gods have failed, then the
whole system is destroyed. In the end, the gods did not fail. The truth is revealed and the chorus
reviews the entire action. The chorus acts as the interpreter of events in the play.

Jocasta is an obedient wife. She obeys her husband as she agrees to hand over her son to be
killed. She marries Oedipus apparently in obedience to the laws of the land. She is encountered
briefly as she pleads with her husband to stop the search. Her husband refuses to stop the search
and she does not confront him, instead she leaves quietly to hang herself.

c. Diction

The language is in verse. It is condensed but accessible. The language is used to delineate
characters. For instance, Oedipus speaks with the authority and arrogance of a king. The words
are well chosen to reveal both characters and incidents. The Blind Seer also speaks with the
authority of someone who possesses some supernatural powers. Other characters speak in simple
language as people speaking before their king.

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d. Music

There is an alternation of dialogue and songs. The chorus sings part of its lines and dances in
accompaniment of the song. The larger part of the play in which the chorus sings is called the
choral song or the strophe. The practice is that as they sing the strophe, they dance. The
movement from right to left is called the anti-strophe.

e. Tragic Hero/Tragic Flaw

Oedipus is a typical classical tragic hero. He is of a noble birth. Even when circumstances would
have forced him to the lower class, he leaves Corinth, arrives at Thebes and is made the king. His
tragic flaw is arrogance and irascibility. In arrogance, he decides to outwit the gods by running
away from Corinth. In arrogance, he refuses to concede the right of way to king Lauis and his
men. In arrogance, he challenges both Creon and Teiresias. In arrogance, he refuses to listen to a
plea, to stop the quest, from Jocasta. In arrogance he refuses to ask for mercy or any other
solution but gouges his eyes and leaves the city. He is also temperamental which is why he kills
King Lauis and his men. He also threatens to deal with Creon and Teiresias. He pursues the goal
he believes in to its logical conclusion even to the detriment of his life.

Summary

Oedipus Rex is a good example of an ideal classical play that is still relevant in our own times. It
meets the Aristotelian postulations on tragedy. It contains a single integral plot which is
presented in one single setting within a very short period of time. It presents the story of how
Oedipus killed his father and married his mother. The setting is in front of the palace. To
maintain this single setting, indoor actions and violence are reported. For instance Jocasta’s
hanging of herself is reported and not presented on stage. Oedipus, the tragic hero, is a king who
is not preeminently good, virtuous or vicious but he commits an error of judgment. Towards the
end of the play, he discovers the truth about himself and his fortune reverses from good to bad.
His catastrophe is caused by his tragic flaw which is arrogance.

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1. Describe King Oedipus as a tragic hero

2. What is the distinctive feature of the plot of Oedipus King?

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Sophocles, (1778). King Oedipus in Three Theban Plays. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Scholes R. and C.H. Klaus. (1971). Elements of Drama. New York: Oxford University Press.
Abrams, M. H. (1971). A Glossary of Literary Terms. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Brocket, Oscar G. (1980). The Essential Theatre. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Scholes R. and C.H. Klaus. (1971). Elements of Drama. New York: Oxford University Press
LESSON 10 HAMLET BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

INTRODUCTION

This lesson introduces you to a textual analysis of a play of one of the greatest dramatist in
literary history. He is William Shakespeare. He is respected and his plays are widely read and
referred to because of the wisdom they contain. Hamlet is one of his tragedies. In fact, it is
acclaimed to be one of his best tragedies.

LESSON OBJECTIVES

By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

i. Interpret Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
ii. Discuss the various characters in the play.
iii. Examine the themes and styles in the play

SUMMARY OF THE PLAY

The King of Denmark was killed by his brother, Claudius, who married the late King’s wife
within two months of assassinating him. The action of the queen, Gertrude, and her marriage to
the brother of her slain husband within a short time is condemned by everyone. Claudius’

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marriage to Getrude confirms the people’s opinion that he killed his brother so as to become the
king of Denmark and marry his widow. The lawful heir to the throne, Hamlet, is therefore shut
out of the throne, which he is entitled to as a matter of right.

As a result, Hamlet is troubled by the ignominy of his mother’s marriage and the loss of his
father whom he loves so much. His mind is troubled and he develops apathy towards his favorite
pastimes like reading of books, sports and princely exercises. What is more worrisome is not
even that his throne has been usurped, but that his mother has not treated the memory of his
father with respect and has to remarry a murderer within two months of his brutal murder.

Hamlet hears rumours that a ghost like that of his dead father had been sighted by the palace
guards for two consecutive nights. And his apprehension increases when he learns that the ghost
dresses in the attire worn by the late king and that the outward appearance of the ghost looks
sorrowful but that it did not make any speech and disappears when the morning cock crowed. He
decides to keep watch with the guards. The ghost appears and gives him sign to move to another
location with him and Hamlet determines and moves with the spirit while his friends dissuade
him to no avail.

At a quiet place, the spirit tells him that he is the ghost of the late king who was murdered in cold
blood by Claudius. Indeed, Claudius murdered him to inherit his widow and his crown by
creeping into his garden in the afternoon when he was asleep and poured a poisonous liquid into
his ears, which killed him immediately; thus, he was cut off at once from his crown and his
queen by a brother’s hand. He therefore urges Hamlet, the young prince, to avenge this cruel
murder. Hamlet resolves to do the bidding of the ghost. He gave his friends the details of the
conversation but asks them to keep it a secret. Hamlet, fearing that the new king may discover
his intent and prompting of the ghost, decides to feign madness.

He appears henceforth as a mad man in his speeches, dressing and behaviour. He feigns this
madness so masterly and craftily that the king and the queen are deceived into thinking that it is
love for Ophelia that is driving him so mad. He writes many love letters to Ophelia, and sends
rings to her to cover his pretence of insanity.

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He is poised to avenge his father’s death. In the process, he kills Polonius, who is sent by
Claudius to eavesdrop during the meeting between Hamlet and his mother. Ophelia his girlfriend
who is Polonius’ daughter runs mad. Leartes, his brother vows to avenge their father’s death.

But the mission is not an easy one because of high security presence around the king. Also,
Hamlet is noble-hearted and the murder of a creature makes him sad. He wonders whether the
ghost’s command is right or wrong. He wants further proof. So, he organizes a play that presents
a story that is similar to the account of the ghost about the murder of his late father. This play is
presented before the new king in the form of a play-within-the-play. The king calls for light and
develops a sudden sickness and quickly leaves the theatre, and that brings the play to an abrupt
end. Hamlet is now convinced. He then tells Horatio that he believes everything the ghost said.

Hamlet was later invited to a private meeting by his mother. In the meeting, the mother tells him
that his behaviour has troubled them. Meanwhile, Claudius sent Polonius to secretly watch and
get the details of the meeting, because he is sure that the queen would not tell him everything
that transpired. But Hamlet confronts his mother and accuses her of living in sin. In the course of
accusations and the argument that follows, his mother insists on calling Polonius and is
prevented by the prince. She shouts for help and a voice is heard behind the curtain, “Help, the
queen!” Hamlet draws his sword and strikes, thinking that it is the king but it is Polonius who
dies.

Incidentally, Polinius is Ophelia’s father. The shock of his death at the hands of her beloved
drives her mad and she dies later. Her brother Leartes, decides to avenge the two deaths. The
king seizes the opportunity to use him to kill Hamlet. They agree to kill Hamlet with a poisoned
foil during a fencing match to be organized for Leartes and Hamlet. Before the match, the king
offers a cup of poisoned wine to Hamlet but he declines. His mother who is not aware of the
poison drinks the wine and dies as the match is going on. During the match, the foils are
exchanged and both of them are wounded. Hamlet stabs the king with the poisoned foil, and
forces him to drink the remaining poisoned wine. As they all die, Fortinbras comes back from
Poland, takes over Denmark and promises to restore peace while Horatio arranges for the burial.

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Themes

The main theme of the play is the “natural streak of evil in nature” of the royal house of
Denmark which threatens its existence. This evil in nature taints everything that is good in
Denmark, disrupts its equilibrium and brings it to ruin. This sin against nature is manifested in
the murder of the late king by his brother, young Hamlet’s feigned madness, his mother’s hasty
marriage to Claudius and the eventual death of Hamlet, Leartes, Claudius and the Queen.

Enclosed in this main theme are the themes of betrayal and revenge. Hamlet feels betrayed by
his mother and uncle and that both betrayed his late father. However, his mother’s betrayal hurts
him more for his father loved his mother so much that even in death he (late king) intercedes for
her. Olivia feels betrayed by Hamlet. The entire play revolves around Hamlet’s decision and
move to revenge his father’s death.

Style

The Shakespearean style used in this tragic play is unique as Hamlet tries to avenge the death of
his father, the late king of Denmark who was murdered by his uncle, Claudius. The aftermath or
consequences of this venture plunge the entire kingdom into a state of cataclysm.
a. Plot/Structure

The play has a linear and casual plot. It is presented in a five-act structure. The action follows a
chronological, logical sequence from the beginning to the end except for the interruption for the
“Mousetrap”. Each action leads to the other and they all contribute to the progress of the entire

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play. However, there are sub-plots but they are equally essential to the play. All of them depend
casually upon each other with their climax coming together to re-inforce each other and their
denouement (resolution) is interdependent. The play is hinged on conflicts. These are the
struggles or conflicts between Claudius and Hamlet, between Hamlet, Polonius and Leartes, and
between Claudius’s regime and Fortinbras’. The interesting and unique thing is that they are
tightly woven together casually and logically from the beginning to the end.

b. Soliloquy and Aside

Soliloquy is employed to reveal the inner workings of the minds of characters in this play.
Shakespeare uses it in its finest form especially in the character of Hamlet. The audience,
through this technique, shares in Hamlet’s psychological disturbances and the innermost aspects
of his character. It helps to reveal Hamlet’s character and also serves as a form of significant
commentary on the events. The first soliloquy, for instance, reveals Hamlet’s predicament.- to be
or not to be, to kill or not to kill the king- this is a weighty issue that burdens him.

Soliloquy is a very important technique used in this play. Although Hamlet’s soliloquies do not
represent the greater part of the play, the main action which is the revenge plot, depends to a
great extent on the working out of Hamlet’s private mental processes. Almost everything he does
or does not do, is the result of one soliloquy or the cause of another. You will notice that when
Hamlet stops soliloquizing, when he turns from private thought to definite public action, the play
comes quickly to an end.

Aside is a dramatic convention that enables a character speak to himself or make a comment on
the action or speech of another character. That other character is not expected to hear it but
others could. Sometimes, an aside is directed to a particular character on another character’s
speech or action. In the example below, Polonius, in an aside, calls the king’s attention to what
Hamlet said:
Queen. Come hither, my dear Hamlet, sit by me.
Ham. No, good mother, here’s metal more attractive.
Pol. [aside to the king] O ho! Do you mark that?

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Ham. [lying at Ophelia’s feet] Lady, shall I lie in your lap?

( Act 111, Scene 1)
c. Play-Within-the-Play

The play-within-play is a short but complete play incorporated into the main play. A good
example of this in Hamlet is the “Mousetrap” which presents a story that is similar to the way the
late king was killed. This is another major device used by the playwright as a searchlight directed
to Claudius, to examine his soul and mind. It serves as a point of recognition. Hamlet recognizes
his uncle as the murderer of his father, Claudius on his part sees Hamlet as a big threat to him
and his kingdom. Therefore, the king determines to eliminate him while Hamlet convinces
himself that Claudius is responsible for his father’s death and vows to kill him.

Setting
The playwright captures the beauty of the environment. It is however a turbulent and fearful
environment which symbolically reflects the turbulent state of Hamlet’s mind. As the kingdom
of Denmark is about to disintegrate, Hamlet’s mind is also on the brink of collapse. The play is
set in Denmark. The actions take place mainly in the Castle of Elisnore. It is not easy to locate
the historical setting as the play is based on the legend of Hamlet which is found in the folk
literature of Iceland and Denmark

Characterization
The characters are round/realistic/multi-dimensional. Hamlet, for instance, grows from
innocence and indecision to maturity and takes a definite decision to revenge his father’s death.
It is difficult to predict his actions. The perfection of character development in this play is
reflected in a pattern of events as the characters take over the plot and change as it progresses.

Character Analysis
a. Hamlet
He is the tragic hero of the play. He is the son of Queen Gertrude and King Hamlet, murdered by
his brother, Claudius. The ship that was to carry him to England to be executed suffered in the
hands of the sea pirates and he sees himself rescued by fate and comes back home to avenge the

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death of his father in the hand of King Claudius. The Ghost urges Hamlet to avenge but could
not guide him to live to tell the story; rather, the story is relayed to the entire Danish people by
Horatio his bosom friend. Ophelia says of Hamlet “what a noble mind is here o’erthrown”. Thus
Hamlet is noble minded, gentle and dignified. Hamlet is a moralist who condemns his mother’s
“quick but unthoughtful” second marriage to the king. He also criticizes the king’s life of
pleasure and debauchery.

Hamlet is a philosopher and a deep thinker. He refuses to kill Claudius when he had the
opportunity because Claudius was praying at that time, and he feels that Claudius will go to
heaven, if he is killed at his moment of prayer. His love of Ophelia is incontestable to the point
of jumping into her grave possibly to be buried with her.

Ophelia’s madness is caused by an emotional turmoil and that of Hamlet is occasioned by the
tragic death of his father, the late king. Thus, Hamlet and Ophelia share the same experience in
this respect. Hamlet is one who can wilt in the face of hardship and difficulties. Thus, he
contemplates committing suicide when he reflects on the futility of life and the whole
melancholic situation that have engulfed him.

Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is a scholar and is very intelligent. These qualities guide him to
escape from the wiles and evil machinations of Claudius. Hamlet feels that, though the Ghost’s
directives should be followed, there is no need to be credulous and sheepish, rather the advice of
the apparition had to be subjected to a test by staging a drama on the theme of murder and seeing
how the king will react to it. Hamlet is a good student of drama and he usually quotes easily the
lines of plays he has studied.

b.Claudius, King of Denmark

He murdered his brother, the late king and becomes the king and married his brother’s wife. He
is a schemer who knows what he wants and how to get it, but his last plot to kill Hamlet
boomeranged and he died in the process. He married Gertrude after eliminating her husband,
though he later regrets his actions, but refuses to give up the throne and his illegal wife. He does
not seriously atone for his sins but plans complete liquidation of the dynasty of the former king

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by plotting and executing the death of the Prince. He is a selfish ruler who wastes his kingdom’s
resources in revelries and drunken orgies. The king is vulgar and coarse-natured and is not a man
of the people as one can say of the former king. When Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes and Hamlet
die, it is the body of Hamlet that Fortinbras asks to be brought to the foyer and not that of the
king. His reign as a king is marked by violence and turbulence because he is a hypocrite who
came to power by murdering his brother, the late king. Claudius has the ability to seduce with
smile and cunning.

c.Queen Gertrude
She is the wife of both the late king and the present one. Her hasty marriage to King Claudius
which was condemned by her son, Hamlet, brings out clearly her weakness of character for she
lacks the moral strength to say ‘no’ to evil. She is capricious as she emotionally changes from
the grief of her late husband to savour the happiness of her second marriage to Claudius.

No doubt, Gertrude loves her son, but Hamlet does very little to return her love. Many examples
abound in the play to show that Gertrude would do everything possible to preserve the love she
has for Hamlet. The king for instance sends Polonius to eavesdrop and find out the outcome of
the meeting between Gertrude and Hamlet because the king is sure that Gertrude would not
disclose to him all that transpired in the meeting.

1. Describe the Character traits of Hamlet in Hamlet.

2. Compare the nature of tragedy in Oedipus King and Hamlet.

REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Clarke, Waldo (1976). A Short History of English Literature. London: Evans.
Hagler, A. M. (1959). A Source Book in Theatrical History. New York: Dover.
Iwuchukwu, Chinweikpe (2004). The Mastery of Literature. Lagos: Macckho Ricckho.
Shakespeare, William (1984). Hamlet. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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LESSON 11 THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE BY BERTOLT BRECHT

11.1 INTRODUCTION

In this last lesson, we turn our attention to a play of another great dramatist in literary history. He
is Bertolt Brecht. His writings have had a major influence on 20th Century theatre. In his career,
he wrote several plays that have become well-known and respected. In this lesson, we analyse
The Caucasian Chalk Circle.

LESSON OBJECTIVES

By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

i. Interpret Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle.
ii. Discuss the various characters in the play. iii. Examine the
themes and styles in the play.
PLOT SUMMARY

The Caucasian Chalk Circle begins with a dispute over land between two groups, the peasants
and The Pastoralists, after the land was abandoned when the Germans invaded in World War II.
As the two groups haggle it out, the peasants, who win, begin to tell the story of the Chalk Circle
as the dispute is resolved. During a time of revolution chaos ensues across the land and the
Governor is ousted. The rich Governor’s wife, Natella, tries to run away with as many of her
precious jewelry as possible. As she flees for her life, she leaves her child, Michael, behind. The
servant girl Grusha gets the child abandoned in the house and decides to take care of him.
Grusha too runs away with the child, afraid for the boy’s life because the new regime is out to
kill the Governor’s family. She risks her life to cross the countryside during winter and flees to
her brother’s house. Grusha’s brother forces her to marry a man who is supposedly dying. They
hold a wedding, but during the reception they learn that the war is over and her new husband
turns out to be in full health. Grusha, now saddled with a husband she never wanted, has to play
the good wife.

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In the meantime, Grusha’s previous love, Simon, returns to finds out that she is both married and
has a child that he presumes is hers. Soon also, some soldiers appear and take Michael away
from her, claiming that the child belongs to the newly re-established Governor’s wife. Grusha
follows them to the city, desperate to get the child who she loves back. Grusha and the
Governor’s wife go before the court of Azdak, a previous trickster who now has become the new
judge. The two women claim the child as theirs. Azdak, in order to prove whose child Michael
is, draws a chalk circle around and says that whoever owns the child will pull the child to their
side of the circle. As each woman holds one side of the child, Grusha soon thinks the child will
be hurt by their struggle. She lets go of Michael and he ends up with the Governor’s wife. Azdak
than declares the child Grusha’s. For only a true mother would risk their own happiness for that
of their child’s. Grusha ends up with the child and her previous love, Simon. For her sacrifice
she gets all that she wants. As the play goes back to the peasants, they learn that perhaps through
working together they won’t destroy the land but profit from it.

CHARACTER ANALYSIS

a. GRUSHAVASHNADZE

She is the kitchen maid in the palace who rescues the Governor's son, Michael, and takes the
baby with her. She takes care of Michael for two years until Natella comes back to reclaim him.
Both women appear before Azdak who chooses to give the boy to Grusha.

She is hardworking, dutiful and loyal. She works in the Governor’s palace as a kitchen maid.
On Easter Sunday Grusha is asked to get a goose for the banquet. She also washes household
clothing. ‘I only go to the willows to wash the linen.’ (Pg. 17). She is knowledgeable. She is
asked to get a goose on Easter Sunday because she knows about geese. She also tells Simon that
it is not safe to accompany Natella as her guard: “Isn’t it dangerous to accompany her?” (Pg. 21)

She is loving, caring and devoted. On many occasions in the play she is presented and described
as a loving and caring person. Grusha loves Simon. When Simon asks for her hand in marriage,
she agrees and promises to wait for him until the war is over: “Simon Shashava, I shall wait for

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you.” (Pg. 23). Grusha loves Michael. She does not abandon him. She hides Michael from the
Ironshirts and watches over her throughout the night: “Grusha now settles down to watch over
the child through the night” (Pg. 29). She also shows her devotion to Michael when she tells off
the two women that Michael is human and does not have a plague: “He hasn’t got a plague. He
looks at me. He’s human.” (Pg. 27).

She is also presented as a courageous, daring and decisive person. She shouts at the corporal
and pulls him away from Michael. When this strategy fails, she seizes a log of wood and hits him
over the head from behind. Grusha ignores the merchants’ advice and crosses the bridge that is
on the verge of collapsing: “… she steps onto the swaying bridge.” (Pg. 42) She makes up her
mind to adopt Michael when it comes to her realisation that no one else is willing to take him:
“Since no one else will take you, son, I must take you.” (Pg. 39)

She represents the plight of the poor and the downtrodden in the society. She also represents the
commitment of a mother to her son. It’s through Grusha that the playwright develops the theme
of motherhood and the plight of single parenthood in turbulent times in society. We get to learn
the character of Natella through her. She exemplifies noble people in society and the fighting
spirit of a mother. She stands out in the play because of her resilience in taking care of Michael.
She also represents womanhood.

b. NATELLA

The Governor’s wife leaves her baby, Michael, when she flees the Fat Prince. She later tries to
get Michael back in order to reclaim the Governor’s estates. She is insensitive. She does not care
about her own son but she is only interested in her husband’s wealth. She abandons her own son
when he needs her most: “Then put him down a moment and get my little saffron-colored boots
from the bedroom.” (Pg. 24)

She is also presented as ungrateful, unappreciative and materialistic. She says: ‘But Georgi, of
course, will only build for his little Michael.’(Pg. 19) In the midst of the political upheaval she
appears to be more concerned about her clothes than her son’s safety: “I’ve got to take this silver
dress – it cost me a thousand piasters.” (Pg. 25). The Governor’s wife is abusive, brutal and

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crude. She is seen to be ordering everyone around after the upheaval. She abuses the young
woman for handling her dresses clumsily and calls her a bitch. She even threatens to kill her:
“I’ll kill you, you bitch.” (Pg.24)

c. AZDAK

Originally, Azdak was a village recorder who accidentally saves the Grand Duke’s life. When he
realized the mistake he had made by saving the Grand Duke, he then rushed to town and
confesses his crime, but the soldiers refuse to believe him. When the Fat Prince offers the
soldiers the chance to choose the new judge, they pick Azdak. He becomes known for arbitrary
judgments. He presides over the case where Grusha claims Michael. After awarding Grusha the
child and annulling Jussup’s marriage to Grusha, he disappears.

DRAMATIC TECHNIQUES

a. The Use of a Prologue

The Prologue starts with a dispute over a farm valley in a Caucasian village. Two groups of
peasants – the fruit-growing peasant group and the goat-herding peasant group – both claim
ownership of the valley. The goat-herding group, on the right, abandoned the valley during the
World War II when the Germans invaded. They plan to return since the war is no more. The
other group, on the left, is from a neighbouring valley. They too claim the valley since they have
elaborate plans to realise the valley’s full potential. A Delegate from the State Reconstruction
Commission has been sent to arbitrate the two warring groups. He listens to the two groups’
arguments as to why they should claim the valley. The goat-herding group wants their valley
back because they have always lived there. They claim that the taste of their cheese is now
different and no longer nutritional since they left the valley. The group on the left speaks next.
Kato, an agriculturalist, uses irrigation plans they have drawn up to convince the goat-herding
group to give up the valley. The Delegate asks the group on the right if they will give up the
valley and they agree.

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As a dramatic device, the prologue plays a central role to the entire play. Through it, Brecht
presents his social transformation ideas even before the main play begins. By allowing the fruit
farmers to own the valley and continue with their elaborate plans of irrigating the land for
orchards and vineyards, the playwright underscores the need for social justice as opposed to rigid
law. In this, he shows that social change in society is as a result of people embracing
transformative strategies rather than sticking to the law. Besides social justice, the prologue
introduces readers to other themes such as war, ownership, morality, and sacrifice.

b. Use of Song

Song is another device widely used in the play, The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Brecht uses various
songs to put his ideas across to his audience and readers. The use of song renders the play
musically sumptuous and artistically striking. However, as we shall show in this analysis, each of
the songs used serves a particular function and helps to bring out certain salient features in
society. Thus, the audience is not only entertained through the songs (which are rich in the
traditional culture) but also widely informed through the embedded meaning(s) in them.

In the prologue, the two parties involved in the dispute break into song in order to celebrate the
peaceful resolution of their conflict. The fruit farmers on the left provide a singer named Arkadi.
He agrees to sing a song called ‘The Chalk Circle’ which comes from the Chinese (Pg.12). The
song is viewed as a victory song. It foregrounds a victory not for the fruit farmers over the goat
herders but for society as a whole and for common good. This is clearly shown as the two groups
of peasants go to the club house to celebrate.

Act 1, ‘The Noble Child’, opens with a song. Through song, the singer points out social
inequalities in society as the political elite, symbolized by Georgi Abashwili, swim in riches at
the expense of the common masses in society. In this regard, the song brings out the theme of
materialism as the rich enjoy while the poor, symbolized by the beggars, suffer (pg. 13-14). As
Grusha escapes to the northern mountains, she sings “The song of the Four Generals” (pg.31). In

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the song she invokes the images of the traditional folk hero, Sosso Robakidse, who went into war
with Iran. Whereas the other generals refused to go to war citing various reasons such as “the
weather never was right” (pg.32), Robakidse did through sheer determination. There are clear
parallels between Rodakidse’s actions and Grusha’s. Going into war was a risky undertaking for
Robakidse because the other generals did not support him. The same case applies to Grusha.
Running away with Michael, the Governor’s son, was a risky undertaking. This is evident from
the tribulations that she undergoes in her quest to protect him.

It is important to note that for Brecht, it was music that made ‘poetic theatre’ possible. The songs
used in the play serve particular purposes besides breaking monotony and entertaining the
audience. Therefore, the songs used are of a reflective and moralising nature they stimulate the
audience’s thoughts as they communicate not only the meaning of the words but the attitude of
the singer.

STYLISTIC FEATURES

a. Use of Symbolism

Symbolism refers to the use of a word, a phrase, a description or even a character to represent
deeper meaning than the words themselves. He argues that in using symbolism, the meaning of a
work of art is enhanced and extended, thus turning the written word into a very powerful device.
A symbol is an object that stands for or signifies something else, either by association or by
resemblance. It can be a material object or a written sign used to epitomize something invisible.
There are various symbols in the play, The Caucasian Chalk Circle. These include:

i. The Chalk Circle

Brecht depicts The chalk circle as a symbol of truth modelled in line with the Solomonic wisdom
in the Bible. Within the circle, all will be revealed. In the play, Azdak cannot come to a rational
decision on who, between Natella and Grusha, should have the child. Since his judgements are
not founded within the law statutes, he decides to “make a test” (pg. 97). By putting the women
in a circle and observing the way they act towards the child, he can see which woman is best
suited for it. To him, the circle levels the playing ground, removing the advantage of money or

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rank or history. There are no distractions to the problem or its solution. Azdak lets justice reveal
itself (pg. 98). In using the chalk circle test, Azdak seeks to evaluate the sincerity of Grusha’s
and Natella’s emotional rhetoric by gauging their willingness to do Michael harm. His judgment
awards the child to the mother whose emotional claim is most strongly substantiated in the
circumstances.

Similarly, the play opens with another circle of justice, when the members of the two
communities sit together to decide who should have the valley. The Delegate from the
Government Reconstruction Commission is like Azdak, who announces the outcome but merely
observes. Within this friendly circle where the two communities have equal social status, they
can impartially decide the best use of the valley, and it is peacefully and mutually decided upon
in favour of the fruit growers.

The circle as symbol is reinforced by the change that is brought up by the Singer in Scene 1. He
sings about the downfall of the Governor, who was so secure in his power and assumed he would
always have it. He says: “But long is not forever / O change from age to age! Thou hope of the
people!” (pg. 20). The change that the Singer is talking about is the hope of the people because
eventually, this turning circle of fortune produces justice, as we see in the prologue.

ii. The Garden

The garden is another symbol used in the play. The garden appears at the opening of the play
where Governor Abashvili is remodelling and enlarging his palace, in honour of his newborn son
who is heir-apparent. Natella says: “All those wretched slums are to be torn down to make room
for a garden” (pg. 15). This will be a garden for the privileged at the expense of the poor. The
slum people are of no account as humans. In fact, in Act 5, Natella complains about their smell,
as if they were animals when she says: “At least there are no common people here, thank God. I
can’t stand their smell. It always gives me migraine” (pg. 88). Ironically, this same estate is
confiscated for the state in Act 5 when Azdak declares it will be given to the people and made
into a playground for children. He calls it “The Garden of Azdak” (pg. 98).

In the prologue, the peasants from Rosa Luxemburg win the rights to the valley because they will
make great orchards there, a garden for everyone (pg.11). Making the land into a garden is the
symbol of making the land productive and the scene of social harmony and justice, so everyone

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can share the fruits. Ironically, when the Abashvilis try to make a garden for themselves alone,
there is only war and misery. The common people have a relationship with the land and are
contrasted to the aristocrats on their use of land.

b.Use of a Play-within-a-play

A play-within-a-play as a device occurs when an author allows some of his characters to become
“actors” in the central piece, while others now take the role of the audience in the play. A
playwithin-a-play lets us watch characters watching or doing something. This device gives us
clues regarding their character traits and/or advances the plot. For instance, in the prologue,
Brecht uses play-within-a-play to frame the story of the two communities fighting for ownership
of the valley in a war-ravaged Caucasian village (pg. 7).

In Act 3, as Grusha is washing linen by a stream one day, Michael plays with other children the
“Heads-Off Game” (pg. 58). In the ‘play’ they are beheading the Governor (Michael’s real
father), and Michael says, “Me cut off head!” (pg. 58). He refuses to play the role of Governor,
but pretends to chop off the head of the fat boy (representing the Fat Prince). The children’s
game is a satirical comment on the past politics of Grusinia, which has now become nothing but
a memory among children. It also foreshadows the death of the Fat Prince, which would have
already happened during Grusha’s wedding, months before Simon comes to her. At the wedding
we learn that the foreign war is over, and the former enemy, the Shah of Persia, is going to back
the Grand Duke against the Fat Prince, thus restoring the country to its former rule. This sudden
reversal of fortune has sealed Grusha’s fate. She realizes then that Simon might come back, but
since she may no longer be his, she eventually gives in to being the wife of Jussup. Jussup’s
brutal lecture to Grusha regarding a peasant wife’s duty reflects the injustice of both the political
and religious structure of society. A woman is nothing but a chattel essentially tells her and treats
her that way (pg. 57).

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The children’s game is important because it not only makes a mockery of the adult world but
also foreshadows the death of the Fat Prince. Michael is initially asked to play his father and
allow the older boys to behead him. Instead he chooses to behead the Fat Prince, a symbol
indicative of the end of his regime. It is important to note that the children, in the game, are
foreshadowing only the action in the play; in terms of sequential action the Fat Prince has been
beheaded since the Grand Duke returned to power several months earlier before Grusha’s
wedding.

A play-within-a-play helps the playwright to reinforce, broaden and deepen the central motif in
the main play. It becomes a valid means for making the audience think about the fictionality of
real life and the reality of fiction. For instance, in the mock-rehearsal the playwright succeeds in
pointing out human flaws to enhance the virtues of the theatre. The technique of play-within-
aplay not only brings out suspense in the works, but also takes the audience through the past to
the present. We see the pitfalls of society and how time bids change.

c.Use of Satire

Satire as a stylistic feature that ridicules human weaknesses through laughter. It ridicules with the
ultimate aim of bringing about change in human behaviour and, in the process, encourages
people to embrace positive values in an enjoyable and entertaining manner. Bertolt Brecht, in
Caucasian Chalk Circle uses satire not only to highlight various human flaws in society but also
to criticize it. Being a believer of using theatre for social change, Brecht employs characters to
foreground social change he needed in society. For instance, he uses Azdak as tool to show the
kind of justice he wished society to embrace. The manner in which Azdak, as a judge, takes
bribes is satirical. He says: “Before I open the proceedings, a short announcement- I accept (pg.
75). He then stretches out using his hand. This is an open acceptance of bribery as a norm. From
Azdak’s actions, the author shows that it is easier to obtain justice through bribery since the
judge himself is even ready to take them! Ironically, he takes bribes from the rich but he rules in
favour of the poor.

Azdak, as Judge, has theatrical and sometimes objectionable notions of right and wrong. The

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First Ironshirts describes him thus: “The Judge was always a rascal! Now the rascal shall be the
Judge!”(pg.74). The soldier’s utterances are satirical. The satire is further enhanced by how
Azdak makes his decisions on various judgments. For example, he finds a woman guilty of the
crime done to her by a stableman: “This is a case of intentional assault with a dangerous weapon!
You are sentenced to handover to the court the little roan which your father liked to ride “on his
son’s behalf” (pg. 79). The determination of the case is extremely funny especially when his
question: “You like to lie a long time in the bathtub?” (pg. 78) forms the opinion of his
judgment. Brecht also criticizes corruption in society, especially in the courts of justice.
Although Azdak’s reign is described as ‘almost an age of injustice’, we see a judge whose
verdicts highly depend on the size of the bribe offered. The author sees a leadership whose
reasons for going to war is not based on patriotism and victory, but to have the opportunity for
capital gain because corruption thrives more in a war situation than in peace time.

Brecht satarizes religion in the play. Right from the start, the playwright depicts a society
founded on strong Christian ethics. Christian undertones reverberate throughout the text as
manifested in characters such as the Monk, Mother-in-law, Laventri and his wife among others.
Christianity is embraced only as a vehicle for social acceptance. It has nothing to do with the
humanity and piety it professes. This is exemplified by the Monk’s satirical preference to chaos
over stability as he says, “The war is over, beware of the peace!” and by mother-in-law’s love for
money as opposed to her son Jussup among others.

The play is also a satire and critique of the military. The Fat Prince wants to make his nephew
the judge, but requires the Ironshirts’ support, so Azdak plays the duke in a mock trial. One of
the Ironshirts says: “Now he wants justice for Grusinia! But fun is fun as long as it lasts! He
knows all about justice! Hey, you rascal would you like this nephew fellow to be the judge?
(pg.71). The solder’s utterance is full of satire as it reveals their reluctance to support the Fat
Prince and their continued support of mediocrity in leadership.

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d.Use of Irony

Irony as a stylistic feature which shows the incongruity between appearance and reality, words
and meanings or between actions and their results. Simply put, irony means the opposite of what
is said, meant or done. Brecht has made use of ironic reversals throughout the play. At the
beginning of Act 1, we see the Governor and his family on their way to church and a servant has
been sent to fetch a goose for their dinner in which they have invited prominent architects to
advise him on his big plans. The irony is that the unexpected happens. Instead of enjoying the
‘Happy Easter’, the singer says: “…and the goose was plucked and roasted but the goose was not
eaten this time and noon was no longer the time to eat: noon was the time to die” (Pg. 18). The
irony is further extended by the singer who says to the Governor: “And now you don’t need an
architect, a carpenter will do. You won’t be moving to a new palace but into a hole in the
ground….” (Pg. 20).

Mothers are expected to love their children. In this regard, they undertake certain activities for
the betterment and well being of their children. But, mothers such as Natella Abashwili and
Mother-in law are not of this type. In the first Act, Michael‘s natural mother Natella is portrayed
as jealous of her own son, she doesn’t approve of the Governor’s efforts to construct a garden for
their son. When forced to flee the city, she abandons her baby as she organizes her wardrobe for
the flight to safety. Grusha, the young kitchen maid at the governor’s house, is the good soul
who comes to the rescue of Michael. Ironically, the woman who took care of the little child and
risked her life for its safety is made to face trial.

Similarly, in Act 3, Jussup‘s mother is more concerned with money than her “dying” son. When
asked by the Monk if she would like him to perform Extreme Unction, a sacrament for anointing
the dead, she refuses by saying: “Nothing doing! The wedding cost quite enough” (pg. 52). This
shows that mother-in law is concerned with her selfish interests. Likewise, at the trial, Natella is
more concerned with her own current situation than with seeing her child. Her motivation proves

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to be in her own interest, as she needs custody of Michael in order to take over the Governor‘s
former estates.

Azdak’s cases are full of ironic reversals. The doctor who operates a patient on the wrong leg is
acquitted for the ‘unpardonable error’ in his profession! Ludovica who is a victim of rape is
convicted of raping the suspect using “a dangerous weapon” (Pg. 79). The farmers who had
accused the old woman of receiving their stolen animals and animal products are fined whereas
the suspect is made to sit on the judge’s chair (pg. 80). To make it worse, Bandit Arkadi is
treated to a glass of vodka and referred to as ‘pious man’ by the judge, even after he confesses
his crime (pg. 80).

THEMES

a. Courage and Sacrifice

The theme of courage and sacrifice is best exemplified by Grusha’s actions in the play. When the
Governor’s wife abandons her child as she flees the palace, Grusha is warned to keep her hands
off him (pg. 27), but she declines. Grusha makes a lot of sacrifices to ensure that the child
Michael is safe and sound. For example, she gives up her one week’s wages to buy milk for
Michael. She says: “This is an expensive joke. Take a sip, Michael, it is a week’s pay” (pg.33).
When the Ironshirts catch up with her, she endangers her life further by hitting the corporal on
the head and escapes (pg.39). At the rotten bridge, she risks her life and that of Michael to cross
the dangerous bridge which the merchant woman wouldn’t dare even “… if the devil himself
were after me. It’s suicide” (pg. 40).

In his desperate attempt to get Grusha out of the house, Lavrenti proposes that she should marry
in order to give Michael a sense of legitimacy. When Grusha protests, he explains “You don’t

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need a man in bed – you need a man on paper. And I have found one for you” (pg 49). This
explanation convinces Grusha: “It’s true I could use a document with stamps on it for Michael”
(pg 49). Eventually she agrees to break the commitment she made to Simon in Act 1 in order to
marry Jussup as confirmed by the Singer: “The oath is broken. Neither could say why” (Pg. 61).
By agreeing to marry Jussup at his ‘present’ state, she is prepared to become a widow. This
shows that Grusha is too willing to sacrifice her happiness for Michael.

Grusha’s final act of sacrifice is demonstrated at the trial in Act 5. Despite the assurances she
receives before the trial, Grusha is ready to give up Michael. The cook, for example, says:
“You’re lucky it’s not a really judge. It’s Azdak, a drunk who does know what he’s doing. The
biggest thieves have got by through him. Because he gets everything mixed up and the rich never
offer him big bribes, the likes of us sometimes do pretty well” (pg. 86). The cook’s observation
is tailored towards offering consolation to Grusha that despite the fact that Michael isn’t her son,
she has a chance to win the case. On his part, Simon changes his stand towards Grusha and tells
her: “I wish the lady to know I will swear I am the father of the child” (pg.87). However, when
Natella and Grusha are required to pull Michael from ‘the Chalk Circle’ to determine who is the
true mother, Grusha refuses to do so saying: “I brought him up! Shall I also tear him into bits? I
can’t!” (pg. 98). This shows that she is willing to give up the custody of Michael in order for him
to live. This is the highest form of sacrifice she has made considering the fact that she has
undergone much to ensure that Michael survives.

b. Social Justice

In order to highlight the theme of social justice in the play, Brecht uses the dilemma over the
child, and the struggle for ownership of the valley. In the prologue, we are presented with two
communities fighting for the valley. The goat-herders lay claim to it because they formerly
occupied it before they moved to the further east and now wish to return. The fruit-growers on
their part have elaborate plans to irrigate the valley and plant orchards and vineyards. An expert
presides over a meeting to decide the fate of the valley. An old man from the goat-breeders
distributes cheese which is generally agreed to be excellent.

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However, there is need to determine who between the two communities should be awarded
ownership of the valley. In order to do this, the old man appeals to the law, but a girl replies: “In
any case, the laws need to be re-examined to see if they’re still right”(pg.9). Through this, the
playwright raises the issue of justice. The law of property and hereditary rights are here
abandoned in favour of a new kind of justice whose principles are to be worked out in the play.

Thus, Brecht disregards the law in favour of a well reasoned argument based on immediate needs
and points out that decisions should be made for the common good. In other words, for social
justice to be attained, there is need to focus on the common good as the overriding factor. The
law should not be used as an instrument of oppression as is evident at the beginning of the play
where it is merely a prop for injustice, exploitation and corruption. For example, great care is
taken of the Governor’s heir, more care indeed than is likely to produce a thriving child.
However, this care springs not from parental love but from Grusha’s foster parentage of Michael.

The theme of social justice is further portrayed in the play using the character Azdak, the fool,
as judge. Through him, Brecht indirectly asks the question: who should really be responsible for
the dispensation of social justice? These are the issues that Brecht explores in the play as he
presents various scenarios where social justice is called upon.

Azdak’s antics, such as demanding bribes openly in the court (pg. 75), seen to condone
corruption. Everything that Azdak does or says satirizes the court system. For example, he asks
Grusha: “You want justice, but do you want to pay for it, hm? When you go to the butcher you
know you have to pay…” (pg. 94). The rich are used to equating money and rank with truth, but
it is their truth, not impartial justice. Out of Azdak’s comic theatre in the courtroom, he creates a
crazy logic so that the people who need help get it, despite the law. The singer says: “And he
broke the law to save them / Broken law like bread he gave them / Brought them to shore upon
his crooked back” (pg. 82). All these instances portray Azdak as a corrupt judge who has little or
no regard for the law.

However, despite Azdak’s inadequacies as a character, he is depicted as having a keen interest in

social justice. Azdak is of the idea that when the laws favour those in power the only hope for
justice is a judge who can be corrupted, bribed. Azdak himself is not complicated. He is

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depicted as the sensual and cynical outsider who sees through all conventional society’s
pretences of rigour and probity. He comes to power only in a time of disorder and his reign ends
when order is restored. His sensuality makes him sympathetic to the innocent victims and
comparatively tolerant of such villains as the young Blackmailer or Ludovica.

It is in Act 5 of the play that Azdak , in one of the ten cases he deals with during the various
trials displays his peculiar brand of social justice. For example, after Azdak rules in Grusha’s
favour, the singer states: “what there is shall belong to those who are good for it, thus/ The
children to the maternal . . . the valley to the waterers” (pg. 99). Hence, the play opens and closes
with seemingly true justice having been served.

1. With appropriate examples, discuss the theme of

motherhood in The Caucasian Chalk Circle.
2. The plot of the play is presented by the Singer and the
Chorus. How does this story-telling device or narrative
technique function in the play? 3. Brecht is much influenced by
the Marxism. Discuss how Marxist dialectics gave Brecht form
in The Caucasian Chalk Circle.
References/Further Reading
Abrams, M. H. (1971). A Glossary of Literary Terms. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Bertolt Bretch (1820) The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Verlag: Penguin Books
Brocket, Oscar G. (1980). The Essential Theatre. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Scholes R. and C.H. Klaus. (1971). Elements of Drama. New York: Oxford University Press

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