WEEk 3: THEME AND FEATURES OF DRAMA

                                                   WEEK 3

Topic:                        THEME AND FEATURES OF DRAMA

Specific objectives: by the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:-

i. Define the term, theme.

ii. List the features of drama.

iii. Write short note on features of drama.

(A). Meaning of Theme:

Theme is the central idea of a work of art. A work of art is open to interpretation. Reader’s reactions are influenced by what they read or what ideas they might get from the work.

Also, theme is what the work says about the subject/topic; the idea the writer wishes to reveal about the subject. Theme is in fact the idea that holds the story together, such as comment or observation about society, human nature, or human condition.

(B). Features of Drama:

1. Dramatis personae: This is the display of all the participants in a drama.

2. Cast: It is a list of actors or actresses given defined roles in a drama by the playwright or director.

3. Playwright: It is the writer of a piece of drama or play.

4. Protagonist: This is a character who plays the most important role in a play. He/she is often referred to as the hero/heroine or the chief character.

5. Antagonist: is a character in a play who opposes the protagonist rightly or wrongly. Often, he/she contradicts the protagonist.

6. Conflict: It is another common feature of drama often involving the protagonist and the antagonist in their rivalry and struggle for assertion of influence or relevance.

7. Tragic flaw: It is a costly mistake made by the protagonist in a play. It could also mean an in-built or inherited weakness (flaw), say pride (hubris), which aids the downfall of the protagonist.

8. Dramatic irony: It is a point in a drama in which a character out of ignorance says or does something which runs counter to the prevalent course of action whose real outcome is known to the audience but is hidden from the character in question.

9. Soliloquy: It is a device in drama or novel which allows a character to engage in a loud self-talk while enabling the reader/audience to have access to what is in his/her mind.

10. Prologue: It is the formal introduction of a play whose content is relevant to the unfolding events in the play.

11. Epilogue: It is the closing comment in a play which justifies an earlier course of action or fills an untreated gap in a play.

12. Flashback: This is a literary technique in a drama or novel involving the recalling of an earlier scene, action or event which sheds further light on what is currently happening.

13. Chorus: It is a couple or a band of people in a play who takes it upon themselves as a group to comment on the proceedings of a drama action. The group sheds lights on the unfolding events and prepares the audience for what is yet to happen.

Evaluation Questions:

1. Define the term, theme.

2. Mention six features of drama.

3. Write short notes on any four of the features of drama you mentioned above