Dramatic Text Elements, Staging, Genres, and Literary Devices

Elements of a Dramatic Text

• Acts constitute the most important division of a play, beginning with the rise and fall of the curtain.
• Some works' acts are divided into scenes, distinguished by a change of scenery.
• The scenes are part of an act, usually with no change of scene when a character enters or leaves.
• Dialogue between characters is the most important resource of a dramatic text.
• The monologue occurs when a single actor speaks.
• Characters, both major and minor, advance the dramatic action.
• Stage directions are indications that the author proposes (scenery, etc.).
• Asides are messages that go to the public, with actors pretending that the other characters do not hear them.

Elements of Staging

• The stage is where the actors are located.
• The audience is the real target of the representation.
• Actors give real life to the characters.

Time and Space

• Unity of action: Every drama has to develop a unique story.
• Unity of space: Any representation occurs in a place.
• Unity of time: The duration cannot exceed one day.

Major Genres

Tragedy: Involves great conflicts and passions. The action ends with the death of a character. The characters belong to the upper class. It deals with philosophical problems. A typical feature of tragedy is the inevitable.

Drama: The conflicts and passions are lower than in tragedy. The characters are from the upper class. It has a tragic ending.

Comedy: Deals with more friendly and festive affairs. It is intended to amuse the public. The action ends with a happy ending.

Minor Genres

Auto sacramental: Of a religious nature. It is an allegory about truths of the Roman Catholic religion.

Entremés: A short work of a festive nature.

Farce: A short piece with a humorous character.

Mixed Genres

Opera, operetta, and zarzuela put music to the written text, which is called a script.

Literary Devices

Anaphora: Repetition of the same word at the beginning of each line.

Parallelism: Repetition of syntactic structures.

Anadiplosis: Repetition of the last word or phrase of a verse or a sentence at the beginning of the following one.

Concatenation: Several anadiplosis in a row.

Epanadiplosis: Repetition of a word at the beginning and end of a verse.

Hyperbaton: Change in the natural order of the elements of a sentence.

Epithet: Adjective expressing a quality that accompanies the noun.

Pleonasm: Redundancy by adding unnecessary terms.

Enumeration: Sequential expression of a number of elements in the same grammatical category.

Metaphor: Substitution of the name of a reality by the name of another to which it appears.

Allegory: Chained metaphors describing actions associated with imaginary facts.

Synonymy: Succession of synonyms in a row.

Metonymy: Designation of a reality with the name of another with whom you have close relationships.

Hyperbole: Exaggeration.

Prosopopeia: Attribution of human qualities to inanimate beings.

Antithesis: Confrontation or opposition of two antonymous terms.

Paradox: Expression of a thought that seems absurd or contradictory.

Jarchas and Galician-Portuguese Lyrics

Jarchas are short songs of the 11th and 12th centuries written in Mozarabic. They are love songs sung by a woman.

Cantigas de amigo: Love poem with an intimate tone.

Love ballads: Love poem put into the mouth of a man.

Mocking and cursing songs: Satirical, festive, and burlesque poems.