Literature and Drama: Fiction, Poetry, Plays, Tragedy

Types of Literature

Fiction: It is made up and it comes from a writer's imagination.

Non-fiction: It is about real people, places, things, ideas.

Autobiography: A type of nonfiction in which a person tells the story of their own life.

Biography: A type of nonfiction in which a person tells the story of someone else's life.

Fable: A short story that ends with a moral (lesson) and often uses animals as the main characters.

Play (drama): a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, for a theatrical performance rather than reading.

Poetry: A type of literature that uses concise, colorful, and often rhythmic language to express ideas or emotions.

Science Fiction: Fiction that often takes place in the future and is based on imagined scientific or technological advances and major social or environmental changes.

What Is Drama and Where Does It Come From?

In literature, a drama is the portrayal of fictional or non-fictional events through the performance of written dialogue (either prose or poetry).

Dramas can be performed on stage, on film, or on the radio.

Dramas are typically called plays, and their creators are known as "playwrights" or "dramatists."

Performed since the days of Aristotle (c. 335 BC), who was the first to write about the essential elements of drama more than 2,000 years ago. The term "drama" comes from the Greek words δρᾶμα (an act, a play) and δράω (to act, to take action).

The two iconic masks of drama — the laughing face and the crying face — are the symbols of two of the ancient Greek Muses: Thalia, the Muse of comedy, and Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy.

What Makes Drama Unique?

Drama has one peculiar characteristic to itself — it is written primarily to be performed, not read.

Drama is a presentation of action through actors (making the impact direct and immediate) on a stage (for a captive audience).

Types of Drama

Tragedy

Is a play that ends unhappily.

Most classic Greek tragedies deal with serious, universal themes such as:

• life and death
• justice and injustice
• right and wrong

The main character is a person of great significance, like a king or tragic hero.

This hero is noble and in many ways admirable, but has a tragic flaw (a personal failing that leads to a tragic end).

Common tragic flaws include:

• pride
• rebelliousness
• jealousy

Comedy

Is a play that ends happily. The plot usually centers on a romantic conflict.

boy meets girl → boy loses girl → boy wins girl

Comic complications always occur before the conflict is resolved.