Two Kinds of Literary Devices in Drama Modern drama’s essential elements are the

Literary Devices have two aspects. They can be following:

treated as either Literary Elements or Literary 1. Characters
Techniques. It will be convenient to define them 2. Plot
separately. 3. Theme
4. Dialogue
Literary Elements are inherent to all literary 5. Convention: These are the techniques
pieces; writers extensively employ these and methods used by the playwright to
elements to develop a literary piece. Among create the desired stylistic effect.
these inherent elements are plot, setting, 6. Genre: Genre refers to the type of play.
narrative structure, characters, mood, theme, Some examples of different genres
morals, etc. Writers simply cannot create their include comedy, mystery, tragedy, and
desired work without including literary historical play.
elements. 7. Audience: This is the group of people
who watch the play. Many playwrights
Literary Techniques, on the contrary, are and actors consider the audience to be
structures usually words or phrases in literary the most important element of drama, as
texts that writers employ to achieve not merely all the effort put into writing and
artistic ends but also to give readers a greater producing a play is for the enjoyment of
understanding and appreciation of their literary the audience.
works. Examples are the use of figurative
language, imagery, sensory details, or the use of LITERARY ELEMENTS
diction. There are six stages in a plot structure:
1. Initial Incident - The event that ’gets
Aristotle’s Six Elements of Drama the story going.’
1. Plot - This is what happens to the play; 2. Preliminary Incident - Whatever takes
the plot refers to the action; the basic place BEFORE the action of the play
storyline of the play. that is directly related to the play.
2. Theme - While the plot refers to action, 3. Rising Action - A series of events
the theme refers to the meaning of the following the initial incident and leading
play. The theme is the main idea or up to the dramatic climax.
lesson to be learned from the play. In 4. Climax - The turning point or high point
some cases, the theme of a play is of a story when events can go either
obvious; other times it is quite subtle. way.
3. Characters - Characters are the people 5. Falling Action - The series of events
(sometimes animals or ideas) portrayed following the climax.
by the actors in the play. It is the 6. Denouement - Another term for the
characters who move the action, or plot, conclusion; a French term for
of the play forward. unraveling.
4. Dramatic Speech - refers to the words
written by the playwright and spoken by Other Literary Elements
the characters in the play. 1. Exposition - The ‘who’, ‘where’,
 Dialogue - two or more people ‘when’, and ‘what’ part of the play.
talking 2. Story Organization - beginning,
 Monologue - one person talking middle, end
 Soliloquy - one character speaking 3. Conflict - The internal or external
out his thoughts aloud for the struggle between opposing forces, ideas,
audience or interests, that creates dramatic
5. Music / Rhythm - While music is often tension.
featured in drama, in this case, Aristotle 1. Internal Conflict
refers to the rhythm of the actors’ voices a. Character vs. Self - When a
as they speak. character struggles
6. Spectacle - This refers to the visual 2. External Conflict
elements of a play: sets, costumes, a. Character vs. Character: when
special effects, etc. The spectacle is one character has a problem
everything that the audience sees as they with another character in the
watch the play. story.
 Set: Construction on the stage that b. Character vs. Nature: When a
shows time/place character is forced by a natural
force.
Contemporary theatre has changed over years. c. Character vs. Society: When
The essential elements popularized by Aristotle. the character has a problem in
 society such as laws, culture, or
social norms The Six Elements of Tragedy
4. Suspense - A feeling of certainty Oedipus the King is a Greek tragedy that
5. Language - In drama, the particular exemplifies the six elements of a tragedy:
manner of verbal expression, the diction, • Anagnorisis: The moment when the
or style of writing, or the speech or hero makes an important discovery.
phrasing that suggests a class or • Catharsis: The audience's feelings of
profession, or type of character. pity and fear.
6. Style - the shaping of dramatic material, • Hamartia: The hero's flaw that leads to
settings, or costumes in a deliberately his tragic downfall.
non-realistic manner. • Hubris: A hero's extreme pride and
7. The Script - The script is the written disrespect for the natural order of the
page of a play. It is divided into acts and world.
scenes. Scripts for stage and screen have • Nemesis: The unavoidable fate of the
strict Elements of Drama hero, usually caused by his own hubris.
8. Acts - Long sections of a play, made up • Peripeteia: The hero's experience of a
of multiple scenes, usually designed to reversal of fate or fortune.
separate the play into its main parts and
to give the audience a ‘break’ from the Literary Elements in Oedipus the King
performance.  Dramatic Irony: Oedipus the King is a
9. Scenes - Shorter sections of a play, classic example of dramatic irony
usually each scene occurs in one because the entire focus of the play is
location at a specific time. Multiple on Oedipus unknowingly condemning
scenes make up an act. himself by demanding to know the
10. Characterization - Is the playwright’s truth about the murderer of the former
technique for revealing the king. The entire action of the play is
PERSONALITY of a character. built on the dramatic irony that the
murderer that Oedipus seeks is himself.
1. Direct - When the playwright  Imagery: As a literary device, imagery
TELLS the audience what the consists of descriptive language that
personality of a character is. Usually can function as a way for the reader to
found in character description under better imagine the world of the piece of
“Cast of Characters literature and add symbolism to the
Example: work. Imagery draws on the five
GIRL: An early teen, on the cusp of senses, namely the details of taste,
change; strong and determined with touch, sight, smell, and sound. Imagery
overcompensating swagger. can also pertain to details about
MAN: In his 30’s, lost in a broken movement or a sense of a body in
world, hardened by the road; a motion (kinesthetic imagery) or the
father learning to talk to his emotions or sensations of a person,
daughter. such as fear or hunger (organic imagery
2. Indirect Characterization - When or subjective imagery). Using imagery
the playwright SHOWS the helps the reader develop a more fully
audience things that reveal the realized understanding of the imaginary
personality of the character • Can be world that the author has created.
described by the STEAL method Sophocles' use of light and darkness in
S.T.E.A.L. • Speech • Thoughts • Oedipus, the King acts as an aid in
Effect on others • Actions • Looks character development. Sight and
blindness are also used as allusions to
Technical Elements light and darkness, albeit not with the
1. Scenery (set) - theatrical equipment, same meanings.
such as curtains, flats, backdrops, or  Theme: Sight vs. blindness is a huge
platforms used in dramatic production to theme in Oedipus the King. Naturally,
communicate the environment. the symbol that appears in the plot to
2. Costumes - clothing and accessories support this theme is the eyes, both
worn by actors to portray character and those who have vision and those who
period. are blind. This theme and its
3. Props - short for properties; any article, accompanying symbol are introduced
except costume or scenery, used as part when Tiresias, a blind prophet, is trying
of a dramatic production, any moveable to explain to Oedipus that Oedipus
object that appears on stage during a himself is the man who killed King
performance. Laius. Oedipus refuses to believe
 Tiresias or see the evidence right in the epic poetry Biag ni Lam-ang, Senakulo or
front of him to confirm it; instead, he Passion Play and Balagtasan. These theater plays
tries to blame the murder on everyone have never-ending adaptations.
else. Thus, Oedipus is 'blind' to the
truth. CONCEPTUALIZING CHARACTER
Character is the heart and mind of your story–
Intertextuality John Gardner
The word ‘intertextuality’ was derived from the
Latin word intertexto meaning ‘to mingle while Characters are so vital. They define the art of
weaving’. It was first introduced in literary drama and distinguish it from all other literary
linguistics by Bulgarian-born French semiotician genres. A one-act play is 9-12 pages with four
and philosopher Julia Kristeva in the late 1960s. characters or less.
In her manifesto which includes such essays as Your main character is everything in your
"The Bounded Text" and "Word, Dialogue, and story. They might be likable or awful, yet we
Novel," Kristeva broke from traditional notions generally empathize with them because we feel
of the author’s influences and the text’s sources. what they feel too. You may also use pet names.
She argued that all signifying systems, from
table settings to poems, are constituted by the The viewpoint character may or may not be
way they transform earlier signifying systems. A the main character. Nevertheless, we see and
literary work, then, is not simply the product of hear the story through them and there may be
a single author, but of his/her relationship with more than one viewpoint character. They are the
other texts (both written and spoken), and to the narrators. Generally, you rely on them to move
structure of language itself. the story along and tell the truth about it.
However, you may invent what is called an
There are different types of Intertextuality: unreliable narrator. It is usually a character who
1. Appropriation is where a text is we monitor and so on
adapted from the original text. It's learn to distrust, however much fun they are.
important to note it isn't just copied The most common and effective ways by which
instead of reimagining in some way to to present a character in a story are:
make it new whether it's for a different 1) through appearance or physical
context or a different audience. description;
2. Allusion is where you allude to 2) through speech or dialogue;
something so it's referenced to another 3) through action; and
text not only can it be a reference to a 4) through the thoughts and feelings of the
text but it can also be a person, a place, character.
or an event. The audience or reader has It helps to further flesh out character in pre-
to make a connection. writing by using a character profile - dossier.
3. Parody is a funny interpretation of a Even if you do not include all the information on
text. It is mimicking or copying a text to the character profile in your story, it helps to
comment on it, a humorous make the character more real. You may include
interpretation of serious pieces of standard biodata like the name, birth date or
literature, writing, art, or music. Its main birth sign, height, weight, and more information,
purpose is to entertain the reader. like favorite hang-out, least liked school subject,
4. Quotation: A direct reference to another dream car, etc.
text with acknowledgment of its
composer You can also write down the things the character
5. Adaptation: A film, TV Drama, or stage is most likely to say in given situations, such as
play that is based on written work. when someone cuts in front of the line, when
Intertextuality also involves the reader, asked for an excuse for tardiness in class, or
the situation being referred to, and its when called to claim the grand prize in a raffle.
context.
CONCEPTUALIZING SETTING
In traditional literary theory it is assumed that A basic formula to remember is: setting = scene
when we read a work of literature, we are trying (time + place) + mood/atmosphere. For
to find a meaning which lies inside that work. example, the combination of a time like
We extract the meaning of the text. This process “midnight” and a place like “a Gothic cemetery”
of extracting is called interpretation. has a natural resulting atmosphere that is “eerie
or scary”. This could be the static backdrop of a
Intertextuality in drama has been widely used novel on Dracula.
since then. Here in the Philippines, one of the
most renowned is drama specifically theater. Unusual or unexpected details, however, may be
Some of the types of theater in the country are added. The setting, then, becomes more dynamic
and ceases to be a mere introduction or 5. Create a "ticking clock" that puts the
decoration in the story. In our example, the characters under pressure to get what
cemetery at night could be “invaded” by a group they want right away.
of teen-age Halloween revelers who bring their 6. Make sure there is a good reason, an
class party to an "event," for your play. It's not enough
authentic setting, thus waking up the dead, both for two characters to sit around and talk
in a literal and figurative way. The niches could for a while and then leave. There needs
be lined with lanterns and the tombs laden with to be some important reason why we're
food. watching them now, at this particular
moment.
Setting can also be treated like a character if it is 7. Write dialogue that illuminates your
made “to do things” in the story or to the characters and advances the plot at the
character that create tension or conflict. For same time.
instance, a stubborn wind in the UP Sunken 8. Make each character speak in a
Garden messes up the hair of students and whips distinctive voice. If you have trouble
up a storm of loose sheets of Xeroxed hand-outs. with that, try imagining a specific actor
you know - even if it's someone who
CONCEPTUALIZING PLOT will never play the part - in the role.
A one-act play is a play that has only one-act, as 9. Do not have a character tell us
distinct from plays that occur over several acts. something she can show us instead. For
One act play may consist of one or more scenes. example, it's much more effective to
To begin your plot, you need to choose the genre hide under the bed than to say, "I'm
of your story followed by these Guide afraid."
Questions: 10. Give each character a "moment,"
 Romance: Do the lovers get together something that justifies the character's
and live happily, or do they separate and existence in your play and that makes
feel miserable? him attractive for an actor to play.
 Mystery story or quest: Will the
character solve the mystery or find what
he seeks?
 Adventure or war story: Does the
character survive the hostile
environment he’s battling against or
overcome the enemy?
 Rags to riches: Will the character
succeed or fail?
 Redemption story: Will the character
save others, or transform himself?
 Coming of age: Does the character grow
up, and if so, how and why?
 Tragedy: Does the character escape his
fate or not, and if not, why?

Ten Tips to Develop your Plot

1. Create a world that's true to real life or
fantastical or that mixes the mundane
with the magical. But whatever set of
rules you create for that world, make
sure you follow them.
2. Write a conflict that builds as the play
progresses. As you structure the conflict,
think in terms of your play having a
beginning, a middle and an end.
3. Write characters that want something
(which puts them in conflict with other
characters) and try to get what they want
at every moment.
4. Make sure that each character has
something at stake, a consequence if he
doesn't get what he wants.