1. Write a brief history of drama from its beginnings to the twentieth century.

Drama is defined by Aristotle as “a criticism of life, on a stage, with action, characters and dialogue.” The Greek word for “deed” or “action” is dram. In traditional Greek drama, the chorus is also considered as a character in the development of the plot. The chorus moves the action of the play along and sometimes acts as a commentator on the decisions made by the characters on stage. Drama has its roots in Greece with the writings of three Greek writers of tragedy. Almost all drama makes use of two types of irony. Irony is dramatic when there is a contradiction between what is and what actually happens in a story; on the other hand, irony is verbal when what is said and what is meant are contradictory. During the Middle Ages, drama was publicly performed in streets in the marketplace. Thus, mystery plays (based on events from the Hebrew or Christian scriptures), morality plays (had humans playing the roles of virtues or vices), and miracle plays (based on the lives of the Saints) became part of the history of drama. In England the greatest of the playwrights is William Shakespeare. Shakespeare himself acted in his plays and was a member of an acting troupe called “The King’s Men”; his plays were performed in the Globe Theater. In the 18th century, drama became known as “Comedy of Manners.” Dramatic performance took the form of satirizing (to ridicule or attack) the habits of the rich and famous (Saturday Night Live). Plays like “Death of a Salesman” or “A Doll’s House” are representative modern plays. The emphasis in these plays is on the psychological rather than physical setting or action.

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