The document provides an overview of essays and drama. It defines an essay as a prose composition that aims to explain or clarify an idea or viewpoint, and notes they can entertain, inform, or teach. Drama is defined as a story meant to be performed by actors, usually consisting of acts and scenes. The document outlines the history and evolution of drama from ancient Greek traditions to modern eclectic forms. It also describes common drama genres like tragedy and comedy and their key elements such as plot, characters, setting, dialogue, and theme.

1. The Essay and
Drama
Catherine P. Soriano
BSED ENG 3A

2. THE ESSAY

3. THE ESSAY
• ESSAY is a prose composition of moderate length,
usually expository in nature, which aims to explain or
clear up an idea, a theory, an impression or point of
view.
• It may treat any subject from light, humorous, trivial
things to the deepest thoughts that the soul can
fathom.
• There is definite form essays must take.
• They may be written to entertain, to inform the mind,
or to teach moral or religious truths.

4. PARTS OF THE ESSAY

5. TYPES OF ESSAY

6. A. FORMAL OR
IMPERSONAL
ESSAY
-Deals with a serious
subject and an
important topic like
philosophy, science,
politics, religion.
-Formal, detached,
objective, or
straightforward
-To teach or to inform

7. A. INFORMAL
OR FAMILLIAR
ESSAY
-Covers light, ordinary,
or even trivial subject
matters in a
conversational, friendly,
and often humorous
tone, but equally
insightful as that of the
formal essay.

9. DRAMA

10. DRAMA
- A story written to be performed by actors.
- It may consist of one or more large sections called acts,
which are made up of any number of smaller sections
called scenes.
- Originated in religious rituals and symbolic reenactments
of primitive peoples.
- The ancient Greeks developed drama into a sophisticated
art and created such dramatic forms as comedy and
tragedy.
- Oedipus the King is a classic example of Greek Tragedy.

11. Arena
Early Greeks
This establishes as
intimate relation
with the audience.

12. Medieval
Theatre
This used staging areas
called mansions inside the
churches and portable
wagons wheeled about
outside the churches.

13. Elizabethan
Theatre
This used a wooden
structure providing
as enclosed space
around a courtyard
open to the sky.
Actors were in a
habit of speaking
directly to the
audience.

14. Proscenium
The stage use in the 19th
century.
This stage distances the
audience from the play,
providing a clear frame
behind which the
performers act out their
sciences unaware of the
audience’s presence.

15. Eclectic
This is theatre of the
modern times. It uses
arena, proscenium and
every other kind of staging.
Some contemporary theatre
converts non-theatrical
spaces, such as the street,
on top of a truck, or a
warehouse, into a space for
performance.

16. Genres of Drama

17. A. TRAGEDY
• A type of drama that shows the downfall and destruction of a notable or
outstanding person, traditionally one who possesses a character weakness
called tragic flaw.
• The tragic hero, through choice or circumstance, is caught up in a sequence
of events that inevitably results in disaster.
B. COMEDY
• A type of drama that shows the downfall and destruction of a notable or
outstanding person, traditionally one who possesses a character weakness
called tragic flaw.
• The tragic hero, through choice or circumstance, is caught up in a sequence
of events that inevitably results in disaster.

18. C. TRAGICOMEDY
• A play that does not adhere strictly to the structure pf tragedy. This is
usually a serious play that also has some of the qualities of comedy. It
arouses thought even with laughter.
D. FARCE
• Has very swift movements. Has ridiculous situations, and does not stimulate
thought. Shakespeare's Comedy of the Errors, The Taming of the Shrew and
The Merry Wives of Windsor are examples of this.
E. MELODRAMA
• Show events that follow each other rapidly, but seems to be governed always
by chance. The characters are victims in the hands of merciless fate.
Shakespeare made use of this in Titus Andronicus and Cymbeline.

19. Elements of Drama

20. a. Plot
- The sequence of events in a drama. Most plots can be analyzed by dividing
them into most or all of the following parts:
 exposition- introduces the setting, the characters, and the basic situation.
 inciting incident- introduces the central conflict.
 development-the conflict runs its course and usually intensifies
 climax- the conflict reaches a high point of interest or suspense
 resolution-the conflicts is ended.
 denouement-ties up the loose ends that remain after the resolution of the
conflict.

21. b. Characters
- The entire shape of the action derives from the character’s strengths and
weaknesses thus, they create their own opportunities and problems.
c. Setting
- The time and place in which the action takes place. It also refers to the
scenery and physical elements that appear on stage to vivify the author’s
stage directions.
d. Dialogue
- The speeches the characters use to advance the action. Since there is description
or commentary on the action, as there is in fiction, the dialogue must tell the
whole story.
 Soliloquy-a speech in which an actor, usually alone on stage, utters his or her
thoughts aloud, revealing personal feelings.
 Aside- a short speech made by a character to the audience which, by convention,
the other character on stage do not hear.

22. e. Movements
- The actor’s movements are keyed to the structure of their speeches. The
stage directions give information as to where the characters are, where they
go, and even the significance of their movements.
f. Music
- Song dramas incorporate music for dramatic effect. This may be sung live or
used as a background to set the mood of the play.
g. Theme
- The message, the central action, or what the play is all about. There may be
several themes in a play.