Essay on dramatic codes

Submitted By lovekittinjes
Words: 325
Pages: 2

English 151
Dramatic Codes

Types of Plays

Tragedy Irony (verbal and situational) Hubris Hamartia

Comedy Satiric Romantic

Tragicomedy

History

Language

Blank Verse
Prose

Theme

1. What, in your opinion, is the main idea or theme of the play? Is there more than one?
2. What questions does the play raise or illuminate?
3. How do the plot, character, setting, style, and conflict develop the play’s theme or central issue(s)?

Plot

“pyramid” structure: exposition rising action climax falling action “catastrophe” or denouement

conflict

foreshadowing

prologue

1. What is the basic conflict in the play? Is it between characters, within characters, or between characters and an institutional/social/ideological force?
2. How does the author reveal the conflict? How does the author sustain dramatic tension?
3. Is dramatic irony used to reinforce dramatic tension?

Conventions

soliloquy

aside

1. Are characters distinguished from each other by their speaking styles (use of imagery, diction, and sentence structure)? Why?
2. How does the playwright use language to develop characters or to convey information about them?
3. Does the playwright use specific structural devices to convey meaning (soliloquy, etc.)?

Gestures and Settings

Cultural dissonance

1. How does the playwright use the setting to convey character traits, theme, conflict, or irony?
2. How or why is the cultural or physical