watching the entire performance.

The theme is the philosophy

ELEMENTS OF DRAMA that forms the base of the story or a moral lesson that the
characters learn. It is the message that the play gives to the
Drama is a composition of prose or poetry that is transformed into
audience. For example, the theme of a play could be of how greed
a performance on stage. The story progresses through
leads to one’s destroyal, or how the wrong use of authority
interactions between its characters and ends with a message for
ultimately results in the end of power. The theme of a play could
the audience. What are the different elements of drama? How are
be blind love or the strength of selfless love and sacrifise, or true
they related to each other? How do they affect the quality and
friendship. For example, the play Romeo and Juliet, is based on a
thereby the popularity of a play?
brutal and overpowering romantic love between Romeo and Juliet
that forces them to go to extremes, finally leading them to self-
The six Aristotelian elements of drama
destruction.
are, plot, character, thought, diction, spectacle, and song.
Out of these, the first two are the most important ones according
2. Plot
to Aristotle.
The order of events occurring in a play make its plot. Essentially,
the plot is the story that the play narrates. The entertainment
Drama can be defined as a dramatic work that actors present on
value of a play depends largely on the sequence of events in the
stage. A story is dramatized, which means the characters and
story. The connection between the events and the characters in
events in the story are brought to life through a stage
them form an integral part of the plot. What the characters do,
performance by actors who play roles of the characters in the
how they interact, the course of their lives as narrated by the
story and act through its events, taking the story forward. In
story, and what happens to them in the end, constitutes the plot.
enacting the roles, actors portray the character’s emotions and
A struggle between two individuals, the relation between them, a
personalities. The story progresses through verbal and non-verbal
struggle with self, a dilemma, or any form of conflict of one
interactions between the characters, and the presentation is
character with himself or another character in the play, goes into
suitably supplemented by audio and visual effects.
forming the story’s plot. The story unfolds through a series of
incidents that share a cause-and-effect relationship. Generally, a
Through the characters involved, the story has a message to give.
story begins with exposing the past or background of the main
It forms the central theme of the play around which the plot is
and other characters, and the point of conflict, then proceeds to
built. While some consider music and visuals as separate
giving the central theme or climax. Then come the consequences
elements, others prefer to club them under staging which can be
of the climax and the play ends with a conclusion.
regarded as an independent element of drama. Lighting, sound
effects, costumes, makeup, gestures or body language given to
3. Characters
characters, the stage setup, and the props used can together be
The characters that form a part of the story are interwoven with
considered as symbols that are elements of drama. What dictates
the plot of the drama. Each character in a play has a personality
most other dramatic elements is the setting; that is the time
of its own and a set of principles and beliefs. Actors in the play
period and location in which the story takes place. This Buzzle
have the responsibility of bringing the characters to life. The main
article introduces you to the elements of drama and their
character in the play who the audience identifies with, is the
importance.
protagonist. He/she represents the theme of the play. The
character that the protagonist conflicts with, is the antagonist or
1. Theme
villain. While some characters play an active role throughout the
The theme of a play refers to its central idea. It can either be
story, some are only meant to take the story forward and some
clearly stated through dialog or action, or can be inferred after
others appear only in certain parts of the story and may or may dictate how the story is translated into a stage performance. The
not have a significant role in it. Sometimes, these characters are Merchant of Venice has been set in the 16th century
of help in making the audiences focus on the play’s theme or Venice. Romeo and Juliet has been set in the era between 1300
main characters. The way in which the characters are portrayed and 1600, perhaps the Renaissance period which is the 14th and
and developed is known as characterization. Here is a list 15th centuries.
of characters in Romeo and Juliet.
6. Performance
It is another important element of drama, as the impact that a
4. Dialogue story has on the audiences is largely affected by the
The story of a play is taken forward by means of dialogs. The performances of the actors. When a written play is transformed
story is narrated to the audiences through the interaction into a stage performance, the actors cast for different roles, the
between the play’s characters, which is in the form of dialogs. The way they portray the characters assigned to them, and the way
contents of the dialogs and the quality of their delivery have a their performances are directed are some important factors that
major role to play in the impact that the play has on the determine the play’s impact. Whether an actor’s appearance
audiences. It is through the dialogs between characters that the (includes what he wears and how he carries himself on stage)
story can be understood. They are important in revealing the suits the role he is playing, and how well he portrays the
personalities of the characters. The words used, the accent, tone, character’s personality are determinants of how well the play
pattern of speech, and even the pauses in speech, say a lot about would be taken by the audiences. Different actors may play the
the character and help reveal not just his personality, but also his same roles in different renditions of a play. A particular
social status, past, and family background as given by the play. actor/actress in a certain role may be more or less accepted and
Monologues and soliloquies that are speeches given to oneself or appreciated than another actor in the same role. As different
to other characters help put forward points that would have been actors are cast for different roles, their roles are more or less
difficult to express through dialogs. “What’s in a name? That appreciated depending on their performances. The stage
which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet” performances of a play’s characters, especially those in lead
from Romeo and Juliet in which Juliet tells Romeo of the roles, directly affect the success and popularity of a play.
insignificance of names or “To be, or not to be”, a soliloquy
from Hamlet are some of the greatest lines in literature.
Although considered as a part of the staging, factors such as
5. Setting music and visuals can be discussed separately as the elements of
The time and place where a story is set is one of its important drama.
parts. The era or time in which the incidents in the play take
place, influence the characters in their appearance and - Music
personalities. The time setting may affect the central theme of This element includes the use of sounds and rhythm in dialogs as
the play, the issues raised (if any), the conflict, and the well as music compositions that are used in the plays. The
interactions between the characters. The historical and social background score, the songs, and the sound effects used should
context of the play is also defined by the time and place where it complement the situation and the characters in it. The right kind
is set. The time period and the location in which the story is set, of sound effects or music, if placed at the right points in the story,
affect the play’s staging. Costumes and makeup, the backgrounds act as a great supplement to the high and low points in the play.
and the furniture used, the visuals (colors and kind of lighting), The music and the lyrics should go well with the play’s theme. If
and the sound are among the important elements of a play that
the scenes are accompanied by pieces of music, they become
more effective on the audiences.

- Visual Element
While the dialog and music are the audible aspects of drama, the
visual element deals with the scenes, costumes, and special
effects used in it. The visual element of drama, also known as the
spectacle, renders a visual appeal to the stage setup. The
costumes and makeup must suit the characters. Besides, it is
important for the scenes to be dramatic enough to hold the
audiences to their seats. The special effects used in a play should
accentuate the portion or character of the story that is being
highlighted.

Apart from these elements, the structure of the story, a clever use
of symbolism and contrast, and the overall stagecraft are some of
the other important elements of drama.

The structure of the story comprises the way in which it is

dramatized. How well the actors play their roles and the story’s
framework constitute the structure of drama. Direction is an
essential constituent of a play. A well-directed story is more
effective. Stagecraft defines how the play is presented to the
audiences. The use and organization of stage properties and the
overall setting of a play are a part of stagecraft, which is a key
element of drama.

Symbols are often used to give hints of the future events in the
story. They complement the other elements of a scene and make
it more effective. The use of contrasts adds to the dramatic
element of a play. It could be in the form of contrasting colors,
contrasting backdrops, an interval of silence followed by that of
activity and noise, or a change in the pace of the story.

The dramatization of a story cannot be called successful unless

the audiences receive it well. It may improve through constructive
criticism or due to improvisations introduced by the actors. And a
generous appreciation from the audiences encourages everyone
involved in the making of a play, to continue doing good work.