Dramatic structure is the structure of a
dramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective...
tic work such as a play or
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
. Many scholars have analyzed dramatic structure, beginning with
AristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology.Together with Plato and Socrates , Aristotle is one of...
in his
Poetics (c. 335 BCE). This article focuses primarily on
Gustav FreytagGustav Freytag was a German dramatist and novelist.-Life:Freytag was born in Kreuzburg in Silesia. After attending the gymnasium at Oels , he studied philology at the universities of Breslau and Berlin, and in 1838 received his degree with a remarkable dissertation, De initiis poeseos scenicae...
's analysis of
ancient GreekThe theatre of ancient Greece, or ancient Greek drama, is a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece between c. 550 and c. 220 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political and military power during this period, was its centre, where it was...
and
ShakespeareanWilliam Shakespeare's plays have the reputation of being among the greatest in the English language and in Western literature. Traditionally divided into the genres of tragedy, history, and comedy, they have been translated into every major living language, in addition to being continually...
drama.
Freytag’s analysis
According to Freytag, a drama is divided into five parts, or acts:
- exposition
- rising action
- turning point
- falling action
- resolution
A visual aid for Freytag’s analysis of dramatic structure is Freytag’s Pyramid.
Exposition
The exposition provides the background information needed to properly understand the story, such as the protagonist, the antagonist, the basic conflict, and the setting.
The exposition ends with the inciting moment, which is the incident without which there would be no story. The inciting moment sets the remainder of the story in motion beginning with the second act, the rising action. It's all part of the plan.
Rising action
During rising action, the basic conflict is complicated by the introduction of related secondary conflicts, including various obstacles that frustrate the protagonist's attempt to reach his goal. Secondary conflicts can include adversaries of lesser importance than the story’s antagonist, who may work with the antagonist or separately, by and for themselves or actions unknown.
Climax (turning point)
The third act is that of the climax, or turning point, which marks a change, for the better or the worse, in the protagonist’s affairs. If the story is a comedy, things will have gone badly for the protagonist up to this point; now, the tide, so to speak, will turn, and things will begin to go well for him or her. If the story is a tragedy, the opposite state of affairs will ensue, with things going from good to bad for the protagonist.
Falling action
During the falling action, which is the moment of reversal after the climax, the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist unravels, with the protagonist winning or losing against the antagonist. The falling action might contain a moment of final suspense, during which the final outcome of the conflict is in doubt or resolution. In this case the pyramid (as having a triangle form) has to be modified.
Dénouement or catastrophe or Resolution
The comedy ends with a dénouement (a conclusion) in which the protagonist is better off than at the story’s outset. The tragedy ends with a catastrophe in which the protagonist is worse off thanb mbjh
Although Freytag’s analysis of dramatic structure is based on five-act plays, it can be applied (sometimes in a modified manner) to short stories and novels as well.
Nonetheless the pyramid is not always easy to use, especially in modern plays such as Uhry´s "Driving Miss Daisy", which is actually divided into 25 scenes without concrete acts.
Criticism
Freytag's analysis was intended to apply not to modern drama, but rather to ancient Greek and Shakespearean drama.
A specific exposition stage is criticized by
Lajos EgriLajos N. Egri was the author of The Art of Dramatic Writing, highly regarded as one of the best works on the subject of playwriting, though its teachings have since been adapted for the writing of short stories, novels, and screenplays...
in
The Art of Dramatic Writing. He states, “exposition itself is part of the whole play, and not simply a fixture to be used at the beginning and then discarded.” According to Egri, the actions of a character reveal who they are, and exposition should come about naturally. The beginning of the play should therefore begin with the initial conflict.
Contemporary dramas increasingly use the fall to increase the relative height of the climax and dramatic impact (melodrama). The protagonist reaches up but falls and succumbs to their doubts, fears, and limitations. Arguably, the negative climax occurs when they have an epiphany and encounters their greatest fear or loses something important. This loss gives them the courage to take on another obstacle. This confrontation becomes the classic climax.
External links
- English translation of Freytag's Die Technik des Dramas
- Another view on dramatic structure
- What’s Right With The Three Act Structure by Yves Lavandier
-Biography:Yves Lavandier was born on April 2, 1959. After taking a degree in civil engineering, he studied film at Columbia University, New York, between 1983 and 1985. Miloš Forman, František Daniel, Stefan Sharf, Brad Dourif, Larry Engel, Melina Jelinek were among his teachers. During these two...
, author of Writing DramaWriting Drama is a treatise by French writer and filmmaker Yves Lavandier, originally published in 1994, revised in 1997, 2004 and 2008. The English version was translated from the French by Bernard Besserglik and published in 2005. The book exists also in Italian and Spanish.-Content:Writing...
Diagrams of Freytag's Pyramid with explanations:
- http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/freytag.html
- http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~hartleyg/250/freytag.html
Other scholarly analysis:
- Poetics, by Aristotle
- European Theories of the Drama, edited by Barrett H. Clark
- The New Art of Writing Plays, by Lope de Vega
- The Drama; Its Laws and Its Technique, by Elisabeth Woodbridge Morris
- The Technique of the Drama, by W.T. Price
- The Analysis of Play Construction and Dramatic Principle, by W.T. Price
- The Law of the Drama, by Ferdinand Brunetière
- Play-making: A Manual of Craftsmanship, by William Archer
- Dramatic Technique, by George Pierce Baker
- Writing Drama by Yves Lavandier
-Biography:Yves Lavandier was born on April 2, 1959. After taking a degree in civil engineering, he studied film at Columbia University, New York, between 1983 and 1985. Miloš Forman, František Daniel, Stefan Sharf, Brad Dourif, Larry Engel, Melina Jelinek were among his teachers. During these two...