Steps in Analyzing Drama [PDF]

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DRAMA ANALYSIS “THE STEPS IN ANALYZING DRAMA”



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Faculty of Humanities Udayana University 2021



Introduction A drama is a literary work that portrays fictional or non-fictional events through the use of written dialogue that is intended to be performed in front of an audience on the stage. Dramas are commonly referred to as plays, and their authors are referred to as "playwrights" or "dramatists". In drama, people analyze the play of the drama in order to obtain the drama's points and gain a thorough understanding of the whole drama. A play analysis is not the same as a synopsis. An analysis necessitates the reader's interpretation (explication). The emphasis of a review may be on a single aspect of a play (plot, character, dialogue, etc.). The emphasis of an explication (or interpretation) of a work may be on a particular aspect of the play (lineby-line or word-by-word). Not only does an explication explain what the work means, but it also explains how the author achieves his or her goal. There are ten key points or steps that should be taken when analyzing a drama play. 1. Identify the key elements To obtain a better understanding of the play, the first step in drama analysis is to recognize the main elements. In this phase, some key elements should be established, such as the title and playwright. We must analyze the title to see whether it reflects a conflict or a human condition. The play's setting or time frame, including where it takes place, when it takes place, and in what situation it takes place. The protagonist and antagonist, as well as the relationship between each character and their role in the play's plot, were established, as were the characters' points of view or perspectives. It may be a social, intellectual, or political problem, for example. The main conflict can be determined by the nature of the issues posed, whether it is an external or internal conflict. The resolution refers to how we can work out how to solve the problem. Then, find out what the drama's plot's climax is. 2. Identify the type of play The second step in analyzing drama is to recognize that many plays have subgenres such as comedy, tragedy, history, satirical comedy, and romantic comedy. As a result, we must determine which subgenres the drama we are analyzing belongs to. There are certain characteristics or features in each style of play that characterize them and can be picked up in those subgenres in order to determine the elements of that type of play.



3. Identify the historical context The third step is identifying the historical context. Historical context is the social, political, cultural, economic, and environmental situations that influence the events or trends we see happen during that time. In analyzing historical events, context can help us understand what motivates people to behave as they did. Many plays make a point about the period in which they had been created, by identifying the time period to see if there are any similarities between the drama and what is going on in society at the moment. 4. Analyze the character The fourth step is analyzing the character. Character analysis is the process of evaluating a character's traits, role in the story, and conflicts. By analyzing those three areas, you will be able to think critically, ask questions, and draw conclusions about the character. Characters often act out the author's themes, so understanding a character and dissecting his or her actions or dialogue may reveal how a play's theme develops. 5. Identify the Dramatic Devices for Analysis Fifth step is to identify the dramatic devices to see what might help create the theme of the play. These include of five devices such as 1) the plot pyramid we can found a paradigm of dramatic structure outlining the seven key steps in successful drama; 2) Foreshadowing, its significance becomes clear later in the play. And Flashback is an interruption of a play's chronology (timeline) to describe or present an incident that occurred prior to the main time-frame of the play's action; 3) Monologue in soliloquy narration, in a soliloquy only the audience can hear the private thoughts of the characters; 4) Dramatic irony is A device in which a character reverses or fulfills expectations in a way that the audience or reader has not expected, because they have a more complete understanding of events or individuals than the character; and 5) Foil characters is a secondary character whose situation often parallels that of the main character while his behavior or response or character contrasts with that of the main character. When identify the dramatic devices for analysis, we must answer the questions such as: a. Where are the devices effective? b. How do these devices advance the plot? c. What connection do these elements create for audience? d. How these devices advance the plot?



e. What do these elements reveal about a character? 6. Plot, Settings, and Organization The sixth step is to determine the plot, setting and what the organization. A play’s general organization is controlled by plot and setting. Consider whether the play employs realistic or non-realistic conventions. How is the plot organized? Is the play based in reality or in a fictional world? How does the setting affect the audience? In addition, please consider the importance of the events that the author chooses to present compared to the events that occurred off-stage. It is also important to consider the appearance of the stage as a background element. If we are reading a drama, we can check the stage notes at the beginning of each action. If we are watching a play, we can see the stage. Consider the placement of objects and the proximity of actors. How did the staged notes reveal information about the setting and theme? Does the author use any objects or colors to develop the theme? Think about the significance of these things as they pertain to the themes. 7. Develop a Thesis Statement In analyzing steps of drama, developing a thesis statement is such an important thing. Thesis statement is a short statement which provide an insight into what the drama is going to be about. It is usually identified the aspect of the drama, thus will help us to figure out an idea of how we are going to write an analysis of the play in order to arrange a manageable analysis. 8. Create an Organized Outline Creating an outline before write down an analysis help us to make sure that our analysis is well organized, when it is contained a relevant content. An outline is a detailed guide that shows how all the supporting ideas relate to each other. It helps us to distinguish between ideas that are of equal importance and ones that are of lesser importance and then build the analysis based on the outline's framework by write a body paragraphs which is directly related to the thesis statement. And then, before you look for evidence to back up your claims, write a subject sentence with your own ideas. 9. Gather evidence / Supporting details The next steps is gather the evidence or supporting details. Gathering the evidence here means that to collect or bring together into a group. Some arguments that support the



details of informations about the drama. Find the examples from the text in case to support your claims. How to do that is find the examples of one drama tragedy. Then, analyze and demonstrate how tragedy contributes to suspense. 10. Create a rough draft of your analysis The last steps is create a rought draft of your analysis. A rough draft is a completed but unpolished version of your paper. The sole purpose of a rough draft is to give you a place to start to formally put together your ideas with evidence. Commonly rough draft look like a completed paper with an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. A rough draft should include a straightforward thesis statement, topic sentences, and specific, citation-based proof. After you finishing it, do not forget to always check your analysis in aim to reduce some mistakes. Conclusion : All in all, drama is A drama is a literary work that uses written dialogue to depict fictional or non-fictional events and is intended to be performed in front of an audience on stage. A good drama is when the drama understandable by the audience. Through the analysis, will simply mean that you are questioning the text in order to gain a better understanding of the author's message, style, or even characters in the drama. There are 10 steps, as the way how to analyze drama : identify the key elements; identify the type of play; identify the historical context; analyze the character; identify the dramatic devices for analysis; plot, settings, and organizations; develop a thesis statement; create an organized outline; gather evidence or supporting details; create a rough draft of the analysis. These ten steps will guide you to make an obvious drama analysis. References : Kirkland, M. (2016, November 17). Drama Analysis [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPL8AOrNO5M (accesed on 22 March 2021)