Dramatic structure is the structure of a dramatic work such as a play or film. Many scholars have analyzed dramatic structure, beginning with Aristotle in his Poetics (c. 335 BC). This article focuses primarily on Gustav Freytag's analysis of ancient Greek and Shakespearean drama.
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History [edit]
In his Poetics the Greek philosopher Aristotle put forth the idea that "'ολον δε εστιν το εχον αρχην και μεσον και τελευτην" (1450b27) ("A whole is what has a beginning and middle and end"(1450b27)).[1] This three-part view of a plot structure (with a beginning, middle, and end – technically, the protasis, epitasis, and catastrophe) prevailed until the Roman drama critic Horace advocated a 5-act structure in his Ars Poetica: "Neue minor neu sit quinto productior actu fabula" (lines 189-190) ("A play should not be shorter or longer than five acts").[2] Renaissance dramatists revived the use of the 5-act structure. In 1863, around the time that playwrights like Henrik Ibsen were abandoning the 5-act structure and experimenting with 3 and 4-act plays, the German playwright and novelist Gustav Freytag wrote Die Technik des Dramas, a definitive study of the 5-act dramatic structure, in which he laid out what has come to be known as Freytag's pyramid.[3] Under Freytag's pyramid, the plot of a story consists of five parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and revelation/catastrophe.[4]
Freytag's analysis [edit]
According to Freytag, a drama is divided into five parts, or acts,[5] which some refer to as a dramatic arc: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and dénouement.
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 Alfred Uhry's "Driving Miss Daisy", which is actually divided into 25 scenes without concrete acts.
Rising action [edit]
In the rising action part, a related series of incidents build toward the point of greatest interest.
Climax [edit]
The climax is the 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 plot will begin to unfold in his or her favor, often requiring the protagonist to draw on hidden inner strengths. If the story is a tragedy, the opposite state of affairs will ensue, with things going from good to bad for the protagonist, often revealing the protagonist's hidden weaknesses.
Falling action [edit]
During the falling action the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist unravels, with the protagonist winning or losing against the antagonist. The falling action may contain a moment of final suspense, in which the final outcome of the conflict is in doubt.
Dénouement, resolution, or catastrophe [edit]
The dénouement (pronounced /deɪnuːˈmɑ̃ː/, /deɪˈnuːmɒn/, or US /deɪːnuˈmɑ̃ː/; French: [denuˈmɑ̃]) comprises events from the end of the falling action to the actual ending scene of the drama or narrative. Conflicts are resolved, creating normality for the characters and a sense of catharsis, or release of tension and anxiety, for the reader. Etymologically, the French word dénouement is derived from the Old French word desnouer, "to untie", from nodus, Latin for "knot." It is the unraveling or untying of the complexities of a plot.
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 than at the beginning of the narrative. Exemplary of a comic dénouement is the final scene of Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It, in which couples marry, an evildoer repents, two disguised characters are revealed for all to see, and a ruler is restored to power. In Shakespeare's tragedies, the dénouement is usually the death of one or more characters.
Modern works may have no dénouement, because of a quick or surprise ending.[dubious ]
Criticism [edit]
Freytag's analysis was intended to apply to ancient Greek and Shakespearean drama, not modern drama.
A specific exposition stage is criticized by Lajos Egri 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 he/she is, and exposition should come about naturally within the play, beginning 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 doubts, fears, and limitations. The negative climax occurs when the protagonist has an epiphany and encounters the greatest fear possible or loses something important, giving the protagonist the courage to take on another obstacle. This confrontation becomes the classic climax.[6]
See also [edit]
- Jo-ha-kyū – dramatic arc in Japanese aesthetics
- Kishōtenketsu - a structural arrangement used in traditional Chinese and Japanese narratives
- Sonata form
- Three-act structure
- Plot (narrative)
References [edit]
- ^ Perseus Digital Library (2006). Aristotle, Poetics
- ^ Emory University: Department of English. Horace, Ars Poetica
- ^ University of South Carolina (2006). The Big Picture
- ^ University of Illinois: Department of English (2006). Freytag’s Triangle
- ^ Freytag, Gustav (1863). Die Technik des Dramas (in German). Retrieved 2009-01-20.
- ^ Teruaki Georges Sumioka: The Grammar of Entertainment Film 2005, ISBN 978-4-8459-0574-4; lectures at Johannes-Gutenberg-University in German
External links [edit]
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Look up dénouement in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- 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, author of Writing Drama
Diagrams of Freytag's Pyramid with explanations:
Other scholarly analyses:
- 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
- Theory and Technique of Playwriting, by John Howard Lawson
- Writing Drama by Yves Lavandier
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