Elements of Drama

The elements of drama, by which dramatic works can be analyzed and evaluated, can be categorized into three major areas:

Literary elements
Technical elements
Performance elements

Aristotle

Aristotle (384-322 BC) was a Greek philosopher whose writings still influence us today. He was the first to write about the essential elements of drama more than 2,000 years ago. While ideas have changed slightly over the
years, we still discuss Aristotle’s list when talking about what makes the best drama.

Aristotle’s Six Elements of Drama

• Plot: This is what happens in the play. Plot refers to the action; the basic
storyline of the play.

• Theme: While plot refers to the action of the play, theme refers to the
meaning of the play. Theme is the main idea or lesson to be learned from
the play. In some cases, the theme of a play is obvious; other times it is
quite subtle.

• Characters: Characters are the people (sometimes animals or ideas)
portrayed by the actors in the play. It is the characters who move the action,
or plot, of the play forward.

• Dialogue: This refers to the words written by the playwright and spoken by the characters in the play. The dialogue helps move the action of the play
along.

• Music/Rhythm: While music is often featured in drama, in this case
Aristotle was referring to the rhythm of the actors’ voices as they speak.

• Spectacle: This refers to the visual elements of a play: sets, costumes,
special effects, etc. Spectacle is everything that the audience sees as they watch the play.

Literary Elements

There are six stages in a plot structure.

Initial incident: The event that “gets the story
going”.

Preliminary event: Whatever takes place
BEFORE the action of the play that is directly
related to the play.

Rising action: A series of events following the
initial incident and leading up to the dramatic
climax.

Climax: The turning point or high point of a story, when events can go either way.

Falling action: The series of events following the climax.

Denouement: Another term for the conclusion
from the French word for “unraveling”.

Technical Elements

• Scenery (set): The theatrical equipment, such as curtains, flats, backdrops, or platforms, used in a dramatic production to communicate environment .

• Costumes: Clothing and accessories worn by actors to portray character and period.

• Props: Short for properties; any article, except costume or scenery, used as part of a dramatic production; any moveable object that appears on stage during a
performance, from a telephone to a
train.

Performance Elements

Acting: Use of face, body, and voice to
portray character.

Character motivation: The reason or
reasons for a character’s behavior; an
incentive or inducement for further action for a character.

Character analysis: In responding to dramatic art, the process of examining how the elements of drama – literary,
technical, and performance – are used
Empathy: The capacity to relate to the feelings of another

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