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Plays are perhaps one of the most entertaining and enjoyable types of literature. They are literary works that are not just meant to be read but also performed on stage. Plays can be seen and heard. Hence, a play doesn't just have readers; it has an audience. But what exactly classifies as a play in literature? Let us look at the meaning, functions, types and examples of plays to find out.
Meaning of a play
The meaning of a play or drama is a literary work written for theatrical performance, not just reading. It is characterised by direct dialogue between characters with the addition of stage directions.
Drama: a mode of representing fictional or non-fictional narratives through a performance before an audience.
Most plays are divided into multiple acts, which are further divided into scenes. In every scene, characters come on stage to speak their rehearsed lines and are allowed to move offstage if they are not a part of the plot in certain scenes.
Fig. 1 - A 2014 performance of Romeo and Juliet (1597), a play by Shakespeare
The writer of a play is called a playwright or a dramatist.
A play usually narrates dramatised events with elements of conflict, tension and action, all of which are solely presented in the form of dialogue, stage directions and acting. Even thoughts and feelings are presented in the form of conversation and body language.
Plays have several elements, which include:
- Acts and Scenes
- Characters
- Dialogue
- Plot
- Setting
- Stage directions
The first record of plays comes from Ancient Greece, where Greek playwrights wrote scripts to compete in national competitions. Early plays fell into the categories of comedies, tragedies, or satires. The earliest playwrights to exist on record are Aeschylus (525 - 456 BC), who wrote Oresteia (458 BC) and Prometheus Bound (c. 424 BC); Euripides (c. 484 BC - 406 BC), who wrote Medea (431 BC) and The Trojan Women (415 BC); and Sophocles (496 BC - 406), who is best known for Oedipus Rex (c. 426 BC) and Electra (c. 410 BC ).
Types of plays in literature
There are many types of plays that exist in literature. However, most plays either fall into one of these types or are a blend of elements taken from more than one type.
Tragedy
Tragedies are a type of play that has an unhappy ending, usually with the protagonist's death. The tragic hero is a likeable character who, due to a certain misfortune or fatal flaw, experiences a downfall that ultimately results in their death. The downfall of a virtuous and heroic character causes the audience to feel sympathy and empathy and serves as a means of catharsis.
Catharsis: The purging of repressed negative emotions that results in relief or renewal.
Othello (1604) by Shakespeare (1564 –1616) is a tragic play where Othello, a noble, honest and valiant general, is exploited by his traitorous ensign Iago into murdering his wife, Desdemona. Iago uses Othello's jealousy and insecurities against him to make him believe that Desdemona is cheating on him.
Fig. 2 - A 1971 stage production of Othello, with Othello and Desdemona pictured onstage.
Comedy
Comedies are plays that are lighthearted, absurd and humourous and are meant to b entertaining for audiences. Comedies involve unusual characters who usually get tangled up in unfortunate yet ridiculous situations. However, comedies are usually resolved with a happy ending.
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1600) by Shakespeare is one of the most famous comedy plays to exist. The play consists of several subplots that are all interconnected by one event: the marriage of Duke Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves the chaotic and confusing romantic endeavours of four Athenians after they flee the Duke's court. Another subplot features a group of men struggling to put together a play to perform on the wedding day.
Farce
Farces are a subtype of comedies with foolish or absurd characters, exaggerated circumstances and a nonsensical plotline.
Satire
Satires are works of comedy that use sarcasm, irony, imitation and exaggeration to ridicule or shame an individual, company, government or even society itself. It is a form of social commentary that makes use of humour to draw attention towards a certain subject.
Tragicomedy
Remember reading about tragedies and comedies? Well, here is a type of play that is the best of both worlds! Tragicomedies blend the elements of both tragedies and comedies.
A tragicomedy takes various forms. It could be a twist on the traditional tragedy by adding comic relief to lighten the mood of a work containing dark and serious subject matter. Or, it could be a tragedy that just does not have enough death and ends on a happier note than a classic tragedy.
Cyrano de Bergerac (1897) by Edmond Rostand (1868-1918) is a tragicomedy play where the protagonist Cyrano is an accomplished poet, philosopher, scientist and soldier with great swordsmanship. He is also depicted as being brave, versatile and loving. However, his tragic flaw is that he is in love with his distant cousin Roxane and is extremely insecure about his abnormally large nose.
Melodrama
A melodrama is a type of play that is sensational, overly dramatic and appeals to the audience's emotions. The characters in melodramas undergo unrealistic circumstances and experience strong emotions that are exaggerated.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's (1712-1778) Pygmalion (1770) is considered to be the first-ever melodrama to exist. It features the protagonist named Pygmalion, a sculptor who falls in love with his own sculpture, which later comes to life.
Domestic play
Unlike tragedies, comedies and tragicomedies, domestic plays do not deal with the unrealistic problems of noble and heroic characters from exotic settings. Instead, they feature the everyday relationships and issues of lower-class and middle-class characters in a language that mirrors everyday English.
Death of a Salesman (1949) by Arthur Miller is an example of a domestic play as it is based on the life of Willy Loman, a middle-class salesman, and the problems around his job, dreams, family and his own mental state.
Historical
Otherwise also known as documentary theatre, historical plays focus on dramatising real-life historical events. Hence, these types of plays are fact-based.
Shakespeare's King John (1623) is a historical play that dramatises the life of King John (1199–1216) and traces his war against the French, his dispute with the Church and then his death by poisoning.
Functions of a play
The foremost function of a play is to entertain its audience.
Then, depending on the type of play, each play has a different aim. For instance, the function of a comedy is to make its audience laugh. Tragedies aim to evoke catharsis, sympathy and empathy.
Plays are character-driven narratives. Through the use of dialogue and characters, humanity's thoughts and feelings are put out in the open for the audience to interpret. By doing so, plays shed light on human nature. By giving a voice to human emotions, plays inspire the audience to think in about human nature in new ways.
Since plays are way more immersive and engaging than text, they allow the audience to connect much more deeply with the meaning behind the play and its moral.
Examples of a play
Here are a few notable examples of plays, each of a different type.
The Comedy of Errors (1594) by William Shakespeare
As the name suggests, The Comedy of Errors is a comedy that narrates the story of two sets of twins who had been separated at birth. The characters Antipholus and his servant, Dromio, travel to the Greek city of Ephesus. However, they are unaware that Ephesus is where their respective twin brothers live, who, perplexingly, have also been named Antipholus and Dromio. What spurs is a twisted and chaotic plotline, where both sets of twins find themselves caught in unfortunate, albeit ridiculous circumstances due to a series of mistaken identities and confusions.
Fig. 3 - A poster advertising an 1879 production of The Comedy of Errors on Broadway.
Death of a Salesman (1949) by Arthur Miller
Death of a Salesman is a play where the protagonist is a salesman called Willy Loman who is unable to grapple with his failure as a salesman, father and husband. Willy's degrading mental state causes delusions and insecurities and makes him reliant on those around him. The play features many flashbacks where the audience is given a look at Willy's failures: his frayed relationship with his sons, his inability to financially support his family and his extramarital affair. By the end of the play, Willy's delusions consume him, and he commits suicide.
Miller's play is an example of a tragedy as well as a domestic play.
Waiting for Godot (1953) by Samuel Beckett
Waiting for Godot is a play where two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, are awaiting a man named Godot, who never arrives. Throughout the play, Vladimir and Estragon have many humorous conversations, mindless activities and interesting encounters during their wait. In the end, a boy comes and tells them that Godot will not arrive, after which Vladimir and Estragon consider suicide. However, since they are unable to find a rope with which to hang themselves, they end up going home.
This play is considered to be a tragicomedy, as it blends elements of humour and absurdity with seemingly dark and grim occurrences.
References
- Fig. 1 - "Romeo and Juliet ", Ballet of the SNT, Novi Sad, 2013/14, ensemble (Romeo i Julija, Balet SNP, 2013-14, ansambl, foto M. Polzović.jpg) by Miomir Polzović is licensed by Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)
- Fig. 2 - JonesClayburghOthello1971.jpg (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JonesClayburghOthello1971.jpg) by Kathleen Ballard is licensed by Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)
Frequently Asked Questions about Play
A play is a literary work written for theatrical performance, not just reading. It is characterised by direct dialogue between characters, with the addition of stage directions.
Some notable examples of plays include:
The Comedy of Errors (1594) by William Shakespeare
Death of a Salesman (1949) by Arthur Miller
Waiting for Godot (1953) by Samuel Beckett
The following are the types of plays in literature:
Tragedy
Comedy
Tragicomedy
Domestic Play
Historical
Melodrama
Plays have several elements which include:
- Acts and Scenes
- Characters
- Dialogue
- Plot
- Setting
- Stage directions
Plays are character-driven narratives. Through the use of dialogue and characters, humanity's thoughts and feelings are put out in the open for the audience to interpret. By doing so, plays shed light on human nature. By giving a voice to human emotions, plays inspire the audience to think about human nature in new ways.
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