SIX ARISTOTELIAN ELEMENTS OF A PLAY

1. PLOT The arrangement of events or incidents on the stage.

The plot is composed of “clearly defined problems for characters
to solve.” Plot is to be differentiated from Story which is a
chronological detailing of events that happened on and off
stage. Events happening off stage are introduced through
exposition (narrative dialogue). The playwright must create a plot
that is both credible and astonishing.

2. CHARACTER The agents of the plot. Characters provide the

motivations (reasons) for the events of the plot.
“Vivid characters” face and overcome “obstacles
that we can recognize.” They provide the vehicle for conflict.

3. THEME The reason the playwright wrote the play. The

examination of “patterns of life” can be didactic
or just a slice of life.

4. LANGUAGE “Vivid characters” facing and overcoming

recognizable obstacles need to express themselves
in “heightened language.” Dramatic dialogue
consists of two parts: narrative and dramatic.

5. RHYTHM The heart of the play. Plot, character, language, and

spectacle all have their individual rhythms in time.
The combination of all these rhythms create the impelling force of
the play leading to a final climax and
Denouement. Rhythm creates mood.

6. SPECTACLE Everything that is seen or heard on stage. Actors,

sets, costumes, lights and sound. NOTE: All plays have spectacle
—some emphasize spectacle more
than others.
Definition of Play

Play is a literary form of writing for theatre, which narrates a story with elements of conflicts,
tensions, and actions through dialogues of characters. For dramatic significance, it is divided into
acts and scenes. The writers present their feelings, emotions, and ideas through their characters
and make them speak.

The playwright uses various dramatic elements to create more profound meanings and enhance
understanding of the audience. Also, they insert text, apart from the actual dialogues of the
characters, to unfold the description of characters on stage, their natural action, and
psychological intentions. In this way, the writers make their texts emotive, lifelike and thought-
provoking.
Etymologically, ‘play’ is derived from the Greek word ‘paizo’ which means “to act” or “to
perform.”

Elements of Play/ Novel

A play has certain elements such as,

1. Plot: It refers to the order of the events that occur in the play.
2. Exposition: It is the background information on the characters and setting
explained at the beginning of the story. The EXPOSITION will often have
information about events that happened before the story began. The EXPOSITION is
often the very first part of the PLOT. The exposition of a story is the first paragraph
or paragraphs in which the characters, setting (time and place), and basic information
is introduced. Expositions are the place to show the reader a little bit of the location
and what kind of time is involved in the story, along with some of the major
characters.
3. Rising Action: The rising action starts right after the period of exposition and
ends at the climax. The main character is in crisis and events leading up to facing the
conflict begin to unfold. The story becomes complicated .Beginning with the inciting
incident, rising action is the bulk of the plot. It is composed of a series of events that
build on the conflict and increase the tension, sending the story racing to a dramatic
climax. Rising action creates suspense and interest in a narrative. In literary works, a
rising action includes all decisions, characters’ flaws, and background circumstances
that together create turns and twists leading to a climax. We find it in novels, plays,
and short stories. Rising action is one of the elements of plot, which begins
immediately after its exposition.
4. Climax: Climax, (Greek: “ladder”), in dramatic and nondramatic fiction, At the peak
of the story, the main event occurs in which the main character faces the conflict. The
most action, drama, change, and excitement occurs here. The point at which the
highest level of interest and emotional response is achieved. ... In the structure of a
play the climax, or crisis, is the decisive moment, or turning point, at which the rising
action of the play is reversed to falling action.
5. Anti-climax: Anti-climax is a rhetorical device that can be defined as a disappointing
situation, or a sudden transition in discourse from an important idea to a ludicrous or
trivial one. It is when, at a specific point, expectations are raised, everything is built-
up, and then suddenly something boring or disappointing happens — this is an anti-
climax. Besides that, the order of statements gradually descend in anti-climax.
6. Falling action: The story begins to slow down and work towards its end, tying up
loose ends of the plot.Falling action is what happens near the end of a story after
the climax and resolution of the major conflict. ... Simply put, falling action is
what the characters are doing after the story's most dramatic part has happened.
Falling action occurs right after the climax, when the main problem of
the story resolves. It is one of the elements of the plot of the story, the other elements
being exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution. Falling action wraps up
the narrative, resolves its loose ends, and leads toward the closure.
 7. Resolution/Denouement: The resolution, also known as the denouement, is the
conclusion of the story’s plot. It’s where any unanswered questions are answered, or
“loose ends are tied.” Interestingly the phrase denouement comes from the French
word dénouement meaning “to untie.” A story with a complete ending is said to have
a strong resolution. Denouement, (French: “unknotting”) conclusion after the climax
of a narrative in which the complexities of the plot are unraveled and the conflict is
finally resolved. The denouement (Dey-noo-mahn) is the very end of a story, the part
where all the different plotlines are finally tied up and all remaining questions
answered.The most exciting point in the story, and it shows the aftermath of that
climax, giving the reader some hints as to what will happen next. The denouement is
usually the very last thing your audience sees, so it has to be well-written or
the story will seem unsatisfying.
8. Characters: The characters form a crucial part of the story and are interwoven with
the plot of the play.
9. Dialogue: It refers to the conversation or interactions between the characters in the
play.
10. Setting: It refers to the time and place where a story is set. It is one of the important
parts of the play.
11. Conflict/Confrontation: It refers to the challenge main characters need to solve to
achieve their goals. In literature, conflict is a literary element that involves a struggle
between two opposing forces, usually a protagonist and an antagonist. Careful
examination of some conflict examples will help us realize that they may be internal
external.

Internal Conflict:An internal or psychological conflict arises as soon as

a character experiences two opposite emotions or desires – usually virtue and vice, or
good and evil – inside him. This disagreement causes the character to suffer mental
agony, and it develops a unique tension in a storyline, marked by a lack of action.

External Conflict, on the other hand, is marked by a characteristic involvement of

an action wherein a character finds himself in struggle with those outside forces that hamper his
progress. The most common type of external conflict is where a protagonist fights back against
the antagonist’s tactics that impede his or her advancement.

Tone: Tone is more than an author's attitude toward his/her audience

and characters; it is the stylistic means by which an author conveys
his/her attitude(s) in a work of literature. Tone is an integral part of a
work's meaning because it controls the reader's response which is
essential to fully experiencing literature. By conveying this attitude through tone,
the writer creates a particular relationship with the reader that, in turn, influences
the intention and meaning of the written words. However, though the writer’s
tone may reflect their personal attitude or opinion, this literary device may also
strictly apply to conveying the attitudes and feelings of
certain character or narrator. Therefore, it’s essential for readers to look closely at
the literary choices made by the writer so as not to unfairly assign a tone to them
and to interpret tone judiciously.
Types of Plays

There are many types of plays such as,

1. Tragedy: These types of plays end on a tragic note and most likely a character’s death.
2. Comedy: These types of plays are meant to amuse the audience, and they end on a happy
note.
3. Domestic Play: These types of plays are based on the normal life of family and friends.
4. Tragicomedy: It is a fictional work comprises of both tragedy as well as comedy.
5. Melodrama: This type of has often exaggerated characters and episodes with songs and
music for an emotive appeal to the audiences.
6. Fantasy: Fantasy takes place in an unreal world with unreal characters. ... Fantasy
creates different places and species, ones that exist outside of our world. While magical
realism stays grounded in our own reality, fantasy breaks free of it.
7. Magical Realism: Magical realism is one of the most unique literary movements of the
last century. While most commonly associated with Latin American authors, writers
from all over the world have made big contributions to the genre. In short, “magical
realism” describes a work of fiction where fantasy slips into everyday life. However, the
focus isn’t on the fantastical elements of the story, so much as on what those elements
mean for the characters. Brief exposition based on the occurrence of something magical
or supernatural.A focus on the real world implications of that brief magical phenomenon;
in other words, a “literary fiction” style of writing.The use of fantasy as an extended
metaphor, often representing something internal to the protagonist.

Functions of the Play

A play functions as a tool to give reveal to one’s thoughts through performance in front of the
live audience. Writers skillfully feature certain situations to make the audience laugh at funny
incidents as well as feel pity and fear for unfortunate circumstances or incidents. It enables the
audience to understand and feel a lot out of less description. Also, it is a convenient way to
present different characters and their inner thoughts in dramas. Moreover, it enables the writers
to dramatize the story in a way that events and characters are easily brought to life through a
theatrical performance.

Narrators Point of View:

Point of view determines who tells the story, as well as the relationship that the narrator has to
the characters in the story. ... The main points of view are first person and third person, with
second person appearing less frequently but still common enough that it gets studied in writing
classes. Point of view is the “eye” or narrative voice through which you tell a story. When you
write a story, you must decide who is telling the story, and to whom they are telling it. The
story could be told by a character who is involved in the story, or from a perspective that sees
and knows all of the characters but is not one of them.
 First person point of view : In first person point of view, one of the characters is narrating
the story. This is generally revealed by the “I” sentence construction and relies on first person
pronouns. (“I went to work.”) The reader assumes that this character is closely related to the
story’s action—either a main character or someone close to the protagonist. First person
narrative can provide intimacy and a deeper look into a character’s mind, but it is also limited
by the perceptive abilities of the character. They are confined to report only what they would
realistically know about the story, and they are further confined by their own perspective.

Second person point of view : Second person point of view is structured around the “you”
pronoun, and is less common in novel-length work. (“You thought you could do it.”) Second
person can allow you to draw your reader into the story and make them feel like they’re part
of the action because the narrator is speaking directly to them. Writing in second person for
any great length is a challenge, and will stretch your writing skills.

Third person point of view . The author is narrating a story about the characters and refers to
them with the third person pronouns “he/she.” (“He was hungry.”) This point of view is
subdivided into third person omniscient and third person limited. Third person point of view
is sometimes referred to as third person POV.

What Is the Difference Between Third Person Omniscient and Third Person Limited?

The omniscient narrator knows everything about the story and its characters. This third person
narrator can enter anyone’s mind, move freely through time, and give the reader their own
opinions and observations as well as those of the characters. This narrator also knows more
than the characters—think of the omniscient narrator as having a god’s-eye-view of the
characters. (“He had been infected with the virus, but he didn’t know it yet.”)

The third person limited point of view (often called a “close third”) is when an author sticks
closely to one character but remains in third person. This style gives you the ability to be
inside a character’s thoughts, feelings, and sensations, which can give readers a deeper
experience of character and scene. (“As she watched him leave, she was afraid he’d never
come back.”).

Methods of Characterization in Literature

Characterization in literature is the process authors use to develop characters and create images
of the characters for the audience. There are two different approaches to characterization,
including direct characterization and indirect characterization. With the direct approach, the
author tells us what he or she wants us to know about the character. With indirect
characterization, the author shows us things about the character to help us have an understanding

of the character's personality and effect on other characters.

Five Methods of Characterization
An acronym, PAIRS, can help you recall the five methods of characterization: physical
description, action, inner thoughts, reactions, and speech.
Physical description - the character's physical appearance is described. For example, characters
might be described as tall, thin, fat, pretty, etc. We might be told the color of hair or something
about the clothing of the character. How the character dresses might reveal something about the
character. Does the character wear old, dirty clothing, or stylish, expensive clothing?
Action/attitude/behavior - What the character does tells us a lot about him/her, as well as how
the character behaves and his or her attitude. Is the character a good person or a bad person? Is
the character helpful to others or selfish?
Inner thoughts - What the character thinks reveals things about the character. We discover
things about their personalities and feelings, which sometimes helps us understand the character's
actions.
Reactions - Effect on others or what the other characters say and feel about this character. We
learn about the relationships among the characters. How does the character make the other
characters feel? Do they feel scared, happy, or confused? This helps the reader have a better
understanding of all the characters.
Speech - What the character says provides a great deal of insight for the reader. The character
might speak in a shy, quiet manner or in a nervous manner. The character might speak
intelligently or in a rude manner.