From a Greek word meaning “to do” or “to act,” the term drama refers to a type of story that is acted out before an audience, often in a theater. Drama is different from other forms of literature, such as poems and novels, which are personal statements of an author's feelings or observations. Drama, by comparison, is a public staging of a story.

Types of drama

In general, there are two main types of drama: tragedies and comedies. Today's drama is likely to be a mix of both comedy and tragedy. However, earlier dramas, from the time of the ancient Greeks through recent times, tended to be either tragedies or comedies. Tragedies are serious dramas that have a sad conclusion. Comedies are dramas that deal with less serious subject matters and have a happy ending.

Elements of drama

Drama is often closely related to music and dance. This is especially true in Asian traditions. A handbook of Indian drama called the Natya-sastra, which was written in about the 3rd century AD, contains a detailed treatment of all the arts that are embodied in the classical Indian concept of the drama. These include dance, music, and poetics. Traditional drama in China and Japan as well features actors in elaborate costumes and little scenery following a carefully structured set of rules concerning movement and dance. They rely on very particular facial expressions and body movements, including mime, to tell a story. By contrast, modern western drama has offered increasing realism, not only in scenery and costume but also in the treatment of character and situation.

In many cultures drama began as part of religious festivals and ceremonies. As such it was successful because it was related to something the audience understood. Later plays presented stories of national heroes and historical events that would be familiar to an audience. While modern audiences may have more varied backgrounds, playwrights still aim to use familiar settings or characters to make a point about the society in which they and the audience live.

The essence of storytelling in drama (and in other forms of literature, such as novels) is conflict. Conflict arises when characters are at odds with each other over something—perhaps a desire for the same throne, the same princess, or the same treasure. The build-up and resolution of this conflict make up the plot.

Other elements of drama include the many processes involved in presenting it. As with other forms of literature, a drama begins with a writer. In the case of drama the writer creates a document called a play. The most prominent people involved in presenting a drama are the actors who play the characters. Much work also goes on behind the scenes to stage a drama or to present it on screen. In both theater and movies, the entire process is managed by a director. The director oversees a large staff of experts who manage the lighting, arrange the sets, design the costumes, and much more. (See also Motion Pictures; Theater.)

The birth of drama

Drama dates back to the time of the earliest peoples, who acted out stories of hunting and fighting. Ancient Egyptians later staged elaborate dramas that acted out the birth of their kings. These kings, called pharaohs, also ordered plays to be performed after their deaths in hopes that they would be brought back to life. Many other cultures as well, including those of ancient China, India, and Japan, staged dramas with elaborate costumes and music. In China, records from as far back as 1,000 BC discuss religious rituals involving singing and dancing meant to bring spirits down to Earth. Similar dramas arose in the areas that are now Japan and Korea.

Western drama in its current form has its roots in ancient Greece. In the 6th century BC an early playwright named Thespis created dramas with a limited number of words. The action was conveyed through masks, dance, and elaborate movement, in a format known as mime. Today “thespian” is another word for “actor.”

The great age of Greek drama occurred in the 5th century BC. Dramas were performed at religious festivals in honor of Dionysus, the god of drinking and revelry. An important part of these early Greek dramas was a group of people called the chorus. The chorus stood off to the side from the main action of the drama and performed a number of functions. They often interpreted or commented on the actions of the main characters, as a way of helping the audience understand how to respond.

Out of this period came the work of four prominent Greek dramatists. Aeschylus wrote 90 tragedies, of which only seven have survived. Aeschylus had a strong chorus, and he introduced a second actor on the stage. Before that there had been only one person plus a chorus. Sophocles added a third actor to complicate the plot. His plays were highly tragic with strong moral overtones. One of the most well-known of his plays tells the story of King Oedipus, who murdered his father and married his mother without realizing who they were.

While these two writers focused much on gods and kings, Euripides wrote tragedies about common people. For example, The Trojan Women focused on the pain and suffering of Troy's women and children following their defeat in the Trojan War. The last great dramatist of this period was Aristophanes, who was known for his comedies. Aristophanes poked fun at such things as contemporary philosophers like Socrates, or his fellow dramatists.

Roman playwrights later borrowed plots and settings from the Greeks in creating their own dramas. Even when handling themes taken from Roman life or legend, they often presented these in Greek forms, setting, and dress. The most well-known Roman playwrights were Plautus, Terence, and Seneca. Their works influenced later writers, but they are seldom performed today.

Drama in the Middle Ages

The period that followed the collapse of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD is known as the Middle Ages. During this period drama in Europe was associated mainly with the Christian religion. Church leaders needed ways to convey the stories of the Bible, but many Christians were poor, uneducated, or did not speak Latin, the language of the church. To solve this problem, priests introduced small plays about biblical events into their services, in the common language of the people. These plays would eventually evolve into a wide range of dramas focused on Christian life. Miracle plays told the lives of the saints. Morality plays centered on common people exposed to virtues and vice. Passion plays told the story of the Passion, or Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

In the Far East during this period new forms were being developed. A form of Japanese drama called No had its roots in the 12th and 13th centuries, but it took on its own form in the 14th. The center of No drama is the storyteller, not the actors. The drama of No, meaning “talent” or “skill,” is less of a story and more of a symbolic representation of events and classic Japanese legends in words and movement. About 2,000 No texts survive in full, of which about 230 are still performed. In the 14th and 15th centuries Zeami Motokiyo and his father, Kan'ami Kiyotsugu, wrote many of the most notable No texts.

Drama in the Renaissance

The Renaissance, a period of great artistic creation, began in the 14th century in Europe and lasted for the next few centuries. The late Renaissance was a particularly productive time in England and Spain.

In England, Queen Elizabeth was a strong supporter of the theater. Early Elizabethan playwrights included John Lyly, Thomas Kyd, and Christopher Marlowe. Marlowe is best known for his work Doctor Faustus, in which the title character sells his soul to the devil in exchange for power.

The greatest playwright of this period was William Shakespeare. Shakespeare wrote 37 plays, including comedies, tragedies, and historical dramas. He created realistic characters who explored their emotions in complex and action-filled dramas. Shakespeare was also a master of the language. His characters speak in elaborate poetic forms and turns of speech that are unmatched by any playwright before or since.

In Spain two playwrights, Lope de Vega and Pedro Calderón de la Barca, were especially notable. They wrote hundreds of plays in many different forms, including romances, historical dramas, comedies, and religious plays.

Drama in the 17th and 18th centuries

The 17th century brought a return to tragedy based on that of the ancient Greeks and Romans. A group of French playwrights, including Pierre Corneille and Jean Racine, led this movement. They wrote plays about Greek and Roman subjects set in ancient times.

The French playwright Molière, however, was not concerned with the past or with tragedy. Molière's comedies poked fun at the fashions and faults of French society of his time. In doing so, he established this form of drama—called a comedy of manners—in a way that allowed audiences in other languages and other times to see the problems of their own societies. His characters often represented a particular quality or behavioral trait, such as greed.

The comedy of manners spilled over into England. There, a number of British playwrights—including William Congreve and William Wycherley—created witty dialogue for a seemingly unreal world where civilized society is turned upside-down.

In Japan during this period a new form of drama known as Kabuki began to appear. Chikamatsu Monzaemon, one of Japan's best-known dramatists, wrote several early Kabuki plays, though he was best known for his works for the puppet theater known as bunraku. Kabuki combines singing, dancing, and acting. Unlike No drama, which originally presented stories of legendary heroes for upper class audiences, the Kabuki form focused on everyday people and soon became popular with a broader audience. Unlike No actors, who use masks and express themselves through very refined, stately movements, Kabuki actors are often energetic and wildly emotional.

In the 18th century in Germany dramatists Friedrich von Schiller and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe also wrote works that displayed great emotion. They were part of a movement known as Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress) for its highly melodramatic stories.

The rise of modern drama

In the 19th century dramatists turned away from grand themes and poetic language. Instead they began focusing greater attention on real-life, everyday characters and their psychological and social conflicts. This type of realistic drama can be seen in the plays of Henrik Ibsen of Norway, who has been called the first modern dramatist. Ibsen is known for A Doll's House, Ghosts, Hedda Gabler, and several other works focusing on conflicts between individuals and the societies in which they live. Also from this region came Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson of Norway and August Strindberg of Sweden.

The greatest Russian playwright, Anton Chekhov, was another realist. He created strong characters who seemed unable to cope with the many changes of life and society. In such works as The Cherry Orchard and Uncle Vanya Chekhov explored the depths of human emotion in ways that mixed tragedy and comedy.

Chekhov's works reflected a new literary movement called naturalism that developed in Europe in the late 19th century. Naturalism sought to expand upon realism by portraying characters as products of their hereditary and environment. According to this view, characters had little choice in how their lives turned out. Émile Zola of France was one of the leading writers of this movement.

These writers were very interested in social issues and portrayed such problems as crime, poverty, and mistreatment of workers. Gerhart Hauptmann of Germany exemplified the increasing attention to social issues in several works, including The Weavers, which was based on a workers' revolt.

In the early 20th century the problems of society continued to concern dramatists, but they developed new ways of presenting the issues. In England George Bernard Shaw used humor to attack the problems that he saw in society. Among his major works were Major Barbara, Man and Superman, Pygmalion, and St. Joan.

In Germany Bertolt Brecht created characters of great tragic depth and placed them in unusual social settings to highlight the horrors of the poor or weak in oppressive societies. In Brecht's view drama should not imitate reality or seek to convince audiences that what they are watching is actually occurring, but should simply present an account of past events. Brecht's works include Mother Courage and Her Children and The Caucasian Chalk Circle.

After World War II ended in 1945 many people felt discouraged about the state of the world. Several foreign playwrights living in Paris wrote works that expressed their belief that human life was essentially without meaning or purpose. These plays came to be known as the Theater of the Absurd. Absurdist playwrights, led by the French-born Samuel Beckett and Eugène Ionesco from Romania, sought to portray the ridiculousness of human life through plays with illogical plots, dialogue that made little sense, and strange settings.

Drama in the United States

The first play written by an American and performed by a professional company was The Prince of Parthia by Thomas Godfrey. It was produced in 1767. In the 19th century the interest in social issues that was seen in Europe was also reflected in dramas in the United States. Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was made into a play in the 1850s. Dion Boucicault, an Irish playwright who moved to the United States, wrote many stirring melodramas, among them The Octoroon, which also discussed the issue of slavery.

The first great American playwright was Eugene O'Neill. O'Neill drew on classic tragedies and themes, but he placed them among everyday characters. For example, Mourning Becomes Electra was based on a play by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus, but it was set in New England during the American Civil War. Among O'Neill's other great works are Desire Under the Elms, The Iceman Cometh, and Long Day's Journey Into Night.

Other significant U.S. playwrights of the early 20th century were Maxwell Andersen, Lillian Hellman, Clifford Odets, and Thornton Wilder. Wilder's plays use unusual techniques to make their point that human experience is much the same whatever the time or place. In Our Town there are no props or scenery, and in The Skin of Our Teeth the same characters appear in different geological and historical time periods.

In the mid-20th century, two great dramatists dominated U.S. theater. Arthur Miller wrote psychological dramas with strong characters who focused on their inner lives and family conflicts. His great works included Death of a Salesman and The Crucible. Similar themes appeared in the plays of Tennessee Williams, which were often set in the southern United States. His plays include The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire.

The later 20th century witnessed an explosion of many different voices in the U.S. theater. The 1960s saw much experimentation, but it also saw more traditional plays, such as the comedies of Neil Simon. More serious playwrights, including Edward Albee, Sam Shepherd, and David Mamet wrote psychological dramas. Starting in the 1960s, several African American dramatists gained prominence, notably August Wilson. Wilson won Pulitzer prizes for his works Fences and The Piano Lesson, both of which appeared in the 1980s. They were part of a series of plays that Wilson wrote on the African American experience in the United States throughout the 20th century.

Recent drama

A number of major dramatists came out of England and Ireland in the late 20th century. Harold Pinter wrote complex and multi-layered stories for the stage, screen, and television. Joe Orton wrote dark comedies and farces. Tom Stoppard's plays are known for their clever use of language and plot. In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead he took two minor figures from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet and made them the central figures in the story. In Ireland Brian Friel wrote many plays dealing with family relationships and life in contemporary Ireland.

As the 20th century ended and the 21st century began, the art of drama continued to expand to include many different voices around the world and from all walks of society. The conflicts of ordinary people struggling against each other and against social problems continued to provide material for playwrights around the world.