Drama

Drama is a form of literature designed to be performed. It combines dialogue, action, staging, and character interaction to explore human experiences. In IB Literature, you analyse how playwrights use dramatic conventions and techniquesto shape meaning, create tension, and develop character.

10 Core Elements of Drama

1. Setting – Time and place of the action
2. Set – What is visually present on stage (furniture, background)
3. Props – Objects used by characters that carry meaning
4. Sound – Music, noise, silence used for tension or symbolism
5. Lighting – Directs focus, sets mood, symbolises change or emotion
6. Character – Built through STEAL (Speech, Thoughts, Effects on others, Actions, Looks)
7. Plot – Follows structure: Exposition → Rising Action → Climax → Falling Action → Resolution
8. Stage Directions – Guide actors’ movement, tone, gesture
9. Dialogue – Language and tone reveal relationships, status, inner conflict
10. Tension / Mood / Atmosphere – Emotional intensity shaped by all other elements

Key Dramatic Features and Terms to Know

Structure and Conflict

1. Exposition – Introduces setting, characters, conflict
2. Rising Action – Complications build tension
3. Climax – Turning point of emotional or dramatic intensity
4. Falling Action – After the climax, tensions ease
5. Resolution / Denouement – Conflict resolves (or is left unresolved)
6. Conflict – Internal or external struggles (e.g. character vs self, society, fate)

Language and Dialogue

1. Aside – Character speaks directly to audience (breaks fourth wall)
2. Soliloquy – Character speaks inner thoughts aloud (alone on stage)
3. Dramatic Monologue – Extended speech to a silent listener
4. Dramatic Irony – Audience knows more than the characters
5. Foreshadowing – Hints at future events
6. Pathos – Evokes pity or sympathy
7. Catharsis – Emotional release experienced by the audience

Characterisation Techniques

1. Direct – Traits are stated
2. Indirect – Revealed through action, speech, and others’ reactions
3. Foil – A character who contrasts with another to highlight traits
4. Anagnorisis – A moment of realisation
5. Tragic Flaw / Hamartia – Weakness that leads to downfall
6. Tragic Hero – Noble figure brought low by fate and flaw

Stage and Visual Features

1. Stage Directions – Tell us how characters move, behave, or feel
2. Gesture / Movement – Body language enhances meaning
3. Lighting – May suggest mood, time of day, or emotion
4. Sound – Builds atmosphere (e.g. silence = tension)
5. Set / Props – Symbolic or practical objects that deepen setting

How to Read and Annotate a Drama Excerpt

First Reading:

1. Understand what’s literally happening
2. Identify characters, setting, conflict
3. Highlight any unfamiliar vocabulary or expressions

Second Reading:

1. Focus on stage directions and how they guide performance
2. Pay attention to tone, repetition, pauses, and interruptions
3. Ask: How does this scene develop character or move the plot?

Third Reading:

1. Analyse how dramatic features work together
2. Look for symbolism in props, sound, lighting
3. Consider how the playwright creates tension, irony, or mood

Drama Model Answer

Drama Extract

Playwright: Maren Steele (fictional)
Scene Context:
In a post-war British town, Eliza, a widowed schoolteacher, is alone late at night when her daughter Amelia returns after six years abroad. Tension simmers beneath their reunion as they attempt to confront the silence and grief that has defined their estrangement since the death of Eliza’s husband.

[Lights up. Dimly lit kitchen. One flickering lamp above a plain wooden table. A tea mug rests on the table, untouched. A coat hangs on the back of a chair. Offstage, a kettle whistles softly. ELIZA sits motionless in the chair, hands wrapped tightly around the mug. The sound of a knock. Silence. Another knock, firmer this time.]

ELIZA
(Quietly, without looking up)
You missed the funeral. Six years, not even a letter—and now you’re here?

[Another silence. The front door creaks open offstage. Footsteps. AMELIA enters, a travel bag slung over one shoulder. She clutches her coat around her. The kettle stops whistling.]

AMELIA
I didn’t know what to say. I still don’t.

ELIZA
Neither did I. So I said nothing. That was the mistake.

AMELIA
(After a beat)
I wrote once. You never replied.

ELIZA
(Shrugs)
Too little, too late? Or maybe I never saw it. By then everything sounded like an echo anyway.

[AMELIA remains standing. The light flickers above them.]

AMELIA
I was angry. At him. At you. At everything. I needed to get away.

ELIZA
And you did. But some of us had to stay.

[Pause.]

AMELIA
I thought you hated me.

ELIZA
(Looking up)
I hated the silence. I hated talking to shadows. I hated waking up and setting two plates instead of three out of habit.

AMELIA
(Softly)
You always set his plate.

ELIZA
Every day for three years.

[AMELIA puts down her bag, then hesitantly sits.]

AMELIA
I came back because I couldn’t sleep anymore. The quiet—it’s louder than it used to be.

ELIZA
(Smiles bitterly)
It’s deafening, isn’t it?

[They sit in silence. The flickering light steadies for a moment. Then it dims again.]

AMELIA
Do you think... people can ever come back from silence?

ELIZA
(Sighs)
Maybe not all the way. But sometimes even a flicker means the light’s still there.