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| Home > Forms of Literature > Drama
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| | Drama - Forms of Literature
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Drama comprises of dialogue between characters and is aimed at dramatic and the theatrical performance rather than reading. 18th and 19th century operas exhibited a combination of the genres of poetry, drama and verse. Greek drama is the earlier form of drama known to us. They are responsible for developing the genre of tragedy which was based on serious themes and their preferences were associated with religious and civic festivals - Sophocles, Eurifides and Aeschylus are the best exponents of this art form. Tragedies were characterized by Catharsis (emotional cleansing) or healing for the audience through expression of the same emotions as the suffering of character in the drama.
From the Middle Ages to the beginning of 16th century public theater in Western Europe was dominated by mystery play (they developed from representations of the Biblical stories morality plays where character represented some moral attribute farces (a comedy meant to entertain by using absurdity, broad physical humor or nonsence) and miracle plays.
The percepts of `three unities` (unity of action, place and of time) and theatrical decorum would eventually come to dominate French and Italian tragedy in the 17th century which English Renaissance tragedy would follow a path more open to dramatic action and the portrayal of tragic events on stage. The most famous tragedies were written by William Shakespeare and his Elizabethan contemporaries - Ben Jonson, Thomas Kyd, Chris Marlowe, Sir Philip Sidney, John Webster etc.
In modern literature - tragedy has moved away from Aristotle"s definition of tragedy. The Hubris fatal flaw of the character that leads to his downfall has been passed on to institutions, discourses policies that shape the course of character lines.
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