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Dramatic Literature
Dramatic literature is defined in this article as "the texts of plays that can be read, as distinct from being seen and heard in performance." The article provides a nice and quick overview of the form.
Aristotle’s The Poetics
If you want to read the full version, in addition to the excerpt in the text, then look not further than this link. Off you go. By the way, if you want to read more works by Aristotle, click here.
On Narrative
This page is a find! Ken Hope, a college professor, discusses in colloquial language the elements of narrative or storytelling. Here’s the opening: "
You're having a drink with a friend of yours when he introduces you to his friend of his who has just shown up. ‘I'm sorry I'm late,’ she says, ‘I have this terrific story. You've gotta hear it.’ You pause. Whatever else is going on must either cease, so the story can get told, or will take on an additional flavor as you wind it down so that you are both all ears for the story. It happens every day. The reason it happens every day is: we love stories."
Elements of Drama
This page offers a concise definition of the major elements of drama: plot, character, theme, points of view, symbol, irony, tragedy, comedy, etc.
Structure of Plays
This site contains information on dramatic structure. The website, as a whole, is organized like a playwriting seminar, so we encourage you to browse around.
Essays on the Craft of Dramatic Writing
"This site offers writers of all levels and genres new ideas on the essential elements of storytelling: creating dynamic characters, identifying what's at stake in a story and ensuring that both the plot and story lines converge into an emotionally fulfilling resolution."
100 Quotes on Craft
This page is fun to read through. Some of the quotes are serious, some are jokes. Here’s a good one by James Toback: "It's hard to give a dramatic shape to even the most dramatic life. . . . you are forced not just into selectivity, but into alteration, distortion and outright lying about what did and didn't happen." At the bottom of the page, there is a link to a larger archive of quotes.
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