drama v/s novel in literature | Lecture notes English Literature

DRAMA VS NOVEL

The word 'Drama' is derived from a Greek word whose meaning is 'to do' or 'to perform'. Thus,

drama or the play is written to be performed on the stage. The instinct for drama is universal in man.

It is born of the instinct for make-believe. Its subject matter is taken from life.... life in its varied

aspects, life seen or thought or imagined or felt. Literature covers the whole breadth, depth and

diversity of life; it voices the experiences of men in all situations and at all times. Things seen, felt,

thought or imagined, words known, or lost, or hoped for.... all this is the range of drama and real

delight from a play comes when we see it acted et before us by a group of performers. The link

between the audience and the actors is very close... both in the physical as well as cultural sense.

Indeed, the kinship of actors and audience has existed from the beginning. Sometimes it has been

very close, and a word or deed of the actor would evoke a hearty response from the audience. In the

performance of a drama the audience observes the art of the dramatist or playwright, as well as the

art of the actor. The drama aims at the creation of beauty, through a medium of expression. The

purpose of drama also is so, and by this, it entertains and often instructs too. Entertainment means

more than amusement for tragedy also entertains. Drama, really means to hold, or grip, the

attention of its audience, to make them forget their immediate material world, forget everything

except what is happening on the stage, in a word, to create fully the illusion of reality. The appeal of

the drama may be of different kinds to different people. Of course, many appreciate dramas as

literary masterpieces. The play must anyhow impress at once the audience for whom it is meant.

The essence of drama is conflict. Conflict between two opposing forces is the mainspring of dramatic

action. Indeed, the dramatic situation is nothing peculiar to the drama; it exists often in the novel or

short story. Modern short stories are often highly dramatic and such tales can be excellently adapted

into short plays. Forms of drama are distinguished chiefly by the way, these conflicts and crisis are

presented and the point of view from which the audience is asked to see them. If we laugh at the

struggler, or that character involved in the conflict, rather than sympathize with him, realising that

his fooleries or other ludicrous weaknesses have been exposed to the fun of all, it is comedy. When

we feel sympathy and pity or terror for the fall of the person involved in the conflict, it is tragedy. So,

conflict is the soul of the drama. Indeed, it makes the drama. The conflict may be between two

individuals, that is, between personality and personality. This conflict may be physical, as when the

hero is fighting the villain; it may be a conflict of the mind, in which cases we have conflict of wits or

of wills. The other type of conflict is that between the individuals and outside forces.. such as

society, the supernatural or fate. The third type of conflict is that between the individual himself.

The three types of conflicts usually exist in combinations. The drama has the theme, the plot and

then a climax in the situation. This means the peak of interest to which all preliminary activity

contributes and from which there is rather a rapid progress towards the finale. There are acts and

scenes and characterization that contribute to the success of the drama. There must be the actability

in drama. Even a good play is lost by poor stage show. On the other hand novel is a long work of

prose fiction containing characters and action portrayed in the form of a plot. The novel aims at

presenting a picture of real life in the historical period and society, in which it is set. The novel may

be regarded as the third stage in the evolution of fiction narrative of which the epic was the first and

the romance the second. Richardson's 'Pamela' or "Virtue Rewarded', (1740) is generally regarded as

the first English Novel. F. Marion Crawford, a popular American novelist, describes the novel as

pocket theatre' containing as it does all the accessories of drama without requiring to be staged. It is

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DRAMA VS NOVEL

The word 'Drama' is derived from a Greek word whose meaning is 'to do' or 'to perform'. Thus, drama or the play is written to be performed on the stage. The instinct for drama is universal in man. It is born of the instinct for make-believe. Its subject matter is taken from life.... life in its varied aspects, life seen or thought or imagined or felt. Literature covers the whole breadth, depth and diversity of life; it voices the experiences of men in all situations and at all times. Things seen, felt, thought or imagined, words known, or lost, or hoped for.... all this is the range of drama and real delight from a play comes when we see it acted et before us by a group of performers. The link between the audience and the actors is very close... both in the physical as well as cultural sense. Indeed, the kinship of actors and audience has existed from the beginning. Sometimes it has been very close, and a word or deed of the actor would evoke a hearty response from the audience. In the performance of a drama the audience observes the art of the dramatist or playwright, as well as the art of the actor. The drama aims at the creation of beauty, through a medium of expression. The purpose of drama also is so, and by this, it entertains and often instructs too. Entertainment means more than amusement for tragedy also entertains. Drama, really means to hold, or grip, the attention of its audience, to make them forget their immediate material world, forget everything except what is happening on the stage, in a word, to create fully the illusion of reality. The appeal of the drama may be of different kinds to different people. Of course, many appreciate dramas as literary masterpieces. The play must anyhow impress at once the audience for whom it is meant. The essence of drama is conflict. Conflict between two opposing forces is the mainspring of dramatic action. Indeed, the dramatic situation is nothing peculiar to the drama; it exists often in the novel or short story. Modern short stories are often highly dramatic and such tales can be excellently adapted into short plays. Forms of drama are distinguished chiefly by the way, these conflicts and crisis are presented and the point of view from which the audience is asked to see them. If we laugh at the struggler, or that character involved in the conflict, rather than sympathize with him, realising that his fooleries or other ludicrous weaknesses have been exposed to the fun of all, it is comedy. When we feel sympathy and pity or terror for the fall of the person involved in the conflict, it is tragedy. So, conflict is the soul of the drama. Indeed, it makes the drama. The conflict may be between two individuals, that is, between personality and personality. This conflict may be physical, as when the hero is fighting the villain; it may be a conflict of the mind, in which cases we have conflict of wits or of wills. The other type of conflict is that between the individuals and outside forces.. such as society, the supernatural or fate. The third type of conflict is that between the individual himself. The three types of conflicts usually exist in combinations. The drama has the theme, the plot and then a climax in the situation. This means the peak of interest to which all preliminary activity contributes and from which there is rather a rapid progress towards the finale. There are acts and scenes and characterization that contribute to the success of the drama. There must be the actability in drama. Even a good play is lost by poor stage show. On the other hand novel is a long work of prose fiction containing characters and action portrayed in the form of a plot. The novel aims at presenting a picture of real life in the historical period and society, in which it is set. The novel may be regarded as the third stage in the evolution of fiction narrative of which the epic was the first and the romance the second. Richardson's 'Pamela' or "Virtue Rewarded', (1740) is generally regarded as the first English Novel. F. Marion Crawford, a popular American novelist, describes the novel as pocket theatre' containing as it does all the accessories of drama without requiring to be staged. It is

defined as a long narrative in prose detailing the actions of fictitious people. Meredith called it a i summary of actual life' including both 'the within and the without of us'. Fielding loosely characterised it, as 'a comic epic in prose'. Novel developed as a form of literature centuries after the development or drama. Main difference between drama and novel is that drama is designed to be performed at stage and it is 'a play for the theatre, whereas novel has all the characteristics of drama without requiring to be staged. Some peculiar characteristics can differentiate between drama and novel. Both these genres deal with story and action from the beginning to the end. There are characters in both the forms of literature who have relations between them and suffer with conflicts, which may end on a happy or sad note. But still there is a lot of difference between these two literary forms. First of all, in the novel, the action is told in the narrative form by the writer himself. The charácters are made to Converse with each other whenever required. The writer or the novelist introduces to comment on the action to move it further. But in the drama, the whole action is known through the dialogues of characters. The whole action is shown on the stage and the dramatist keeps himself away from action and characters. In the novel, the characters are revealed and commented upon by the novelist. But in drama, the characters reveal themselves either through the dialogue or their actions. The dialogues in the drama are spoken by the characters. So the language and sentences should not be so as to make the whole things monotonous and unpresentable. But in the novel, the novelist can make the dialogues and speeches as long as he wants to convey his ideas in detail. However, in drama, Conciseness and relevance of dialogues is very necessary. But there are no such bars in the novel A dramatist while writing a drama has to keep in mind particular stage directions and dramatic conventions. But a novelist is not bound by such theatrical requirements. In a drama, the physical endurance and capability of the characters, doctors and audience are to be taken care of, which limits the dramatist to limit the performance of action to two or three hours. But in a novel, the span of action can range from even one generation or more. In a novel, it is possible to have many incidents, episodes and some plots incorporated into the book with long evaluative Comments. But a drama cannot afford to incorporate these lose and irrelevant things as it will mar the unity of action and coherence of plot in a drama. A novel is a narrative. So, it is generally written in a prose. The drama can be written in verse also. The reading of a drama makes demands on our visual imagination and visualise the whole action being performed and the dialogues are being spoken before our eyes. But the narrative of a novel does not make such demands. We read the things and comprehend them.

drama v/s novel in literature, Lecture notes of English Literature

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DRAMA VS NOVEL