FEATURES THAT DIFFERENTIATE DRAMA FROM OTHER LITERARY GENRES. by Samson Mwita

a)    Drama is meant for stage performance.

Drama is written to be acted or staged by live actors to a live audience. And drama can be performed anywhere at any time. Other literary works like novels are written to be read and poems are written to be sung or recited.

b)   Drama is written in a dialogue form.

Since drama is meant for stage performance it is written / printed in dialogue or conversations form that makes it easier to be acted. However to make it live at some points the playwright may use monologues (soliloquies), poetic language, songs, or mime (dumb show).  

c)    Drama is divided in form of Acts and Scenes.

An act is a major unit of action in a play and a scene is a smaller section or a subdivision of one act. Once act may have several scenes each carrying one event. Other works like novels are divided in forms of parts/chapters and paragraphs while poems are divided into verses and stanzas.

d)   Drama has stage direction.

These are the instructions or notes which describe how the work is to be staged/performed. These show areas of the stage where the characters sit, stand, when they leave or enter, how the dress, time of the day, when the curtain rise and fall etc. Other works of literature do not include stage direction because they are not meant to be performed.

e)    Drama has a strong influence to the audience.

Drama allows the audience participation since people are attracted by actions drama has a strong influence than other literary works. People are tempted to live or act imitating the life and actions of the characters. Also the audience can participate by clapping, laughing, screaming, frowning, or responding as the actors involve them.

f)     Drama makes extensive use of 1^st person pronoun (I, me, we, us).

Since drama is meant to be acted by actors, most characters speak from the first person point of view. (I, me, we or us). Other works like novels make extensive use of 3^rd person (he, she it, they).

g)    Drama uses shorter time in performance than novels.

It takes only two to three hours to what a performance but it takes days or weeks to finish reading one novel. This makes drama more appealing to the audience since it is time considerate.

h)   Drama is characterized by action.

When drama is presented on the stage it involves actions that are carried out by characters. Characters can fight, make love, laugh, cry, etc. all these add effect to the livelihood of drama and make it more appealing to the audience.

i)     Drama has language economy.

Words are not wasted in drama. The playwrights usually choose the suitable words that express their intended meaning. Most plays are very short as compared to novels. For example Soyinka’s ‘The trials of Brother Jero’ and Ngugi’s ‘This Time Tomorrow’ are very short but with strong messages.

j)     Drama involves many people in its production.

For the drama to be staged many people are involved unlike novels and poems which can be produced by the authors only. In production of a drama there should be actors/actresses, the director, floor manager or location manager, production manager, designer (costumes and makeup) etc. on top of that there should be the live audience. 

k)  Drama involves imitation of real life events. Or it reflects the experiences of Human kind

Like other literary works Drama is a product of the society. Drama imitates the real life events and brings them on stage. This makes drama t be more meaningful to the audience.

l)      Drama can be performed anywhere and/or any time.

m) Drama brings the whole world on stage.