The History of Drama

• Comedy and Tragedy masks


  Represent two types of drama: comedy and tragedy developed by the Greeks
• Miracle play


  Religious drama in the Middle Ages about saints and martyrs
• Morality play


  Late Medieval drama teaching morals through allegory
• Mystery play


  Medieval drama based on Biblical events
• Script


  Text of a play
• Comedy


  Drama genre with a happy ending
• Genre


  Distinctive classification of literature
• Renaissance


  Period of renewed interest in art, literature, and learning in Europe
• Tragedy

  Drama branch dealing with serious subjects and downfall of characters
• Theories About the Origin of Drama

  Speculations on drama's origins from religious ceremonies, choral hymns, and love of storytelling
• Ancient Drama


  Estimation of drama as a five-thousand-year-old art form, with primitive plays by Ancient Egyptians
• Classical Drama


  Originated in ancient Greece, featuring comedies with happy endings and tragedies with sad conclusions
• Roman Drama


  Imitated Greek culture, declined into spectacle as the Empire expanded
• Medieval Drama


  Revival of drama through mystery, miracle, and morality plays in churches
• Renaissance Drama


  Revived interest in drama during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with complex plays by famous dramatists
• Twentieth Century Drama


  Playwrights like Arthur Miller and Samuel Beckett experimenting with traditional and new theater ideas