Types of dramatic texts
The types of dramatic texts are tragedy, comedy and drama. Not all texts have the same purpose or the same composition. From the texts behind the package of macaroni, to the performances you are going to see at the theater, to the book you read every night, there are multitude of styles and types of text. Some of these texts have been conceived with the sole purpose of entertaining readers, others to inform you about news, others to help you enjoy the story, etc.
In this lesson of a PROFESSOR you will discover one of the types of texts that consist of a narrative that has not been designed to be read, but to be interpreted by some actors, in front of a public. Do you want to discover all types of dramatic texts that exist? Well keep reading!
A dramatic text is a writing that aims to be represented in a play. It differs from other types of text whose conception is intended to be read and not interpreted. A good example of a dramatic text that surely sounds familiar to you is the work of Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare.
This type of text presents the conflicts of the characters, which are staged through the use of dialogues with which concrete actions are developed in front of an audience. The dramatic texts can be written in prose or in verse and the stage space functions as the principle on which the story is structured.
The dramatic text constitutes one of the three literary genres par excellence, along with narrative and lyrics.
Within the dramatic texts we can find different main types of genre and their classification has a lot to do with the topic on which they deal and what is the final development of the events. Next, we present the 3 main types of dramatic texts.
The drama
The drama It is the dramatic genre par excellence and we can verify this because this is the word used in Greek to refer to the action of acting on stage. In this genre, the existence of a conflict that is resolved over several scenes is represented.
The tonality of these dramatic works is usually serious and realistic The characters present great reflections on various themes, although the truth is that they do not have to be sad.
The tragedy
The tragedy It is another of the great types of dramatic texts and is characterized by presenting much more serious and far-reaching conflicts. The characters are usually doomed to an extreme fate or outcome, which most of the time is closely linked to death.
Often, tragic works have well-known characters and heroes respected by the people. The main objective of this type of text is to highlight the expression of the most powerful emotions and they are impossible to control. For this reason, the characters act with desperate actions, in order to avoid a misfortune from which they cannot get rid of.
The comedy
Finally, we are going to introduce you the comedy, the third of the great dramatic genres. In comedy we see works clearly focused on finding a happy ending for the characters. They are always written in a rather joking and light tone, trying to make the viewer laugh and enjoy.
Usually, these types of texts are the ones that are most deeply rooted in the daily life of the royal people and one of their most important characteristics is that accept imperfection and the events, situations and characters are very peculiar.
If you want to know more about this type of text, here is the structure of a dramatic text and the elements of a dramatic text.
The best way to understand what the structure of a dramatic text is like is to see an example for yourself. we leave you with some examples of dramatic texts so that you can read them calmly and familiarize yourself with them.
drama example
This is the example of a dramatic play text of the work Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?by Edward Albee.
"I looked at you and suddenly I discovered that you no longer existed. At that moment the spring broke! (Finally broke! And now I'm going to shout it from the four winds, I'm going to howl it, and I don't care what you do. And I'm going to cause a scandal like you've never seen.
Jorge (very calm): I love that game. Start and you will see how I kill the point.
Marta (hopefully): Is it a challenge, Jorge?
Jorge: It's a challenge, Marta.
Marta: You're going to lose, dear.
Jorge: Be careful, Marta... I'm going to tear you apart.
Marta: You're not man enough for that…you lack guts.
Jorge: War to the death?
Martha: To death."
example of tragedy
This is a example of a dramatic text of tragedyBlood Weddingby Federico Garcia Lorca.
"LEONARDO.- And the child?
WOMAN.- He fell asleep.
LEONARDO.- Yesterday was not good. She cried at night.
WOMAN.- (Happy.) Today she is like a dahlia. And you? Did you go to the farrier's house?
LEONARDO.- That's where I come from. Will you believe? I have been putting new shoes on the horse for more than two months and they always fall off. Apparently he ripped them out with stones.
WOMAN.- And don't you use it a lot?
LEONARDO.- No. I hardly use it.
WOMAN.- Yesterday the neighbors told me that they had seen you at the edge of the plains.
LEONARDO.- Who said it?
WOMAN.- The women who gather the capers. By the way, I was surprised. It was you?
LEONARDO.- No. What was I going to do there, in that dry land?
WOMAN.- That's what I said. But the horse was bursting with sweat.
LEONARDO.- Did you see it?
WOMAN.- No. My mother.
LEONARDO.- Is he with the child?
WOMAN.- Yes. (…)
LEONARDO.- (Rising.) I'm going to see him.
WOMAN.- Be careful, he's asleep.
MOTHER-IN-LAW.- (Going out.) But who gives those races to the horse? He is down, stretched out, his eyes wide, as if he came from the end of the world.
LEONARDO.- (Sourly.) Me.
MOTHER-IN-LAW.- Excuse me; yours is.
WOMAN.- (Shy.) She was with the wheat measurers.
MOTHER-IN-LAW.- For me, let it burst. (He sits.) "
comedy example
This is a example of a dramatic text of comedy of The importance of being called Ernestoby Oscar Wilde.
"GRESFORD.- (Going towards the sofa and kneeling on it.) Good; And what do you find in it in particular? Are all the aunts going to be big? There are also small ones... You figure that all the aunts have to be like yours. It's stupid! Come on, kindly give me back my cigarette case! (Chasing ARCHIBALDO across the room.)
ARCHIBALDO.- Yes. But why does your aunt call you her uncle here? "I remember little Cecilia, with all her love, to her dear uncle Juan de ella." I understand that there is nothing that prevents an aunt from being small; but for an aunt, no matter how big she is, to call her own nephew her uncle is unintelligible to me. Also, your name is not Juan, but Ernesto.
GRESFORD. No, sir; my name is not Ernesto; My name is Juan.
ARCHIBALDO.- You have always told me your name was Ernesto. I have introduced you to everyone as Ernesto. You respond to the name of Ernesto. It is completely absurd that you deny calling yourself Ernesto. It's on your cards. (Removing one from his wallet.) "ERNESTO GRESFORD, Albany, 4." I'll keep it as proof that your name is Ernesto, if you ever try to deny it to me, or Susana, or whoever he is. (She puts the card in her pocket.)
GRESFORD. – Well, whatever; My name is Ernesto in London and Juan in the countryside; and that cigarette case was given to me in the countryside. Are you satisfied yet?"
Now that you know the types of dramatic texts that exist, would you dare to go to the theater to identify to which category the performance you are seeing belongs to? If you are interested in continuing to learn more about literature and the types of text that exist, do not hesitate to consult our writing section.
