JORDAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

A CONSTITUENT COLLEGE OF ST. AUGUSTINE OF TANZANIA

COURSE NAME

DRAMA

COURSE CODE

LT 212

NATURE OF WORK

GROUP ASSIGNMENT

SUBMITTED BY

GROUP 1 (CHINUNUA ACHEBE GROUP)

SUBMITTED TO

MISS NKINDE MWANGOKA

SUBMITION DATE

29TH OCTOBER 2014

GROUP MEMBERS
NO.

NAME OF THE STUDENT

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

DANIEL BARAKA L.
KHALIFA MUHIDINI
MALLYA DIANA F.
MASHISHANGA GLADNESS
MKONDYA TUKAE J.
MSONDE PAULO J.
NAMPUNGILA A. HAJI
RWEHABURA ENOCK E.

REG. NUMBER

SIGNATURE

2013/0737
2013/1348
2013/1060
2013/1172
2013/1042
2013/0729
2013/0224
2013/0163

Question:
Drama has been defined by many scholars. Which do you think is appropriate definition?

1. INTRODUCTION TO DRAMA

Drama is what we try to make of life. Our daily dramas of meeting and parting, comforting
and confronting are improvisations in which our words and actions try to fix relationships and
create patterns in which each actor can sustain a role.
Drama is the oldest of the major literary forms and it is still growing and changing. The image
of growth and change is a valid one because drama has been, for more than 2000 years, a
continuing form of human expression. In those two millennia there were long periods when no
plays were written or performed, but the dramatic instinct was merely dormant and emerged to
create again for a country and time a stage on which people could see themselves. The Greeks gave
us many things, but one of the most important was the art form that captured the nature,
significance, and consequences of human actions for our understanding. This is we call drama.
The Greeks did not invent drama. In stead, they discovered that it was possible to recreate in
words and gestures the unique thing that is human action. Human action is gestures with motives
and consequences. For example, To get married and live happily ever after or to establish a
meaningful relationship are expressions of motive with which most of us are familiar. There is no
easy way to realize our motives or achieve our goals and, as in the more bitter lesson of Oedipus,
there is sometimes no worse tragedy than getting what we want. (Paulo J. Dolan & Grace M.
Dolan, 1974, introduction on to drama).
However, in every known country, the drama has its origin religious ceremonial. The ancient
drama grew out of the religious ceremonies of the half-savage Greeks; and our modern drama, born
inside the walks of the medieval Church, is no exception to the rule. (Hubbell and Beaty, 1927, An
Introduction to drama).

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2. DEFINITIONS OF DRAMA BY DIFFERENT
SCHOLARS

Many scholars attempt to define drama into different ways. The following scholars define
drama as follows. Particularly;
Aristotle said that drama is the imitation of an action He did not mean that in a play the
actors mine some physical gesture. He meant that a play begins with a purpose, to get home, to get

married, to become rich, famous, and happy; that it then shows the steps had taken to realize this
purpose and finally, the conquences of the purpose and the deeds. Oedipus for instance sets out to
find the man responsible for the decay of his city. He questions every one and carefully and
systematically moves to the realization of his purpose. He does find the guilty man and then must
accept the consequences of his action. This means drama gives us what we rarely get in life: the
complete representation of an action: therefore, according to Aristotle drama is imitated human
action
Jay B. Hubbell, PHD. Professor of English in Duke University and John O. Beaty, PHD.
Professor of English in Southern Methodist University define drama in their book, An introduction
to Drama, 1927 as one of several methods of telling a story where by the story is not told by the
author but is acted on a stage by actors before an audience. Properly speaking, a printed play is not
a play at all until it is acted; that is, until author, producer, actors, and audience have all
collaborated unlike the novelist, the dramatist is wholly dependent upon his actors, who in their
turn are limited by the policies of the manager, the resources of the theatre, and the tastes of the
audience. They continuing by saying that The chief purpose of every writer of plays is to give
pleasure to the spectators who come to see his plays; and the spectators come primarily to be
amused. The audience wants do to be told a good story; it wants to be shown interesting people
doing interesting things.
From the Oxford Advanced learners Dictionary (International students Edition, 8th edition)
drama defined as a play for the theatre, television or radio. Its an exciting event: a powerful
human drama was unfolding before our eyes, or the fact of being exciting you couldnt help being
thrilled by drama of the situation.
According to the Cambridge advanced learners dictionary of the 2nd edition drama is defined
as a play in a theatre or television or radio, or plays and acting generally. It is used in expressions
which refer to the type of play or film. For example; a courtroom drama, a historical drama. OR
Is an event or situation, especially an unexpected one in which there is anxiety or excitement and
usually a lot of action (s). Its the excitement and energy that is created by a lot of action and
arguments. For example: as a lawyer , he/she positively revelled in the drama of the courtroom.
Also the MacMillan school Dictionary defines drama as a play in general or as a subject that
people study. Its a sudden and surprising event (action):
something unusual or exciting that
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happens. For example; a game full of drama.
Out of the scholars contribution on the definitions of drama from the books and other reading
materials, the following definitions are from online-resources such as encyclopedia, website and
other related sources as follows, starting with;
From the Merriam-webster.com drama is a composition in verse or prose intended to potray life or
character or to tell usually involving conflicts and emotions through action and dialogue and
typically designed for theatrical performance. OR

A state, situation or series of events involving interesting or intense conflict of forces. Its
continuing by saying that drama is a play, movie, television show or radio show that is about a
serious subject and is not meant to make the audience laugh.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia define drama as the specific mode of fiction represented in
performance. It go beyond by stating that the term comes from a Greek word meaning action that
is classical Greek drama which is derived from the verb meaning to do or to act.
As not enough; the free dictionary. Com define the term drama as a prose or verse
composition especially one telling a serious story that is intended for representation by actors
impersonating by the characters and performing the dialogue and action.
In addition; answers. Com elaborates more about drama where by the term drama is defined
as a display of emotions, a representation of relationships and the portrayal of the different phases
of human life. It sketches different personalities and represents a wide variety of emotions through
the different characters it potrays.
Those definitions are of drama as being defined by different scholars and educators from
which we can get the best and appropriate definition of drama of our choice as follows;

3. AN APPROPRIATE DEFFINITION OF DRAMA WITH THE REASON (S) FOR

WHY WE CHOOSE THE GIVEN DEFINITION.
3
Many scholars attempt to define drama in a different way and later came to agree that drama is
all about the action or performance of the actor or actress in the area to imitate about human life.
There fore, from those definitions, we as scholars we decide to define drama appropriately as
one of the several methods of telling a story where by the story is not told by the author but is acted on
a stage by actors before an audience . In this definition Hubbell and Beauty meant that drama is more
active than play or novel in which the author narrates a story. But in a drama story is living through
actual performance on the arena or stage. This is because; Dramatist depend upon his/her actor through
whom the audience become more emotional, more credulous, and less reasonable than the individuals
that compose it. This means that it is not essential that the play wright should have had experience as an
actor, but it is essential that he know what actors can and can not do.

Also, the chief purpose of drama is to give pleasure to the spectatotles who come to see his / her
play (drama). Thats why the story is acted on a stage by the actors or actresses rather than being
narrated by the author.
Another reason is that, drama tries to make us feel the emotion it has aroused in dramatist.
Thus, through observing the actions and performance of the actors audience come to feel as a dramatist
felt emotionally.
However, drama should have the following element which matches to that definition including
audience, character (actor /actress), dialogue, the theatre, Conventions, setting: Where by the novelist
and poet write for the solitary reader; the dramatist writes for the crowd. And the play wrights
audience is subject to the laws of crowd psychology
About dialogue; the moving picture manages to tell a complicated story with a minimum of
dialogue, and the pantomime dispenses with even that minimum. It is perhaps possible to make
effective screen through dialogue. Dialogue carry forward the action and explain its significance,
communicate audience facts which it other wise would not know, arouse emotion in the spectators ,
reveal character , and finally , to be , if possible , a thing of beauty in it self .
The theatre ; The size, shape, equipment, and general arrangement, of the theatre seems best
suited to spectacular shows as in the huge Greek theaters which dealing with the heroic figures of myth
and history . The small theatre is best suited to domestic drama and one act plays.
Conventions; Dramatic conventions are of three kinds; the permanent, the temporary and the
individual, for all authors tend to fall in to conventional ways of doing things. Every at rests upon the
acceptance of certain implied conventions. In fact, the drama, like other arts is of convention all
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compact.
About setting; In early drama, as in painting and prose fiction, little attention was given to
setting. The setting seems even more important than the other elements. Its Chief function is to forward
the action, to aid in characterization, and to supply an appropriate atmosphere.
All in all, drama is, by its nature, a public art, directly susceptible to the vagaries of social,
economic, and political forces, which makes the task of creating a general survey of drama particularly
demanding.

Reference
From the Readings (books);

Cambridge University Press (2005), Cambridge Advance Learners Dictionary 2nd edition,
Ukited Kingdom: Cambirdge University Press.
Harmon W& Holman H, (2009), A Hand book to Literature 11th edition,New Jersey:
Pearson Pentice Hall.
Hawkins Dady (1996), Literature in English, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers.
Hubbel J, & Beaty J, (1927), An introduction to Drama, New York: Berwick&Smithco.
Macmillan Company (2004) Macmillan School Dictionary, Oxford: Black PublishersLtd.
Oxford University Press (2010), Oxford Advance Learners Dictionary 8th Edition, New
York: Oxford University Press.
Dolan P, & Dolan G, (1974), Introduction to Drama, New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
From the Internet
Merriam Webster,n.d.web(Merriam Webster.com)/2014/16/10/10:24am
Wikpipedia the free Encyclopedia/2014/16/10/10:40am
www.answers.com/q/Drama
www.google.com
www.the freedictionary.com/Drama/2014/16/10/10:38am