ELA Drama: Grades 9, 10, 11, 12

Dramatic Elements

Creative Expression

Students will analyze dramatic elements in a variety of plays from diverse time periods.

Students will develop adaptations using dramatic elements.

Students will create original works using dramatic elements.

Examine the historical influences and contexts of various time periods on plays and playwrights (e.g., Greek, Roman, medieval, Renaissance, modern, contemporary):<ul><li>purpose</li><li>audience</li><li>genre (e.g., tragedy, comedy, melodrama)</li><li>format</li></ul>

Evaluate playwright choices as influenced by historical and cultural context:<ul><li>character analysis</li><li>conflict</li><li>dialogue</li><li>foil</li><li>plot</li><li>setting</li><li>theme</li></ul>

Analyze the influence of Aristotle's theory of tragedy on a subsequent drama by citing evidence from the script:<ul><li>chorus</li><li>language (e.g., dialogue, poetry)</li><li>rhythm</li><li>spectacle (e.g., scenery, costumes, set design, lighting)</li><li>tragic hero</li></ul>

Compare and contrast authorial treatments of tragic heroes from two literary periods (e.g., Elizabethan tragic hero vs. contemporary tragic hero):<ul><li>character development</li><li>downfall</li><li>impact on other characters</li><li>tragic flaw</li></ul>

Analyze a playwright's use of dramatic elements to develop universal themes

Analyze one classical Greek tragedy (e.g., Eumenides by Aeschylus; Medea by Euripides; Oedipus the King by Sophocles):<ul><li>character (e.g., inner world, outer world)</li><li>given circumstances (e.g., setting, society, economics, cultural, spirituality or religion, previous action)</li><li>literary devices (e.g., allusions, imagery, symbolism, theme)</li><li>plot (e.g., structure, major moments)</li></ul>

Analyze one Medieval morality, mystery, or miracle play (e.g., Castle of Perseverance; Disobedient Child translated by Thomas Ingelend; Everyman translated by Peter Van Diest; Raising of Lazarus; The Second Shepherd's Play):<ul><li>character (e.g., inner world, outer world)</li><li>given circumstances (e.g., setting, society, economics, cultural, spirituality or religion, previous action)</li><li>literary devices (e.g., allusions, imagery, symbolism, theme) </li><li> plot (e.g., structure, major moments) </li></ul>

Analyze one or more Renaissance comedies or tragedies (e.g., Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, The Tempest by William Shakespeare; The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe; Tartuffe and Misanthrope by Moliere; The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd):<ul><li>character (e.g., inner world, outer world)</li><li>given circumstances (e.g., setting, society, economics, cultural, spirituality or religion, previous action)</li><li>literary devices (e.g., allusions, imagery, symbolism, theme)</li><li>plot (e.g., structure, major moments)</li></ul>

Analyze one or more dramatic works from the eighteenth century or the nineteenth century (e.g., British comedy of manners: The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde; French satire: Norwegian realism: A Doll's House and Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen; Russian realism: The Sea Gull and Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov):<ul><li>character (e.g., inner world, outer world)</li><li>given circumstances (e.g., setting, society, economics, cultural, spirituality or religion, previous action)</li><li>literary devices (e.g., allusions, imagery, symbolism, theme)</li><li>plot (e.g., structure, major moments)</li></ul>

Analyze two or more dramatic works (e.g., television scripts, movie scripts, musicals) from the twentieth century to the contemporary period (e.g., A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry; A Street Car Named Desire by Tennessee Williams; Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon; Death and the King's Horseman by Wole Soyinka; Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller; Fences and The Piano Lesson by August Wilson; Little Sister by Joan McCloud; Novio Boy by Gary Soto; Our Town by Thornton Wilder; Sizwe Banzi is Dead by Athol Fugard; Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett; M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang; Angels in America: Part 1 and 2 by Tony Kushner; Oklahoma by Rogers and Hammenstein):<ul><li>character (e.g., inner world, outer world)</li><li>given circumstances (e.g., setting, society, economics, cultural, spirituality or religion, previous action)</li><li>literary devices (e.g., allusions, imagery, symbolism, theme)</li><li>plot (e.g., structure, major moments)</li></ul>

Present a scene or monologue from a dramatic work using vocal variety and facial expressions

Adapt a scene, using dramatic elements, to a different time period

Adapt a monologue to a different medium (e.g., song, poem, art work, multimedia piece)

Write an alternative ending to a classic play, considering all dramatic elements

Compose an original script using dramatic elements:<ul><li>development of a complete plot</li><li>development of two or more characters</li><li>play formatting (e.g., stage directions, dialogue, production notes)</li></ul>