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Drama

Disciplines > Storytelling > Plots > Classic story types > Drama

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description

Dramas generally occur in everyday situations with normal people and events that may be considered relatively mundane.

What is considered dramatic in these settings, for example a new piece of evidence in court or a revelation about a secret love, may thus seem relatively unexciting when compared with an action adventure.

Types of drama include Courtroom drama, Docu-drama, Biographic drama, Period drama and Kitchen-sink drama. Most soap-operas are dramas in the way they play out events in relatively ordinary lives and contexts.

Example

Jane Eyre
Perry Mason
Upstairs, Downstairs

Discussion

Although dramas may seem to lack the excitement of an action-adventure, they provide interest and entertainment through their credibility. Whilst we know that real espionage is nothing like James Bond, we can easily imagine and associate with a domestic drama.

Excitement is a relative thing and when you live a humdrum life, a water leak can be stimulation enough and a love affair almost too much to handle. Dramas thus can provide for sufficient tension without non-stop explosions and car chases.