Analysis of Drama

This is a short guideline for the interpretation of drama. Of course you might need to go more into detail or ask further questions – it can also be helpful to concentrate on one level. If you analyze a single scene from the play, keep in mind it cannot be understood without looking at its particular context. You should always read the full text.

Words in a Drama

What does the title mean? Is there ambiguity, are there any allusions?
Are there any stage directions commenting the play?
Is there an epic narrator outside the play who introduces or mediates the play?
What do prologue and epilogue do with the play – do they frame it, is there any foreshadowing, is there retrospective or is the audience addressed directly?
Is there any reference to what happens offstage, before or beyond the present scene?
Are there any asides / ad spectatores? What is their function in this particular context?
Who says what in which way for which reasons and to which effect?
How do figures characterize themselves or others? Is there explicit characterization (self-description or description of others) or implicit characterization (content, behavior, styles of reply)?
What do the figures want to achieve with what they say? Retrospectives, foreshadowing, exchange of information, negotiation of meanings and relationships, planning and performing of actions?
How do the perspectives in the play relate to each other, why are these points of view selected and combined in a specific manner?
What is the sequence of monologue, dialogue, polylogue? Is there any development? Is there line-by-line exchange? How are the parts connected?
What to utterances look like with regard to other figures’ utterances – quality, quantity?

Characters

Which ideas or concepts do generally shape the figures in the play?
Are there flat (simple) types or round (complex) characters?
Are the characters transparent (fully explained) or opaque (open, enigmatic)?
Are the characters dynamic (developing) or rather static (unchanging)?
Are the characters psychological (ordinarily self-aware) or transpsychological (overly conscious of what their feelings are)?
How are characters designed?
What do characters mean in the context of the play?
Which psychological dispositions do characters have in the play?
How do stage directions define characters?
How are characters performed by actors? Is there impersonation or role distance?
How and when do characters enter and exit the stage?
What do characters look like: stature, costume, physiognomy, mask, hair-style, make-up?
What do characters behave like: choreography, grouping with others, gesture, mime?
What is their voice like: timbre, pitch, volume, speaking style?
How do characters deliver their speeches with regard to rhythm, pace, intonation, emphasis, tone?
What are the characters’ positions towards other figures in the play – socially (servant – master, maid – mistress) and dramatically (antagonist – protagonist)?
Are groups confronted with individuals?
How do constellation (general setting of characters in a play) and configuration (arrangement on stage) interact?
Which particular places (in the setting / on stage) do characters belong to?
Do characters’ words agree or disagree with what they do on stage?

Dramatic Action, Story, Plot

What is the structure of the action – is it closed (coherent, linear) or open (fragmentary, episodic)? If it’s a closed form of plot in five acts, do you find the regular structure: exposition – complication, climax, reversal, catastrophe?
What are the basic functions of action in the play?
How is activity vs. inactivity (passivity) represented in the play?
What is the relationship between the story of the play (chronological order of actions and events) and the plot (logical order)?
How does action relate figures and the circumstances they are in?
Is the play mainly about action or about circumstances?
If there are sub-plots, how are they connected to the main plot – are there any similarities, differences, links or overlaps with regard to motifs, characters, actions? Does the sub-plot mirror the main plot?
Is there any play-within-the play? Is it simply meant for entertainment, does it mirror the play or does it reflect on dramatic conventions?
Is there dramatic irony?

The Setting: Place and Time

Where is the story set? Why?
Is there a single setting or are there multiple settings?
Is there any tension between objective location and perceived atmosphere?
What is the relationship between internal space (home) and external space (the public, the exterior world)?
What boundaries are observed or violated in the play?
In how far does the setting reflect the action or individual characters?
When does the play take place – has a contemporary or historical setting been selected? Why?
How is (the flow of) time conceived in the play? Why?
How does the objective measure of time relate to the subjective perception of time – is there any pressure or suspense?
Is the sequence of time linear, cyclical, inverted or completely achronic?
What is the relationship between performance time and the fictional time of the play?
What sense of rhythm and space is created by the change of scenes, movements, and actions?
Does the performance stick to the play’s original setting or does it change it?
Is the stage design realistic, neutral or symbolic? What about the props?
In how far does lighting influence the interpretation of what’s happening on stage?
What do music and sound effects add to the play?
What special effects (fog, explosions, projections) are used and to what effect?

Further Questions

How does the play deal with dramatic conventions (Aristotelian drama, epic drama)? Is it illusionist or non-illusionist, anti-illusionist, experimental or a well-made play?
How does the composition (structure) of the play relate to its topic / content? Why?
How does the play deal with cultural context?
How do and did spectators respond to performances? Is there identification, catharsis, release from concern? Do the spectators feel pity and fear? Why?
How does the architecture of the theatre relate to what’s happening inside? Is it an open- air theatre or an indoor theatre?
What kind of stage is it – an apron stage, a picture frame stage?