The art of dramatic writing : its basis in the creative interpretation of human motives

Has Ugly Cover!The Art of Dramatic Writing is a concise guide to all forms of creative writing, from premise to characters to plot. Introduction......Page 5 Contents......Page 7 Foreword......Page 9 Preface......Page 12 I Premise......Page 16 1. The Bone Structure......Page 47 2. Environment......Page 58 3. The Dialectical Approach......Page 64 4. Character Growth......Page 74 5. Strength of Will and Character......Page 92 6. Plot or Character - Which?......Page 101 7. Characters plotting their own Play......Page 115 8. Pivotal Character......Page 121 9. The Antagonist......Page 128 10. Orchestration......Page 129 11. Unity of Opposites......Page 133 1. Origin of Action......Page 140 2. Cause and Effect......Page 141 3. Static......Page 151 4. Jumping......Page 161 5. Rising......Page 177 6. Movement......Page 186 7. Foreshadowing Conflict......Page 193 8. Point of Attack......Page 197 9. Transition......Page 207 10. Crisis, Climax, Resolution......Page 233 1. Obligatory Scene......Page 245 2. Exposition......Page 249 3. Dialogue......Page 253 4. Experimentation......Page 260 5. The Timelines of a Play......Page 263 6. Entrances and Exits......Page 266 7. Why are some bad Plays successful?......Page 268 8. Melodrama......Page 270 9. On Genius......Page 271 10. What is Art? - A Dialogue......Page 274 11. When you write a Play......Page 277 12. How to get Ideas......Page 280 13. Writing for Television......Page 289 14. Conclusion......Page 293 1. Tartuffe......Page 294 2. Ghosts......Page 299 3. Mourning becomes Electra......Page 304 4. Dinner at Eight......Page 305 5. Idiot's Delight......Page 307 Appendix B - How to market your Play......Page 309 Appendix C - Long Runs on Broadway......Page 313 About the Author......Page 317 Index......Page 318 Introduction 5 Contents 7 Foreword 9 Preface 12 I Premise 16 II Character 47 1. The Bone Structure 47 2. Environment 58 3. The Dialectical Approach 64 4. Character Growth 74 5. Strength of Will and Character 92 6. Plot or Character - Which? 101 7. Characters plotting their own Play 115 8. Pivotal Character 121 9. The Antagonist 128 10. Orchestration 129 11. Unity of Opposites 133 III Conflict 140 1. Origin of Action 140 2. Cause and Effect 141 3. Static 151 4. Jumping 161 5. Rising 177 6. Movement 186 7. Foreshadowing Conflict 193 8. Point of Attack 197 9. Transition 207 10. Crisis, Climax, Resolution 233 IV General 245 1. Obligatory Scene 245 2. Exposition 249 3. Dialogue 253 4. Experimentation 260 5. The Timelines of a Play 263 6. Entrances and Exits 266 7. Why are some bad Plays successful? 268 8. Melodrama 270 9. On Genius 271 10. What is Art? - A Dialogue 274 11. When you write a Play 277 12. How to get Ideas 280 13. Writing for Television 289 14. Conclusion 293 Appendix A - Plays analyzed 294 1. Tartuffe 294 2. Ghosts 299 3. Mourning becomes Electra 304 4. Dinner at Eight 305 5. Idiot's Delight 307 Appendix B - How to market your Play 309 Appendix C - Long Runs on Broadway 313 About the Author 317 Index 318

Learn the basic techniques every successful playwright knows

Among the many how-to playwriting books that have appeared over the years, there have been few that attempt to analyze the mysteries of play construction. Lajos Egri's classic, The Art of Dramatic Writing, does just that, with instruction that can be applied equally well to a short story, novel, or screenplay.

Examining a play from the inside out, Egri starts with the heart of any drama: its characters. All good dramatic writing hinges on people and their relationships, which serve to move the story forward and give it life, as well as an understanding of human motives -- why people act the way that they do. Using examples from everything from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, Egri shows how it is essential for the author to have a basic premise -- a thesis, demonstrated in terms of human behavior -- and to develop the dramatic conflict on the basis of that behavior.

Using Egri's ABCs of premise, character, and conflict, The Art of Dramatic Writing is a direct, jargon-free approach to the problem of achieving truth in writing.

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. A MAN sits in his workshop, busy with an invention of wheels and springs.