 The main focus of this video is to acquaint you with the concept of play in its literary context. The main objectives of this video are to define a play, to explain the different types of drama and to discuss the theory of drama. To begin with quote-unquote play is not what you mean in the simple sense of the term that is taking part in game or sports. Play in its literary context means to act on a stage, to perform a role of a character. We can also say that a play is a dramatic composition that tells a story by means of dialogue and action to be performed on the stage. It is thus a dramatic presentation and its equivalent word is drama. In Greek language, drama also meant simply to act or perform, so the good old name for drama is play. Significantly, literary forms like stories and poems are written only for reading, but plays are designed for performance where words are written to be spoken by actors and heard by an audience. So it has both the aural and visual aspects. Places are the vehicles as well as the instruments for the playwrights. A playwright is also a maker of a script for the stage, that is a text. But that does not mean that it will not carry literary elements or aesthetic complexity. Let us note that a play should contain a story, usually of human conflicts and fully exists in production and should have its access to the theatre at the stage. A play cannot be conceived without an audience. The author has both actors and audience in view when he is panning his lines. No doubt it is a story or fiction or fact told to an audience, but it is in essence a story or fact interpreted before an audience by a body of actors. A play has thus a plot, characters, dialogue, an atmosphere and an outlook on life. Its full qualities are revealed in presentation on the stage before an audience. Now that you are familiar with the idea of a play or a drama, let us identify the different kinds of play. From the earliest times, drama has been broadly divided into two kinds namely tragedy and comedy. Tragedy is a sad or unlucky event in human life in the ordinary sense of the term. In drama, it deals with the tragic and dark side of life, aiming at inspiring the people with a sense of pity and awe. Generally speaking, tragedies are classified in two forms, classical and romantic. The former is based on Greek convention, the latter is based on its own standards. The word comic or comedy, as you know, is ordinarily used for something which is funny or laughable and deals with the lighter side of life. It has a pleasant atmosphere and is entertaining in some cases. You can see that there are some tragic situations, but ultimately there is happy ending. Some are again satirical. So satire and comedy are closely related. Like tragedies, comedies are also of several types. There are some romantic comedies as recognized by the critics like Shakespeare's romantic comedies. There are also comedy of humors, comedy of manners, sentimental comedies, black or dark comedies, etc. Apart from this, there are tragic comedies containing comic relief and at the same time possessing some potentially tragic background. Like all art forms, drama habits, conventions, principles and some theories. A play must deliver the whole message within a very few hours. A playwright has to exercise great economy in the handling of the plot, in the delineation of character, in use of words, rejecting all superfluous and unnecessary details. Only those essential materials are required which lead to the growth of dramatic characters and situations and which are conducive to the intended dramatic effect. So from the point of view of structure, a play must have some divisions. Let us discuss them in details. 1. Exposition This forms the introduction, explaining the circumstances or situation from which the action is to start. The exposition gives the audience an idea of when and where the action is about to take place, who are the characters involved, what is their relation with each other and what has taken place before the curtain goes up. The complication or rising action So after the exposition is developed, the play gradually involves in complication or in progress of the story, which must be resolved in the play itself. This is called the complication. The complication creates suspense. The action then proceeds to the point of greatest emotional impact which is called the climax. 3. Climax or crisis In the climax, it takes a turn for the better or worse according to the kind of play, tragedy or committee. So it is called then the denouement. So number 4 is denouement or falling action The falling action unravels the solution to the problems raised and helps the movement towards the resolution of the conflicts presented in the play, which is called resolution. So number 5 is solution or catastrophe Here the problem of the play is solved, outcome of the situation is made clear and the fate of the characters is decided. In case of comedy, it is solution and in case of tragedy, it is catastrophe. Additionally, as stated by W. Hudson in his book An Introduction to the Study of Literature, there is another minor division right after the introduction or exposition. According to him, there are certain conditions or certain relations of characters which are to be explained to the audience for better intelligibility and this distinguishes the introduction of the dramatic plot. This is called the initial incident. So what have you learnt in this video? Let us quickly revise. We have understood that the play is a dramatic composition that tells a story by means of dialogue and action to be performed on the stage. You must by now be able to categorize the different types of drama like tragedy, comedy, tragic comedy, etc. We have also reflected on the theory of drama and the structural division that includes exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and solution or catastrophe. Here are a few references which you may consult for your better understanding. Thank you.