Writing for Visual Media, 2nd Edition

Dramatic Structure and Form

9

Origins of Drama

The origin of drama in Western culture is rooted in the Greek theatre. The playwrights of ancient Athens created dramatic structure. Its philosophers and rhetoricians, principally Aristotle in the Poetics, defined the theories of tragedy and comedy, concepts that hold true to the present day. Its architects created amphitheaters. The Romans continued the theatrical tradition by writing and performing plays. The remains of their amphitheaters as well as their viaducts survive to this day in places far from Rome in what were then their colonial outposts in Europe.

Although performance, singing, juggling, reciting poetry, and storytelling never ceased over the centuries, there is little evidence of ...