The art of dramatic writing - No Cost Library

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

   Author(s): Lajos Egri  

        Publisher: Simon and Schuster, Year: 1960   

                                        

 Description: 

Each good playwright knows the basic techniques.

There have been several of the numerous "how-to" playwriting books that have emerged over the years that aim to analyse the mysteries of play creation. The Art of Dramatic Prose, Lajos Egri's masterpiece, does exactly that, with instruction that can be extended as well to a short tale, poem, or script.

Examining a play from the inside out, Egri begins with every drama's heart: the characters. All good dramatic writing relies on characters and their experiences, which help to drive the tale forward and give it life, as well as an awareness of human motives—why individuals behave the way they do. Using examples from everything from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare to A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, Egri explains how it is important for the author to provide a central premise—a thesis, seen in terms of human actions—and to establish the dramatic confrontation on the basis of that behaviour.

The Art of Dramatic Writing is a straightforward, jargon-free approach to the issue of achieving reality in writing using Egri's ABCs of idea, plot, and confrontation.

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