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Dramatic poetry is a form of storytelling that connects the reader to an audience through emotions or behaviors. It has evolved since ancient Greece and survives today, often seen in opera librettos. The four main accepted forms include soliloquy, dramatic monologue, character sketch, and dialogue. It uses verse form or rhymes and requires physical performance, making it different from other forms of literature. The lack of strict guidelines makes what counts as a dramatic poem debatable.
Dramatic poetry, also known as dramatic verse or verse drama, is a written work that tells a story and connects the reader to an audience through emotions or behaviors. A form of storytelling closely related to acting, it is usually physically performed and can be spoken or sung. Normally, it uses a rhyme or meter pattern, distinguishing it from prose. It has evolved since its inception in ancient Greece, but still survives today, especially in opera librettos. The lack of strict guidelines makes what exactly counts as a dramatic poem somewhat debatable, but in general, the four main accepted forms include soliloquy, dramatic monologue, character sketch, and dialogue.
History
In ancient Greece, people went to the theater to see live performances for entertainment, just like individuals do today. Those who performed plays often needed to memorize their parts very quickly, so playwrights tried to help them by putting the text in a meter or rhyme scheme that was easier to remember. Over time, writers, actors, and the general public began to prefer a freer style of verse, so in the Renaissance comedies often consisted of a combination of prose and rhymed or metrical sections. Eventually, unfettered speech became the standard, but dramatic poetry survived, mostly through opera librettos, as rhyme and a particular number of syllables per line paired well with musical phrases.
Main features
This type of poem uses the speech and actions of at least one person to depict a scene or plot. It is different from simple fiction because the focus is usually on how that individual emotionally or physically controls or responds to what is happening, i.e. it is more than just explaining the facts. Often it’s from the character’s point of view, giving the audience insight into his personality, morals, history, and dreams about him.
In general, bringing a fictional person to life is much easier when someone can physically show what that character is supposed to feel or do. This is the main way dramatic poetry separates itself from other forms: unlike covert poetry that someone simply reads off a page, it requires action, such as making facial expressions, gesturing, or interacting with other people or things in the room. Acting and this type of literature have a strong bond for this reason, with some actors and actresses using it to practice.
Another key feature is that the text usually follows verse form or rhymes. As a result, it generally ends up sounding very rhythmic. Writers often think of this when they’re inventing a new dramatic poem, because they want a person to be able to deliver the lines well, and because they want the audience to understand what’s going on. Achieving this naturalness can be difficult, however, simply because everyday speech is typically more like prose, so some writers are hesitant to use this style.
Form
Dramatic poetry can take one of several forms: soliloquy, dramatic monologue, character sketches, and dialogue. Each of these forms can stand on its own, but when a person writes a play, he might use more than one style, depending on how he wants to show the development. The best actors and actresses are able to transition seamlessly from one form to another, although some end up specializing.
In a soliloquy, a character speaks mostly to himself, not interacting with anyone else. It’s usually a good way to quickly show what he thinks, wants or will do, because it provides insights into his mind. Perhaps the best example comes from William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, in which Hamlet wonders whether it is better to live or die.
A dramatic monologue is much like a soliloquy in that it reveals something about the speaking character. The main difference is that, here, the actor is talking to someone else in the play, not just himself. This second person says nothing, but his presence often makes the speech a little more believable. This type of dramatic poetry usually manifests itself during critical moments in the plot.
With a character sketch, a writer’s main goal is to make the audience feel something for the character, rather than advance the plot. The feeling can be sympathy, hate, or anything in between, but the result is usually that a person watching the play becomes emotionally connected to what is happening, creating a more memorable theatrical experience. The individual who delivers the lines plays the primary role of observer.
Dialogue requires at least two people, who exchange jokes to direct the action, give information or tell something about themselves. The advantage of this form is that the actors can play against each other, responding naturally to what the other person is doing so that the play doesn’t feel overly rehearsed. The challenge in using it in dramatic poetry, however, is that a writer must maintain some similarity between the rhythm and meter of the text for both speakers, even as he tries to make it appear that each has a separate personality. Drastically changing the meter or rhyme scheme as each person speaks can make the overall flow of the scene feel too choppy or disconnected. An example in this group is The Shadowy Waters by William Butler Yeats.
Debate
There are no set guidelines for exactly what makes text poetic, and sometimes, the line between simple prose and structured writing is very thin. What can technically be called a dramatic poem, therefore, is somewhat subject to interpretation. To make matters even more complex, often, people adapt “normal” poems to the stage, so when trying to classify different works, what a person does with the text is as important as what is in the writing itself.
