The Art of Dramatic Writing

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.

Auteur

Lajos Egri (1888-1967) was born in Hungary and founded the Egri School of Writing in New York City in the 1930s. In addition to writing books, he spent his life writing and directing plays in both the United States and Europe, as well as writing screenplays for the film industry.

Résumé
Learn the basic techniques every successful playwright knows! Amid the hundreds of &quote;how-to&quote; books out there, there have been very few which attempted 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 motiveswhy 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 premisea thesis, demonstrated in terms of human behaviorand 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.

Contenu

INTRODUCTIONFOREWORDPREFACEI PREMISEII CHARACTER1. The Bone Structure2. Environment3. The Dialectical Approach4. Character Growth5. Strength of Will in a Character6. Plot or Character -- Which?7. Characters Plotting Their Own Play8. Pivotal Character9. The Antagonist10. Orchestration11. Unity of OppositesIII CONFLICT1. Origin of Action2. Cause and Effect3. Static4. Jumping5. Rising6. Movement7. Foreshadowing Conflict8. Point of Attack9. Transition10. Crisis, Climax, ResolutionIV GENERAL1. Obligatory Scene2. Exposition3. Dialogue4. Experimentation5. The Timeliness of a Play6. Entrances and Exits7. Why Are Some Bad Plays Successful?8. Melodrama9. On Genius10. What Is Art? -- A Dialogue11. When You Write a Play12. How to Get Ideas13. Writing for Television14. ConclusionAPPENDIX A. Plays AnalyzedAPPENDIX B. How to Market Your PlayAPPENDIX C. Long Runs on BroadwayINDEX