drama

drama Art form, probably derived from primitive religious rituals. In the West, drama developed into a sophisticated art form in 5th-century bc Greece with the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes. Greek drama followed the unity of action, defined by Aristotle in his Poetics. Classical Roman drama relied heavily on Greek models, and these in turn strongly influenced Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, such as the plays of Thomas Kyd, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, and William Shakespeare. In Spain, Lope de Vega established the comedia, written in verse with three acts. Neo-classicism flourished in the reign of Louis XIV with the tragedies of Corneille and Racine. The comedies of Molière reflected the influence of the Commedia dell'arte. Twentieth-century drama received its impetus from the naturalism of Chekhov, Ibsen and Strindberg. The verse dramas of T. S. Eliot marked the beginnings of modernism. These experiments were extended by Epic Theatre, Theatre of Cruelty and Theatre of the Absurd. Surrealism influenced the work of Pirandello and Samuel Beckett. See also Chinese theatre; comedy; Indian theatre; Japanese theatre; tragedy