Characterization in Drama

CHARACTERIZATION IN DRAMA

INTRODUCTION:

Can you imagine a story without events or actions? No. Can you imagine the events or actions without characters? No. Can you imagine the characters without dialogues? No.

This means that plot, characters, dialogues all are inter connected and they are equally important in any drama. The success of a drama depends on how well the plot is introduced and developed. In the same manner, the success of a drama also depends on how well the characters are introduced and developed in the story line. Hence, just as a painter must have a complete knowledge about the uses and importance of each and every color in his paintings, the dramatist must also learn the art of characterization. 

ART OF CHARACTERIZATION IN DRAMA:

If you make a survey of the world's famous works of art, you will find that most of the highly acclaimed works became popular only because of their immortal characters. In fact, Bernard Shaw, John Galsworthy and many more are known as the outstanding authors only because of their marvelous art of characterization. 

Shakespeare, the father of English tragedy and Romantic Comedy, attained this title only because of a series of immortal characters he has drawn in all his plays. Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Othello, Portia, Shylock, Iago, Romeo and Juliet, Helena, Hermia, Demetrius, Julius Caesar and so on. The list is very long. These are the characters that have left indelible imprint on the minds and hearts of the lovers of English literature. 

METHODS OF CHARACTERIZATION IN DRAMA:

The dramatist adopts certain artistic methods to present the most impressive and immortal characters in drama.

1. BREVITY:

The first and foremost condition of the characterization in drama is brevity or economy. The novelist enjoys the freedom of describing characters at ease; he might take hundreds of pages to develop his characters. But the dramatist has to be very precise and has to present his characters in very few pages or lines. 

Shakespeare has done this successfully in ‘Macbeth’. The characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are revealed in 25 pages and less than 500 lines. 

2. CHARACTERIZATION THROUGH PLOT: Unlike the novelist, the dramatist cannot narrate the features of his characters in detail. He has to develop his characters with the development of action and plot in drama. Hence, in drama, plot and characterization are inter-connected. Characters develop the plot and the plot in turn develops the characters. Actions of the drama reveal the psychology and complex nature of the characters. 

3. CHARACTERIZATION THROUGH DIALOGUE: 

The principle function of the dialogues in drama is to reveal the traits of the characters. There are three ways in which dialogue helps in characterization. 

Firstly, the character’s speech with other characters in the drama reveals his thinking, his psychology. Secondly, other character’s remarks or opinions about another character also help the dramatist develop an image of his protagonist. Thirdly, the use of soliloquies also express the inner conflict and thinking of the major characters. Shakespeare and Marlowe are the most successful dramatists of English literature who have developed their characters with the soliloquies. 

CONCLUSION:

Thus, W. H. Hudson has presented his views on the importance of the art of characterization in drama. He opines that characterization can be done successfully by developing the characters with the plot and action and also with the help of dialogues and soliloquies.

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