Characterization in drama involves some
different aspects. In character-driven dramas, for instance, there is implicit
characterization in which the audience is drawn into their inner turmoils as they are
developed over the course of the play. Since the actors who assume these roles must
characterize over an extended period of time, there is usually no direct statement of
who the character is at any particular point so that the audience does not recognize a
realistic characterization right away. Such playwrights as Anton Chekhov uses this type
of characterization in such plays as The Cherry Orchard in which he
portrays the social climate of Russia when the aristocrats and land-owning gentry were
losing their wealth. Over the course of the play, the audience perceives that Ranevsky
is unable to adjust to the changes as, when faced with the loss of her beloved orchard,
she is unable to save it. She is a kind and generous woman who is irresponsible
regarding money and life. After fleeing her tragic past in Paris, she takes a villain
for a lover and is swindled out of her money by him; then, he leaves her for another
woman in this tragicomedy.
In other dramas, however, there
may be stock characters, who represent a certain "type" of person in a simplification;
there may be archetypal characters that represent a "type" in its greatness. Of course,
in tragedies, especially the classic tragedies such as Oedipus Rex,
there are clear definitions (according to Aristotle's Poetics) of
the tragic hero who must have hubris, an arrogance, and commit a
tragic mistake, hamartia. He/she must also be of a noble nature and
his/her downfall must be of his/her own fault. Nevertheless, the tragic hero's downfall
is not wholly deserved and this downfall does have some positive results. For instance,
Oedipus learns that he has been married to his mother and has killed his father. After
blinding himself, he is greatly humbled and turns to his children whom he lives with and
to whom he becomes devoted.
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