Domestic Drama - Development and History

Development and History

Dramatic works have nearly always contained a sense of domestic drama within its fundamental plot line. Even in the early ages of Greek drama, there has been a sense of ordinary people's struggles with their lives (though this cannot be classified as domestic drama due to the incorporation of the Greek gods interfering with the common people and the enabling of the common people to have “godlike” attributes). Medieval theatre tended to express religious themes within their shows with miracles and the creation of morality plays, in which the shows were used as religious allegories. Though not yet emphasizing the ordinary lives, the development of dramatic works is slowly working towards more realistic plot lines, one of the essential elements in domestic drama. Renaissance theatre marks the arrival of pastoral drama, drama referring to the relationships of the rustics. Though this describes the events of 'ordinary people', the shows tended to stretch realism, focussed mainly on the romantic relationships of the rustics, and were decorated with an emphasis on the comedic aspect of theater. Pastoral drama was considered to be more successful than the traditional comedies and tragedies, enforcing the further development into domestic drama.

Drama in the late seventeenth century consisted of neoclassical comedies focusing on the comedic relationships within the upper classes. This era also consisted of the Restoration drama and placed an emphasis on the usage of poetic language, “sensational incidents, and epic personages” within the show. These styles of shows are not considered domestic dramas because they focus on the relationships of the higher classes, as opposed to the middle or lower classes. This further develops into domestic drama as the plot lines become more realistic and centered around characters' relationships and their actions towards each other.

The eighteenth century marks the arrival of domestic drama as the shows start focusing on the problems of the ordinary people. The early eighteenth century playwrights used domestic drama to express the “trend toward sentimental bourgeois realism.” These new domestic dramas also incorporated realistic comedies of fairly sophisticated characterizations middle-class morality. These early domestic dramas are classified as part of the Romantic era of all types of arts.

Nineteenth century drama took the complete step in incorporating realism into drama, thus resulting in more serious and philosophical drama. Characters and settings gradually developed into the realistic truths of the current society. Along with realism was naturalism: “selective realism emphasizing the more sordid and pessimistic aspects of life.” This movement of combined realism and naturalism gave way to the “slice-of-life” shows commonly synonymous with domestic drama. One outstanding playwright of this era was Henrik Ibsen of Norway. His frequent usage of realism within his shows “brought to a climax the realistic movement of the nineteenth century and also served as a bridge to twentieth century symbolism.” Ibsen used middle-class characters dealing with his complex plots and “surpassed other such works” of his time. Playwrights such as Ibsen have drawn much attention to domestic drama and have brought this method to its high significant stature in modern theatrical works.

The twentieth century introduced symbolism into the makings of domestic dramas, ultimately causing variations within domestic drama. Early twentieth century shows incorporated such psychological devices as “minimal scenery, telegraphic dialogue, talking machines, and characters portrayed as types rather than individuals.” Domestic drama suddenly became a combination of naturalism, expressionism, symbolism, and commonly used psychological affairs. The classification of domestic dramas became unclear as shows challenged new ideas and created a difficulty in determining the illusions and realism of a show.

Modern dramas usually revolve around psychological, social, and political affairs, all of which seem to have their roots in domestic drama. Modern works also use interpretive ideas, such as “distinctive voice and vision, stark settings, austere language in spare dialog, meaningful silences, the projection of a powerful streak of menace, and outbursts of real or implied violence.” The utensils of dramatic works have greatly expanded, but all still carry the roots of domestic drama. Domestic drama also carries the implications of current affairs with society: such as civil rights, feminism, and current political and sociological disputes. Current domestic drama itself tends to express the “war-at-home” style of theater, whereas twentieth century domestic drama could be classified as experimental theater or symbolic theater.