英语文学阅读与鉴赏B7_Unit 1_The Dear Departed (Part One).doc

Unit One Get Started ▇ Read the following background notes before class and be prepared for classroom activities. 1. Types of Drama: In its narrow sense, drama refers to a play that is written to be performed in a theatre, and in its broad sense, the word refers to an important genre (体裁) in literature. As a literary genre, drama can be classified into different types. 1) Comedy (喜剧): When we talk about comedy, we usually refer to plays that are light in tone and often have happy endings.? The story of a comedy is entertaining and the characters are amusing, with the intent to make the audience laugh. In modern theater, there are many different styles of comedy, ranging from realistic stories, where the humor is derived from real-life situations, to outrageous slapstick humor (粗俗打闹般的滑稽). 2) Tragedy (悲剧): Tragedy is one of the oldest forms of drama. In ancient times, a tragedy was often related to the downfall of a great man and was in many ways like a historical play. However, its meaning has changed since the earliest days of staged plays. In modern theater, a tragedy usually involves serious subject matter and the death of one or more main characters. These plays rarely have a happy ending. William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a typical tragedy. 3）Tragicomedy (悲喜剧): It is a play that mixes elements of comedy and tragedy. Tragicomedy takes many forms. Sometimes it is primarily tragic yet is relieved by moments of humour. Sometimes humour dominates the play but with very serious themes lying behind the comic words and actions. 4) Farce (滑稽剧，闹剧): Farce is a sub-category of comedy, which aims to entertain the audience. It is characterized by exaggerated characters, ridiculous and far-fetched (牵强的) situations, and verbal humour. It is also characterized by lots of physical comedy and outrageous plot twists. 5) Melodrama (传奇剧，情节剧): Melodrama is another type of exaggerated drama. The characters in melodrama tend to be simplified and one-dimensional, in the sens