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SingaporeTheatre StudiesQuick questions
Analysing Play Texts
Quick questions on Genre: tragedy, comedy and beyond explained: H2 Theatre Studies and Drama
6short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What are genre as a contract of expectations?Show answer
A genre is not just a label but a set of audience expectations about the kind of action, tone and outcome to come. When a play signals tragedy, the audience braces for seriousness and likely catastrophe; when it signals comedy, they expect obstacles that will be overcome and a restorative ending. Analysing genre means identifying these expectations and watching how the play meets, mixes or breaks them, because the relationship between expectation and delivery is where much meaning lies.
What is tragedy?Show answer
Tragedy traditionally presents a serious action with a protagonist of some stature who suffers a reversal of fortune from high to low, often through an error or flaw and frequently including a moment of recognition. In the Aristotelian account it arouses pity and fear and achieves catharsis, a purging or clarification of those emotions. Later forms, such as modern domestic tragedy, lower the protagonist's social rank while keeping the essential trajectory of suffering and downfall, which itself is a meaningful adaptation of the convention.
What is comedy?Show answer
Comedy typically dramatises obstacles to happiness, especially to love or social harmony, that are overcome by the end, often through reversals, mistaken identity, disguise, coincidence and witty dialogue, closing with reconciliation, marriage or restored order. Its tone licenses the audience to laugh, and its happy resolution affirms community. Comedy ranges from light farce to satirical comedy that uses laughter to criticise society, so identifying the kind of comedy matters as much as the label.
What is q1?Show answer
Explain what is meant by calling a genre a "contract of expectations". [3 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
List the main conventions of tragedy and the effect it traditionally aims for. [4 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Why is the subversion of a genre often the most meaningful moment in a play? [3 marks]
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