Great product and essential reading for anyone who studies creative writing at many UK universities The Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives Egri's view of drama tends to a preference for the highly coloured This leads him to lack appreciate for inner conflict rather than the overt variety and an apparent inability to value for example Noel Coward In one remarkably unprescient passage he claim's that Coward will be forgotten unlike some other completely obscure dramatists he then goes on to name Nevertheless his ideas about dialectics as applied to drama and his idea of the TRI dimensional character are useful as is his insistence that conflict arises from character This latter is of course now taken to be a truism but the way he locates it in his other theories gives it weight He assumes his readers will be familiar with the examples he gives and any reader who is not a fan of Ibsen might find the constant references irritating but then anyone who hopes to be any kind of serious writer whether of plays novels or short stories presumably has at least a degree of familiarity of most of his sources though many are American and not so familiar to a non USA reader Overall the book has its periods of tedium but remains one of those books any aspiring writers will want to read with a highlighter in their hands My Kindle edition is a veritable riot of pink blue yellow and orange The Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives A classic by Lajos Egri which I have come to late both for it and for me Of course reading in the 21st century you have to make some allowances for a text that was first published in the 1940s I found the mock but it is a mark of how good this book is that it is possible to swerve around all of these historic relics and still find a good route map to effective playwritingI found the chapters on Premise and Character especially useful refreshing rather than illuminating for someone who has read other guides to writing drama but worthwhile for all that and very practical if a mite prescriptive The case studies too are generally well done not least Ibsen's 'The Doll's House' a particular favourite of Egri's which he returns to freuently to illustrate points of character development and stagecraft It's such a good example that I am now re reading the play to study it further and enjoy it againThe subtitle of 'The Art of Dramatic Writing' Its Basis In The Creative Interpretation Of Human Motives summarises Egri's basic thesis very well the 1940s fascination with psychology post Freud is evident and it or less stands the test of timeDon't make this the only book you read if you are serious about writing plays but by no means neglect itReviewer David Williams blogs regularly as Writer in the North The Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives I've given this five stars with some caveats because I now consider it an essential book in my writing library It is heavy going and I was uneasy about the rigid use of premise in the beginning However putting my current novel through the thought processes outlined in this book was invaluable for clarifying the real motivations of my characters Key points included making actions a NECESSITY and most important of all for me was finding reasons to keep the protagonist in the room I've read about those before but this book really hit it home Once I had created those reasons a plot outline miraculously materialised for me in the space of about half an hour I think for the first time in writing a story I felt the INEVITABILITY of the actions taken I was able to significantly raise the pressure and conflictThis text uses literary plays as examples most notably Ibsen's the Doll's House but he also draws on O'Neil Chekhov Shakespeare et alIt gave me a much greater understanding of drama and I think it will help considerably with the writing of conflict scenesThe book would partner well with Story by Robert Mc Kee although this work is less prescriptive and suited to producing literary novels or plays It makes you think deeply about human nature and produce character driven stories From now on I intend to re read this whenever I outline It is worth the effort to get through it but it isn't an easy read The Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives This book is a goldmine of techniues on how to craft great plays These techniues are invaluable and my mind has been expanded to discover and explore stories like never before I have read a few books about screenwriting but this one brings another level of clarity to the art of dramatic writing The Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives
Amid the hundreds of how to books that have appeared in recent years there have been very few which attempted to analyze the mysteries of play construction This book does that and its principles are so valid that they apply eually well to the short story novel and screenplayLajos Egri examines a play from the inside out starting with the heart of any drama its characters For it is people their private natures and their inter relationships that move a story and give it life All good dramatic writing depends upon an understanding of human motives Why do people act as they do What forces transform a coward into a hero a hero into a coward What is it that Romeo does early in Shakespeares play that makes his later suicide seem inevitable Why must Nora leave her husband at the end of A Dolls HouseThese are a few of the fascinating problems which Egri analyzes He shows how it is essential for the author to have a basic premise a thesis demonstrated in terms of human behavior and to develop his dramatic conflict on the basis of that behavior Premise character conflict this is Egris ABC His book is a direct jargon free approach to the problem of achieving truth in a literary creationAmid the hundreds of "how-to" books that have appeared in recent years, there have been very few which attempted to analyze the mysteries of play-construction. This book does that -- and its principles are so valid that they apply equally well to the short story, novel and screenplay.
Lajos Egri examines a play from the inside out, starting with the heart of any drama: its characters. For it is people -- their private natures and their inter-relationships -- that move a story and give it life. All good dramatic writing depends upon an understanding of human motives. Why do people act as they do? What forces transform a coward into a hero, a hero into a coward? What is it that Romeo does early in Shakespeare's play that makes his later suicide seem inevitable? Why must Nora leave her husband at the end of A Doll's House?
These are a few of the fascinating problems which Egri analyzes. He shows how it is essential for the author to have a basic premise -- a thesis, demonstrated in terms of human behavior -- and to develop his dramatic conflict on the basis of that behavior. Premise, character, conflict: this is Egri's ABC. His book is a direct, jargon-free approach to the problem of achieving truth in a literary creation.Amid the hundreds of "how-to" books that have appeared in recent years, there have been very few which attempted to analyze the mysteries of play-construction. This book does that -- and its principles are so valid that they apply equally well to the short story, novel and screenplay.
Lajos Egri examines a play from the inside out, starting with the heart of any drama: its characters. For it is people -- their private natures and their inter-relationships -- that move a story and give it life. All good dramatic writing depends upon an understanding of human motives. Why do people act as they do? What forces transform a coward into a hero, a hero into a coward? What is it that Romeo does early in Shakespeare's play that makes his later suicide seem inevitable? Why must Nora leave her husband at the end of A Doll's House?
These are a few of the fascinating problems which Egri analyzes. He shows how it is essential for the author to have a basic premise -- a thesis, demonstrated in terms of human behavior -- and to develop his dramatic conflict on the basis of that behavior. Premise, character, conflict: this is Egri's ABC. His book is a direct, jargon-free approach to the problem of achieving truth in a literary creation. The Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives