I.

Introduction

Drama and Dramatic Arts. Drama is a type of literature usually written to be performed. People often make a distinction between drama, which concerns the written text, or script, for the performance, and theater, which concerns the performance of this script. Many of the most honored and influential works of literature around the world have been dramas. They begin with the classical Greek tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides and continue with the plays of such major dramatists as William Shakespeare in England, Molière in France, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Germany, Henrik Ibsen in Norway, and August Strindberg in Sweden. The honor bestowed on drama is particularly true of the Western tradition, which is the subject of this article. For more information on other theater traditions, see Asian Theater; African Theater.