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The Art of Dramatic Writing : Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives - Lajos Egri

The Art of Dramatic Writing

Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives

By: Lajos Egri

Paperback | 6 September 2003 | Edition Number 1

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Learn the basic techniques every successful playwright knows.

Among the many "how-to" playwriting books that have appeared over the years, there have been few that attempt to analyse the mysteries of play construction. Lajos Egri's classic, The Art of Dramatic Writing, does just that, with instruction that can be applied equally well to a short story, novel, or screenplay.

Examining a play from the inside out, Egri starts with the heart of any drama: its characters. All good dramatic writing hinges on people and their relationships, which serve to move the story forward and give it life, as well as an understanding of human motives -- why people act the way that they do. Using examples from everything from William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" to Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House, " Egri shows how it is essential for the author to have a basic premise -- a thesis, demonstrated in terms of human behaviour -- and to develop the dramatic conflict on the basis of that behaviour.

Using Egri's ABCs of premise, character, and conflict, The Art of Dramatic Writing is a direct, jargon-free approach to the problem of achieving truth in writing.
Industry Reviews
Moss Hart I found Lajos Egri's book enormously interesting -- one of the best I have ever read.

You Can Find This Book In

Non-FictionLanguage & LinguisticsReference, Dictionaries & GuidesCreative Writing & Creative Writing GuidesArts & EntertainmentActing & Theatre StudiesTechnical & Background Skills in TheatreReference, Information & Interdisciplinary SubjectsEncyclopaedias & Reference WorksReference WorksLiterature, Poetry & PlaysHistory & Criticism of Literature
Literary Studies of Plays & PlaywrightsWriting & Editing Guides

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