- tragedy
- Drama Dra"ma (dr[aum]"m[.a] or dr[=a]"m[.a]; 277), n. [L.
drama, Gr. dra^ma, fr. dra^n to do, act; cf. Lith. daryti.]
1. A composition, in prose or poetry, accommodated to action,
and intended to exhibit a picture of human life, or to
depict a series of grave or humorous actions of more than
ordinary interest, tending toward some striking result. It
is commonly designed to be spoken and represented by
actors on the stage.
[1913 Webster]
A divine pastoral drama in the Song of Solomon. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
2. A series of real events invested with a dramatic unity and interest. ``The drama of war.'' --Thackeray. [1913 Webster]
Westward the course of empire takes its way; The four first acts already past, A fifth shall close the drama with the day; Time's noblest offspring is the last. --Berkeley. [1913 Webster]
The drama and contrivances of God's providence. --Sharp. [1913 Webster]
3. Dramatic composition and the literature pertaining to or illustrating it; dramatic literature. [1913 Webster]
Note: The principal species of the drama are {tragedy} and {comedy}; inferior species are {tragi-comedy}, {melodrama}, {operas}, {burlettas}, and {farces}. [1913 Webster]
{The romantic drama}, the kind of drama whose aim is to present a tale or history in scenes, and whose plays (like those of Shakespeare, Marlowe, and others) are stories told in dialogue by actors on the stage. --J. A. Symonds.
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
