Among the many "how-to" playwriting books that have appeared over the years, the
re have been few that attempt to analyze the mysteries of play construction. Laj
os 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.
Examin
ing a play from the inside out, Egri starts with the heart of any drama: its cha
racters. All good dramatic writing hinges on people and their relationships, whi
ch 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 ev
erything from William Shakespeare'sRomeo and Juliet to Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's H
ouse, Egri shows how it is essential for the author to have a basic premise -- a
thesis, demonstrated in terms of human behavior -- and to develop the dramatic
conflict on the basis of that behavior.
